Under the Texan Sky

By Cheryl Eichar Jett Photographs by David J. Schwartz - Pics On Route 66

UNDER THE TEXAN SKY

The northern counties of Texas are known by several names — the Panhandle Plains, the Golden

Spread, the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains — and are famous for a short list of big attractions — Cadillac Ranch,

Palo Duro Canyon, the 72-ounce steak at the Big Texan

Restaurant, Amarillo’s Sixth Street shop-filled stretch of Route 66, and the giant Helium Monument at the Don Harrington

Discovery Center, also in Amarillo. This mostly-barren and arid southern end of America’s Great Plains is also known for its wind; it is actually the windiest area of the entire US, as evidenced by abundant wind farms, the modern-day windmills spinning their graceful arcs against the big blue Texas sky.

But aside from the splendid architecture of note in downtown Amarillo, one thing that the Panhandle Plains’ string of small towns is not noted for is examples of particularly creative and exquisite Art Deco-style architecture.

Except for one. That would be the conjoined Tower Station and U-Drop Inn in the unexpectedly-named town of

Shamrock, just across the Oklahoma-Texas border and a hundred miles from Amarillo.

Lucky Town

Shamrock had been the largest town in Wheeler County in the late 1800s when George and Dora Nickel volunteered their dugout as the town post office. George, holding fast to his mother’s belief that a shamrock would bring you luck, named the village accordingly. The town achieved its peak population of 3,778 in 1930 after the discovery of oil and natural gas in the ‘20s.

Maybe that shamrock made the little oil town lucky. At the least, it was a fortunate day for Shamrock when a local man, John Nunn, knelt in the dust of the Crossroads Motor Court’s driveway (his parents’-in-law lodging) — or his yard — whichever story you believe. Nunn picked up an old nail and scratched his idea for a fanciful station-cafe combination to be built on the piece of land just across the highway to the north.

That lot, and Nunn’s vision, sat squarely at the major intersection of east-west US Highway 66 and north-south US Highway 83. And that piece of land, and the other three that sat at the corners of the intersection, had been owned by “Lack” Randall, who had recently passed away. Randall had owned the only gas station at that intersection, and had entertained no offers to buy the other corners. But investor and businessman J. M. Tindall thought that Mrs. Randall, Lack’s widow, would sell. That’s when Tindall told Nunn he’d construct a building for him — and Nunn picked up the nail.

Well-known Amarillo architect J. C. Berry was brought in to design the plans, and Tindall and R. C. Lewis became the builders of Nunn’s vision of an Art Deco station, cafe, and store.

The stunning complex was constructed of concrete at a cost of $23,000 in 1936. The Conoco Station, built nearest to the intersection, featured a four-sided classic Art Deco obelisk, with the letters C-O-N-O-C-O spelled out vertically, rising from the flat roof. A stylized metal tulip crowned the top of the obelisk. The builders thoughtfully added two canopies — one facing each highway — each with three gas pumps beneath. Complimented by green glazed tiles, the light-colored exterior gleamed in the bright Texas sun. The Tower Service Station’s first operators were Bennie Schlegel and G. W. Tennison.

The middle section of the building became an overflow seating area (and occasional ballroom) instead of a store. The right-hand section was billed as the U-Drop Inn — a misnomer since there was no lodging — after a ten-year-old schoolboy won $50 in a local naming contest with that entry. The cafe was also topped by a tower, shorter but no less beautiful than the station’s, cradling at its peak an orb, a common Art Deco decorative element. Opening on April 1, 1936, the complex was known locally as the Lewis-Tindall Building on “Highway 66 and North Main.” And Nunn, the man with the idea, and his wife, Bebe, were, of course, the first cafe owner-operators. Bebe Nunn was said to have noted that, across the treeless plains, the building “shone so bright [at night] that you could see it from way past McLean” — about 20 miles away.

And then in 1937, out in front of it all ran newly-paved and newlydesignated Route 66, after several unpaved dirt roads across the eastern Panhandle had carried the highway for the previous five or so years.

Changes

By the ‘40s, a decline in the oil industry hurt Shamrock, but its location half-way between Weatherford, Oklahoma, and Amarillo, Texas, plus its abundant travel services, kept the town afloat. Jack D. Rittenhouse, in his 1946 A Guide Book to Highway 66, described Shamrock as a town having a population of 3,123, a hotel, five tourist courts, two garages, and plenty of cafes, with a main business section just off US 66. Rittenhouse also made note of the petroleum product plants.

In 1950, John Nunn, who had sold the cafe just a couple years before, repurchased it, renaming the eatery “Nunn’s Cafe.” But just seven years later, Nunn died at the age of 55, having failed to recover from surgery a few months earlier.

Nunn’s wife Bebe sold the cafe to Grace Brunner in 1960, who renamed the eatery the Tower Cafe and convinced

Inside the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe.

Greyhound to use it as a bus terminal. Grace had been born in Oklahoma, but had been living in the Shamrock area with her husband Sam Brunner since at least 1930. Her children raised, the 49-year-old Grace was ready to take on the cafe and make a success of it. Her addition of the Greyhound service guaranteed a half-dozen busloads of potential customers every day, in addition to the locals and motorists who patronized the cafe. Her husband Sam, an oil well tool dresser by trade, was a dozen years older than Grace and was likely retired by the time that Grace opened. He became a familiar sight as Grace operated the cafe at least throughout the ‘60s.

“[Grace’s] husband Sam worked up here [at the cafe] with Grace. He did all kinds of work around here at the Greyhound station and at the cafe,” Oleta Hawley Stone, Docent at the Tower Station, explained. “You know, I worked for Grace. I washed dishes in the back when I was in eighth grade and I started waiting tables, and I did that until I got married in ‘65. My mama [Minnie Hawley] was a cook and a waitress in there from the late ‘50s to the late ‘60s. I met my husband here, at the U-Drop Inn. We got married and moved away and then we didn’t come back until the late ‘80s.”

Meanwhile, station operators and gasoline brands changed periodically, including a Fina-branded phase in the mid-1970s. The station’s original colors disappeared under the new Fina color scheme of red, white, and blue paint.

The Decline

About that same time, Interstate 40 began its relentless march across the Texas Panhandle, luring motorists to get from Point A to Point B faster. The allure of speed and efficiency enticed enough drivers to stay on the interstate that

the City of Shamrock found that they did not need all their hospitality services anymore. Jobs and population began to shrink.

In the early 1980s, James Tindall Sr., son of J. M. Tindall, the original financier for the building’s construction, purchased the entire property and restored the original color scheme (from the Fina red, white, and blue). Tindall also reopened the cafe, bringing back the name U-Drop Inn. But despite Tindall’s efforts, the complex closed in 1995, with the last cafe operators being Wayne and Mary Pierce. Route 66 had been completely decommissioned ten years earlier, and the full effect of the interstate system rerouting traffic was complete.

As the entire complex sat empty during the late 1990s, the Board of Directors of the First National Bank noticed that their town’s most significant historical building was noticeably deteriorating, but definitely worth saving. Through the board’s efforts, the Tower Station and the U-Drop Inn were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1997. James Tindall Sr. was listed as the property owner on the document.

A New Era

In June 1999, the First National Bank of Shamrock purchased the entire property and gifted it to the City of Shamrock, beginning a new era for what the National Park Service called “one of the most imposing and architecturally creative buildings along the length of the road [Route 66].” Interestingly, the complex has traditionally held two separate businesses, which have consistently been the same kinds of businesses — a gas station/garage and a cafe — that it was originally constructed for.

The city was able to fully restore the building using a Federal Transportation Enhancements Grant of $1.7 million dollars in addition to local fundraising efforts. Phillips Swager Associates of Dallas, a firm specializing in historical renovation, not only restored the building, but adapted it for use as a museum of its own history, visitors’ center, gift shop, and offices. The restoration process used a pinkish beige color with green-painted trim to simulate the original appearance. The six original gas pumps, three under each canopy, are long gone; five pumps from the ‘60s remained when the bank acquired it in 1999. Now, four Conoco pumps cast an authentic air to the station.

Besides its National Register of Historic Places status (one of only four in Wheeler County), it has also been designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL), which is not only a legal designation, but also the highest honor that the state bestows on a historic structure.

Sometimes called “the Taj Mahal of Texas,” the historic complex at 101 East 12th Street at the intersection of US Highway 83 and Historic Route 66 reopened in 2001, operating not only as a visitors center, but as headquarters for the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce. Looking into the future as well as the past, forward-thinking management opened a Tesla supercharger on the site in 2014 — on St. Patrick’s Day, of course.

The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn was the inspiration for Ramone’s House of Body Art in the mythical town of Radiator Springs in the Pixar movie Cars in 2006. The unique building is portrayed in the film as an automotive body shop owned by the character Ramone, who happens to be a Chevrolet Impala lowrider. The plethora of neon tubing on the building that helped inspire Cars also attracts tourists and travelers by the carload, especially after sunset. Approximately 508 linear feet of what is now LED, which replaced the neon, lights up the night on Shamrock’s main drag at night. Hail storm damage and other problems with the neon prompted the replacement in 2014. The station’s original neon was in place from the 1940s through the ‘60s, outlining the two towers and both main facades.

“The Tower Station’s visitor’s center and small gift shop in the common area has helped with the upkeep and utilities of the building,” said Crystal Hermesmeyer, Shamrock Economic Development Corporation Director. “Tourism in the last year has been a roller coaster. Last year, we could hardly keep up with the utility bills.”

But this year, summer events that were planned around the Tower Station and the U-Drop Inn, such as ‘Night Under the Neon’ and a nighttime farmers market, have broken records. The community’s Economic Development Corporation has been working hard to offer more to attract tourists to stop and stay longer.

“Right before the pandemic, we had a hard hit with the oil crash, with the loss of 184 jobs in the area due to the bust in the industry,” Hermesmeyer added. “[Then we] had to cancel St. Patrick’s Day, an event that had [previously] only been cancelled twice — during the Korean War and World War II. Through all of that the [Tower Station and the] U-Drop Inn were still bringing people in off the interstate. Travelers were either charging their Tesla or taking their family on a trip that they had more control over. [The pandemic] really brought people back to [traveling] the way things used to be.”

The Cafe Reopens After 26 Years

Annually, 10,000 visitors from all over the US and hailing from over 70 other countries come to the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn. And, for the first time in 26 years, the complex has a working cafe — the U-Drop Inn Cafe.

Long-time Shamrock resident Baldo de Leon is leasing the restaurant for one year from the City of Shamrock. De Leon grew up in the restaurant business, as his parents have operated El Sombrero restaurant in Shamrock for 24 years.

“[The city asked], ‘Would you be interested in doing this? It’s something we want to do to bring in the travelers.’ And

A magical Texas sky as a storm approaches.

I [said], ‘That’s like a dream job. And even just three days in [since opening], I still can’t believe it,” said de Leon. “In three days, we’ve had people from Atlanta, Ohio, Los Angeles. There’s a couple that work in Saudi Arabia, and they were going back to Los Angeles.”

“We have wanted to do something with the diner for a long time but had to wait until our ten-year period was up for our historical grant we received, to make any changes,” said Hermesmeyer. “Baldo de Leon [the new lessee] has been very mindful of the work we have put into the building, and has plans to offer a menu that has low impact to the building.”

De Leon has taken the request to offer a low-impact menu to heart, avoiding the use of fryers and cooking grease which could damage antiques. In so doing, he has created a classic soda shop — sandwiches, ice cream, and carbonated drinks. But he has also carefully planned his menu to include time-honored sandwich choices popular through the years alongside newer recipes.

“It’s a big undertaking, but I feel humbled and grateful for even being offered the chance. There’s pressure starting up everything, but all the pressure just kind of melts away when you step in the building,” de Leon added.

Today, the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe complex is often touted as the most significant and most recognized roadside architecture on all of Route 66, as well as an international icon. On a beautiful night, tourists and photographers dot the sidewalks. “We [have] people come through trying to recreate vacations they had taken as a kid on Route 66. We are so fortunate to have a piece of American history that brings good memories to people,” said Hermesmeyer.

Whether you thank the architect, the builders, the landowner, the man with the idea and the nail, the local bank that saved it, or Shamrock’s actual piece of Blarney stone from County Cork, Ireland, the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn do seem to be charmed. It’s a lucky thing that this unlikely and amazing edifice rose right here from the arid Texas soil, as if it landed here by accident, spirited away from a big city block somewhere. And it’s an even luckier thing for Route 66 (and Cars) fans that it’s still there.

September 6, 2021

5AM at the beautiful Campbell Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My eyes are spring loaded. I wake from a comfortable sleep in a historic hotel and I’m raring to go! The excitement of the possibilities of adventure that lie ahead on Route 66 is always too much for me to bear, so I don’t linger long, I’m on the road!

When traveling Route 66, I make it a point to see the sunrise. It’s part of my morning ritual to set the intention of the day and put my head into a calm, curious, and creative space. This particular day, I’ve chosen Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios as the place of my morning ritual. The city is still asleep; its quiet and peaceful as I watch the dark of night phase to the blue of morning, and then lighten up to gold of the new day. It’s a warm, partly cloudy start of the day in Tulsa, the shadows are long and sharp. I compose and capture several frames of Buck Atom’s glowing in the golden hour light as “Space Cowboy” by Steve Miller rocks on as an anthem in my head. With the shoot wrapped, I set my sights on The Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock, Texas, and I’m off.

The drive though the Oklahoma 66 countryside transports my mind to a vibe of a simpler time, as I pass though Stroud, Chandler, and Arcadia. Driving into western Oklahoma, old 66 keeps a rhythmic heartbeat with each passing seam in the old Portland cement. Finally pushing through Texola, and across the Texas state line, I come into Shamrock.

I check into my room at the Western Motel and gaze out of my second story window. It overlooks The Conoco Tower Station, and I can see that off in the distance, a storm is approaching across the Texas Panhandle. Little time to waste, I pick up my camera bag and tripod and head down to the station to ready myself for what looks like the culmination of a day’s journey. I select a few angles and mark them off with pennies before taking a seat on one of the benches to wait for the action.

I sit in anticipation watching the large billowy storm clouds as they roll in, the sky grows darker, providing an amazing contrast rarely seen between subject and sky, the ambient light coming from the east with light from above defining the outline of each cloud. Just then the station comes to life, like someone has just put in a coin and selected a song on an old jukebox. The neon begins to light up, one section at a time, and the station becomes vibrant and aglow. The textured dark, stormy sky provides a dramatic backdrop. The air is electric and surreal. The wind begins to pick up. Dust from the dry Texas plains begins flying everywhere. As I prepare to make a run for it, I commit a few final frames to my memory card as the sky opens up and the rain comes tumbling down, dousing me and all my gear from bone dry to soaking wet in a moment’s notice.

ALBUQUERQUE CHIC

Take a quirky neighborhood drive-in, the best footlong hot dog in town, some great neon signage, and for good measure throw in two blockbuster TV series filming there — and you’ve got one of the hottest attractions in town. When Jesse Pinkman and Walter White showed up at the Dog House in 2008 in AMC’s Breaking Bad, the little drive-in with the dachshund neon sign on top soared from Duke City local legend to worldwide iconic status. Pinkman and White’s antics in the “Breaking Bad” neighborhood of Albuquerque cemented the little eatery’s iconic status in the hearts (and stomachs) of worldwide fans, while AMC’s Better Call Saul and its characters Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler only added to the romance.

All top-dog jokes aside, a loyal local fan base knew that the long-time fixture on Central Avenue was a hit long before Breaking Bad crashed the scene. The then-tiny drivein was founded in 1948 by Frank and Viola Meade at 10th Street and Central Avenue, the life-blood east-west corridor of Albuquerque long before I-40 paralleled it. A simple structure faced with knotty pine boards held on its flat roof, a painted wooden sign, nearly as wide as the little building itself, with the words ‘The Dog House’ on top of a dachshund with a string of sausages. The Meades operated the drive-in until 1962. Sources seem to agree that the wooden sign was replaced with the neon sign, currently still in use, sometime in the ‘50s; it’s likely that it was made by one of five or so neon sign companies in business in Albuquerque between 1955 and 1970.

In 1967, Jimmie Hartley purchased the business and moved it two blocks west on Central, where it’s still located, but in a slightly larger brick building. Near the western edge of Albuquerque’s Downtown neighborhood, it’s also close to the touristy Old Town — the city’s historic original site — and to the Huning Castle neighborhood — fine older homes (including the one “occupied” by Jesse Pinkman) and newer luxury apartments. Typical of Albuquerque’s many years of piecemeal handling of urban growth, the area around the Dog House, which includes motels and rental units, seems like a collision of varied neighborhoods, ironically providing a large and diverse clientele.

Jimmie Hartley, still the owner after 54 years of the diner’s nearly-three-quarters-of-a-century existence, is retired, but checks in periodically. “I bought it in 1967 and it was about 25 years old [then], so it’s been around for a long time, one of the first fast-food restaurants where they had car hops back in the ‘50s. It was kind of a thing from the West Coast,” said Hartley. “I think I was the third owner. I don’t know how long anyone else had had it, but we’ve had it for a long time — over fifty years.”

“I’m not [active in the business]. I’m 85 years old and my kids are more or less running it now. I just get the money and run,” Hartley laughed. “I’ve got three [children], two daughters and a son. My son [Van] is not active in it right now because he’s got [health issues]. But my daughters [Vicki and Vonni] and my daughter-in-law go down and open up and fill in if a crew member doesn’t show up for work.”

As one of the Duke City’s first drive-ins, things haven’t changed much. Car hops and a smattering of indoor seating (when open) try to keep up with customers. The chili recipe, beloved by locals and adopted by visitors, is said to be the same used for the last 73 years. “We sell a ton of them. I don’t have a clue [how many],” Hartley said. Visitors seek out the Breaking Bad site with its neon dachshund, but locals keep the business solvent. “I imagine about 99% of it is local,” said Hartley. “We have a lot of people come in to take pictures, they watch Breaking Bad. I don’t know that there’s that many that come to eat, they just come by and take pictures of the sign.”

The website People.com partnered with the editors of Food & Wine in 2018 to find the best hot dogs in every state and named the eatery as the restaurant in New Mexico with the best dog. Just one of numerous recognitions gathered in recent years, this place is undeniably an institution along Albuquerque’s storied neon-spangled stretch of Route 66. While the hit show Breaking Bad aired its last episode back in 2013 and Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are long gone, Albuquerque’s Dog House remains a star attraction. In a city known for its vibrant and diverse dining scene, the humble foot-long remains “doggone” cool.