Hershey Community Center Building

Designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret (1876-1945), under a general plan by Milton S. Hershey (1857-1945), the Hershey Community Center Building was erected between 1932 and 1933. Plans for a community theater and center were originally drawn-up by C. Emlen Urban in 1915.^[2]

The Hershey Community Center Building is a five-story building, encompassing 190,699 square feet. It is shaped like a distended "E," with an open court in the front center and sun porches on three sides.^[2]

The building is faced in Indiana limestone, and houses a large theater, the Hershey Theatre, which is 51,525 square feet (4,787 m²), and small theater, which is 5,535 square feet (514 m²), along with a variety of recreational facilities including a gymnasium, swimming pool, game rooms, locker rooms, and showers.^[2]

The building also houses a library, which is 6,640 square feet (617 m²) and dormitory space, which is 15,970 square feet (1,484 m²).^[2]