Fun facts about the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre

• Though the building was officially declared operational in October 1967, the first-ever performance there was held five months earlier: Harold Horwood’s “Tomorrow Will be Sunday,” adapted by Tom Cahill, a production of the St. John’s Players.

• Bricks for the building were made in the brickyards in Clarenville. Slate for the floor was quarried in Random Island.

• When construction started, all original tress on the building site – the former site of the Church of England Boys’ Orphanage – were tagged, moved and replanted elsewhere on the grounds.

• The concrete mural on the lobby wall was created by artist Maurice Savoie of Montreal, who also created the 1,200 sq. ft. concrete mural on the front of MUN’S education building.

• The seating capacity of the main theatre is 1,013.

• The main stage opening is 50 feet wide and 26 feet high. The stage floor has three trap doors.

• In 1987, the centre acquired a Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano, due to fundraising efforts of a group of people, who raised $75,000. A climate-controlled room was constructed specifically to house the piano.

• There’s a backstage carpentry shop, with 60,000 cubic feet of work space. Lighting there is incandescent so set colour, costumes and stage lighting can be coordinated.

• Elephants, leopards, fish, horses, cars and boats have all graced the main stage at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre

• How many of those ceiling lights are there in the main theatre? A lot. Nobody actually knows the exact number.