Episode I of Eddie Wilson’s story and the history of Austin Music, the Armadillo World Headquarters, and Threadgills.
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In this introductory episode, Eddie Wilson, proprietor of Threadgills and founder of the Armadillo World Headquarters, waxes poetic on ‘the good ‘ol days’.
Kenneth Threadgills Filling Station
Notice only one bridge crossing the Colorado river – Now known as the Congress Bridge. Lamar blvd did not exist as it does now.
The video starts as a drive just north of downtown on Guadalupe St heading north towards the ‘Threadgills Old #1′ on the UT Drag. Guadalupe St is the original northern route in and out of Austin. Eddie remembers it as a child growing up at Kenneth Threadgills fillin’ station – The Old # 1 – the Good ‘ol Days.
Pay close attention and you may just get a free beer from Eddie himself.
Music track by Guy Forsyth. Produced by barenakedfamily for Threadgills.
Threadgills.com
—Transcript from Video—
The Good Old Days
[driving north on Guadalupe St in the UT District - what was the 'northern route' in and out of Austin]
The city limits was two miles this way, 45th st, and this was a lot darker in 1933. A new fangled invention at that time was a black top road made out of an oily gooey gravel mixture and smudge pots were put out at night so you’d see a little glow that’d try to keep you from running into the big pile of oily gravel that they were going to smear around for a new black top highway the next day. Lamar was gravel then and was known as the old Georgetown rd and eventually the Dallas Highway and eventually hwy 1 for a while and then business 81… it’s gone through a lot of names. Remember also, the only way across the river was congress ave. Lamar wasn’t there crossing the river until 1948. All these high lines and power lines weren’t here. The city limits was 2 miles this way, 45th st, and this was a lot darker.
Eddie how ya doing this morning?
[watching servers showing up for the day]
Ahhh this is one of my favorite times of day. Before the red shirts get to put their uniforms on I get to see them streaming across the parking lot…
[looking at a girls Nirvana band shirt]
Nirvana, That’s the way I feel about it.
[At the front of Threadgills Old #1, pointing at the sign]
The piece of blue granite that’s in the facade in the front of the building here says Jennings 1933. Mr Jennings built the building and then sold it to Kenneth.
These are the good ol days. My stepfather raised me with an admonishment – if you don’t think these are the good ol days go back before air conditioning and tell me. And he said, I was there when they first came up with screens for the windows to keep the mosquitoes out. And that was a big break through. You don’t wanna go back, the good ol days weren’t back there. Those were miserable days compared to these. Enjoy these, these really aren’t bad days, you just have to be creative and dig it out. Too many people that whine about the good old days being gone, are really mourning the passing of their youth. And you can hear it when they sit down at the beer garden at Threadgills downtown, whining about missing the Armadillo beer garden, which was 150ft away. We’re on grass that was on asphalt, we have margaritas and air conditioned restrooms, and lots of good advantages that we didn’t have back then. The music is better. If it was good in the old days, think how much better it is with ten times the number of musicians all of whom started at a level that the old guys had just gotten to. Just relax, chill, things are alright.
[talking about making pies]
The reason pies are cut like that are so that they’ll fit in any size piehole. Even the li’l bitty one, you just put that point in and phht. Pow! Pop it in.
[at the entrance to Threadgills old #1]
(hostess opening door) Welcome to Threadgills!
(eddie) Ahhhowww… are you hungry?
(customer) I’m very hungry…
(eddie) We’ve got him right where we want him. I’ll take care of this.
[pointing to table on the wall in the entrance way]
Find Janis’ autograph and point it out to me and I’ll buy you a beer. Once you find it, if you come in to me, and say I’ve got it, you’d better leave somebody out here with their finger on it cuz you’re gonna lose it by the time you get back. Anyway… that’s the deal.
I’m not gonna show you where it is. Uh uh… and no more scratching on the table top.
[entering restaurant]
Come on in the house… is anybody hungry?