The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, was built in 1930 by Dotha Bushnell Hillyer as a "living memorial" to her father, the Reverend Dr. Horace Bushnell (1802–1876), a Hartford minister, theologian, philosopher and civic leader.
The center, which seats 2800, was designed by the architectural firm of Corbett, Harrison and MacMurray, designers of New York's Radio City Music Hall. It was built with a traditional Georgian Revival exterior and rich Art Deco interior. Drama, the largest hand-painted ceiling mural of its type in the United States, is suspended from the Hall's roof by numerous metal supports. Painted by Barry Faulkner, the painting cost $50,000 to create in 1929.
A new 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) facility, built adjacent to the current Mortensen Hall, opened in November 2001 and includes the 907-seat Maxwell M. and Ruth R. Belding Theater as well as a cafe, a gift shop, classroom space and more rest rooms. In addition, there are private dining and entertainment suites and reception spaces.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra performs at the center on a regular basis.