Austin’s Threadgill’s auctioning off posters and memorabilia
The beloved Threadgill’s World Headquarters on Riverside in Austin will close its doors on Sunday, after more than 20 years of serving chicken fried steak. The older Threadgill’s on North Lamar — which began life as a filling station and bar in the 1930s before becoming an iconic live-music spot in the ’70s — will remain in business.
Though the Riverside Threadgill’s lacks its sibling’s historic reverence, it still has deep ties to the past. Eddie Wilson, owner of the storied Armadillo World Headquarters, bought Threadgill’s in 1980 after the Armadillo closed. In 1996, Wilson opened Threadgill’s World Headquarters on Riverside adjacent to the original Armadillo. The northern venue represented Austin of the 1930s through ’60s, and TWH was dedicated to Austin as it became “the live music capital of the world.”
So the venue’s décor was indelibly Austin-centric. And that décor will be auctioned off Saturday.
Burley Auction will host the event, which includes concert posters from Armadillo World Headquarters, neon beer signs, original art, photographs and other ephemera.
The treasures include: a signed Janis Joplin photo; a painting of Jimmie Dale Gilmore; a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers cartoon; posters from Bruce Springsteen’s 1974 show at the Armadillo; posters signed by Willie Nelson and Kinky Friedman.
An auction preview runs noon to 6 p.m. Friday, and the auction begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Threadgill’s World Headquarters, 301 W. Riverside.
You can preview some of the items on HoustonChronicle.com.