Over the weekend (Oct. 9), John Legend was back in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio to accept the dedication of a renovated theater that now bears his name.
Now known as The John Legend Theater, the 680-seat performance space started out as Springfield High School, then transitioned to South High School, which closed in 2008 after the school district built a new combined high school. With the help of Legend, the building won an $11.3 million grant to renovate the auditorium, but it wasn’t enough to complete the renovation, so Legend put up $500k of his own money to complete the funding. Speedway, Security National Bank and the Turner and Springfield foundations also donated to the lofty renovation project.
The Springfield News-Sun reports that during the ceremony, Legend cut the ribbon and delivered a heartfelt speech. He also performed “All of Me,” “Love Me Now” and “Save Room For My Love” inside the new theater.
“I have so many fond memories of growing up here,” the Springfield North High School graduate told the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I have so many fond memories of what the arts and creativity meant to me.”
Watch a portion of the ribbon cutting ceremony below:
