Talk of a multipurpose facility or concert hall in Orange County can be traced as far back to 1946, when Catherine Quick, a Santa Ana resident, approached Santa Ana officials about building a music center on surplus military property. Nothing came of the notion and serious interest was slow to develop. In 1954 the Orange County Philharmonic Society was founded to present visiting orchestras, a mission made difficult by the absence of an acoustically adequate hall. In 1965 a group in nearby Fullerton considered building a major performing arts center there, but found the project economically unfeasible. Prospects for a cultural center were also studied for Newport Beach, in 1970, but the studies showed a lack of community financial support for a performing arts center.

The focus swung back to Santa Ana, where the business community leader’s crusade for a music center started up again. A small group of citizens formed a community orchestra with aspirations for creating a multipurpose hall for the performing arts. The orchestra played in the various college and local high school auditoriums. As it was looking for a permanent home and advancing its fund-raising profile, the organization took the name, The Orange County Music Center.

In May 1979, the Orange County Music Center’s new president, Elaine Redfield of Fullerton, who was also a board member of the South Coast Repertory Theatre Company, approached Henry Segerstrom about another possible donation of land. She had been spearheading the search for a site to build a facility for the Orange County Music Center for many years, publicizing nineteen prospective locations, from the University of California at Irvine to a ten-acre gift of land in Orange. None were deemed suitable. Other community leaders agreed that it was finally time for the public to have a world-class performing arts venue. The region’s population had by then grown to almost two million residents, businesses were building their headquarters in Orange County, and major educational institutions were being established.

The South Coast Repertory Theatre Company conducted a study, examining the residential locations of their season ticket purchasers. 50 percent of their audience turned out to live north of the San Diego Freeway and 50 percent lived south. Len Bedsow, once head of the Civic Light Opera in Los Angeles had thoroughly studied his audience and its preferences as well. He determined that 35% of the audience for the Los Angeles opera company came from Orange County. Additionally, three of the county’s existing arts organizations—the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Pacific Symphony, and the Pacific Chorale—needed a concert hall with seating and acoustics appropriate for both their needs and the caliber of their artists. The time seemed right for the creation of such a cultural institution.

Without hesitation, and with great enthusiasm, Henry, his uncle Harold, and his mother Ruth Segerstrom, agreed to donate five prime acres of land adjacent to the South Coast Repertory Theatre as well as to provide a cash gift of one million dollars to launch the effort. The Segerstroms believed that a state-of-the-art performing arts center and the fund-raising campaign that would be required to build it could unite diverse geographic, social, economic, and political constituencies, thus permanently encouraging both a high level of philanthropy and a position of prominence for the arts within the region. The request for land presented an opportunity for the Segerstrom family—which had been part of the community for nearly ninety years—to make a contribution of lasting value, one that would represent the family’s dedication to Orange County for generations.

For Elaine Redfield and her colleagues, accepting the land gift was contingent upon parking availability for the visitors to the performing arts center. Accordingly she requested that the Segerstrom family secure a commitment from the city of Costa Mesa for a parking structure. The Segerstroms agreed and strove to get the city’s cooperation but ultimately it rejected the proposal for a parking structure. In order to justify building a car park for use by audiences of the Performing Arts Center, the city did agree however, to entitlement for the Segerstroms to build an office building sized to support the needs of the Performing Arts Center garage. Ultimately agreement was obtained but the negotiations were lengthy and complex. This entitlement allowed for eventual construction of Center Tower, a 21-story office building.

Henry Segerstrom was asked to take on two roles in the development of the Center: fundraising and leadership, and later serving as the first chairman of the operating entity. In 1980, when plans for the Center were just beginning, Henry agreed to serve as chairman of the trustees. The core of the fundraising efforts revolved around eleven dedicated trustees. Their joint activities were successful in raising funds and securing pledges that ultimately covered the entire cost of the building project by opening night. Henry describes the thrilling moment when he stood before the first audience on that opening evening, as chairman of the trustees to announce to 3,000 people celebrating that evening that the hall was completely paid for. He received a standing ovation.