Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 18, Amarillo, Texas

Amarillo is the "big city" in west Texas. Heading west, it was the largest town that a Route 66 tourist drove through until he reached Albuquerque. Heading east, Oklahoma City was the next major metropolis. Today, Amarillo is a busy city with a lot of construction and renovation, thanks to oil money. It is a bit difficult to see much of the old Route 66 because it followed city streets, which have new or modified buildings over the decades.

Coming in from the west, I think Route 66 followed what is now W. Amarillo Boulevard, which is also Business 40. Amarillo Blvd. is a bit seedy (all right, very seedy), and most Route 66 structures have been recycled or greatly modified.

The English Motel is one of the few Route 66 remnants. It is just north of Amarillo Lake, at the junction of NW 9th Ave and N. Lipscomb St. The place looked mostly abandoned, but I met this gent in the photograph above, who said he lived in one of the units. He was the caretaker and  made sure no one vandalized the site.

Downtown on Polk Avenue, I was pleased to see historic buildings being restored. For example, this Kress store, with its distinctive architecture, was in beautiful condition. S.H. Kress & Co. operated five and dime department stores throughout the United States from 1896 to 1981. The Kress chain was known for its architecture, which often included Art Deco motifs and the exuberant use of terra cotta tiles, curved glass, and stone floors - high end features intended to make the shopper comfortable and linger (for white shoppers, not African-Americans).

The former Woolworth store on Polk Avenue is also being restored. The F. W. Woolworth Company (also known as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was one of America's most successful retail companies in the early 20th century, one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. Woolworth's thrived until the 1970s, when it began a rapid decline. The rise and fall of these retailing empires is a fascinating social and economic history. None seem to last more than about a century or maybe 150 years (examples include Sears & Roebuck, S.H. Kress, S.S. Kresge Company, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, and Montgomery Ward). WalMart is about 50 years old; could it already be half way through its era of marketing dominance? (WalMart certainly will not leave behind an architectural heritage of any value.)

When you drive through Amarillo and are feeling carnivorous, the Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery is a mandatory stop. Big Texan served Route 66 travelers but in recent years relocated nearer I-40. Now it is at 7701 Interstate 40 Access Rd. Texan is famous for a 72-ounce steak which is free if you can devour it within an hour. The evening we were there, a video crew was filming a fellow on his gastronomic marathon with the steak (see the bright lights in the interior scene above). Oddly, when I mentioned this to a coworker, he told me that his brother took up the challenge and ate the steak in the obligatory hour. And my friend and his brother are not big people by any means. Amazing. My ribs were some of the best I have eaten in years.

After digesting our ribs, we will continue east on the Mother Road. To be continued....

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 17, Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo

Cadillac Ranch is the odd work commissioned by Stanley Marsh 3, an Amarillo businessman who commissioned other odd things, like the Dynamite museum. In 1974, Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of an art group known as the Ant Farm, half-buried 10 ponderous post-war Cadillacs to show how the tail fins had evolved over time. The burial site was originally located in a wheat field south of Amarillo, but according to Wikipedia, in 1997, a local contractor moved the installation to a cow pasture off Interstate 40 about two miles west in order to place it farther from the development limits of the city. When the original Cadillac Ranch was built (planted?), it was too late to be coincident with the real Route 66, but many people still consider it to be a Route 66 attraction.

Well, today's Cadillac Ranch is overrun with tourists and is a cheesy remnant of what must have once been an impressive display. I do not know if all the cars were moved and reburied. But the site is certainly popular. Cars and motor homes were parked all along the I-40 frontage road, and we heard many languages spoken. Of course, tourists were taking selfies.

The thing to do (I suppose) is to buy some spray paint, make your mark on some of the cars, and then drop your spray can on the dirt. I guess the empty can is too heavy to take it back to the car. Hmmm. Anyway, if you are driving on I-40 and have never seen Cadillac Ranch, stop and take a look, but I recommend you not go out of your way just to see it.

The square photographs are from Kodak Tri-X 400 film exposed with a Hasselblad 501CM camera.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 16, Adrian, Texas

We have reached the mid-point of the Mother Road, the town of Adrian, Texas. It is supposed to be an equal distance to Chicago or to Los Angeles from here.

In the 1950s, Adrian was bustling with Route 66 tourists, but today, the town looks rather lonely.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many of these Route 66ers stopped at the famous Midpoint Cafe. Unfortunately it was closed as of August 2017.

There are still a number of old gas stations. I do not know enough about the architecture of American gas stations to identify their origins, but some readers can probably help.

The Sunflower was closed when we stopped by. But it was cheerful with flowers.

This is a historic Phillips 66 station. A reader told me it was brought in from Vega, Texas, with, I assume, the intent to be restored. I wrote about this station in a previous article.

Photographs taken with a Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera. I opened the RAF files with Adobe Photoshop Elements and used the black and white emulation for Tri-X film from DxO Filmpack 5.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 15, Glenrio, Texas

After the pleasures of Route 66 memorabilia and architecture in Tucumcari, we continue our trip on the Mother Road. Much of Route 66 in eastern New Mexico has been subsumed by Interstate 40, so you are forced to take the high speed route. I did not check out the small towns of Endee or San Jon, so I cannot comment on what is left there. But once you enter Texas, the ghost town of Glenrio is worth the short diversion south of the interstate. In the 1940s, this was a thriving place, but now the old pavement is dusty, dogs bark, and all the shops are closed. The hot wind (it was about 100° F. that day) blows the sweat away.

Last Motel in Texas, Glenrio, TX

This was the last motel in Texas if you were heading west, but it was the first motel in Texas if you were heading east. The road to the west is sandy and subject to water, so the guidebook warns to not continue west in a 2 wheel drive car.

Glenrio was formed in 1903, when the railroad came through the area. Supposedly, a film crew spent a few weeks here in 1938 filming portions of The Grapes of Wrath. I can see some possibilities for a modern movie, maybe one where dinosaurs or giant spiders eat people.

The last three square photographs are from Tri-X film, exposed with a Hasselblad 501CM camera and a polarizer filter to darken the skies.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 14, Tucumcari, New Mexico

Ranch House Cafe, Tucumcari, NM. Kodak BW400CN film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera, polarizer filter.

Tucumcari is a Route 66 explorer's delight. It is chock full of closed or venerable motels, stores, and other 1950s detritus. According to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook (by Drew Knowles), Tucumcari is known by people around the globe for its quintessential Route 66 cultural artifacts. As usual, I should have spent more time here with real film; the example above shows the potential.

Driving in from the west, one of the first places you encounter is the old Paradise Motel and Cafe. Well, it is not much of a paradise today. The main motel building looks like it is 1960s architecture; the Sinclair gas station possibly a bit older?

 You can stay at the Buckaroo Motel. The office looks relatively modern, but the Buckaroo sign has a 1960s or 1970s appearance.

This Esso station also has a 1960s vibe. According to Wikipedia, Esso (ˈɛsoʊ) was an acronym for Eastern States Standard Oil, one of the many companies spun off from Standard Oil in 1932. In 1972, most ESSO branded stations were replaced with the EXXON name.

Here is another abandoned filling station with not enough information to identify its original brand.

Here is the Magnolia - possibly another Esso Texaco Teague Type C.

If you are hungry, the Ranch House Cafe (see the black and white frame at the beginning of this article) or Rubee's Diner will not be of much culinary use.

But divert from Route 66 and go downtown, and the El Pueblito Cafe is open.

And the La Cita with its Mexican Hat will serve you Mexican meals. The menu looked good but it was the wrong time for lunch.

There is a scattering of Art Deco architecture downtown, although not nearly as spectacular as you see in Albuquerque. The theatre is still operating, according to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook. Good for it!

The Tucumcari Depot is another one of the handsome mission-style Santa Fe depots. It has been restored and contains a railroad museum.

Some of the commercial buildings downtown have decayed and collapsed. It is sad, another American small town that was once bustling and active.

Back to Route 66 at the east side of town, we have two more old-style motels, the Blue Swallow and the Tucumcari Inn. The Blue Swallow was built in the 1940s from surplus WWII cabins. I do not know if they are still present. Tucumcari Inn has seen better days - at $29.95, a long time ago (unless that was the hourly rate).

With a rather nondescript Polly Gas, we come to the end of Tucumcari. Tucumcari is a quintessential Route 66 town, and worth a return when I have more time and with black and white film.

The color frames are from a Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera with various lenses. The first photograph is from Kodak BW400CN film. This is a C-41 type of film, meaning it can be developed in the same chemicals as any color print film. Years ago, almost any drug store or film kiosk in a mall could develop C-41, but now you need to send the film to a professional laboratory.  I often use North Coast Photographic Services in California.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 13, Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Most of New Mexico is arid. But Santa Rosa is a surprising exception. Thanks to artesian springs, the city was known as the City of Natural Lakes. Route 66 passes through Santa Rosa, and even in the automobile era, the presence of lakes  must have been a welcome relief from the dry terrain of eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. For early settlers and pioneers, the water would have been a life-saver.

I only spent a few hours in Santa Rosa. There are a number of old-time restaurants and closed businesses along Will Rogers Drive (the former Route 66).

Many of the old lounges, like the Sahara in the photograph above, were shuttered.

But the Sunset Motel was still active. Note the classic 1967 or 1968 Mercedes in the parking lot.

A swim in the Blue Hole is cold and refreshing. The hole is 80 ft deep, and we saw scuba divers below exploring. The Blue Hole is in a park with a modest parking fee. It is well worthwhile, another one of the many Route 66 wonders.

Schematic of the blue Hole, from http://santarosabluehole.com/index.html