Come On, Santa Monica, Do The Right Thing!

Dear Friends of the Civic,

Have you heard the news? A group of film directors has purchased the beautiful, historic Village Theatre in Westwood, preserving it for its original use as a world-class venue to watch movies, and saving it from being torn down or repurposed as retail space! 

We have the opportunity to do the same thing here in Santa Monica with our historic Civic Auditorium. In response to the City’s request for proposals, four separate entities have now submitted plans.

We urge Council to move forward without delay and select the most credible, experienced group willing to lease (so residents retain ownership!) our historic Civic, and equally important, restore it for use as a world-class performing arts center at no cost to taxpayers.

For Save the Civic, preservation is about more than saving the hollowed-out bones of a building. The Civic Auditorium is a performing arts center; the only one of its kind on the Westside. We must not let its original use be an afterthought.

We hope our City will recognize a win when it sees one. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a gift to residents. Please, Santa Monica, do the right thing.