We really enjoyed driving Route 66 through the eastern part of the Texas panhandle. We especially enjoyed driving one of the most interesting original stretches of Route 66 we’ve seen so far.
From the Texas state line near Texola, Oklahoma, Route 66 becomes the south frontage road of I-40. In about 8 or 10 miles we arrived in Shamrock. Route 66 is 12th Street here.
There are not one, not two, but three Whiting Brothers gas stations here, all in the same art deco style and all built in 1938. The first one is at 720 East 12th Street.
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| Former Whiting Brothers gas station at 720 East 12th Street in Shamrock, Texas |
The second one is at 600 East 12th Street.
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| Former Whiting Brothers gas station at 600 East 12th Street in Shamrock, Texas |
And the third one is at 408 West 12th Street.
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| Former Whiting Brothers gas station at 408 West 12th Street in Shamrock, Texas |
It was fun to compare the subtle differences in them.
But before we saw that third Whiting Brothers station, we saw one of the most spectacular gas stations anywhere on Route 66: the incredible Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe at 111 East 12th Street.
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| Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe in Shamrock, Texas |
This magnificent art deco complex was built as a Conoco station in 1936.
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| The Tower Station in Shamrock, Texas |
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| Map of Europe in the Tower Station Visitor Center |
There's also an original Route 66 road sign (not for sale!).
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| Original Route 66 sign in the Tower Station Visitor Center |
After seeing the Tower Station, we turned left (south) on Main Street for a short detour to see the 1929 Magnolia gas station at 100 North Texas Street.
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| Magnolia gas station in Shamrock, Texas |
Next to the Magnolia station is the Pioneer West Museum in the former Reynolds Hotel, built in 1928. There are also shops along Main Street to explore. Some of the streets are paved in brick, like some we saw in Oklahoma.
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| A brick-paved street in Shamrock, Texas |
After Shamrock, Route 66 continues along the South Frontage Road of I-40 for about 16 miles. Just before McLean, Texas, the frontage road curves right, crosses I-40, and joins Business I-40 (First Street).
McLean is a small town with quite a few empty buildings. We thought two buildings were especially interesting. At 120 First Street is a former Panhandle Service Station, built in 1925 in Craftsman style.
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| Former Panhandle Service Station in McLean, Texas |
On the southeast corner of First Street and Gray Street is a 1929 Phillips 66 cottage-style gas station.
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| Phillips 66 gas station in McLean, Texas |
Just west of McLean is a 1926-1932 “alignment” of Route 66. As we left McLean on Business I-40, after crossing TX 273 we turned left (southwest) on 26½ Road (yes, you read that name right). The road passed under I-40, and a few hundred feet later we turned left (south) on TX 26. This is the 1926-1932 alignment of Route 66. It’s unpaved, so don’t drive this if it’s rained recently.
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| 1926-1932 alignment of Route 66, now TX 26, southwest of McLean, Texas |
In a mile, the 1926-1932 alignment turns right (west) on County BB Road, also unpaved.
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| 1926-1932 alignment of Route 66, now County BB Road, southwest of McLean, Texas |
County BB Road does a dogleg, turning right then left, before becoming Main Street in Alanreed, Texas.
We had no idea this alignment would be unpaved, and it was just plain fun to drive. It’s one of those stretches where it’s easy to imagine what it was like to drive Route 66 80 years ago.
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| Another view of the 1926-1932 alignment of Route 66, now County BB Road |
Alanreed, Texas, is another very small town with many abandoned buildings. The most interesting building is a semi-restored 66 Super Service Station on the southwest corner of Main Street and 3rd Street.
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| 66 Super Service Station in Alanreed, Texas |
This station was built in 1930 or 1932 (sources give varying dates) in a Craftsman style similar to one of the stations in McLean, Texas.
Here we turned left (west) on 3rd Street (TX 271), which becomes the South Frontage Road of I-40. In about 2 miles, we turned right (north) on Johnson Ranch Road to get on I-40 west. (The early alignment of Route 66 here is notoriously risky to drive, so we skipped it.)
In about 6 miles, we got off I-40 at TX 70, turned left (south) to cross I-40, then turned right (west) on the South Frontage Road, which becomes TX 70. In about 2½ miles, TX 70 turns right (north) to cross I-40. We turned left to stay on the South Frontage Road.
In about 5 miles, as we approached Groom, Texas, we could see a leaning water tower, marked on Google Maps at the Leaning Tower of Texas.
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| Leaning Tower of Texas in Groom |
The water tower was moved here in 1980 and purposely tilted to attract visitors. As you can see from the photo, it’s not really on Route 66—it’s on the north side of I-40. Also along I-40 is a large cross, erected in 1995 and once the largest in the Western hemisphere. It’s about half a mile north of Route 66, but the land here is so flat that you can see it from Route 66. Today the wind turbines around it dwarf it.
Past Groom, Route 66 again becomes the South Frontage Road for I-40 for about 10 miles. I-40 then veers to the north, and Route 66 becomes TX 207. In about a mile, TX 207 becomes Route 2161.
We had read that Route 2161 is one of the best sections of Route 66 in the country. It was paved in the 1940s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Because it’s about a mile south of I-40, it’s described as isolated. But today it’s surrounded by wind turbines, which change the feel of the road.
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| Route 66 west of Groom, Texas |
We’ve seen other stretches of Route 66 that did a better job taking us back in time, including the County BB Road southwest of McLean, Texas.
When Route 66 again met up with I-40, we got on the North Frontage Road, which merged into Business I-40 and took us into Amarillo, a great stop along Route 66.
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