Wortham Center
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| Address | 501 Texas Avenue Houston, Texas United States |
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| Coordinates | 29°45′48″N 95°21′56″W / 29.76333°N 95.36556°WCoordinates: 29°45′48″N 95°21′56″W / 29.76333°N 95.36556°W |
| Owner | City of Houston |
| Operator | Houston First Corporation |
| Type | Performing arts center |
| Capacity | Brown: 2,405 Cullen: 1,100 |
| Opened | May 5, 1987 |
| Website | |
| www.houstonfirsttheaters.com | |
The Wortham Theater Center is a performing arts center located in downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The Wortham was designed by Eugene Aubry of Morris Architects and built entirely with $66 million in private funds. The City of Houston owns the theater, and the Houston First Corporation operates the facility.[1]
It officially opened on May 9, 1987, with one of the inaugural performances being a modern dance program, Tango Argentino, in the Brown Theater and Robert Wilson and David Byrne's The Knee Plays, presented by the Society for the Performing Arts in the Cullen Theater.
A significant portion of the funding, needed to build the center, came from the estate of the late Gus Wortham (1891–1976), a local philanthropist and founder of American General Insurance Company. The Wortham Foundation contributed $20 million for the construction of the new Theater Center, which was named for him. In spite of the late 1980s banking and oil recession, more than 3,500 donors committed funds for the new facility in a major community effort with nearly 2,200 individuals donating $100 or less to the capital campaign. Additionally, the Cullen Foundation contributed $7.5 million, and the Brown Foundation gave $6 million to the building fund.
The Houston Ballet began its first season on September 2, 1987, with Janie Parker and Li Cunxin starring in the world premiere of Ben Stevenson's new production of Romeo and Juliet. This was followed by Houston Grand Opera's first season, on October 15, 1987 with Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni in a new production of Verdi's Aida.
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