The newly renovated Fuller Arts Center at Springfield College, 2009

This is a photograph of the front of the renovated Fuller Arts Center at Springfield College in 2009. Different from the original entrance, the new entrance has the Springfield College triangle on the top of the entrance way, and four real pillars in front of the entrance. The renovation also included new flooring, renovated stage and auditorium, 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 12 rows of seat, a total of 300 seats. "There is not a bad seat in the house" is a classic statement because all rows are arranged in concentric curves focusing on center stage. The auditorium can accommodate a diversity of activities, such as plays, films, concerts, and public lectures. 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