[reaction: see text] The SmI2-promoted coupling reaction of ethyl thiophene-2-carboxylate with aryl ketones (2 equiv), followed by acid-catalyzed dehydration and oxidative aromatization, gave dialkenylthiophenes 1b-d, which underwent electrocyclizations upon irradiation with 300-nm light in CH3CN solution to give the corresponding closed-ring species with absorption lambda(max) approximately 425 nm. The interconversion between dialkenylthiophenes and their corresponding closed-ring species constitutes a novel photochromic system bearing an ester group for potential uses in linkage and wavelength tuning.