The Broken Spoke will keep its doors open to honky-tonk enthusiasts for the foreseeable future, after a move to grant the venue a historic zoning designation made its way through the Historic Landmark Commission last week.
Now 59 years old, the Broken Spoke is one of few remaining vestiges of Austin’s star-studded musical legacy, boasting a history that includes acts from Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dale Watson and George Strait. While the venue was officially recognized by the Texas Historic Commission in 2021, the new historic zoning would provide additional preservation tools, including a property tax exemption and protection against future alteration.
Known for its memorabilia-filled interior and dance hall, the Broken Spoke has stood largely unaltered since former owner James White leased the land from former City Council Member Jay Johnson in 1964. By the 1970s, the venue had become a staple of Austin’s progressive country scene, alongside now-razed counterculture hot spots like the Skyline and Armadillo World Headquarters.
Nowadays, the venue stands enclosed by towering mixed-use developments on increasingly dense South Lamar Boulevard, with the land underneath owned by California-based CWS Capital Partners. Since White’s death in 2021, his wife and business partner Annetta White has kept the business afloat, hosting local country acts and dancing lessons with the help of their two daughters, Ginny and Terri.
The Broken Spoke’s case is unusual by the commission’s standards, with historic zoning typically entailing a lengthy review process before requiring supermajority approval by the City Council. This time, however, the case came to the commission via Council action last November, after Council recommended that the case be considered before placement of a state historic marker in April.
Council has also issued a $175,000 grant for repairs on the venue’s nearly 60-year-old roof as part of the Economic Development Department’s Heritage Preservation Grant program.
“We really do see that the Broken Spoke draws tourism to Austin,” said family friend and author Donna Marie Miller. “They’ll take roll call (for lessons) from the stage and these people say outlandish places like Romania, Germany, Italy, South Korea. Every weekend there are people all over the world there, and from across the states … because of the people who started their career there.”
While the commission unanimously voted to recommend historic zoning, Commissioner Blake Tollett was troubled by the absence of the property’s landowners, noting that preservation could prove challenging down the line without their cooperation. Commission staff said CWS Capital Partners had been properly notified of the rezoning application, though they have yet to respond.
“They’re a little hard to get ahold of,” Annetta White said.
If all goes as planned, the case will coast through the Planning Commission before returning to Council for takeoff. Until then, those interested in a taste of honky-tonk history can check out the Broken Spoke’s live music roster, running Tuesday through Saturday nights.
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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Historic Landmark Commission: The city’s Historic Landmark Commission promotes historic preservation of buildings and structures. The commission also reviews applications and permits for historic zoning and historic grants.
