24th Street Theatre Completes $3M Venue Purchase in Los Angeles

 As 24th Street Theatre approaches its 30th anniversary, the award-winning company has reached a major milestone: it has raised $3 million and completed the purchase of the converted 1928 carriage house it has occupied for the past 29 years, along with properties next door and across the street.

The acquisitions secure the future of a cultural institution that has served its community since 1997 while creating new spaces designed to expand the theater's artistic and community programming. Plans for the two additional properties include an outdoor garden and a black box theater, officially named the 24th Street Black Box Theatre in honor of longtime supporter Jack Black, who is also the new venue's first donor.

Other 30th Anniversary Capital Campaign donors to date include David Newman, Artistic Scholarship Fund for Inner City Youth, Perenchio Foundation and Friars Foundation.

The company will launch a campaign to raise the remaining $2 million needed to renovate the two new properties at a gala on Sunday, Oct. 18, hosted by Black.

Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson emphasizes the theater's longstanding impact, saying, “For nearly three decades, 24th Street Theatre has helped young people in South Los Angeles see themselves as artists, storytellers, and leaders, That kind of impact comes from years of showing up for the community and creating a place where young people can discover what is possible for themselves. Owning their space gives 24th Street Theatre the stability to deepen the strong relationship it has already built with the community and create even more opportunities for generations to come.”

For 24th Street Theatre, the expansion represents more than additional performance space. It builds on a model of theater that has evolved in direct response to the needs of its surrounding community.

The theater's giant green doors are literally kept open to the street every day, welcoming neighborhood residents, local children, students and visiting parents from nearby USC, people experiencing homelessness, and others who stop in for coffee, conversation or access to educational, cultural and social-service resources.

Founded in 1997 as a more traditional theater company, 24th Street Theatre gradually expanded its mission as the needs of the neighborhood became increasingly apparent. Today, the company uses the power of high-caliber art not only to entertain, but to engage, educate and create meaningful connections across one of Los Angeles' most diverse communities.

24th Street Theatre serves more than 10,000 people annually, including approximately 6,000 children and youth and 4,000 adults, the majority of whom are low-income. Its programming encompasses professional mainstage productions, Spanish-language theater, arts education, after-school programs and community engagement initiatives.

The 24th Street artistic identity is defined by a resolute commitment to the integrity of the work and a heightened, minimalist aesthetic—an approach reflected across both its education programs and mainstage productions for families.

As the company enters its fourth decade, the new properties will allow 24th Street Theatre to expand that work while creating a permanent home designed to serve the community for generations to come.

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