Fullerton : Opera Official Asks City to Upgrade Auditorium

Fullerton High School’s Plummer Auditorium is in disuse 54% of the time because it is “so substandard,” a Fullerton Civic Light Opera Co. official told the City Council last week.

City officials agreed to set up a task force that would review whether the 1,300-seat auditorium is in need of improvements such as an air-conditioning system and more bathrooms and drinking fountains.

The auditorium, at Chapman Avenue and Lemon Street, also needs a platform that can be lowered and raised for musicians, a larger stage and new stage equipment, said Grif Duncan, general manager of the opera company.

Urging the council to appoint a task force, Duncan said many groups turn away from using Plummer Auditorium because “it just cannot be used, with the lack of facilities.”

During the summer months, Plummer said, the hall is not used at all because it has no air conditioning. He said that once the auditorium is improved, touring companies will bring symphonies and ballets to Fullerton.

In 1967, the auditorium, which Duncan says is “conservatively valued at $5 million,” was shut down for fear it would not withstand an earthquake.

In 1971, a $600,000-renovation project included additional construction to comply with earthquake standards and new, cushioned seating. The proposed further improvements would cost about $1.5 million, City Manager William Winter said.