The Santa Monica Conservancy awarded local developer Jim Rosenfield and past president Tom Cleys the organization’s highest honors for their outstanding accomplishments in promoting preservation in the city, at a March 6th event at the landmark Embassy Hotel Appartments.

The Conservancy recognized Rosenfield for his dedication and success in restoring the Aero Theater on Montana Avenue. Rosenfield purchased the building in order to save it, while maintaining its use as a movie theater.

The single-screen theater was built in 1939 by aviation pioneer Donald Douglas as an entertainment venue for Douglas Aircraft employees. Like the aircraft plant, the theater was open 24 hours a day so that workers could see movies any time during their off-hours.

“Jim’s efforts are important, not just because he has saved the last neighborhood movie theater in our city, but because he has demonstrated that preservation can be good business,” said Joel Brand, president of the Santa Monica Conservancy. “He’s a developer with passion and vision that goes beyond the easiest way to make a profit, and that’s a combination we don’t see enough of, unfortunately.”

The Aero is one of the few surviving neighborhood movie theaters in the Los Angeles area today. Rosenfield worked for eight years to find the right operator who would reuse the building in its original configuration and restore it to its original glory. The theater reopened in January under the auspices of the American Cinematheque.

The second award was presented to Tom Cleys, the Santa Monica Conservancy’s first president. “His service has been so critical that without him the preservation movement in Santa Monica would not be where it is today,” comments president Brand. “Without Tom, there would be no Preservation Award and likely no Conservancy. He has been the lifeblood of the organization.”

When Cleys moved into Santa Monica in 1998, he became active in Friends of Sunset Park and then worked with NOMA founder Doris Sosin to form the Conservancy.

Elected to serve as the first president of the new nonprofit by his co-founds because of his initiative and energy, Cleys’ brought the Santa Monica Conservancy from concept to practical reality with an active membership. He continues to contribute to the work of the Conservancy and is especially in the forefront of raising preservation awareness and support in his home neighborhood.

Each year the Santa Monica Conservancy presents awards to individuals or organizations in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in preserving Santa Monica’s unique heritage, and for promoting the value of historic preservation in the city.