Cultural Activities Center

Organized in 1958, the Cultural Activities Center (CAC) in Temple is among the oldest multi-disciplinary arts organizations in Texas. During the 1950s, there was a national upsurge in the arts, which coincided with Temple’s post-war population growth and community history of support for the arts. Among the women responsible for starting the center was Nora Lee Wendland (1896-1988), president of the City Federation of Women’s Clubs and a classically trained violinist. She envisioned a “festival of the arts” and established a Cultural Arts Committee, which organized the first festival in April 1958. The committee expanded that year and began working with citizens and local groups to organize programs for Temple. The seven original groups were the Youth Activity Center (Children’s Library and Employment Agency), Old Central Players, the League of Contemporary Arts, the Artisans’ Guild, the Temple Camera Club, the Community Chorus, and the Temple Civic Orchestra. The CAC was housed in a variety of locations, including a former church building from 1965-77, and its replacement, the Azalee Marshall Cultural Activities Center, which was dedicated in 1978. The contemporaries, the CAC’s service organization, largely operated outside of the organization’s building, visiting schools where members staged arts programs. As a groundbreaking institution, the CAC became a model for similar centers in other communities. It also spun off the Temple Civic Theatre and the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum. Today, the Cultural Activities Center remains at the forefront of artistic activities in Temple and throughout Bell County.

Cultural Activities Center is a historical marker in Temple, Bell County, dedicated in 2010. It is one of 226 historical markers documented in Bell County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 411 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.1252, -97.3330 near Temple. The nearest cataloged historic site is New Hope (cemetery), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Hillcrest Cemetery, White, Jr., Raleigh R., M.D., and George Valter Brindley, Sr., M.D..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016437. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.