TexasEscapes.com Texas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History
Columns: History, Humor, Topical and Opinion
Over 1800 Texas Towns & Ghost Towns
NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : TEXAS HOTELS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : ARCHITECTURE : : IMAGES : : SITE MAP : : SEARCH SITE
HOME
SEARCH SITE
ARCHIVES
RESERVATIONS
Texas Hotels
Hotels
Cars
Air
Cruises
Amarillo Hotels
Find Hotel Deals in Amarillo
Book Today and Save
 
  Texas : Towns A-Z / Texas Panhandle : Amarillo

AMARILLO, TEXAS

Potter County Seat, Texas Panhandle
I-40 & I-27
119 miles from Lubbock
255 miles from Odessa
361 miles from Dallas
30 miles N of Happy

Population: 173,627 (2000) 157,571 (1990)

Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Amarillo Hotels

Amarillo Landmarks / Attractions / Images

Amarillo Depots
Amarillo Symphony
by Mike Cox
Potter County Courthouse
The 1906 and 1932 Potter County Courthouses
The Polk Street United Methodist Church
Historic Hotels
Capitol Hotel
Hotel Herring
Hotel Amarillo
Amarillo Skyscrapers
Grand Opera House

  • English Field Air and Space Museum :
    A project of the Texas Aviation Historical Society, Inc. For directions and information telephone 806-335-1812.
  • Harrington House :
    One of Amarillo's early and elegant homes (1914) at 1600 Polk Street. Free tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, April to December. Advance arrangements required. 806-374-5490.

  • Nearby Destinations:
  • Cadillac Ranch
  • Resurrecting the Ghost of Route 66 -
    From Shamrock to Amarillo, Texas
  • Palo Duro Canyon State Park
  • Lake Meredith National Recreational Area
    Hwy 287 or State Hwy 136 North
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/lakes/meredith/lake_id.htm
  • McClellan Reservoir
    50 miles east of Amarillo on McClellan Creek, Red River tributary
    http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/lakes/mcclell/lake_id.htm
  • Amarillo Travel & Tourists Information

  • Texas Travel Information Center on I-40 / U.S. 287 just east of Amarillo. Operated by the Texas Department of Transportation.
  • Amarillo Convention & Visitor Council
    1000 S. Polk Street, Amarillo, Texas 79101
    806-373-7800


    Amarillo Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
  • Polk Street, Amarillo, Texas todady
    See Polk Street Then and Now
    Photo courtesy Tom Jones, 2007

    History in a Pecan Shell

    The railroad (Fort Worth and Denver City) was coming through the Panhandle in 1887 and merchants from Colorado City wanted to establish stores at a logical stop. Since they needed voters to choose the county seat and most of the voters were ranch hands of the LX Ranch, the promoters promised them each a residential and business lot to vote for Oneida. Not surprisingly Oneida won and was promptly renamed Amarillo.

    The first houses in town were actually painted yellow in honor of the new name and perhaps in guilt for mispronouncing the Spanish word.

    A rancher named Sanborn bought land on the other side of the tracks because of its elevation and convinced others to move their businesses there as well. Actually, rains and the subsequent flooding did most of the convincing. This was the beginning of Polk Street, the city's main commercial boulevard.

    The city grew steadily, adding an Opera House in 1909 and a library in 1910. Helium discoveries in the late 1920s and the establishment of an Army AirField, led commercial growth until the depression arrived. Because the city was the focal point of government programs during the depression, the city's infrastructure benefited greatly from the Work Projects Administration.

    Amarillo grew 85% in the decade of 1950-1960, from 74,000 to 138,000. The population in 1980 was 149,000 and in 1990 it was 158,000. The 2000 Official Highway Map shows the population to be 168,562.

    Book Your Hotel Here & Save:
    Amarillo Hotels
    More Hotels


    Canadian River Valley North of Amarillo, US287
    Photo courtesy Tom Jones
    Photographer's Note:
    Subject: Canadian River

    These shots are of the Canadian River valley traveling from Dumas, Texas to Amarillo. You can see Amarillo on the far horizon (to the South). The river has carved its way through the otherwise flat plains in a million different channels. The road is U.S. 287/87 which is the main road from Texas through the Panhandle to Denver and other points North.

    The Canadian River today is often just a small stream thanks to the many dams on the river and its tributaries in New Mexico, but even a short rainstorm can fill its banks.

    The Canadian River is now an important recreation area for off-roaders, hikers, and hunters. To the east of these views, the river flows into Lake Meredith, which is an important source of drinking water and recreation. - Tom Jones, December 24, 2007

    Amarillo Related Articles
  • Naked Came The Amarillan by Maggie Van Ostrand
    I love Amarillo ... I never met so many good lookin', boot-wearin', city-shunnin', plain-talkin', fellas in my entire life as I did a few weeks back when I visited The Fair And Totally Underrated City of Amarillo In The County of Potter in the Republic of Texas... more

  • Amarillo Texas Forum
    Subject: Hotel Herring Memories-Amarillo Texas

    Book Your Hotel Here & Save:
    Amarillo Hotels
    More Hotels
    Amarillo Hotels
    Find Hotel Deals in Amarillo
    Book Today and Save
     
    HOME | TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE | TEXAS HOTELS
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES

    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South | West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | MAPS

    TEXAS FEATURES
    Ghosts | People | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII | History | Black History | Rooms with a Past | Music | Animals | Books
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters | Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators | Lodges | Museums | Stores | Banks | Gargoyles | Cornerstones | Pitted Dates | Drive-by Architecture | Old Neon | Murals | Signs | Ghost Signs | Then and Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | HOTELS | USA | MEXICO

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Recommend Us | Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2008. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved
    This page last modified: February 14, 2008