[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 166 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MILLER OUTDOOR THEATRE: 95 YEARS AND COUNTING

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Miller Outdoor Theatre is 
celebrating 95 years in Herman Park. The Miller Outdoor Theatre got its 
start in 1923, and continues to be one of Houston's most treasured 
venues. Located right in the heart of the City of Houston, it provides 
folks a place to enjoy the performing arts. And it is always free.
  Miller is a unique treasure to Houstonians and it is dedicated to 
bringing the arts alive for audiences for over 95 years: classical 
music, jazz, ethnic music and dance, ballet, Shakespeare, musical 
theatre, popular concert artists, films and more.
  The theatre has boasted the Summer Symphony Series, Shakespeare 
Festival, Theatre Under the Stars ``Bells are Ringing'', and even 
presidential candidate Richard Nixon campaigned on stage.
  The original theatre was an open amphitheater surrounded by twenty 
Corinthian-style limestone columns built on land that was given and 
sold by the Miller estate. Cotton broker and mining engineer, Jesse 
Wright Miller, originally left the land to the City in 1919. Mayor 
Oscar Holcombe and his council members should be commended for their 
vision towards this project.
  In the 1960s, the City of Houston built a new theatre that consisted 
of three triangular plates of Corten steel and an air condition to cool 
the stage. Did I mention it is hot in Texas! The original 1920s columns 
were moved to the Mecom-Rockwell Colonnade Fountain between Fannin and 
San Jacinto at Hermann Drive.
  The Miller received another face lift in the late 1990s. A 6 million 
dollar expansion and renovation planned and funded by the City of 
Houston and Friends of Hermann Park. A new roof, additional restrooms 
and office areas were added. They built a small stage at the east end 
of the facility. The refurbished theatre reopened in 1998.
  The Miller's newest upgrades and additions occurred through the 
2000s. New seating, lighting, and landscaping greatly enhance the 
educational and outreach capacities of the theatre. The Miller can 
accommodate about 6,200 spectators, with over 1,705 seats and over 
4,500 on the grassy hill.
  While so much has grown and changed over the years, I still remember 
my children visiting the Miller Outdoor Theatre on school field trips. 
It was very popular with the Poe kids. The day always included a 
musical production or play, a picnic lunch, and a roll down Miller's 
``hill''. By the way, Miller's ``hill'' was created with dirt from 
Fannin Street excavations. In 2008, the iconic hill was regraded and 
raised.
  There is a plaque that was erected at the theatre's dedication that 
read: ``To the Arts of Music, Poetry, Drama and Oratory, by which the 
striving spirit of man seeks to interpret the words of God. This 
theatre of the City of Houston is permanently dedicated.'' These words 
still ring true today.
  Through its mission statement and commitment to the arts in Houston, 
the Miller Outdoor Theatre has proven to be a pillar to the citizens of 
Houston. I congratulate them on their 95th season and commend them for 
continuing to contribute to Houston's vibrant arts community.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________