Coming to a Church Near You

A New “Sanctuary of the Arts” Comes to the Downtown

November 2019

Leave it to Mike Eidson and wife Dr. Margaret Eidson, with their long history of philanthropy in our community, to found a new nonprofit foundation dedicated to the performing arts in Coral Gables. The Eidsons have committed $1 million to the Sanctuary of the Arts, a new multi-disciplinary arts project that will renovate and repurpose the First Church of Christ, Scientist on Andalusia at Le Jeune.

The idea, says the Sanctuary’s founding Artistic Director & CEO Olga Granda, is to provide a space for artists and performances in theater, dance, music, poetry, and even puppetry. “Mike and I have together been exploring places where this could be done,” she says. “It started with the Coconut Grove Playhouse, then this opportunity came up.”

The foundation is leasing the main church building (with 454 seats) along with 10 classrooms for the next 100 years. Much of the initial investment will be used to upgrade the church interior, which will be used not only for performances but to give working office spaces to playwrights, directors, producers, etc. The first events are scheduled for late December, a three-day festival of dance, music and theater. Stay tuned.