QUICK REFERENCE FACTS
Wortham Harvey facts:
August 27, 2017 water from Hurricane Harvey filled the basement of the Wortham. Some flood water also reached other parts of the venue, and flood water filled the Theater District underground parking garages, including the tunnel between the garages and the Wortham.
GALLONS OF WATER IN UNDERGROUND THEATER DISTRICT PARKING GARAGE
- 270 million gallons of water filled underground garages and tunnel connected to Wortham
FLOOD WATER IN WORTHAM
- 12 feet of water filled Wortham basement
- About 3 inches of water entered the Texas lobby of the Wortham
- Several inches of water entered the Brown Theater from the street and from Buffalo Bayou reaching parts of the stage, carpeting, walls of the theater and filling the orchestra pit.
- Water reached the two side aisles of the Cullen Theater, but did not reach the stage or seating.
DAMAGES
- One-third of 60 air-handling units damaged.
- Mechanical equipment; electrical, plumbing and elevator systems below ground floor suffered extensive damage.
- Opera & Ballet performance and rehearsal spaces, costume shops, and storage, all located in the basement, all destroyed.
- Brown Theater – flood water reached parts of the stage, so the flooring had to be replaced; no seats were damaged.
- Cullen Theater – the stage was not impacted, but a few inches of flood water did come down two side aisles, so carpet and sections of plaster walls had to be replaced. Seats were not damaged, but were replaced as part of already planned upkeep and maintenance.
RESTORATION & RECONSTRUCTION
- Gilbane & its subcontractors responsible for initial recovery and restoration; pumping out water, preserving integrity of building
- Manhattan & its subcontractors responsible for reconstruction, renovation of building • Turner is Project Manager
- HKA & ARUP are project design teams
COSTS OF HARVEY DAMAGES
- Estimated $100 million (Does not include recovery costs in underground garages or mitigation)
NUMBER OF EVENTS & PERFORMANCES RELOCATED/RESCHEDULED/CANCELLED
- 229
NUMBER OF TICKETS REFUNDED
- More than 3,000 tickets refunded that had already gone on sale to 17 performances
LAST EVENT/PERFORMANCE BEFORE CLOSING DUE TO HARVEY
- Mayor’s Jazz Brunch, Sunday August 13, 2017 in Grand Foyer
- Dave Koz concert, Sunday, July 23, 2017 in Brown Theater
- The Gongoliers, Sunday, July 23, 2017 in Cullen Theater
FIRST PERFORMANCE AFTER REOPENING
- The Houston Grand Opera presents world-renowned tenor, Placido Domingo, Wednesday, September 26, 2018
WORTHAM CENTER FACTS:
- YEAR WORTHAM BUILT • 987
- NUMBER OF THEATER SEATS
- Brown – 2400
- Cullen – 1100
- SIZE OF WORTHAM • 38,000 square feet
- COSTS TO BUILD WORTHAM • $66 million
- RESIDENT COMPANIES • Houston Ballet • Houston Grand Opera
- HOME TO OTHER PERFORMING ARTS GROUPS & PRODUCTIONS • DaCamera • Mercury • Society of Performing Arts • Number of other entertainment and production groups
