The Houston Theater District, a 17-block area in the heart of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, is home to Houston's nine professional

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...

organizations, the

Bayou Place Bayou Place is a 130,000 square foot entertainment complex that houses multiple theaters, bars, and restaurants located in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex was the former Albert Thomas convention center located in the Houston T ...

entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks. More than two million people visit the Houston Theater District annually.

Rankings and recognition

The district, with 19,341 seats for live performances and 1,580 movie seats and is one of only five American cities with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines: the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the

Houston Ballet Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year. History Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967) Houston d ...

, Theatre Under the Stars and

The Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

. Houston is recognized as an important city for contemporary

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

. The city is a prime stop for touring companies from

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

; concerts and shows, from

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...

; and exhibitions for a variety of interests, ranging from the nation's largest quilting show to auto, boat, and home shows. The

is the only opera company in the U.S. to win a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, a Tony, and an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. In 2007, Da Camera of Houston was awarded the CMAcclaim Award from Chamber Music America, for significant contribution to the cultural life of its region. The

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

winning

Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

, founded in 1947, is Texas’ oldest professional theatre company. The Alley is the third oldest continually operating theatre in the United States. It is considered to be one of the foremost theatre companies in the United States outside of New York City and was a pioneering company of the regional theatre movement.

Venues

**Hubbard Stage **Neuhaus Stage *

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a theater in Houston, Texas, United States. Opened to the public in 2002, the theater is located downtown on the edge of the Houston Theater District. Hobby Center features glass walls with views ...

**Sarofim Hall **Zilkha Hall *

Jones Hall The Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Jones Hall) is a performance venue in Houston, Texas, and the permanent home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. Jones Hall is also frequently r ...

Wortham Theater Center The Wortham Theater Center is a performing arts center located in downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The Wortham Theater Center, designed by Eugene Aubry of Morris Architects, was built out of private funds totaling over $66 Million. The ...

** Brown Theater ** Cullen Theater

Attractions

One of the several attractions in the district is the Bayou Place Entertainment Complex—a large multilevel building that is home to full-service restaurants, bars, live music,

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

, multiple theaters, and art house films. The Revention Music Center - Formerly Houston Bayou Music Center and the Verizon Wireless Theatre- stages a variety of live

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s, and the undance Theatre - Formerly the Angelika Theatrepresents the latest in art, foreign, and

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

History

Early venues in the district were the

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

and the Houston Music Hall.

Parks

Jones Plaza is in the district; it will be renamed Lynn Wyatt Square For The Performing Arts after Lynn Wyatt, in 2019, gave $10 million for a renovation.

Transportation

The district is served by

METRORail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

light rail service at Theater District Station.

References

External links

Theater District Houston

Alley Theatre

Da Camera of Houston

Theatre Port
{{Downtown Houston Geography of Houston Culture of Houston Economy of Houston Theatre in Texas Tourist attractions in Houston Downtown Houston