The Renovated Appleton Auditorium Stage in the Fuller Arts Center at Springfield College, 2009

This is a photograph of the stage of the renovated Appleton Auditorium of the Fuller Arts Center at Springfield Center in 2009. The photograph is taken from the third row of the side section of seats. On the stage there are chairs, tables, and a scaffold, which are probably used for a scene in a show. The stage and the auditorium had just recently been renovated. The 2009 renovations also included a new entrance of the building, a new facade of glass, brick, limestone, new flooring, and a track-lighted ceiling.In 1973, undergraduate Dennis St. Jean and his friends came up with the idea of building a theater on campus. They produced and directed the College’s first “Best of Broadway” in Moses Hall and, along with the handful of money they collected from the show, gave the money as a “down payment” on the new theater to President Wilbert E. Locklin. By the late '70s the fund grew to $10,000, and the future theater was incorporated into the Capital Campaign. By 1978 Art Linkletter, the famed entertainer and one of the main contributors to the Art Linkletter Natatorium, had contributed $50,000 himself. Other leading contributors were Julius and Louise Appleton, the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation, and the George I. Alden Trust. Construction began on the corner of Hickory Street and Wilbraham Avenue on March 3, 1983. The total cost of the building was $850,000. On May 4, 1984, Art Linkletter hosted the dedication performance. The auditorium was named after Julius and Louise Appleton's youngest son, who died in a car accident. The auditorium had 300 seats and can accommodate a diversity of activities, such as plays, films, concerts, and public lectures. Outside of the auditorium is the lobby of the building, which is the Linkletter Art Gallery, named after the famed entertainer Art Linkletter. The original stage was 4’4” high, 47 feet wide and 23 feet deep. The stage had a remote controlled movie screen measuring 18 feet wide and 13.5 feet high. The Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the renovation was held on Thursday, March 5, 2009