History

The Appleton West Auditorium has been a fixture in the community for the past 85 years. The school was founded in 1904 under the name Appleton Senior High School in the building which is now The Morgan Building, but the current facility was constructed in 1938, and the name was changed to West High in 1967 following the construction of Appleton East High School. The Appleton West Auditorium was also home to the community theatre and community movie theater. It continues to be a beautiful space in our community.

As the saying goes "They just don't make 'em like that anymore".

Appleton High School Auditorium (1939)

Rivaling any theater in Wisconsin in size, perfection and completeness of equipment is Appleton High School's huge new bullet-shaped auditorium. Nothing has been left to chance in this carefully designed room. 1,654 persons can be seated in the cherry-red chairs in the auditorium.

The color of the seats blends with the red volour curtains, the cherry-tinted concrete aisles, and the rose trim along the borders and over the stage openings. The walls and the ceiling are painted grey. The equipment includes an asbestos cutrain; a motion picture screen; scenery; ropes and pulleys; a giant switchboard which controls all the lighting in the building and may be used for any lighting effect; a projection booth equipped for sound, radio, and public address; spot lighting; six banks of cove lights; fourteen lights set flush with the ceiling; and a paint studio, 30 feet above and behind the stage. The stage is 34 feet deep and 78 feet wide with a proscenium opening 24 feet by 36 feet. Above the eight-foot wainscoting of wood paneling are acoustical tile lines. The stage floor is built of fir and maple, and beneath it are rehearsal and dressing room. Behind the large stage, which compares in appointments to the best in the state and on which the most elaborate productions may be staged effectively, is a corridor which leads to the band, orchestra, and chorus rooms. The individual practice rooms are a decided innovation.

Published in the Appleton Post Crescent (1939)