--- title: The Story of Town Square - et cetera... description: The ETC lobby, known as Town Square, has become an iconic space for anyone who works at, or visits, ETC Middleton. Here's the story of Town Square... image: https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LDI_lobby-750x500.jpg --- - [ETCCONNECT](https://etcconnect.com/) - [ABOUT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/about) - [AUTHORS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/blog-authors) - [CONTACT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/contact) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/electronic-theatre-controls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.youtube.com/user/ETCVideoLibrary) [![EtCetera_319x104](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/EtCetera_319x104.png?width=319&height=104&name=EtCetera_319x104.png "EtCetera_319x104")](https://blog.etcconnect.com) [![ETC Blog](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/EtCetera_319x104.png?width=319&height=104&name=EtCetera_319x104.png "ETC Blog")](https://blog.etcconnect.com) - [SPOTLIGHT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/spotlight) - [ETC CULTURE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc-culture) - [GEAR](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/gear) - [LEARN](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/learn) - [ODDS & ENDS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/odds-ends) - [BRIGHT IDEAS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/bright-ideas) Search ## [![blog-header](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-header.png?width=476&height=155&name=blog-header.png "blog-header")](https://www.etcconnect.com) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ElectronicTheatreControls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/electronic-theatre-controls) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.youtube.com/user/ETCVideoLibrary) [✕](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/01/town-square-story#gwen-offcanvas-primary) - [SPOTLIGHT](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/spotlight) - [ETC CULTURE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc-culture) - [GEAR](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/gear) - [LEARN](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/learn) - [ODDS & ENDS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/odds-ends) - [BRIGHT IDEAS](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/bright-ideas) # The story of Town Square ![Rachel Frederick](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/rachel-author.png?width=34&height=34&name=rachel-author.png)By [Rachel Frederick](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/rachel-frederick) 3 Jan 2017 ![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LDI_lobby-750x500.jpg)   When ETC’s headquarters building opened in Middleton, Wisconsin in April of 2004, Fred Foster, ETC CEO, wanted to create a space where everyone would feel comfortable gathering together. The lobby, known as Town Square, is exactly that. It was designed and manufactured by Foster and has become an iconic space for anyone who works at, or visits, ETC Middleton. ETC’s reception desk is known to occasionally baffle visitors when they walk into the lobby for the first time. After all, you won’t find a standard reception desk waiting to greet you, but instead a full-scale replica of the famous 1942 Edward Hopper painting, *Nighthawks*. ![nighthawks_by_edward_hopper_1942](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942.jpg?width=800&height=437&name=Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942.jpg) The original painting is owned and displayed by the Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL. ![ETC Town Square Nighthawks](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Nighthawks-scene-Grand-opening-04-1024x768.jpg?width=750&height=563&name=Nighthawks-scene-Grand-opening-04-1024x768.jpg) ETC employees recreated the painting for the grand opening reception The majority of the walls in Town Square were built using expanded metal mesh panels which function as scrims, letting the light shine through to the office spaces behind them. They were painted by professional scenic artists and include a number of details taken from other Edward Hopper paintings. A number of additional stagecraft techniques are used throughout the space – from the fiberboard and stucco 3D details on the first level, to the Formica “marble” in the entry way. The entrances to several ETC departments are masked by faux storefronts and named for people who have been influential in the history of ETC. - The HR front is the Richard Kelly Insurance Agency, named in honor of Richard Kelly who sold us our first corporate insurance policy for employee benefits. ![ETC_HR_Front](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/HR-001-1024x681.jpg?width=750&height=499&name=HR-001-1024x681.jpg) - PS 8 is a large meeting and training room, named for public school #8 in New York City, which the VP of research and development attended as a child. - Century Theater is the other large training space accessed from Town Square and was designed as a black box theater. It’s complete with movie marquee, show posters promoting ETC products, and a constant light show. It’s named in honor of Century Lighting Company, a prominent firm in the early days of our industry. - The Empire State Building is the front of Fred’s office – complete with balcony, [King Kong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong), [Fay Wray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Wray), and a small plane. ![ETC_Freds_Office](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_1772-768x1024.jpg?width=750&height=1000&name=IMG_1772-768x1024.jpg) One of the most memorable times of the year at ETC is Christmas. The entire Town Square area is transformed. Giant swags, lights, trees, and fake snow are added. Santa waves from a chimney atop the apartments… ![ETC_Christmas_Town_Square](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Town-Square-2010_2.jpg?width=541&height=360&name=Town-Square-2010_2.jpg) …the street lamps get wreaths and bows, and carolers come to sing. It truly is a winter wonderland. ![ETC_Town_Square_Caroling](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/carolingTS-768x1024.jpg?width=750&height=1000&name=carolingTS-768x1024.jpg) Watch the extended-cut time-lapse video of the holiday decorating that happens each year in Town Square.     Other events in Town Square include company meetings… ![ETC_company_meeting_2008](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Company-meeting-1-31-08-crowd-1024x681.jpg?width=750&height=499&name=Company-meeting-1-31-08-crowd-1024x681.jpg) Fund raisers… ![fred-balcony-tour-rep-night-6-2-07](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Fred-balcony-tour-Rep-Night-6-2-07-681x1024.jpg?width=681&height=1024&name=Fred-balcony-tour-Rep-Night-6-2-07-681x1024.jpg) …and the very rare wedding reception. ![ETC_wedding](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DSCN3159-1024x768.jpg?width=750&height=563&name=DSCN3159-1024x768.jpg) From company picnics, to benefit dinners, Town Square really has become the community gathering place it was intended to be. - - - 0 [#TOWN SQUARE](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/town-square) [#Holidays](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/holidays) [#Edward Hopper](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/edward-hopper) [#Nighthawks](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/nighthawks) [#Community](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/community) [#ETC Culture](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc-culture) ### Innovation at our core [Previous article](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/01/innovation-at-our-core) ### Blog Authors [Next article](https://blog.etcconnect.com/blog-authors) [Rachel Frederick](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/rachel-frederick) ![Rachel Frederick](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hs-fs/hubfs/rachel-author.png?width=180&height=180&name=rachel-author.png) Rachel has worked with ETC since 2007. She takes advantage of the limited warm months in Wisconsin by participating in outdoor activities like camping, paddle boarding, kayaking, and riding waterslides. She has several gardens that she swears she’ll be able to keep up with someday. And she enjoys stretchy things like new socks, yoga, and taffy. She writes a lot, she reads a lot and she plays with her kids a lot. #### You may also like [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Fixtures-from-third-floor1-750x500.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/08/town-square-led-makeover) [incandescent](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/incandescent) ### [Town Square gets an LED makeover](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/08/town-square-led-makeover) By [Rachel Frederick](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/rachel-frederick) 22-Aug-2017 Until the fall of 2016, ETC’s Town Square was lit using 251 conventional fixtures. With the shift in lighting fixture technology, it was only a matter of time before the entire space would be... [Read More](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/08/town-square-led-makeover) [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ETC-Town-Square-fish-eye-750x500.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/04/secrets-etcs-town-square) [ETC](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/etc) ### [Secrets of ETC’s Town Square](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/04/secrets-etcs-town-square) By [Quinn Wirth](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/quinn-buchanan) 30-Apr-2018 Walk into ETC’s Middleton headquarters and the first feature that will catch your eye is our marquee. Designed to emulate a theatrical city street, ETC’s [Town Square](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/01/town-square-story) provides a spectacular space to... [Read More](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/04/secrets-etcs-town-square) [![](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/RCLurie-Lobby-PhotobyKevinKorczyk-1200px-750x500.jpg)](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/08/rc-lurie-outfits-new-hq-with-etc-controls) [Architectural control](https://blog.etcconnect.com/tag/architectural-control) ### [RC Lurie outfits new HQ with ETC controls](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/08/rc-lurie-outfits-new-hq-with-etc-controls) By [Marshall Bissett](https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/marshall-bissett) 22-Aug-2018 Most dealers and rep companies have offices, a storage area, and a small demo room to show off the products they represent.  Arizona ETC sales representative [RC Lurie](https://www.rclurie.com) flipped that dynamic... [Read More](https://blog.etcconnect.com/2018/08/rc-lurie-outfits-new-hq-with-etc-controls) - [ETCCONNECT](https://etcconnect.com/) - [About](https://blog.etcconnect.com/about) - [Authors](https://blog.etcconnect.com/blog-authors) - [Links](https://blog.etcconnect.com/links) - [Contact us](https://blog.etcconnect.com/contact) [Privacy Policy & Legal Notices](https://www.etcconnect.com/Privacy-Policy-Terms-of-Use-and-Acceptable-Use.aspx) [CA Transparency Act & Transparency in Coverage](https://www.etcconnect.com/About/California-Supply-Chain-Transparency-Act.aspx) [Do Not Share My Personal Info](https://www.etcconnect.com/Do-Not-Share-My-Personal-Info/) [CA Privacy Rights](https://www.etcconnect.com/CA-Privacy-Rights/) ![ETC blog](https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/ETC-logo_footer-wh.png)   ![ETC 50 anniversary](https://www.etcconnect.com/uploadedimages/Main_Site/Images/50yr_160x80.png "ETC 50 anniversary") [![ETC social networks](https://www.etcconnect.com/uploadedFiles/Main_Site/Images/social_Footer.png "ETC social networks")](https://www.etcconnect.com/Get-connected.aspx) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rachel Frederick", "url" : "https://blog.etcconnect.com/author/rachel-frederick" }, "dateModified" : "2022-11-02T19:29:09.841Z", "datePublished" : "2017-01-03T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "The Story of Town Square - et cetera...", "image" : [ "https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LDI_lobby-750x500.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.etcconnect.com/2017/01/town-square-story", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.etcconnect.com/hubfs/Logos%20-%20Icons%20-%20Design%20Elements/ETC_4c.png" }, "name" : "ETC" } } ```