Businessman to donate $8 million to new cultural center

(For the Chronicle/Gary Fountain, January 25, 2012) Chairs Bobbie and John Nau. (For the Chronicle/Gary Fountain, January 25, 2012) Chairs Bobbie and John Nau. Photo: Gary Fountain Photo: Gary Fountain Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Businessman to donate $8 million to new cultural center 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Calling it "the first penny in the bank," Houston businessman John Nau announced Thursday he is contributing $8 million toward a center for Southeast Texas history across the street from Minute Maid Park.

He said he will be hitting up friends to raise an additional $32 million for the Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage.

"Houstonians are known for getting big things done, and this is a big thing," Nau told a crowd of dignitaries gathered under a tent at the future site of the center, on Chenevert Street between the ballpark and the George R. Brown Convention Center. "The key to our success will be, in fact, the involvement of our generous philanthropic community."

While amassing a fortune as president and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, the nation's largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products, Nau's unpaid job has been preserving the history of the region, state and nation. Nau stuck around long after the scripted event ended, talking up the project in his pinstripe suit and alligator-skin boots.

Serving as chairman of the Texas State Historical Commission resulted in the marriage of his passion for history with his talent for making money. In traveling the country to visit historic sites, he began looking for answers to a question: "What's the business purpose of preservation? I began to learn about heritage and cultural tourism. How did states like Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wyoming, how did they capitalize on the heritage?" Nau said. "Apply some business principles to the idea of preservation."

He hopes to do it in downtown Houston through a 60,000-square-foot building filled with interactive exhibits where people meet the Allen Brothers and Sam Houston, watch Spindletop erupt and immerse themselves in the tension and thrill of Mission Control. The Greater Houston Partnership estimates that the resulting tourism boost will create 2,400 jobs.

Houston First, the agency that runs the city's convention business, has committed $15 million toward the $55 million project, and it will run the center. With the center's opening at least two years away, there is no operations plan yet that considers details such as admission price.

'This is not a museum'

The 11-year-old Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin is operating at a deficit, according to a state audit completed early this year. Nau said any comparison between the center here and the Bullock museum is apples and oranges.

He sees the center as a portal for visitors to discover area attractions, a place to teach students about regional history, and what Nau called an "inspirational experience" through an emphasis on the area's entrepreneurial, can-do spirit.

"This is not a museum, you are not going to see Aunt Betty's high-button shoes in here," Nau said. In addition, he plans to provide for one of the center's most expensive operational costs - exhibit changes and updates - through the capital campaign. He also plans to lend the center iconic artifacts from his personal collection, Nau said.

Sheila Armstrong, president of the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council, said she was familiar with Nau's project and predicts it will succeed. Nationally, 118 million people participate in cultural and heritage activities each year while traveling, according to an industry-sponsored study done in 2009.

"What's special about the area you live in is really quite a commodity," Armstrong said. Travelers seek unique and interesting experiences, she said, and locals need a place to bring out-of-town visitors.

First, though, there's the matter of raising that $32 million. Nau would not say who he has approached so far, but asserted, "I have had no one walk away from us."

chris.moran@chron.com