Fans of Houston’s performing arts groups have a reason to celebrate. Jones Hall, home to the Houston Symphony and Performing Arts Houston has completed a five-year, $67.5 million renovation project.

Virtually every component of the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts has been enhanced as part of the renovations. Improvements to the performance hall include:

• New seating and additional aisle
• Acoustical improvements including new sidewalls, orchestra shell, and forestage reflector
  
• Refinished stage floor and new grand curtain

In addition, the lobby has been reconfigured, the restrooms have been expanded, and the Green Room has been expanded and relocated. Other changes include a new roof, new elevators, and upgraded HVAC. All of these will benefit both attendees at the dozens of performances the venue hosts every year.

City officials and others attended the ceremony. Courtesy of Houston First

“Jones Hall has been at the center of Houston’s performing arts community for six decades, and this investment ensures it will remain there well into the future,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement. “I’m pleased to see Houstonians come together to help preserve this important arts space.”

The Foundation for Jones Hall and Houston First Corporation teamed up to raise the money necessary to perform the renovations, which have been completed in time for the venue’s 60th anniversary. As CultureMap’s Joel Luks noted in May, the original renovation plan was for a less ambitious, $25 million project. As a result of the more thorough project, “the result is a reimagined Jones Hall with enhanced patron spaces, improved sound quality, updated backstage operations, additional lounges and restrooms, and expanded accommodations for guests with disabilities,” Luks wrote.

“Great cities invest in the institutions and public spaces that bring people together,” said Michael Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First. “Jones Hall has done that for Houston for 60 years. With this transformation complete, we are excited about what the next 60 years will bring.”