Enriching O.C.’s Cultural Life

More than a decade ago, Henry T. Segerstrom’s company donated the land that is now home to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Segerstrom also launched the campaign for money to build the center with a $6-million donation.

Now the Segerstrom family again has stepped forward, tentatively agreeing to donate a 7-acre parcel in Costa Mesa, near the Performing Arts Center, for an expansion of the arts venue. Estimated worth of the 7 acres: $16 million.

The Performing Arts Center consists of 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and 300-seat Founders Hall. Across the street is the South Coast Repertory Theatre, making the area the county’s unofficial theater district.

For years, operas, concerts and plays have filled the structures with the panoply of human emotions. They also have filled a void in Orange County, a full-fledged cultural center.

A remarkable aspect of the Performing Arts Center was its financing with $70 million in private donations. Some corporations donated large sums of money; some individual donors gave $5. Soon after the center opened, discussions started on expansion. The added Segerstrom land will house another concert hall and a museum if all goes as planned.

The expansion is projected to cost $100 million. Once again Orange County residents and businesses will be asked to open their checkbooks. But $100 million is such a large amount to be raised that there are questions about how long it will take before new buildings become reality.

Still, there is no doubt that groups such as the Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Opera Pacific would be able to put the new concert hall to good use.

A museum would offer many possibilities as well. The Performing Arts Center’s chairman, Mark Chapin Johnson, promises it will be a world-class facility. There are a number of museums in the county now, but another would be a definite asset.

After years of recession and the county’s bankruptcy, there has been a rebound of late. Economists predict better times in the years ahead. Developers are back with exuberant talk of new buildings and eager buyers. An expanded Performing Arts Center would be welcome evidence that the county’s cultural life is keeping pace with its economic progress.