Route 66 – Texas

Entering Texas, the first major landmark is Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe in Shamrock. This is a restored 1930s Art Deco service station and café that now functions as a visitor center. The building is well preserved and one of the most recognizable Route 66 structures in the state.

Nearby is the Magnolia Gas Station, a much smaller early-era station that reflects how basic roadside services originally were. Close to it, the Pioneer West Museum provides regional history exhibits covering settlement, ranching, and transportation.

Continuing west into McLean, you pass the Murals of McLean, which are painted across buildings and depict local history and Route 66 culture. The town also includes a Restored 1929 Gas Station, representing one of the earliest service stations along the route.

The Devil’s Rope Museum focuses on barbed wire and its role in shaping ranching and land use.

Approaching Amarillo, the Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian presents artifacts and cultural exhibits related to Native American tribes of the Plains.

Within Amarillo, The Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery is a large, themed restaurant known for its steak challenge and Route 66 roadside appeal, while Amarillo’s Stockyard Grill offers a more traditional local dining experience tied to the cattle industry.

The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum documents the history and significance of the American Quarter Horse breed.

Nearby, the Historic 6th Street Sign marks the entrance to the Route 66 Historic District, where several preserved buildings, shops, and signs reflect the highway’s mid-20th-century commercial period.

Additional Amarillo landmarks include the Potter County District Court, a historic government building, and the Helium Time Columns Monument, which commemorates the region’s role in helium production.

West of Amarillo, the Cadillac Ranch consists of multiple Cadillac cars buried nose-down in the ground as a public art installation where visitors often add graffiti.

Continuing toward Adrian, you pass the Antelope Mural, a small roadside artwork typical of towns along the route. The segment concludes at the Midpoint of Route 66, which marks the halfway distance between Chicago and Santa Monica.