Jesse H. Jones Hall

Since the opening in 1966, millions of people have enjoyed countless stage and musical performances at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. Located at 615 Louisiana Street, the building dominates an entire city block with its stunning curved travertine marble façade recessed behind rectangular eight-story columns and grand lighting. The classically elegant interior features a shooting-star sculpture called Gemini II, which hovers just below the lobby ceiling, and pays homage to the performers while acknowledging Houston’s role in space exploration. The auditorium features vibrant red velvet seating, golden teak walls and a sweeping loge that seems to reach for the stage while the ceiling has 800 movable hexagons that can be raised or lowered to regroup volumes, alter the physical and manipulate acoustics. As such, the performance space can shrink from 2,911 seats to 2,300. Brilliant planning by the building architects offers unparalleled versatility, enabling Jones Hall to accommodate several art forms. In 1967, Jones Hall won the American Institute of Architects’ Honor Award, a national award given to only one building each year. Built by the firm of Caudill Rowlett Scott, Jones Hall is a monument to Jesse Holman Jones, a key player in FDR’s cabinet during America’s recovery from the Great Depression. A significant builder of Houston, at one point counting 35 buildings in the skyline, Jones also owned the Houston Chronicle and was influential in the dredging of the Houston Ship Channel.

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