By Christina Adams
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Henry Segerstrom and others to cut the ribbon on the $200 million Ren & #233;e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa on Thursday.
Schwarzenegger called the glowing glass structure “stupendous” and that “nothing, not even the Sydney Opera house,” comes close to it.
“Everything you touch turns to gold,” he told major donor and Orange County Performing Arts Center founder Segerstrom, who shared the stage along with opening gala chairperson and wife Elizabeth, among others.
The governor cut a curling red ribbon after a three-trumpet fanfare he pretended to conduct with one hand, officially opening the concert hall.
“Welcome to my new office,” Pacific Symphony Director Carl St. Clair said to the audience, which included Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, as well as mayors, city council members and a bevy of city planners.
Segerstrom, taciturn but smiling, stated, “It all started with the land,” and gave a short history of his family’s lima bean operations in the area that became South Coast Plaza, office buildings and the performing arts center.
The concert hall is “a real amenity to the area,” said David Grant, general manager of South Coast Plaza.
