On our way back home from Santa Fe, we drove on US 287 from Amarillo to Dallas. 287 is not part of the old Route 66, but there are a surprising number of old gas stations, closed business strips, restaurants, and deserted farm houses that provide a 1950s Route 66 ambience. That part of the Texas Panhandle warrants a return trip with a big film camera (Aha, road trip!).
Claude is a small town southeast of Amarillo. We were zipping through town and this little gasoline station caught my eye. Look at the roof tiles: they look like clay but are really steel with (probably) a zinc coating.
Under the overhang, the original zinc ceiling panels are still in place. You still see these in early-20th century commercial buildings, and recreations are available for places that want to replicate the old-timey look.
Inside, a resident! I suppose the gas station attendant is still awaiting customers.
I have seen these zinc roof tiles before. This is the old Tallulah (Louisiana) Terminal, now known as Scott Field. This handsome little terminal was on the original routing of Delta Airlines in the 1930s.
This is a close-up of some of the tiles, photographed from the second floor. Nice workmanship. I am surprised we do not see these types of metal tiles used more on current construction.
An article by Thomas Rosell in
Preservation Mississippi provides some advertisements from companies that made metal shingles. Many were from the Montrose Metal Roofing Company of Camden, New Jersey.
The 2017 photographs are from a Fuji X-E1 digital camera. The 1991 is a Fuji Velvia slide taken with a Leica M3 camera and a 50mm f/2.8 Elmar lens (that was the superb 1960s and 1970s version with lanthanum glass and an almost circular diaphragm).
