Exclusive: Tour of the historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs
The historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs opened on December 12, 1936, for the world premiere of “Camille” Throughout the years, the theater hosted performances by stars like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.
In 2014, the theater closed its doors and it has sat empty ever since. However, that could change soon as earlier this month, the Palm Springs City Council announced they were moving forward on plans to have a new owner renovate the venue. The city is spending nearly $100,000 to bring in an architectural firm to assess the building and determine how much it would cost to renovate.
Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon and former mayor Will Kleindienst gave KESQ & CBS Local 2’s Alexandra Pierce an exclusive tour of the theater. Mayor Moon calls the theater the epicenter of Palm Springs.
“Julia Carnell, who funded this and built this, brought in an architect from out of town named Harry Williams who came here and he stayed and he was the father of E. Stewart Williams,” Moon said. “So, if this building had not been built, Palm Springs would not have been introduced to Hollywood and also E. Stewart Williams would not have been in Palm Springs and built all the iconic mid-century buildings that he built that put Palm Springs on the map. So, this building in 1936 was the beginning of the entire legacy of Palm Springs.”
Interest among one of the city’s more famous resident’s has already begun that being Suzanne Somers.
“She talked about how she would love to have a venue right here in her hometown so she wouldn’t have to go to Las Vegas all the time to do her shows and think about all the people it would bring to Palm Springs to see Suzanne Somers,” Somers said.
Kleindienst shared a story about a piece of missing history from the world premiere of “Camille.”
“There was a wood frame on the stage they placed a canister of the film itself in this frame and then they poured concrete over it and they had Nellie Coffman and Luella Parson, the Hollywood reporter, sign their names in the concrete and as the story goes once it cured it was placed inside the lobby,” Kleindienst said.
He hopes to find the canisters before once renovations begin.
“I’ve searched to no success to find that ad it may well be under the carpet and the story goes it’s buried below and I’m gonna find it,” Kleindienst added.
