In the Spirit of Our Times : The Disney family’s gifts represent an investment in the future of Los Angeles.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall and its surrounding public spaces as conceived by Frank Gehry brilliantly reflect the bold and imaginative spirit that characterizes the City of Los Angeles as it approaches the 21st Century. Disney Hall’s location at the heart of downtown is highly appropriate if not critical, for it is at the hub of this sprawling and fragmented metropolis that its many diverse communities can potentially come together. It is provocative, yet welcoming and profoundly accessible, with outdoor terraces, gardens and pocket parks laced throughout the site. As has been so aptly observed, one won’t need a ticket to enjoy them.

Twenty-eight years ago, the Music Center opened with an ambitious mission: to bring the best in performing arts to all Southern Californians. In its three distinct buildings--the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre--millions have witnessed the most creative talents of our time, and many were introduced for the first time to the magic of artistic expression. But as our city has changed, so should our cultural facilities.

Thus in 1987, when Lillian B. Disney bestowed her extraordinary gift of $50 million to build a concert hall in celebration of her late husband, the timing could not have been more fortuitous. The Los Angeles Philharmonic shares space at the Chandler Pavilion with the Los Angeles Opera, the Master Chorale and various touring companies, meaning none has adequate rehearsal and performance time. As one of the world’s highly acclaimed orchestras, the Philharmonic deserves a home acoustically tailored for symphonic performance.

Despite the addition of a new building to the Music Center complex, the greater efficiency and flexibility in programming is actually expected to reduce the operating costs for both the Chandler and Disney halls. More important, new opportunities will become available for music, theater and dance groups from throughout the community, as well as renowned international artists, to perform. Disney Hall will thereby enhance the Music Center’s capacity to express and celebrate our community’s rich cultural heritage.

Mrs. Disney’s enabling gift has been generously augmented by an additional $17.5 million from the Walt Disney family. With interest, these funds now total approximately $93.5 million. The Music Center has committed to raising the balance of $17.5 million, bringing the total private-sector contribution to $111 million. The County of Los Angeles will finance $110 million for the garage construction and roadwork with a bond issue. All money from the 2,500-car garage will go directly to benefit the county budget. In addition, nearly 1,000 new construction jobs will be created and future employment will result from the operation of the new hall.

Although Mrs. Disney presented her gift to the Music Center several years before the distressing upheavals in Los Angeles last spring, the Disney family and I believe this project can play a vital role in the rebuilding process. Walt Disney Concert Hall represents a stroke of faith and confidence in the city’s future and in the ability of the arts to heal and strengthen community spirit.

Disney Hall represents an investment in the civic, economic and cultural life of the city. Walt Disney’s populist ethos permeates this project much as it does the theme parks and multifaceted entertainment empire that bear his name. As his daughter, Diane Disney Miller, expressed at the groundbreaking: “Our father came here from the Midwest full of curiosity and big dreams. He was a humble man, but not a timid one. He made his dreams come true because he believed in them and because he fought for them.”

Los Angeles, too, must fight for its dreams--for the vision of a culturally diverse population freely drawing inspiration and vitality from those public institutions that have come to define our civilization. Our city deserves the most imaginative and embracing environments that can be created to nurture mind, body and soul. The Walt Disney Concert Hall will surely be such a place.