Route 66: Texas Places

The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café is located along historic Route 66 in Shamrock. Built in 1936 by J. M. Tindall and R. C. Lewis at the cost of $23,000, this gem of a building got its start in the dust when John Nunn drew his idea for the station on the ground with an old nail.

Prior to Route 66’s designation in 1926, the town of Vega in the western portion of the Texas Panhandle was primarily an agricultural community. A segment of the Ozark Trail connected Vega to Amarillo, Texas and Tucumcari, New Mexico. When Route 66 was created, this road became part of the national highway. The highway extended directly through town, and before long, new businesses like the Vega Motel emerged along its path.

The McLean Commercial Historic District is a remarkable time capsule on the Mother Road. Roll down Route 66 today, cross under I-40 at exit 146, and you’ll find streets that remain true to their mid-20th century appearance, a commercial district created and defined largely by the presence of Route 66.

The Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island, and Gulf Railroad is a Route 66 landmark that travelers might miss if they’re not looking for it. The bridge stands in the arid plains eight miles east of Shamrock, five-and-a-half miles west of the Oklahoma State line, and 12 miles southeast of Wheeler.

The U.S. Route 66-Sixth Street Historic District comprises 13 blocks of commercial development in the San Jacinto Heights Addition west of Amarillo’s central business district.

The segment of Route 66 between State Highway 207 and Interstate 40 is the longest and best preserved section of Route 66 in Texas. Turn off your cell phone, and you won’t need the GPS. Put on your Ray Bans. Open a Coca Cola, the kind that comes in a sweating green glass bottle. Put some Sinatra on the player, and roll down the windows. It’s time to drive the 7.2 miles of Route 66 west of Conway, Texas.

Amarillo is the only major city traversed by Texas's 177-mile section of Route 66 through seven long, flat, Panhandle counties. The city evolved into an oasis along the highway. From the 1920s to the 1950s, local entrepreneurs opened gas stations, cafes, and tourist courts to serve travelers along Route 66, including the Ranchotel in 1940. The Ranchotel is among the best preserved of Amarillo’s Route 66 tourist facilities.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Glenrio sat very much alone in the open scrub desert of the high plains straddling the Texas-New Mexico border. Travelers driving Route 66 across the desert could see a world of stars at night, with Glenrio providing some of the only light pollution around with its diners, bars, western-themed motels, a dance hall, and gas stations.