Rockefeller's

{{Short description|Live music venue in Houston, Texas}} {{Infobox venue | name = Rockefeller's | native_name = | native_name_lang = | nickname = | logo_image = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_size = | image_upright = | image_alt = | caption = | image_map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | mapframe = no | pushpin_map = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_relief = | fullname = | former_names = | address = 3620 Washington Ave<br>Houston, TX 77007-5939 | city = | country = | location = Rice Military | coordinates = {{Coord|29|46|11|N|95|23|48.5|W|type:landmark_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}} | elevation =  | public_transit = | parking = | owner = Hank Zwirek | operator = | designation = | type = | event = | seating_type = | suites = | capacity = 410 {{small|(general admission)}}<br>250 {{small|(reserved)}} | record_attendance = | dimensions = | field_shape = | acreage = | surface = | scoreboard = | screens = | current_use = | production = | broke_ground = | built = | opened = {{Start date|1979|08|27}} | reopened = {{Start date|2016|09|09}} | renovated = | expanded = | closed = 1997-2016 | demolished = | rebuilt = | years_active = | cost = | architect = | builder = | project_manager = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | general_contractor = | main_contractors = | tenants = | website = {{URL|http://www.rockefellershouston.com/|Venue Website}} | embedded = }}

'''Rockefeller's''' is a live music venue located in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{cite magazine |author= |title=Houston: On the Town |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT52 |magazine=Texas Monthly |publisher=Mediatex Communications Corporation |date=July 1980 |page=59}}</ref>

== History == In 1979, Sanford and Susan Criner opened Rockefeller's to serve as a performance space for Houston's music scene. The Criners wanted to create a place where both local talent and already-established acts could play to Houston crowds.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=October 11, 1979|work=Houston Chronicle}}</ref> They already owned a former bank building, designed by Joseph Finger in 1925; they turned it into a club and used proceeds to renovate the space.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digitalprojects.rice.edu/houston-folk-music-archive/story-map|title=Story Map of Houston Folk Music Venues|website=Houston Folk Music Archive|language=en-US|access-date=July 25, 2018|publisher=Rice University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2017/arts-and-entertainment/best-club-revival-9861954|title=Best Club Revival: Rockefeller's|date=September 9, 2016|work=Houston Press|publisher=Voice Media Group|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705064441/https://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2017/arts-and-entertainment/best-club-revival-9861954 |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/pg/RockefellersHou/about/?ref=page_internal |title=Rockefellers Houston - About |publisher=Facebook |accessdate=2017-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/venue/rockefellers-houston-tx-usa-7bd47ed8.html |title=Rockefeller's, Houston, TX, USA Concert Setlists |publisher=setlist.fm |accessdate=2017-09-17}}</ref>

The building's architecture lent itself to a unique performance space. The old bank vault became an artists’ dressing room, while the large lobby created a distinct acoustic atmosphere. Seating was two-tiered, with some of the audience on the ground level and some in balconies that nearly extended over the stage.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/rockefellers-20-offers-a-taste-of-whats-to-come-8750820|title=Rockefeller's 2.0 Offers a Taste of What's to Come|last=Gray|first=Chris|work=Houston Press|date=June 2018|publisher=Voice Media Group|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705064050/https://www.houstonpress.com/music/rockefellers-20-offers-a-taste-of-whats-to-come-8750820 |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> The venue could seat about 325 guests.<ref name=":0" />

Rockefeller's closed as a public venue in 1997. The owners of Star Pizza purchased the building and it was a private event and wedding space from 1999 to 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/Rockefellers-on-Washington-Avenue-8425233.php |title=Rockefeller's on Washington Avenue to come roaring back to life again |last1=Hlavaty |first1=Craig |date=July 26, 2016 |website=Houston Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705040109/https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/Rockefellers-on-Washington-Avenue-8425233.php |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> In 2016, concerts returned to Rockefeller's for the first time in nearly 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/Rockefeller-s-is-having-a-rockin-renaissance-12374905.php |title=Rockefeller's is having a rockin' renaissance |last1=Hlavaty |first1=Craig |date=November 21, 2017 |website=Houston Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705055251/https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/Rockefeller-s-is-having-a-rockin-renaissance-12374905.php |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>

==Noted performers== List of noted performers during the 80s and 90s:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2016/09/12/rockefellers-reopens-as-a-music-venue-on.html |title=Rockefeller's reopens as a music venue on Washington Avenue |last1=Witthaus |first1=Jack |date=September 12, 2016 |website=Houston Business Journal |publisher=Advance Publications |access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705041717/https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2016/09/12/rockefellers-reopens-as-a-music-venue-on.html |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/1999/05/10/story1.html |title=Pizza stars acquiring Rockefellers strip |last1=Cook |first1=Lynn J. |date=May 9, 1999 |website=Houston Business Journal |publisher=Advance Publications |access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210705042024/https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/1999/05/10/story1.html |archive-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Angela Bofill *B.B. King *Bo Diddley *Bonnie Raitt *Carl Perkins *Cheap Trick *Chet Atkins *Count Basie *Dixie Chicks *Dizzy Gillespie *Don McLean *Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble *Dwight Yoakam *Ella Fitzgerald *Emmylou Harris *The Fabulous Thunderbirds *Fats Domino *Garth Brooks *James Brown *Janis Ian *Jesse Colin Young *Jerry Lee Lewis *Joe Ely *John Lee Hooker *John Hiatt *Jorma Kaukonen *Lyle Lovett

*k.d. lang and The Reclines *Kris Kristofferson *Merle Haggard *Muddy Waters *Pieces of a Dream *Radiohead *Ray Charles *Red Hot Chili Peppers *Riders in the Sky *Roy Orbison *Tina Turner *Tito Puente *Waylon Jennings *Widespread Panic {{div col end}}

==External links== * [http://digitalprojects.rice.edu/houston-folk-music-archive/ Houston Folk Music Archive] (Woodson Research Center, Rice University) * [http://libguides.rice.edu/houstonfolkmusic Houston Folk Music Archive Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703200924/https://libguides.rice.edu/houstonfolkmusic |date=2022-07-03 }} (Woodson Research Center, Rice University)

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Music venues in Houston Category:1979 establishments in Texas