Ebell of LA Partners with Frederick Fisher for Historic Campus Retrofit

The Ebell of Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization  dedicated to inspiring women and building community through arts, culture and education, has retained the architecture firm Frederick Fisher and Partners (FF&P) to develop and implement a plan to upgrade its historic 1927 Renaissance-style campus in the mid-Wilshire area.

At a time when women were often excluded from cultural and civic leadership, The Ebell's purpose-built campus offered physical access, platforms, visibility, and agency through thoughtfully designed spaces for performance, education and exhibition. Nearly a century later, the dynamic campus continues to serve the community as a space where the cultural diversity of Los Angeles converges and where women's voices shine. 

“The retrofit and revitalization plan will thoughtfully honor the site's historic legacy while ensuring The Ebell's continued impact on women and Los Angeles,” said Dr. Stacy Brightman, Chief Executive Officer of The Ebell of Los Angeles. “We are thrilled to work with Frederick Fisher and Partners on this transformative moment for our campus. They are uniquely positioned to steward architecturally significant cultural landmarks with both reverence and imagination, bringing the technical expertise, artistic sensitivity, and community-centered vision needed to carry The Ebell's campus confidently into its next hundred years.”

Originally designed by legendary architect Sumner Hunt, the Ebell's 94,000-square-foot campus — which includes the iconic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the nation's oldest theatre built and continuously operated by women — will celebrate its Centennial in 2027. Spurred by City of Los Angeles Ordinance No. 183893, which requires owners of older concrete structures to assess and mitigate earthquake risk, The Ebell tapped FF&P not only to upgrade infrastructure and building systems to improve wayfinding and ADA compliance, but also to envision how the organization can elevate its campus as a hub of dynamic learning, performance, culture, and belonging for the next hundred years.

FF&P's longstanding passion for creating spaces connected to the arts, education, and community at culturally significant sites makes the firm particularly well-suited to guide the next chapter of a campus whose architecture has long been central to advancing women's visibility and creative expression in Los Angeles. A 40-plus-year-old practice with a diverse portfolio that includes the Annenberg Community Beach House, MoMA PS1, Sunnylands Historic Estate Renovation and Visitor Center and Gardens, and the recently completed Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County expansion in Exposition Park, FF&P aims to embed flexibility, sustainability, and long-term resilience into Ebell campus operations. Together, these improvements will bolster The Ebell as an anchor for women's empowerment, contemporary voices, civic imagination, and community life in the heart of Los Angeles.

“Women-led cultural institutions are a key part of our practice,” said Frederick Fisher, Founder of Frederick Fisher and Partners. “We see this project as an opportunity to reimagine the Ebell campus as a vital engine for bringing women and their allies together — for idea exchange and cultural enrichment, for social advancement, and for service and solidarity.”

As The Ebell approaches its Centennial in 2027, this partnership marks an important step in ensuring that its historic campus continues to serve as both a civic landmark and a living, evolving home for women's voices in Los Angeles.

For more on The Ebell Centennial, please visit www.ebellofla.org/centennial

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