The Maliotis Cultural Center was built and donated to Hellenic College in 1976 by the late Costas and Mary Maliotis of Belmont, Massachusetts. It operates, however, independently of the College.

Costas Maliotis and Mary Tamiolakis immigrated separately to the United States in 1912 from villages in central Crete. They met in Boston in 1920 and married in 1921. Costas founded and operated the Lehigh Metal Products Corporation, the Freetown Screw Manufacturing Company, the Eastern Fasteners Corporation and the Lehigh Investment Trust. Mary died in 1980 and Costas in 1981.

The Center has been supported mainly by grants from private foundations, donations from individuals and community organizations, corporate sponsorships and revenue from the Center’s activities and endowment. The Costas and Mary Maliotis Charitable Foundation, which was established by the Maliotises and became operational in 1981, has been a major source of the Center’s financial support.