· The Phoenix ·

The Phoenix is a one-of-kind community center serving the young people of the North Bay, dedicated to the promotion of health, education and the arts. Live music remains the focus, but the Phoenix also offers unique and innovative programs: after-hours tutoring, a performance and ensemble-oriented music school, free medical and dental clinics, all-weather skateboarding facilities, and more. We work with other community organizations to address larger issues facing youth in our community, like job development, drug and alcohol issues, gangs and violence. The popularity of the Phoenix makes it an ideal place to reach out to the people most in need of these services.

Here’s another way to look at it: The Phoenix Theater is a gift, passed down through many generations. It began when a turn-of-the-century town best known for chickens was endowed with a fashionable opera house, hosting the likes of Enrico Caruso and Harry Houdini. It was a miracle that the ancestral Phoenix emerged from the flames not once, but twice, each time realizing a new way of serving a growing town. It was Tom Gaffey’s passion and generosity that turned the Phoenix into a premier all-ages music hall and teen center. And it was only with the gathering of the Petaluma community, and especially the financial contribution of four telecom engineers, that the venerable Phoenix was saved from the wrecking ball.

“The Phoenix Theater addresses a need in the community for teen-focused activities for artistic and creative expression and identity development that we have lost from our schools and our culture in the last generation. Teens need a safe place to gather, to be "teens" and to create something that expresses their blossoming unique identity as human beings. ”
—Deborah Parrish, Phoenix Center Board Member

The Phoenix is a gift, and it keeps on giving. It is unique, and irreplaceable. It wouldn’t be here, what it is today, without community support. And it’s your help that will allow it to carry on and rise higher, to achieve our mission and vision for a self-sustaining multi-services teen center.

The Phoenix Theater is, in part, a downtown Petaluma small business. We earn income from our theater operations, especially concert ticket sales. Like any successful business, we’re always trying to increase our operational revenues, satisfy our customers, and be good neighbors while keeping control of costs. But, as you can see, we do much more than provide entertainment. For this, we seek support of our volunteers and donors—to underwrite existing program costs, to fund and staff small facility improvement projects and new services, and, in the future, to support a capital campaign for a major building expansion/media center.

"Tom (Gaffey) really created a place like no other. He gave us a place to be creative, and opened the doors to people who would appreciate it. What are your other options at 13 or 14? Watch TV, hang out on the streets? We had a huge house of our own that we felt safe in, and our parents knew right where we were".
—Tom Waugh, Mesa Engineering (Petaluma-based maker of guitar amplifiers.)