A Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Timeline

Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Marie Leon LaCroix, FSPA '45, started Viterbo's theatre program and was a major advocate for the Fine Arts Center project.
Marie Leon LaCroix, FSPA '45, started Viterbo's theatre program and was a major advocate for the Fine Arts Center project.

In 2021, Viterbo University celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Fine Arts Center, which opened in early 1971. The 2021 Viterbo Days alumni weekend in October featured a Saturday evening gala concert, with an alumni choir pitching in. Here is a timeline of some of the highlights of the Fine Arts Center.

 

1965

Viterbo President Grace McDonald, FSPA, announced plans for a premier $5.2 million Fine Arts Center. The Sisters received a $1 million grant and a $2.5 million loan from the government to partially fund the project. “We wrote and told them that La Crosse was the cultural dust bowl of the Midwest,” said Marie Leon LaCroix, FSPA ’45. “We promised that we would bring good things to the city if they gave us a grant.”

 

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Fine Arts Center project was held in 1969.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Fine Arts Center project was held in 1969.

1969

A groundbreaking ceremony is held. Bishop Frederick Freking provided the blessing.

 

Fine Arts Center construction

January 1971

The Fine Arts Center opens for students with the start of the spring semester. Employees spent much of a cold winter break getting the building ready for their arrival.

 

"MacBeth" was the first production staged when the Viterbo Fine Arts Center was opened in 1971.
"MacBeth" was the first production staged when the Viterbo Fine Arts Center was opened in 1971.

March 1971

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth officially opens the main theatre. Previous theatrical productions were held in the Murphy Center gymnasium.

 

Viterbo University Fine Arts Center ad image from Time magazine in July 1971

July 1971

Viterbo’s production of The Sound of Music is the first production to feature actual nuns. An ad was run in TIME magazine that included an image from the production. “With its outstanding theatrical facilities, recital hall, and art galleries, this is the cultural center of the entire community as well as the college.”

 

"The Pirates of Penzance" was staged in in the Fine Arts Center  in March 1974.

March 1974

The first student opera is performed, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

 

The Viterbo Fine Arts Center hosted the International Mime Festival in 1974.

Summer 1974

The Fine Arts Center hosts the International Mime Festival. Articles about it appeared in Smithsonian Magazine and The New York Times. Richard Coe, drama critic for The Washington Post and author of the Smithsonian article, called the Fine Arts Center “superbly equipped.”

 

Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman

1980s

Performers include Vincent Price (1980), Itzhak Perlman (1983), Ray Charles (1984), Shari Lewis (1985), and Burl Ives (1985). Music theatre joins theatre, art, and music as a major at Viterbo.

 

1994

The black box theatre is named in honor of theatre department founder Sr. Marie Leon LaCroix ’45.

 

2004

Famed composer Marvin Hamlisch performs. His many works include A Chorus Line and The Way We Were.

 

Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch

2012

New seats are installed in the Fine Arts Center's Main Theatre.

 

March 2015

Viterbo University commemorates 125 years of the arts with the anniversary performance A Place for Us: A Gala Celebration of the Arts at Viterbo in the Fine Arts Center's Main Theatre. The gala, which was held in honor of the university's founders, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and their enduring commitment to the arts, was featured in a Wisconsin Public Television special with highlights from the event broadcast to a statewide audience as part of their Young Performers Initiative.

 

2017

Wisconsin Public Radio hosted a special edition of The Midday live from the newly dedicated Nola Starling Recital Hall in celebration of WPR’s Centennial. Several Viterbo community members performed on the broadcast.

 

The The newly named Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration Lobby in the Fine Arts Center was dedicated in 2019 in honor of the FSPA.
The The newly named Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration Lobby in the Fine Arts Center was dedicated in 2019 in honor of the FSPA.

2019

The newly named Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration Lobby is dedicated in honor of the FSPA and their incredible legacy. The first floor of the building is remodeled, which included a new box office lobby, president’s office, and the Kwik Trip Hospitality Suite.

Viterbo University Fine Arts Center