1960s Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine Gala
The Silent Auction is now in progress and open to Everyone! Bid on trips, art, entertainment, and more!
April 21, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
The Ballroom at Bayou Place, 500 Texas Avenue
Jillian Jopling and Peter McGillivray, Chairs
C. C. and Duke Ensell, Honorary Chairs
David Adickes, Honoree
Artist, and Creator of the Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine
Brandon Weinbrenner, Master of Ceremonies
The Heritage Society presents Legendary Houston, 1960s Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine, on Friday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. in The Ballroom at Bayou Place. Jillian Jopling and Peter McGillivray are the Gala Chairs and past gala honorees. C. C. and Duke Ensell are Honorary Chairs for this year’s event. Brandon Weinbrenner, Master of Ceremonies is Associate Producer & Casting Director at Alley Theatre. (Deadline is March 15.)
Created and operated by legendary local artist David Adickes, Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine quickly became a hot spot for psychedelic nightlife. 1960s Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine Gala is a night to celebrate a decade that brought about radical change. Innovative changes in clothing styles, changes in music, changes in culture, and most important to this night is the change in nightclub styles. Before it was transformed into the Allen’s Landing/Market Square, it was famous for bands such as 13th Floor Elevators, Moving Sidewalks, and ZZ Top made their debut there in 1969. Guests will enter our lounge, reminiscent of the legendary “Zonk Out Room”, to the sounds of a Psychedelic Trio while feasting on themed hors d’oeuvres and colorful beverages. There will be a brilliantly curated Art Gallery Auction with selections donated from the collection of Christy and Lou Cushman. The main event will relive the era with hit songs by the David Caceres Band. A dance contest will be featured, and a Dancing King and Dancing Queen will be crowned. Wear your best interpretation of the 1960s psychedelic era clothing!
Your support of the gala provides support for The Heritage Society’s programming such as school tours, exhibits, lectures, educational videos, and fun-filled family events. We operate ten historic houses, museum gallery, and a collection of more than 23,000 historical items. Help us bring Houston history to life!
The Heritage Society aims to create The Legendary Houston Series, continuing celebrations of our history, culture, enterprise, and spirit.
If you do not wish to purchase the tickets online, you may access a reply form HERE or contact Laura Woods at 713.655.1912, lwoods@heritagesociety.org with any questions. We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2023 Legendary Houston Gala!
About the Legendary David Adickes:
His most famous work is the 67-foot tall A Tribute to Courage statue of Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas!
Adickes was born in Huntsville, Texas in 1927.
In 1949, Adickes travelled to France to study under Fernand Léger. After two years, he returned to Texas and began presenting his work. In 1955, Adickes was commissioned to paint a large historical mural of the city for the then-new Houston Club. That fall, he was hired to teach in the Art Department of the University of Texas at Austin.
In 1967, Adickes opened the Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine on Commerce Street.
In 1983, after being a fulltime painter and art instructor for more than two decades, Adickes was commissioned to make his first monumental sculpture. He created the Virtuoso, a 36-foot steel and concrete statue of a string trio. It is displayed in Houston. In 1986, he created Cornet as a stage prop for the New Orleans World Fair. In 1994, he created A Tribute to Courage in memory of Houston's namesake, Sam Houston. In 2004, he created 43 large busts of American presidents at Presidents Park, Virginia. In 2006, he erected 60-foot statue of Stephen F. Austin in Brazoria County, Texas. In 2012, he turned his old high school in Huntsville into the Adickes Art Foundation Museum.
Building’s History:
“Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine, also known simply as Love Street, was located on Commerce Street near Allen’s Landing at the edge of Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston. Built in the 1930s for the Sunset Coffee Company, the tile three-story structure still stands at Allen’s Landing. Shaped as an irregular pentagon due to the river, the building was used for storage throughout the 1950s. In 2008, the building was part of a redevelopment plan for Allen’s Landing. Opened by David Adickes on June 3, 1967, Love Street quickly became a hot spot for psychedelic nightlife in Houston and remained so through the last years of the decade.” (Source: Texas State Historical Association)
Read more about this legendary venue of the 1960s here on TSHA | Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine (tshaonline.org).
