FACT SHEET
PROPERTY
The Muckenthaler Cultural Center is a mansion museum with permanent and changing exhibits, educational studio programs and a 246-seat amphitheater dedicated to the staging of the performing arts. It is a multidisciplinary venue that celebrates the traditions of a variety of cultures and encourages appreciation and creative expression in art, music, dance, literature, drama, local history, landscaping and botanical gardening.
LOCATION
1201 West Malvern Avenue
Fullerton, California 92833
Phone: (714) 738-6595
Website: www.muckenthaler.org
STAFF
Executive Director - Patricia House
Associate Director - Phyllis Melendez
Director of Exhibitions - Matthew Leslie
Director of Educational Theater - Amy Luskey-Barth
Director of Education Programs - Katherine England
Events & Catering - Colette Coffman & Duane Greenleaf
VISION
We are a celebration of the human spirit through the arts.
MISSION
Our mission is to provide our community experiences that stimulate creativity and imagination, and to conserve the heritage of the Muckenthaler Estate.
DIRECTIONS
The Muckenthaler Cultural Center is located at 1201 West Malvern Avenue, Fullerton, California (from the 91 Freeway, take Euclid north 1 mile, go west on Malvern, right on Buena Vista).
HOURS
Wednesday through Sunday 12 noon - 4 p.m.
MUCKENTHALER CULTURAL CENTER HISTORY
1201 West Malvern Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92833
The Muckenthaler Cultural Center was once the family home of Walter and Adella Muckenthaler. In 1921, they bought an eighty acre estate from the Carhart family and set aside this eight acre hilltop parcel on which they built their dream home. They hired Fullerton architect Frank Benchley to design an Italian Renaissance style house reminiscent of buildings built for San Diego's 1915 exposition in Balboa Park. His work led to construction of the home complete with an octagonal solarium and a large open air (now covered) central atrium. The entrance was planned around the wrought iron staircase railing imported from Italy. To enhance the artistic quality of the home the Ernest Batchelder Tile Company was commissioned to design the tiles in the two fireplaces as well as that in the Butler's Pantry and the solarium floors. The construction cost of the building in 1924 totaled $34,000.00.
The landscaping by Walter Muckenthaler and Clark Lutschg of Sequoia Nursery in Fullerton took four years to complete. The grounds originally included peristyle gardens, a fountain, an arbor, many palms and a wide variety of date trees and plants. A stone gazebo still stands near the southeast corner of the property near where there once was a reservoir for irrigation of the citrus groves that stretched south toward the Riverside freeway. There was also a large aviary on the north side of the mansion where Walter raised exotic birds.
In 1965, Adella and her son, Harold, donated this estate to the City of Fullerton with the condition that it be developed as a Cultural Center. This gift to the City exemplified the pride Walter felt and displayed in his years as a City Councilman and as a member of several civic and agricultural organizations.
The Cultural Groups Foundation of Northern Orange County was incorporated in 1966 as a nonprofit organization to work with City staff in operating the Center. The Foundation served to help with program selection, setting policy and raising funds needed to augment City budgets, enabling expansion of visual arts, performing arts and educational activities for children and adults.
In 1967, the Center Circle Guild was founded to provide additional support and volunteer assistance; they operate the Gift Shop, sponsor the annual Florence Arnold Young Artist Festival, the Holiday Home Tour, and support exhibition related and educational programs.
In 1981, the National Register of Historic Buildings recognized the Muckenthaler home as a historic site. Concerns over environmental, structural and fire safety led to a complete renovation of the building's interior and exterior beginning in 1982. Work was completed and the Muckenthaler Cultural Center officially reopened as a fully air conditioned, earthquake resistant building in 1984.
In June of 1990, the Foundation name was changed from Cultural Groups Foundation of Northern Orange County to the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation.
A Master Plan has been developed outlining the future of the Muckenthaler. As the first phase of the plan, construction was begun in the fall of 1990 on a new 246-seat amphitheater on the Center grounds. In June of 1993, the Theater-on-the-Green season christened the amphitheater with a series of three critically acclaimed plays. Future phases of the Master Plan include an outdoor entertainment garden pavilion and a museum gallery.
The Foundation and the City began negotiations to privatize the governance and operation of the Center in 1993. On October 18, 1994, the Fullerton City Council approved an agreement with the Foundation shifting the total operations of the Center from the City to the Foundation. In this new position, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation is seeking sufficient private funding to support and expand cultural programs in a growing community.
In 1994, the Jane Deming Endowment was established. Ms. Deming's endowment, in the form of a charitable gift, serves to promote, preserve, enhance and assist the Foundation in fulfilling its mission.
The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation needs your support now and in the future to insure the Muckenthaler's cultural uniqueness in Orange County.
Media Contact:
Phyllis Melendez
714-738-6340 or fax 714-738-6366
Email: phyl@muckenthaler.org
Muckenthaler Cultural Center
1201 West Malvern Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92833
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