DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Broken Spoke. Now settle in, because this one's got sawdust on the floor and a two-step in its bones. In 1964, a young Austin native by the name of James M.
White opened a dance hall and restaurant south of the city limits. He set it up on South Lamar, on the grounds of a former lumberyard — and right there, if you've got any sense of poetry, you start to appreciate what he was building. White designed the place in the style of a traditional honky tonk.
No pretense, no frills. Just good floor space, a jukebox spinning records, and on the weekends, live bands filling the room with music loud enough to rattle your boot heels. He called it the Broken Spoke.
And the Broken Spoke, friends, did not go quietly. The place got so popular that White had to enlarge the whole facility — added a proper dance hall and a stage to hold what was clearly spilling over the walls. He hired local bands from all over the Austin area, and word has a way of traveling when something is that good.
Before long, country music legends were finding their way to South Lamar. Bob Wills. Ernest Tubb.
Tex Ritter. Kitty Wells. Names that still carry weight like a west Texas thunderhead.
Generations of musicians kept coming after them, and the Broken Spoke spread its reputation beyond Austin — showing up in movies, in songs, in music videos, in travel articles. James M. White, born in 1939, passed in 2021 — the same year this marker was placed.
He left behind something the marker calls a cultural treasure. Started on the site of a lumberyard. Ended up a legend.
That's Texas for you.
What the marker says
In 1964, Austin native James M. White (1939-2021) opened a new dance hall and restaurant south of the city limits at a former lumberyard on South Lamar. It was designed in the style of a traditional honky tonk, and patrons danced to jukebox records and live bands on weekends. The Broken Spoke was so popular that White enlarged the facility with a dance hall and stage. White hired local bands from all over the Austin area, and soon country music legends like Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Tex Ritter and Kitty Wells played here. Performances by continuing generations of musicians and appearances in movies, songs, music videos and travel articles helped to make the Broken Spoke a cultural treasure. (2021)