Photos: Henry Segerstrom | 1923-2015

March 31, 1988: Henry Segerstrom on stage at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Feb. 20, 2015 4:32 PM PT

Henry T. Segerstrom, the courtly real estate developer and arts philanthropist who was instrumental in transforming Orange County from a provincial bedroom community into a nexus of culture and commerce, has died. He was 91.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger talks with philanthropist Henry Segerstrom in September 2006 at the dedication of the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Cesar Pelli, left, and benefactor Henry Segerstrom tour the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall during construction in July 2006. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Henry Segerstrom and conductor Carl St. Claire introduce Cesar Pelli’s design for the expansion of the performing arts center in Orange County in 2001. The proposal called for a 2,000-seat concert hall and 500-seat music theater. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

Henry T. Segerstrom, a hands-on developer, personally recruited Nordstrom to open its first Southern California store in Orange County at South Coast Plaza. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Philanthropist Henry T. Segerstrom, left, Mark Chapin Johnson, chairman of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and Jerry E. Mandel, president of the O.C. Performing Arts Center, at a news conference announcing the planned new concert hall in Costa Mesa in 1998. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Henry Sergerstrom, left, and Dr. Henry T. Nicholas lll discuss new donations geared toward the expansion of South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Developer and philanthropist Henry Segerstrom, 87, holds lima beans and a portfolio calendar from the South Coast Plaza, in his Newport Beach home in 2011. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)