Festival Theatre has become a civic symbol of Stratford and serves as the center of the city's cultural life.

In 1951, Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson thought up the idea for a Shakespearean festival to be held in his hometown.

Sir Tyrone agreed to be part of the project, provided that it employed star performers and experienced personnel.

On 31 October 1952, an Ontario corporation, the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada Foundation received its articles of incorporation.

[1] In late 1952, with auditions underway for the inaugural season, the festival required an architect to design its theatre.

Patterson and Guthrie arranged an initial meeting with Fairfield at the University Club of Toronto in December 1952.

"[3] On 22 January 1953, Rounthwaite & Fairfield received the official commission to design a theatre for the new festival's first season.

The architects' design for the new theatre was of a circular concrete bleacher covering 252 degrees, divided in seven 36-degree sections, and 134 feet in diameter.

At the time of construction, funding for the festival itself was uncertain, therefore, the architects had to consider financial failure in their planning and keep costs as low as possible.

[5] Fairfield said of the project, "the architect-client relationship, begun in the spirit of adventure, ended in almost surprising accord in view of the difficult obstacle course negotiated by both.

At the time of the dedication, decorations remained around the town from the Coronation of Elizabeth II on 2 June, lending to the atmosphere of celebration.

[10] In its announcement of the new permanent structure, an architectural journal noted that "the buoyant charm of a temporary shelter contending with the elements infused the tent-theatre with a sort of mystic personality.

Festival goers of romantic persuasion, wilting in the summer heat and exposing themselves to the vagaries of the weather, emerge with a tingling sense of having lived briefly under the spell of adventure, at no inconsiderable risk to themselves."

We are marking a great moment in the story of an enterprise which began as a local effort with unbelievable ambitions.