The Historic Robert Stanton Theater
Famed architect Robert Stanton designed the auditorium which now bears his name. Details of its construction during the Great Depression are both enlightening and inspiring. Mr. Stanton intended to create a capacious, long-lasting space for the performing arts. These pictures and stories will help you appreciate his vision and its ongoing success.
The King City High School Auditorium is executed in cast-in-place concrete. The design makes full use of concrete’s potential for plastic form, with compound curves, rounded corners and cast-in sculptural forms. The structure is somewhat elliptical in plan, with rounded corners. A projecting rounded bay at the front comprises the main entrance, with three pairs of doors separated by tall fluted pilasters surmounted by cast busts of Comedy and Tragedy, dividing a triptych relief sculpture that is itself divided into three levels. The ends of the facade curve around to the side elevations, which have inset fluted panels whose pilasters are crowned with more cast sculpture derived from characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The rear elevation is comparatively plain and utilitarian.
The lobby is detailed with bright blue wainscoting and ceilings. Curved stairs give access to the balcony on either side of the lobby, with six doors into the main house. Floors throughout are covered in cork, as well as in the aisles of the auditorium. The auditorium seats 596 in the orchestra section and 387 in the balcony. The proscenium surrounding the stage features Mora reliefs and concave fluted pilasters.
The King City Joint Union High School Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 1991.
