Fullerton Auditorium, Fullerton

Formerly the Plummer Auditorium, the Fullerton Auditorium was built in 1931 in the Mission Revival style and today sits on the campus of Fullerton High School. Historic features of the auditorium are at risk of significant alteration if the Fullerton Union School District's seismic and accessibility upgrade project is carried out as planned. The plan presents three areas of concern:  

• Constructing a two-story addition on the exterior of the building plus an elevator, two restrooms, and removal of more than two rows of seats to provide two accessible front row seats in the original 1931 balcony; 

• Replacing one of the three main entry doors with an accessible ticket window that will further congest the small lobby area and change the appearance of the building's facade; 

• Constructing a wheelchair ramp on the main elevation of the building, which will require extending the original porch, eliminating the original steps, and constructing new steps to provide a landing for the ramp.  

Fullerton Heritage has offered alternatives to the plan that will save the balcony, eliminate the need for the ramp and the ticket window, and enhance the overall access and ticketing function to the benefit of all patrons.  

Because the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, this type of project falls under the provisions of the State Historical Building Code.  The purpose of the Code is to require that alternatives to the accessible standards be used to prevent the destruction of historic features. It’s not known at this time how the District will proceed.