Amarillo – Route 66 is one of the most famous roads in the country. The legend and lore of this long stretch of blacktop that goes from Chicago to LA is still going strong to this day, and to promote all the amazing things you can see on the Lone Star State stretch of 66 is the Route 66 Visitors Center in Amarillo. “Texas is probably the most underrepresented state on Route 66, in our opinion, so we kind of saw the need to fill,” said Brandon Oliver.
Brandon is the leader of the pack at the Route 66 Visitors Center, and he’s a native Amarilloan. The wind always feels like it’s at your back when you’re on this historic highway, even though it doesn’t officially exist any more. “Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985, so it’s not even a recognized highway in some areas anymore,” said Brandon. “So, the I-40 basically took that over for a long time. It was a way to get everywhere faster. You didn’t have to stop at all the lights in all the little towns and all of that stuff.”
But the stopping is all the fun! It’s lead to countless adventures right here on The Texas Bucket List, and the visitors center is helping all kinds of roadtrippers experience the best that our stretch of 66 has to offer. “We feel like we’re making an impact, to help educate the travelers of the cool things that there are to see on Route 66 in Texas specifically,” said Brandon.
Even the building that the Route 66 Visitors Center lives in is a cool stop because it too has history on this highway. “Most people in Amarillo, the older generation, remember this as Meyer’s Fried Chicken,” said Brandon. “They were in this location from about 1947 to about 1966 or ’67.”
There have even been some artifacts from the ol’ chicken spot found around the building, giving some insight into how a business from way back then operated. “Yeah, we found some checks up in the attic dated from 1949, from the Meyer’s Fried Chicken restaurant here,” said Brandon. “Here’s them pinned. They’re Highway 66 Association dues in 1949. I find it fascinating how the bank used to do the processing, where they’d punch the holes in it and things like that. Here’s them buying from the poultry farm. $1,700 is a lot of money in 1949.”
Despite the popularity and mystic of America’s Main Street, many of the places still have to be promoted and that’s where Brandon and the entire Route 66 society comes together. “We need all the Route 66 help we can get, because it takes the community to make it thrive, but we kind of saw the need for Texas, just there not being anything, and we’re getting good response, you know?” said Brandon. “We’re busy. We’ve got lots of travelers coming through. We see people from everywhere, all over the world.”
Even people from across the pond help promote the Route. “There’s a Route 66 passport. It’s by our friend. His name is Marian Pavel. He’s over in Slovakia,” said Brandon. “Yeah, that’s how far the reach of Route 66 is. There’s so much international draw for Route 66. It’s fascinating for those folks. It’s bucket list items for them, honestly.”
Besides being a hub for the highway, the center also sells art from the area as well as a few other things. “We know they’ve seen probably 100 gift shops by the time they get to us if they’re doing the route, so we wanted to stand out a little bit,” said Brandon. “The magnets and t-shirts help you keep the lights on.”
But the one item just about every visitor wants is the iconic Route 66 sign. “This is the only one we’ve got right now,” said Brandon. “We got these from our friends over at the Milburn Press Culture Museum. That one’s probably only about 15 years old. It’s really difficult to get a hold of the old, original signs, and there’s a lot of fakes out there now.”
The one thing that’s not fake is the stories and experiences you can get on Route 66 here in Texas. It may be short but it’s full of neon dreams, amazing artists and some great grub making all 180 miles of it well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “It’s just a story of the American nostalgia, the relentlessness, the hard work that it takes to make something work here, and it’s just the people,” said Brandon. “I mean, it’s what I keep going back to. It’s the people of Route 66 that make it so special, and if we don’t tell the story, if we don’t translate this to a new generation, we’re going to lose it. So, we’re trying to do our part.”