Liberty Hall was a venue located in downtown

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

from 1971 to 1978. It was located where a parking lot two blocks away from the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...

is currently. Liberty Hall was owned and operated by Mike Condray, Lynda Herrera, Ryan Trimble, Ken Fontenot, and Roberto Gonzales. It hosted a wide variety of performers, including

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

, and

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. It is remembered for its low admittance prices of sometimes only two dollars for nationally known entertainers.

History

Before Liberty Hall, Condray and George Banks, the future graphic illustrator of Liberty Hall posters, opened Jubilee Hall which became the Family Hand, a restaurant and entertainment venue. The restaurant was known for its red beans and rice, prepared by Thera Neumann, the African-American female chef. When Condray began looking for a new location to open with Herrera and Trimble, Neumann found the building that would become Liberty Hall. The building was originally a church built in the 1940s and later became the American Legion Post 391. On March 4, 1971, it opened as Liberty Hall. Co-founder Herrera came up with the name. Neumann moved with the owners to Liberty Hall and continued to cook for the performances. The nightclub hosted musicians from the country, rock, zydeco, and blues genre. On Liberty Hall's opening night, the venue hosted the country rock musical ''Earl of Ruston''. Soon after ''Earl of Ruston'', Liberty Hall had a six-week-long blues show with musicians like

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B genres. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's " Hound Dog", in 1952, which becam ...

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

, and

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

. Hopkins became close friends with Trimble and performed multiple times at Liberty Hall by himself and with

Mance Lipscomb Mance Lipscomb (April 9, 1895 – January 30, 1976) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. He was born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas. As a youth he took the name Mance (short for ''emancipation'') from a friend of his ...

. The venue began to gain prominence in Houston. Springsteen mentions Liberty Hall in his song '' This Hard Land''.

KPFT KPFT (90.1 FM) is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which began broadcasting March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. The station airs a variety of music, news, talk, and call-in programs, ...

and Liberty Hall worked together to produce live broadcasts of performers like Springsteen,

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, and

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. Besides the many musicians that performed at Liberty Hall, the venue hosted plays and comedy performances.

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performed for a completely sold out four-night stand for two dollars a ticket. Cheech and Chong credit Liberty Hall for their success. Liberty Hall also hosted rock opera director C. C. Courtney's play ''

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'' from March 23 to April 22, 1972. At the time, it was the longest running play in the history of Houston. Courtney made a deal with Liberty Hall to continue directing his rock operas at the venue. His other work performed at Liberty Hall in 1972 was ''Ripped and Wrinkled''. Liberty Hall did not extend only to music and entertainment performances. The venue held benefits for progressive candidates. On September 17, 1972, Liberty Hall hosted a rally for the "candidates of the people." The rally had a performance by the hard rock band Chocolate Glass. Many candidates attended and spoke at the event including

Sissy Farenthold Mary Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold (October 2, 1926 – September 26, 2021) was an American politician, attorney, activist, and educator. She was best known for her two campaigns for governor of Texas in 1972 and 1974, and for being placed ...

, Gertrude Barnstone, and

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, Deputy Sheriff at the time, also attended the event. Red beans and rice were sold for one dollar as a fundraiser. On September 20, 1972, Liberty hall hosted a beans and rice dinner benefit for

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

and his presidential campaign. In February 1973, Liberty Hall hosted the first annual convention of the

National Women's Political Caucus The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), or the Caucus, describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all ...

with female leaders

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Bella Abzug Bella Savitzky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, ...

, and

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

. The convention had performances by Tracy Nelson and her band

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along with a New Orleans band called Flavor. In 1975, Condray left Liberty Hall. Trimble believes Liberty Hall put on 300 to 400 shows a year until it closed in 1978 with a performance by

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

. The building that was once Liberty Hall became a Chinese film theater. Eventually, the building was demolished. Today, a parking lot near the Toyota Center sits where Liberty Hall once was.

Design

The venue was relatively small, holding about 450 people. The stage and floors were wooden. The intimate setting allowed for good acoustics, different from popular arena-style venues at the time. Banks constructed the stage and balcony.

References

External links

Guide to the Liberty Hall collection
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)
Liberty Hall online exhibit featuring posters, photographs, and memorabiliaLiberty Hall Facebook page
*http://www.theragblog.com/ivan-koop-kuper-metro-saying-goodbye-to-mike-condray-and-remembering-liberty-hall/ {{Authority control 1971 establishments in Texas Music venues in Houston