Nearly 90 years ago, filmmaker George Cukor premiered his Oscar-winning film "Camille" at The Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. Greta Garbo generated buzz at the time for headlining the movie and, allegedly, slipping into the back of theater once the light dimmed.
Soon enough, the venue became a popular go-to, also serving as a great outpost for nationally broadcast radio theatre programs of the day, where stars like Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Amos 'n' Andy and Jack Benny took to the microphone.
Like any dramatic film — or showbiz legend for that matter — the theater experienced its own share of drama and suspense over the years. Decades later, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies brought new life into the iconic haven, running 23 years before the curtain went down for good in 2014.
By the looks of it, having deteriorated and lacking funds at the time to gain new momentum, The Plaza Theatre had reached the end credits.
In the event you're coming in late into this theater story's second act, you already know the end credits never rolled. The deteriorated building found new hope, thanks to the vigilant efforts of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation, which has been raising funds to restore the historic theatre for some time.
Restoration efforts officially began in spring this year, thanks to a tremendous outpouring of financial and community support and the Oak View Group, the theater's new management company.
"We're hoping to have the theater open again in fall 2025," says J.R. Roberts, president of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation. "Right now, the theater is in heavy demolition mode, and I use the word 'demolition' carefully because we're doing a true restoration. This isn't a remodel. This is a complete restoration, which means the theater will be restored to what it was in 1936 when it opened."
The goal is to revive the theater and create a one-of-a-kind community facility featuring new seats — 710, down 80 seats from the original — sound, lighting and adapting the structure to meet current ADA requirements.
"Behind the walls and under the floor, it will have the most state-of-the-art technology that theaters can have today and allow us to do all types of varied programming," Roberts says. "Everything from live theater to live music events, of course we'll have cinema at every level. We'll be able to do kids programming, we'll be able to do a huge diversity of programming to have something for everyone.
"This theater is really the living room of Palm Springs," he says.
That it is. In fact, it's one of the very oldest buildings in town. Roberts is quick to note that the theater came to life several years before the City of Palm Springs was incorporated in 1938.
"That tells you how important the Plaza is," he says. "It's the glue between Hollywood and Palm Springs, which has an amazing brand. It's known all over the world, and part of that is due to its glamorous Hollywood connection. Because this was the playground for Hollywood back in the day."
Recently, the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation received a grant from the FitzDell Gifting Fund through the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF).
"We often feel like we're on a magic carpet ride with this project because we have gotten such great support and had so much good fortune," Roberts says of the recent funding. "Then the community at large, and organizations like IECF, have really helped make this dream truly come to reality. The recent grant is huge because it directly goes toward the restoration of the theater."
Currently, the Plaza Theatre Foundation has raised approximately $16 million but must raise at least $10 million more to cover the construction costs and contingencies, plus startup expenses.
"We are under the gun over the next year, year and a half, to finish fundraising, so donations and grants make it possible to simply keep going," Roberts says. "That's enormous because if we had to stop, it would spiral, and we might never catch up. The goal is to keep the construction going until it's done."
Architectural Resources Group Inc. was brought in to help create a plan to restore the theater while Woodcliff Construction of Los Angeles came on board as general contractor for the renovation.
When asked what locals interested in the project can do to offer support, Roberts mentions the Buy a Seat program.
"People can have a seat permanently engraved with their name or up to 20 characters of anything they want," he says. "People have done it as a memorial or a celebration of marriages and anniversaries. Those seat-naming opportunities run anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on where the seat is in the theater. We also have a number of other great naming opportunities for a person or organization, including fully naming the theater."
In the meantime, the funding flows, and this show, thankfully, goes on.
Learn more about the theater and its history and get updates on the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation restoration project at savetheplazatheatreps.org . For donation matters, email Roberts at jr66@mac.com .
Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. Visit iegives.org for more information.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Grant helps Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation enter its next act
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