Lear Theatre, Neoclassical theatre building in downtown Reno, United States

The Lear Theatre is a former Christian Science church at 501 Riverside Drive, overlooking the Truckee River in Reno. The pale yellow neoclassical building has a white-trimmed front with a triangular pediment and fanlight above four tall white columns; behind them, double doors carry the inscription "LEAR THEATER". A wide concrete stair with a curved white balustrade and black metal handrail leads up to the entrance.

Built in 1939 as the First Church of Christ, Scientist, the building was funded by local member Anna Frandsen Loomis, who paid $120,000 including land and architect fees. The congregation sold it in 1998 and used the proceeds for a new church on West Peckham Lane. Church member and theater patron Moya Lear gave $1.1 million to the Reno-Sparks Theater Community Coalition, which bought the building and renamed it the Lear Theater.

The building was designed by Paul Revere Williams, the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects, hired by donor Anna Frandsen Loomis. The congregation sold it in 1998, and church member and theatre patron Moya Lear gave $1.1 million to the Reno-Sparks Theater Community Coalition, which bought the church and renamed it the Lear Theater.

The building stands at 501 Riverside Drive, overlooking the Truckee River, and is reached by a wide flight of concrete steps with a curved white balustrade and a black metal handrail on the left. It is a former church that the congregation sold in 1998, so it does not operate as a regular venue; check locally before planning a visit.

The building was added to the Nevada State Register of Historic Places on December 28, 1982, and to the National Register on August 20, 1999. The 1939 church cost $120,000, covering land and architect's fees, paid by Anna Frandsen Loomis.