Harvey Damage: Wortham Theater Center Closed Until Mid-May 2018 For Repairs

HOUSTON, TX — The notorious Gus S. Wortham Theater Center announced it will be closed for repairs until the middle of May 2018 from damage of Hurricane Harvey, which dumped 50 inches of rain in parts of Houston and filled the basement of Wortham with 12 feet of water. Officials of Wortham Theater project an opening of May 15, 2018 in a best-case scenario.

Those same officials said there doesn't appear to be any structural damage, but water filled the tunnel that connects the theater to the parking garage, and that air handling units and elevators had been impacted.

The Wortham Theater Center was built at the height of the 1980's oil bust and funded entirely by a private sector of more than 3,500 donors contributed $66 million to build a new performing arts mecca amid a period of job losses and recession. There were 2,200 individuals who gave $100 or less.

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The 437,500-square foot facility was completed four months ahead of schedule and $5 million under budget. At the time, it was the first major opera house built in the U.S. in more than 25 years.

According to the theater's website, the building is the legacy of the late Gus S. Wortham, the founder of American General Insurance Company whose foundation contributed $20 million to the capital campaign. The Cullen Foundation and the Brown Foundation donated $7.5 million and $6 million, respectively, in a demonstration of the collective strength of Houston's philanthropic spirit.

The Wortham Center is home to Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera. Since its opening in 1987, Wortham has entertained more than 8 million people.

The facility is also used for extravagant functions like the annual UNICEF Audrey Hepburn Society Ball (pictured above) and more recently lavish Super Bowl parties earlier this year.

Top image: A general view of the dining room at The 2nd Annual UNICEF Audrey Hepburn Society Ball Presented to Robert & Janice McNair at the at Wortham Center Brown Theater on October 14, 2014 in Houston.

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images for U.S. Fund for UNICEF