Kresge Auditorium Kresge Auditorium Kresge Auditorium is an auditorium building for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the noted architect Eero Saarinen, with ground-breaking in 1953 and dedication in 1955. The building was named for its principal funder, Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of S. S. Kresge Stores (corporate predecessor of Kmart) and the Kresge Foundation. Saarinen designed Kresge Auditorium in tandem with his MIT Chapel; the two buildings are separated by a "green," referred to by students as the "Kresge Oval." The ensemble is recognized as one of the best examples of
Barker's Discount Department Stores Barker's Discount Department Stores Barkers Discount Department Stores was a chain of discount department stores founded in May, 1957 by Irving Barker. As one of the first hard goods discounters, and with creative promotions, the initial store, in Orange, Connecticut, grew quickly with a wide variety of products for the home arranged in a supermarket style. This success spawned a second 40,000 sq. ft. location in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1960. The company was sold to Franklin Stores Corporation in 1961, and then grew quickly throughout the Northeast and South Central United States, the Caribbean, and the United States Virgin Islands.