Rockefeller's on Washington Ave has been reborn as a music venue after sitting empty as a private events space for the past two years. The eye-catching building hosted its first concert over the past weekend as a soft grand opening, reports the Houston Business Journal.
The venue is up against a slew of new joints in the area, like the Historic Heights Theater, soon to open after its renovation, and Fitzgerald's in the Heights is just 1.3 miles from Rockefeller's.White Oak Music Hall recently opened its indoor venue, though it continues to struggle with its outdoor space. Sugar Land's $84M Smart Financial Centre will open in January with Jerry Seinfeld.
John Escamilla, the venue's promoter and talent booker, doesn't see other venues as competition, telling the Houston Business Journal, "We support them. We want the scene to get up to the level of a Chicago or New York City."
The space was designed by renowned architect Joseph Finger in 1925, originally serving as the Heights State Bank. In 1979, it converted to a music venue. It was immortalized when Stevie Ray Vaughn wrote The House Is Rockin' after a show at Rockefeller. [HBJ]
