From Armadillo World Headquarters to Athleisure World Headquarters

What if the heart and soul of your favorite city could vanish right before your eyes, only to be replaced by a landscape of luxury and modernity? Join me, Cory Ames, on a journey through Austin, Texas's dramatic transformation from its legendary music and countercultural roots to the rise of high-end development exemplified by Music Lane. 

This episode, "From Armadillo World Headquarters to Athleisure World Headquarters," takes a closer look at how Austin's once vibrant culture is evolving and what this means for cities like San Antonio that are on the verge of similar change.

Walking you through my personal experiences and observations, we'll peel back the layers of new developments like Music Lane, a 163,000 square foot haven for the athleisure elite, and discuss how these changes are reshaping Austin's identity. Learn about the motivations behind these shifts, as we explore perspectives from developers like Turnbridge Equities and their impact on the local community. Tune in for a compelling discussion on the intersection of heritage and progress, and what insights San Antonio can draw from Austin's ongoing evolution.

⚫ Learn more about Cory Ames and Ensemble Texas at EnsembleTexas.com

⚫ Follow Cory on Instagram @ensembletexas and YouTube @CoryAmesYT

⚫ Subscribe to the Ensemble Texas Newsletter for stories, guides, and recommendations about San Antonio and Texas

⚫ Listen to more episodes of the Ensemble Texas Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

ABOUT CORY AMES:

Cory Ames is the founder and CEO of Ensemble Texas, a media organization promoting environmental, economic, and cultural resiliency across San Antonio and Texas. He’s passionate about connecting people to the natural beauty and rich history of the region, whether through video, podcasts, or long-form storytelling. With years of experience as a Texas Native Plant educator and content creator, Cory uses his platform to inspire sustainable living and amplify the voices of local businesses and environmental advocates.

Cory lives in San Antonio with his wife and two kids. He enjoys working in the garden, getting outside to explore the city’s natural spots, and playing hoops when he can. When he’s not producing content for Ensemble Texas, he’s likely planning his next adventure in Texas’ great outdoors.

PS: Interested in booking Cory for public speaking or sponsoring Ensemble Texas? Reach out via L...

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey y'all, corey Ames here.
I'm very excited to welcome youto the first of our Ensemble
Texas editorials.
It's a different type ofepisode, something a little
shorter but in maybe many ways abit more punchy.
We'll still be exploring thecultural, environmental and
economic shifts and changes thatare happening in San Antonio

(00:20):
and across Texas, but in a bitof a different way.
And so today's episode, titledFrom Armadillo World
Headquarters to Athleisure WorldHeadquarters, will reflect on
Austin, texas's transformationfrom its iconic music and
countercultural roots to itsrise as a hub for tech and more

(00:44):
modern industry.
But this obviously isn't justabout Austin.
It's about what we in SanAntonio can learn as our city
changes and grows.
But before we dive in, ifyou're interested in more
stories just like this one, makesure to sign up for our
newsletters at EnsembleTexascom,where we share the latest on

(01:07):
San Antonio, texas' culture, theenvironment and what's
happening here in the Alamo City.
All right, y'all, let's jumpinto this episode, our first
Ensemble Texas editorial titledFrom Armadillo World
Headquarters to Athleisure WorldHeadquarters.
Austin Texas, a city that's nearand dear to my wife and I's

(01:31):
love story.
It's where we met and, in ashort time after, it's where
together we left and moved southto San Antonio.
I moved to Austin in the summerof 2016 and felt for the first
time that I was doing somethingradically different with my life
, setting out on my own.
I had traveled a good amountbefore, but moving to Texas was
the first time I really livedsomewhere else.

(01:53):
I lived a 20-minute walk awayfrom one of the most famed
streets in the whole town.
If it could still be calledthat South Congress town.
If it could still be calledthat South Congress.
Neither of my subjects for thisstory I'm telling here existed
in the short year or so span Ilived in Austin One in the past,

(02:13):
which arguably created theculture that attracted people
like myself to move there, andone in the future that was built
to capitalize on an opportunityto serve people somewhat like
myself who now occupy the area.
We'll start with the latterMusic Lane.
Music Lane, a massive 163,000square foot complex with retail

(02:38):
storefronts, restaurants andmore, now with an undeniable
presence just down the streetfrom where the birthplace of
Austin's live music heritagesits.
Music Lane was developed byTurnbridge Equities, whose
tagline reads on their websiteuncovering opportunity, creating
value.
Turnbridge Equities was foundedby Andrew Joblong, who grew up

(02:59):
in Massachusetts and cut histeeth in real estate development
, working for one of the mosthighly regarded firms in New
York City.
It was there that he met hisfuture partner in Turnbridge,
ryan Nelson, a Nebraska nativewho, to his credit, did happen
to get an MBA from theUniversity of Texas McComb
School of Business in Austin.
As it was written in Jablone'sprofile in the Real Deal Real

(03:21):
Estate News, when Jablonearrived there were just two
national tenants on the entireshopping strip of South Congress
Javalon described to the RealDeal Real Estate News reporter.
Our thesis was Austin doesn'thave its iconic street like the
rest of the cities its size.
We thought if we could obtainsome critical mass there, that

(03:43):
we could have something special.
I think it's worth highlightingwhat Joblin said in his
observation of Austin Blah, blah, blah, no iconic street.
Blah blah, blah, we could havesomething special.
Was he referring to himself andhis firm's portfolio, or was he
referring to the community ofSouth Austin and specifically

(04:04):
the culture of South Congress?
Well, here's a description ofMusic Lane's tenants from that
same real estate publication.
The ground floor retail catersto Austin's new-moneyed
athleisured elite.
Hermes, rag Bone, equinox,lululemon, lullabo and
Sweetgreen are some of thetenants that together take up
more than 1,700 feet of frontage.
Above them lie offices forDeloitte, gensler and McKinsey

(04:26):
Company, full of people likelyto patronize those places.
The whole thing is anchored bya Soho house which Jablons
brought in through a personalconnection early in the
development process.
He kept the news quiet, thoughOur goal was to buy everything
we could around it.
Jablons said Okay, hang up yourslacks, grab some jeans and rip
a hole in them if there isn'tone already.

(04:47):
Let's jump back to talk aboutsomething special.
That happened a few minuteswalk away from that iconic
shopping strip, south Congressin the 1970s, wedged between
South Congress, riverside Driveand South First, at 525 and a

(05:09):
half Barton Springs Road.
On August 7th 1970, armadilloWorld Headquarters, texas Music
Hall and Beer Garden opened itsdoors with ambitions to become a
music center of the universe,and you could easily make the
case that concert promoter EddieWilson and the other few
founding members of the Dillodid just that.
From 1970 to 1980, the venuewelcomed the likes of Willie

(05:33):
Nelson, waylon Jennings, rayCharles, stevie Ray Vaughan, zz
Top, freddie Fender, freddieKing and Frank Zappa.
Bruce Springsteen played showsthere, acdc played there, the
Clash played there, along withmany, many others.
Although illicit activitywithin the venue's doors was
ubiquitous, the city of Austinembraced it, even naming its

(05:54):
shuttle bus service, the Dillo,in its honor.
Ann Richards, who served as the45th governor of Texas from
1991 to 1995, said ArmadilloWorld Headquarters was one of
the most exciting and remainedone of the most exciting places
in the United States for theyears that it was in operation.
Her daughter, cecile Richards,who served as the president of

(06:16):
Planned Parenthood for 12 years,said Armadillo World
Headquarters became such acenter of not only great music
and people who probably wouldhave never performed in Austin,
but it became a culturalcornerstone.
A story in Time Magazine saidthat Armadillo World
Headquarters was to Austin asthe Fillmore.
Another historic venue was toSan Francisco in the 1960s.

(06:40):
Would Austin be the live musiccapital of the world without the
Dillo?
Eddie Wilson, as mentioned oneof the founders, said in his
memoir Armadillo people blazedthe trail that others followed.
As Wilson further explained,austin's city limits came about
in the mid-70s after years ofpioneering efforts, based at
Armadillo World headquarters, toget Austin music on televisions

(07:01):
and cable.
The annual ACL Music Festivalat Zilker Park in Austin was a
spinoff from that very TV series.
Regardless of the details of whogets credit for what, it's
clear that the mastermindsbehind the Armadillo World
headquarters uncovered anopportunity in Austin, texas, to
create some real value.

(07:22):
The only problem, as the authorof the Real Deal profile wrote,
the hippies couldn't hold ittogether.
The Dillo was a financialflounder.
The venue couldn't stay afloat,citing the high costs of paying
for acts with a combination oflow ticket prices to get people
in the door as well.
They were sitting on five-plusacres of prime real estate in a

(07:45):
rapidly changing Austin Texas,which, of course, was expensive
and only got more so.
They filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy in 1977, hung on for
a few more years and finallyhosted their last show on
December 31st 1980, before theyhad to close their doors for
good.
Thanks for watching.

(08:36):
Turns out, culture ain't cheap.
It's hard to argue that theArmadillo World Headquarters
wasn't a smash success.
And for the city of Austin,it's hard to argue that the
Armadillo World Headquartersdidn't create something
absolutely invaluable Aninteresting culture.
A culture so interesting, socompelling, so valuable, that

(08:56):
others see an opportunity.
I should also say there's nevernot culture.
It's just a matter of whatculture becomes.
As time passes, things changeand cultural phenomena age out.
To be fair, maybe you could sayAustin's new money is in the
driver's seat of dictatingAustin's culture now and into
the near future.
Creating something interesting,worthwhile, historic, something

(09:18):
worth talking about, writingbooks about and recounting
countless stories about,requires serious creativity,
real entrepreneurial spirit anda willingness to do things, make
things and preserve thingspeople value that they might not
be prepared to pay for.
To be clear, I'm not sayingthat development and change are

(09:40):
bad indiscriminately.
Perhaps the something specialabout the likes of an Armadillo
World headquarters is the momentin time, the era that it
possessed.
Maybe that was something orsomeplace that was supposed to
cease to exist at some point.
Nothing is forever.
However, in the change, in thedevelopment, we need to be
careful, extremely careful, asto what it's all for Creating

(10:05):
value, truly creating value, orextracting it.
Armadillo World Headquarters wasa financial failure but, at the
same time, an absolute historicsuccess.
It doesn't always have to bethat way, financially
unsustainable, for something tobe special and celebrated, but

(10:27):
it's worth us, as San Antonians,interrogating if our actions as
individuals and as communitymembers are both creating and
preserving a culture that wewant to be part of.
Is our culture becoming acommodity, cheap, something that
could be bought or sold, orsomething worth vastly more.
Our culture can be cheap if wein San Antonio as a community

(10:52):
decide to let it be, or, givenjust how rich in culture we as a
city are, as all of us can soclearly see, we can and should
ensure it remains invaluable.
South Austin it was home to theTexas Music Hall, responsible
for the capital city of the LoneStar State becoming the live

(11:15):
music capital of the world, andnow it's home to Music Lane.
Sure, maybe the hippiescouldn't hold that venue
together, but the culture theycreated vastly outgrew what only
their band of hippies couldcarry on.
Maybe a handoff was missed orreinforcements never came,
because it's a community thatboth creates and protects what's

(11:38):
special, especially when othersuncover their opportunity to
extract value by creating acommodity.
All right, y'all.

(12:03):
That's a wrap.
Thanks so much for listening toor watching this episode of
Ensemble Texas.
If you enjoyed this episode,please don't hesitate to like,
subscribe or leave a review.
And as well, I'd encourage youto sign up for our weekly
newsletters at EnsembleTexascom,where each Tuesday, we share
more stories, insights andupdates on San Antonio and

(12:24):
Texas's environmental, economicand cultural landscape.
Every Thursday, we send out aspecial curated list of things
to do in the greater San Antonioarea to help you get better
connected to this city andregion.
We call home and if you'reinterested in promoting your
business or organization on ourshow or through any of our other
Ensemble Texas platforms, we'dlove to hear from you.

(12:46):
Just send an email to sponsorat ensembletexascom for more
information.
And finally, if you'd like toconnect with me, corey Ames,
directly I'm most active onLinkedIn or you can send an
inquiry through my personal siteat CoreyAmescom.
That's where I field inquiriesfor public speaking content,
collaborations and more.

(13:07):
All right, y'all.
Thank you again, until nexttime.