Amarillo,+TX

Amarillo is the big city on this stretch of Route 66. Nearly 200,000 people now live in this city with deep roots to Texas' western heritage.

In Amarillo, Route 66 was home to one of the biggest restaurants around, the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Home to the free 72 oz. Steak, the Big Texan moved adjacent to Interstate 40 in the early 1970s. Also important is the section of Historic Route 66 as it passes through Amarillo along Sixth Ave., between Western and Georgia Sts. It's a mile of shops, clubs and restaurants. Two buildings of note - The Nat Ballroom started life as a city indoor swimming pool and in the 40s and 50s was home to all the Big Bands and top entertainers as they passed through Amarillo on Route 66. Also, the Golden Light Café, home to one of the best hamburgers in town, has been in continuous operation at this Route 66 location since the 1940's. As you leave Amarillo heading west, just to the south of the old Route 66 is an attraction that fits in quite well - the Cadillac Ranch. Built in the 1970s, this sculpture of 10 vintage Cadillacs buried nose down in a Texas Panhandle field has been receiving world-wide attention for over 30 years. = __Cadillac Ranch __ = Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3's fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza). They faced west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas panhandle. That was in 1974. People would stop along the highway, walk out to view the cars -- then deface them or rip off pieces as souvenirs. Stanley Marsh 3 and The Ant Farm were tolerant of this public deconstruction of their art -- although it doomed the tail fins -- and eventually came to encourage it. Decades have passed. The Cadillacs have now been in the ground as art longer than they were on the road as cars. They are stripped to their battered frames, splattered in day-glo paint splooge, barely recognizable as automobiles. ** Address: **I-40, Amarillo, TX **Directions:** Just west of the Amarillo city line. I-40 exit 60. Drive south to the frontage road (old Route 66), then turn left. Drive east one mile. Cadillac Ranch will be on the right (south) side; just park your car along the shoulder and enter the pasture through an unlocked gate. Visitors are encouraged; dog friendly. **Hours **: Daylight hours. **Admission: **Free. []

__ Globe-News Center __
The Globe News Center for the Performing Arts, opening in January of 2006 houses a 1300 seat auditorium with balcony, rehearsal/education room, spacious multi-level lobby, and numerous dressing rooms. It is designed with acoustical excellence in mind and serves as a landmark for the Arts scene in Amarillo. It is equipped with a one-of-a-kind one piece orchestra shell, retracting into an upstage garage area to reveal a fully equipped road house. Featuring a sprung dance floor, hydraulic orchestra pit, complete fly system and available lighting and audio packages, the Center is equipped to host from the smallest meeting to the largest road show. It serves as the performance home for The Amarillo Symphony, Amarillo Opera, and Lone Star Ballet. The facility is operated and managed as part of the Amarillo Civic Center. []

__ Amarillo Civic Center __
This state of the art facility is conveniently located in downtown Amarillo, Texas. Easy access to Interstates 27 and 40 (Historic Route 66) and over 2000 hotel rooms within 10 minutes make The Amarillo Civic Center an excellent choice for conventions, meetings, concerts and special events. The Amarillo Civic Center is the primary meeting place for over 300,000 residents living in the Texas Panhandle. Designed to meet a wide variety of needs including business meetings, banquets, dances, conventions and trade shows, the Amarillo Civic Center hosts numerous conventions and meetings each year attracting thousands of visitors to Amarillo that inject millions of dollars into the local economy. The Amarillo Civic Center is also host to several performance and sports organizations including the Amarillo Bulls NAHL hockey team, the Amarillo Venom professional indoor football team, the Amarillo Opera, the Amarillo Symphony, Lone Star Ballet and the Broadway Spotlight Series. []

**__ Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Museum __** The Sisemore’s began restoring and collecting unusual vintage RV’s over 25 years ago. They have built a museum that houses many of the RV’s in their collection. These include the Flexible Bus from the Movie RV, the 1st Itasca motor home ever built. The oldest Fleetwood in existence and many other RV’s from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The museum is free to the public and is open Monday – Saturday 9-5. Step back in time, reminisce and enjoy the progression of the RV industry from its inception till now. 4341, Canyon Drive, Amarillo, TX  []

**__Big Texan Opry __** **A ROUTE 66 LANDMARK OPENS ** In 1960, R. J. “Bob” Lee opened The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo on Route 66, the “Mother Road. Its distinctive architecture soon became recognized across the Mother Road as a good stopping place for great steaks grilled over an open flame. The towering sign of a long-legged cowboy that Bob erected next to the building became a major landmark on Route 66. From the beginning, the Big Texan welcomed weary travelers and migrating families whose roots spread all across America. The now World-famous FREE 72-oz. steak came to life not long after Bob opened the doors to the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Beginning in the mid-1960s signs began cropping up along the Mother Road inviting travelers to come in for a 72-oz. steak dinner that was FREE if it could be eaten in one hour. Big Texan Steak Ranch billboards can still be seen to the east and west of Amarillo along Interstate 40 and on major north-south routes that run through the Panhandle. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the early 1970s, Interstate Highway 40 muscled its way across the country replacing Route 66 as the major traffic lane. Bob Lee purchased land along the route for the new highway.He and his family built a new, bigger and better Big Texan Steak Ranch fron the ground up along I-40.The giant cowboy, now an historical icon, was moved by helicopter from its original location on the Mother Road to its current home on Interstate 40. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Lee family still runs the Big Texan, which includes a restaurant seating almost 450, a gift shop, performance hall, and a neighboring 56-room motel. Men, women and children of all ages and tried to eat the 72-ounce steak. Almost 30,000 people have attempted to consume the 72-oz. steak, and more than 4,800 have succeeded.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">[] **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Route 66 Historic Distric __****__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">t __** Route 66 was voted Amarillo's best destination and is Amarillo's first and only historic district. 100 plus home grown, home owned antique shops, bars and restaurants all nestled inside quaint architecturally unique buildings whose frontage is lined by trees, vintage lighting and cobble stone sidewalks.

__<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> TOP THINGS TO DO IN AMARILLO. __

 * Enjoy a cool summer evening at the outdoor musical drama TEXAS, in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Horseback ride, hike, mountain bike, and camp in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take your pick- Elkins Ranch Cowboy Morning or River Breaks Ranch- for an authentic chuck wagon breakfast or dinner.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let the Native American spirit wash over you at the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum and a performance of theKwahadi Indian Dancers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Share the quirkiness of Cadillac Ranch, a public art statement that is known around the world. Located on the south side of Interstate 40 at the Arnot Rd. exit.

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**__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madame Queen __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The only (prototype) 2-10-2 "Texas Type" locomotive 5000, built especially for the Plains Division of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1930. The locomotive's name was derived from an imaginary character on the Amos & Andy show. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now located at 2nd & Lincoln Sts. in downtown Amarillo, this locomotive was especially built for the Plains Division of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1930 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA. Designed to haul heavy freight at a fast pace, she retired from service in November 1953 after running over 1.75 million miles. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Santa Fe donated the Queen to the City of Amarillo in 1957 and placed her in front of the Santa Fe Depot, where she remained for over 48 years. She was relocated to her current location in 2005 and the move was featured in the Mega Movers series of The History Channel. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Outdoor display. ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">No admission charge! ** **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Llano Cemetery __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nearly 50,000 people who have contributed to the history of Amarillo are buried in Llano Cemetery, starting with the first grave in 1888. Among the interesting sites at the cemetery, which is a Texas and National Historic Site, are the graves of Medal of Honor recipient Thomas E. Creek, veterans from the Civil War to the present, Woodmen of the World tree stump monuments and statues of "The Four Chaplains." <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Located southeast of downtown Amarillo with entrances on 26th Ave. and 34th Ave. For more information phone (806) 376-4538 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Amarillo, TX 79105 **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Nat Ballroom __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Amarillo Natatorium, known as The Nat, is a recorded historical landmark that has changed and evolved through time. The Nat began as an enclosed swimming pool opened to the public in 1922. In 1926, this indoor pool was converted into the Nat Dine & Dance Palace. The passing years brought top-flight talent to The Nat and Amarillo, such as Bennie Goodman, Little Richard and Roy Orbison. In the 1960's, The Nat was closed to public dancing. It was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and became a Texas Historical Landmark in 1995.Recently, The Nat was an antiques mall and cafe, but it closed to the public in the early 2000's. However, a new lease holder has announced big plans for The Nat's future and it remains one of Amarillo's oldest and best known landmarks. **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Golden Light Café __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Golden Light Café may be the oldest restaurant in Amarillo. This establishment was created in 1946 by Chester "Pop" Ray and his wife, Louise. Since its opening days, the Golden Light has changed owners four times but has kept its reputation for great food. Musicians, stars and even some of the same customers from its opening days frequent this café. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> []