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Route 66 Is Rich In Texas Landmarks, But Loss Of Preservation Funding Could Harm 'Mother Road'

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo is one of the iconic landmarks along Route 66 in Texas.
Nick Fox
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Shutterstock
Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo is one of the iconic landmarks along Route 66 in Texas.

Route 66, the “Mother Road” that connected Chicago to Los Angeles, and runs through the Texas Panhandle, could soon be dropped from a National Park Service preservation program.

Established by Congress in 2001, the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is set to expire in two years. The deadline was first reported by The Herald-News in Joliet, Illinois. Some lawmakers are working to save the program.

A bipartisan bill to designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail is sponsored by Rep. Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican. It's supported by 12 other members of Congress from Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and California, the Associated Press reports.

The designation would secure annual preservation funds for the historic roadway.

After World War II, the interstate highway system was built. As a result, use of Route 66 dropped significantly, and neighboring communities suffered economically.

Without the federal preservation program, revitalization of old tourist spots and forgotten landmarks in struggling Route 66 towns would effectively end, according to The Associated Press.

Route 66 opened in 1926 and was decommissioned as a U.S. highway in 1985. It went through eight states, including Texas. Route 66 has been replaced by Interstate 40 most of the way across Texas.

Route 66 In Texas

Route 66 stretches approximately 185 miles through the Panhandle. Texas has the second shortest stretch of the highway after Kansas.Amarillo is the cultural and economic capital of the region, and the largest Texas city along Route 66.

According to the National Park Service,travelers along the Texas portion of the highway“experience a vast landscape dotted with grain silos, oil rigs, and cattle ranching, emblematic of the region’s economic lifeblood industries.”

Route 66 through Texas.
Credit Road Trip USA
Route 66 through Texas.

Although the journey on Route 66 is shorter in Texas, it doesn’t lack in roadside attractions. Here’s a handful of Route 66 landmarks in Texas. Click on each name for more information.

 

Vega Motel Vega Motel, originally Vega Court, in Vega, Texas, was built in 1947. It’s one of the few surviving intact motels left in the small towns of the Panhandle. It was listed on the register of National Historic Places in 2006.

 

 

The Vega Motel in Vega, Texas.
Credit Ammodramus (Own work) [CC0] / Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons
The Vega Motel in Vega, Texas.

 

Midpoint Cafe

 

In the small town of Adrian, the Midpoint Cafeprides itself on being more or less the halfway point on the stretch of Route 66 — 1,139 miles between Los Angeles and Chicago. In the early 2000s, representatives from Pixar Animation Studios spent time at the cafe, which would later inspire Flo's V-8 Cafe in Radiator Springs in the " Cars," the Disney film.

 

 

The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas.
Credit QuesterMark (Flickr: IMG_0526) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)] / Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons
The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas.

 

Cadillac RanchRoute 66’s most iconic Texas landmark was born in 1974. Three San Francisco artists buried 10 Cadillacs nose-first into a Texas wheat field as a public art installation, according to Texas Monthly. Known as “the hood ornament of Route 66,” the cars constantly change as passing graffiti artists tag them.

 

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.
Credit Natalia Bratslavsky / Shutterstock
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Shutterstock
Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.

 

If you’ve passed through Amarillo, you’ve likely seen a billboard challenging drivers to eat a 72 oz. steak. The Big Texan Steak Ranch has held the challenge since 1962. If you fail, you pay $72. If you succeed, it’s free and you’re in the Hall of Fame.

 

The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.
Credit David Harmantas / Shutterstock
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Shutterstock
The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.

 

   

Buggy Ranch

 

Inspired by Cadillac Ranch, the Buggy Ranch (also known as Bug Farm, Bug Ranch, VW Slug Bug Ranch, etc.) is a line of old Volkswagen Beetles nose down in a single line in Conway, Texas. The cars are also covered in ever-changing graffiti art.

 

 

Bug Ranch in Conway, Texas.
Credit Nick Fox / Shutterstock
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Shutterstock
Bug Ranch in Conway, Texas.

 

Leaning Tower of Texas

 

Groom, Texas, is a tiny town with two giant landmarks: a leaning water tower and the seventh largest free standing cross.The water tower lies along the former path of Route 66, which has since been paved over to create Interstate 40. It was intentionally made to lean by Ralph Britten who wanted to bring in business to his truck stop and restaurant.

 

 

The Leaning Tower of Texas in Groom.
Credit Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons
The Leaning Tower of Texas in Groom.

 

Conoco Tower Station

Built in 1936, The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe was the first commercial business along Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas. The City of Shamrock now owns the Art Deco building, which has been fully restored with grant money and local fundraising. It operates as a visitor center, chamber of commerce office and community center. It also makes an appearance in "Cars," in the form of Ramone's Body Shop.

Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock, Texas.
Credit sarowen / Flickr Creative Commons
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Flickr Creative Commons
Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock, Texas.

Phillips Service Station

The Phillips 66 Service Station in McLean, Texas, was built in late 1920s. The building looks like a cottage with “quaint Tudor Revival design complete with shutters and an exterior brick chimney,” according to the National Park Service. The station operated for five decades before closing in 1977. It has been restored.

Phillips Service Station in McLean, Texas.
Credit Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons
Phillips Service Station in McLean, Texas.

Palo Duro Canyon

Known as the “Grand Canyon of Texas,” Palo Duro Canyon stretches 120 miles long, 20 miles wide and 800 deep. It’s been inhabited for about 12,000 years. It opened as a park in the summer of 1934. It’s about an hour southeast of Amarillo.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Credit Zack Frank / Shutterstock
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Shutterstock
Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Lake Meredith

Dating back 13,000 years, Lake Meredith is man-made and fed by the Canadian River. It’s the largest body of water within a 200-mile radius and provides water to more than 750,000 nearby residents. It’s about 40 minutes northeast of Amarillo.

Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.
Credit LAKE MEREDITH NATIONAL RECREATION AREA / Facebook
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Facebook
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.

Learn more

Here are some resources to explore the history of Route 66 in Texas.

PBS NewsHour has a special called "A Resurgence for the 'Mother Road': Revitalizing Route 66.' Watch it below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGQYfB_DcxY

Copyright 2020 KERA. To see more, visit .

Molly Evans is the Assistant Producer of Digital News at KERA. She writes, edits and curates news content on KERANews.org. She also maintains the Twitter feed for KERA News. Molly previously served as Digital Coordinator, maintaining KERA’s websites and various digital platforms as well as designing graphics, participating in digital projects and site builds and offering technical assistance to the staff. She has worked at KERA since January 2015. Before KERA, Molly interned with This Land Press in Tulsa, TulsaPeople magazine World Literature Today in Norman and the Oklahoma Gazette in Oklahoma City, where she also freelanced. She also wrote and edited for The Oklahoma Daily, the award-winning student newspaper at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Molly graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish in December 2014. She was awarded Outstanding Senior in Journalism from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Molly is a native of Tulsa, Okla.