Front entrance to Cullen Performance Hall | |
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Location | 4800 Calhoun Road Houston, Texas United States |
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Owner | University of Houston |
Type | Proscenium theatre |
Seating type | Reserved |
Capacity | 1,544 |
Construction | |
Opened | October 31, 1950 |
Renovated | 1988 |
Construction cost | $5.5 million USD |
Website | |
Cullen Performance Hall |
Cullen Performance Hall is a concert hall located on the campus of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. The hall, comprising the eastern half of the E. Cullen Building, was named in honor of Ezekiel W. Cullen, a former congressman for the Republic of Texas. The facility seats 1,544, and hosts music, opera, dance, theatrical events, and public lectures. Opening in 1950, the facility was designed by Alfred C. Finn.
On March 21, 1945, the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building along with Cullen Performance Hall was announced. [1] Construction of Cullen Performance Hall was part of a large expansion to the University of Houston's permanent buildings on campus that took place starting on May 10, 1948. The hall originally sat 1,680, and was intended to host similar events as the Houston Music Hall which was the main music venue for the city at the time. [2] The hall was named in honor of Ezekiel W. Cullen, a congressman for the Republic of Texas, and the grandfather of then University of Houston Regent Hugh Roy Cullen who was the principal donor to the project.
The university hired native Houston architect Alfred C. Finn to design the building. [3] In order to give the building a classical look, Finn designed the building with long wings and regularly spaced pilasters.
The dedication of the Cullen Performance Hall was held in conjunction with the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building on Halloween of 1950. [4] For the dedication, conductor Efrem Kurtz directed the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and H.R. Cullen gave a speech.
In 1988, the facility received complete renovations. [5]
Artists who have appeared at Cullen Performance Hall include Depeche Mode, [6] The Smiths, [7] Los Lobos, [8] Tori Amos, [9] Dead Can Dance, [10] Tracy Chapman, [11] Kronos Quartet, [12] Djavan, [13] Rick Braun, [14] Jonathan Butler, [14] Richard Elliot, [14] Peter White, [14] Cyndi Lauper, [15] The Clash, [16] and the Ramones. [17]
Rapper and political activist Chuck D spoke at a public lecture at Cullen Performance Hall in 2006. [18] Filmmaker Charles Burnett discussed his 1978 film Killer of Sheep there in 2008, [19] while Spike Lee spoke there in 2004. [20] Nobel laureates James D. Watson and Eric Kandel lectured at the hall in 2007, and were moderated by Ferid Murad. [21] Also in 2007, inventor and futurist Raymond Kurzweil presented UH's 2007 Farfel Distinguished Lecture at the location. [22] Academic scholar Cornel West lectured on race relations as a guest of the university's Graduate College of Social Work in 2005. [23]
ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from outside of the Cullen Performance Hall when they came to the University of Houston campus to cover the #8 Houston team compete against SMU from November 18–19, 2011. [24]
The University of Houston is a public research university in Houston, Texas. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, one of multiple junior college institutions formed in the first quarter of the 20th century. In 1934, HJC was restructured as a four-year degree-granting institution and renamed as the University of Houston. Today, Houston is the third-largest university in Texas, awarding nearly 11,000 degrees annually adding to its worldwide alumni base of approximately 310,000.
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The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instructor of the university and former head football coach, John R. Bender after one of his former teams, Washington State later adopted the mascot and nickname. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference.
The University of Houston–Victoria (UHV) is a public university in Victoria, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 20 acres (8.1 ha) in Victoria with a satellite location at UHV Katy. Founded in 1971, UHV has an enrollment of over 4,300 students.
Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas.
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The Cullen College of Engineering, one of twelve academic colleges at the University of Houston, was established in 1941 and is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. More than 5,000 students are enrolled in engineering courses—3,759 undergraduates, 1,312 master's and doctoral students. The Cullen College offers degree programs in biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, mechanical, subsea and petroleum engineering, with specialty programs in materials, and computer and systems engineering. The college's master's program in subsea engineering is the first of its kind in the United States. Its chemical and mechanical engineering programs have ranked among the top programs nationally.
Renu Khator is the fifth chancellor of the University of Houston System and the thirteenth president of the University of Houston. In 2008, she became the first female chancellor in the state of Texas and the first Indian immigrant to lead a comprehensive research university in the U.S.
The University of Houston Libraries serves University of Houston (UH) students, faculty, staff and the scholarly community. The MD Anderson Library is the general collection library of the University of Houston. The UH Libraries includes three additional locations, all on the UH campus. Two other libraries, the Conrad N. Hilton Library and Archives and the John O'Quinn Law Library, are managed and maintained by their home colleges. Through a collaboration among libraries, students and faculty of the University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL), the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), and the University of Houston–Victoria have the ability to check out circulating volumes.
The Roy G. Cullen Building is the oldest building on the present-day campus of the University of Houston. It is believed to be the first building on a campus of higher education in the United States with air conditioning. Construction for the building began in 1938, and was completed the following year.
Alfred Charles Finn was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. His credits during his tenure residential structures, but firm was a leader in steel-frame construction of skyscrapers.
The Ezekiel W. Cullen Building, usually shortened in pronunciation as the E. Cullen Building, is a building that serves as the administrative headquarters of the University of Houston and the University of Houston System. It is named in honor of Ezekiel Wimberly Cullen, a former congressman of the Republic of Texas, and grandfather of building financier Hugh Roy Cullen. The building was designed by Texas architect Alfred C. Finn in the Art Deco style, and opened in 1950.
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