TAKING A SHINE TO THE OLD GAL

July 16, 2008 -- Rosalina Espinoza cleans the 97-year-old Helen Hayes chandelier at Wortham Center during the two-day restoration process that the venerable crystal fixture undergoes every two years. A crew of four polishes the thousands of hexagonal-shaped crystal beads that adorn the six-foot diameter, bowl-shaped chandelier. The biennial summertime project was made easier several years ago when the City purchased a motorized chain mechanism that allows the chandelier to be lowered to floor level in Wortham's Green Room. In 1983, Houstonians Billy and Janie Price purchased the chandelier during the demolition of the original Helen Hayes Theater in New York City. The Prices later donated the chandelier to Wortham Center, which opened in 1987.