Queen of the Texas Panhandle: Amarillo
Rising from the plains of northern Texas, this is the view of the skyline of Amarillo (population of approximately 200,000) from nearly 12 miles away. The Chase Tower, tallest building in Amarillo at 31 stories, dwarfs the rest of the buildings on the skyline and is the tallest building for hundreds of miles around. Again, I have to mention how flat the landscape is. I’ve decided that what bothers me is that this is the first time I’ve been some place where there isn’t a “border” on the horizon. It’s like looking at the Mona Lisa without the frame…
The northwestern Texas plains were settled by cattlemen after the Civil War with ranches of enormous size necessary because the cattle needed to roam to find forage. As we have learned elsewhere, the coming of the railroads lead to the founding of the city. Discovery of natural gas in 1918 lead to the development of oil, gas and helium fields in the vicinity. The completion of Highway 66 in the late 1920’s meant that the road from St. Louis to Los Angeles passed through Amarillo and, combined with the new north/south highway system, created a coming together of railroads and highways resulting in the largest transportation hub between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque. A boom ensued and much of downtown Amarillo was constructed during the late 1920’s and early 1930’s along Polk Street. It continues to this day to be the commercial and financial center of a huge area and has the downtown to reflect that as several banks have built regional centers. However, for what I’m sure was a combination of factors that I have no knowledge of, the glass towers of the late 20th century did not replace the art-deco architecture of the 1930’s but instead were built on parallel streets to the east and the west. Consequently many of the original buildings from that era still stand and are in use.
Just a couple of blocks south of the Polk Street business district an outstanding example of the religious rivalries that helped shape the development of the Plains is on display. Two huge religious complexes exist within three blocks of each other, each covering nearly a full city block. The Baptists (on the left) and the Methodists (on the right) were denominations key to the development of Amarillo.
Continuing south on Polk Street past the churches we come upon the Polk Street Historic District, a monument to the wealth of the era. Captains of cattle and industry built their homes along Polk Street and this two block area, all of which is still in private ownership, remains as testimony to their egos and taste.
The mythological presence of Highway 66 does not pass unnoticed in Amarillo. Highway 66 passed right through the center of town on its’ way west, and a stretch of the historic highway about two miles west of downtown has not really been restored, but rather refurbished, and now is a flourishing strip of restaurants, bars, boutiques and antique stores.
That wraps up our visit to the city of Amarillo. The weather continues to hold out pretty good but it’s getting cool at night. So far, no rain!
Next up: Part “b” of Amarillo country, checking out what’s happening outside of the central city.
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