page_title: Architecture of Houston
section_title: Theater District
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Houston / Landmarks and monuments / Theater District
caption_attribution_description: English: Alley Theatre, designed by architect Ulrich Franzen
context_page_description: The architecture of Houston includes a wide variety of award-winning and historic examples located in various areas of the city of Houston, Texas. From early in its history to current times, the city inspired innovative and challenging building design and construction, as it quickly grew into an internationally recognized commercial and industrial hub of Texas and the United States.
  Some of Houston's oldest and most distinctive architecture is found downtown, as the city grew around Allen's Landing and the Market Square historic district. During the middle and late century, Downtown Houston was a modest collection of mid-rise office structures, but has since grown into the third largest skyline in the United States. The Uptown District experienced rapid growth along with Houston during the 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1990s Uptown Houston saw construction of many mid and high-rise residential buildings. The Uptown District is also home to other structures designed by architects such as I. M. Pei, César Pelli and Philip Johnson.
context_section_description: The Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, commonly known as Jones Hall, is a performance venue in Houston and the permanent home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Society for the Performing Arts.  Completed in October 1966 at the cost of $7.4 million, it was designed by the Houston-based architectural firm Caudill Rowlett Scott. The hall, which takes up a city block, has a white Italian marble exterior with eight-story tall columns. The lobby is dominated by a 60-foot (18 m) high ceiling with a massive hanging bronze sculpture by Richard Lippold entitled "Gemini II." The ceiling of the concert hall consists of 800 hexagonal segments that can be raised or lowered to change the acoustics of the hall. The building won the 1967 American Institute of Architects' Honor Award, which is bestowed on only one building annually.
  The present Alley Theatre building opened in November 1968 and contains two stages. The main stage has 824 seats and is called the "Hubbard"; the more intimate, 310-seat stage, is the "Neuhaus." Outside, there are nine towers and open-air terraces. Inside, a staircase spirals from the entrance vestibule to the second-floor lobby. The theatre was constructed in a large part by a $1.4 million grant from the Ford Foundation to support innovative theater architecture, and the prime architect on the project was Ulrich Franzen.
  The Wortham Theater Center is a performing arts center that officially opened in Houston on May 9, 1987. The Center was designed by Eugene Aubry of Morris-Aubry Architects and built entirely with $66 million in private funds. The Brown Theater, with 2,423 seats, is named for donors Alice and George Brown. It is used primarily for opera and large ballet productions. The Cullen Theater, with 1,100 seats, is named for donors Lillie and Roy Cullen. It is used for smaller ballet productions and other events. The Wortham's signature arching entryway is made of glass and stands 88 feet (27 m) tall. The grand staircase (which is actually a bank of escalators) is surrounded by a site-specific art piece created by New York sculptor Albert Paley.
  The Lyric Centre sits in the heart of the Theater District, just across the street from the Wortham Center and adjacent to the Alley Theatre. The black-and-white striped office building houses dozens of law firms, but the block on which the tower sits is perhaps best known for the giant cellist playing outside. It is the work of sculptor David Adickes, who also created the statue of Sam Houston outside Huntsville, Texas.
  The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a relatively new addition to the Theatre District. It was designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern and completed in 2002, providing two theaters specifically for theater and musical performances. Sarofim Hall, a 2,600-seat theater acoustically designed for touring Broadway productions, is home to "Theatre Under the Stars." Zilkha Hall, an intimate 500-seat venue with full orchestra pit, showcases smaller touring groups.
caption: The Alley Theatre
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