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The Armadillo World Headquarters |
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Written by Artly Snuff
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 Historical Marker Unveiled! Austin's quintessential and best known Historical Music Club was awarded a Historical Marker by the City of Austin August 19th, 2006. The Armadillo World Headquarters was open at the southeast corner of Barton Springs Road and South First Street from August of 1970 through New Years Eve of 1980. During the time it was open, it featured thousands of bands and tens of thousands of musicians, including Willie Nelson, a young Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and pretty much anybody else that you could name that was playing and touring in the 1970?s.
The colorful marker, located between Threadgill?s World Headquarters and the office building now occupying the spot where the AWHQ once stood at 505 Barton Springs Road, features photographs by Burton Wilson and a painting of the AWHQ by Sam Yeates, one of the many artists that drew posters for the AWHQ and the bands that passed through this venerated venue. Other AWHQ artists were in attendance, including Bill Narum and Micael Priest, who introduced the speakers and whose ebullient cackling laugh often hung over the crowd like a spirit from long ago. Former City Councilman Darryl Slusher told the crowd that the spirit of the AWHQ led our city to ?a new day at City Hall and open government? and that ?it was representative of the new tolerance to come.? Former Councilwoman Jackie Goodman said that the AWHQ showed Austin a ?brand new day that focused the creativity and personality that was Austin.? Austin?s City Manager Toby Futrell said that the AWHQ was her ?most precious musical memory? since she had moved to Austin in 1970, when the AWHQ opened. Current City Council members Betty Dunkerly and Lee Leffingwell also spoke
Eddie Wilson, who once ran the AWHQ and is now the owner/manager of Threadgill?s, spoke for the longest time and said that the AWHQ was almost named ?Fort Armadillo? because ?it was always under siege by rich white guys? and that siege continued ?until we captured their daughters.? Wilson said that the AWHQ ?created a mess in a Petri dish that crawled out of that dish and infected all of Austin.?
The Armadillo World Headquarters Historical Marker is available for viewing at any hour whenever you wish to see it. |
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