Willie Nelson’s Luck, Texas Gets a Much-Needed Renovation from Austin-Based Architects

Many Willie Nelson fans know Luck, Texas as the site of his annual Luck Reunion. However, some may not know that Nelson designed the town from the ground up more than 35 years ago. Now, an architectural firm is giving the town a much-needed facelift.

Nelson designed Luck as a set for the 1986 film Red-Headed Stranger. The town contains a saloon, a general store, a jail, a chapel, and of course an Opry House. The little town looked good on film in ’86. However, it wasn’t built to last. As a result, some of the structures along the dirt road have seen better days. That’s where the architects as Cushing Terrell come in.

The firm, under Nelson’s direction, is turning the town into a functional performing arts and hospitality venue, according to The Architect’s Newspaper. The town will host up to 4,000 guests when they finish the project. More importantly, they’ll transform Luck from a deteriorating movie set into a town that will withstand the test of time.

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With their priorities in the correct order, the firm started the large-scale renovation started with the Opry House and saloon. They finished the first stage of the project last September. The team finished the first phase just in time for Nelson’s annual Luck Reunion. The concert hosted 35 bands and hundreds of country music fans.

Bill Ball, the general contractor on the project spoke to Architect’s Magazine about it. “We converted a movie set Old West-style saloon into a functional event venue while keeping the magic intact,” he said. “Generations will share a part of Willie Nelson’s legacy every time a note comes off that stage.”

Ball added that they plan to keep the “wonderment alive for future musicians, audiences, and family.”

While the firm understands that the Opry House isn’t a historic landmark, they treated it like one. Lead architect Alexander Bingham spoke about the firm’s vision for the renovation. “Looking at the Opry building from the outside, it’s hard to tell that we did anything at all and that was the point,” he said.

In the coming months, the firm will return to Nelson’s little Texas town to continue with phase two of the project.

A project narrative for the restoration sums up Luck perfectly. “Luck Ranch isn’t about logic or practicality. It’s about capturing a spirit of Texas and a manifestation of how Willie would like to see the world.”  

Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images for Shock Ink