AMARILLO AIR FORCE BASE

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AMARILLO AIR FORCE BASE

AAFB map before major expansion

BELOW: after construction of one of the world's longest runways (1961)

November 19, 1964

AAFB (1941 - 1968)

The corndog was invented in Amarillo on Route 66 in 1952 <><><><> It was first called a "Cozy Dog"

Amarillo Blvd. aka N. E. 8th aka Route 66

N. E. 8th (Amarillo Blvd.) from atop St. Anthony's Hospital

Ding How Chinese Restaurant

Triangle Motel at the intersection of Route 66 and Route 60

This historic structure is being restored:

for more info http://www.trianglemotelrt66.com/

click for Crocodile Lile NOTICE

N. E. 8th became Amarillo Blvd in 1964

"(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" by Bobby Troup

MISC. PHOTOS

A Palo Duro High School dance in the early 60's.

Doing the "Bugaloo" at an Amarillo College dance 1967

Amarillo College Cheerleaders 1968

Johnny

Johnny Thompson and David May try a mini-carton of Goldsmith's Milk (1965).

Standard Station on N. E. 8th at Johnson St.

21 cents a gallon in '61

The Lewis Filling Station once stood on what is now a tiny triangle of land on the East side of San Jacinto's Historic Route 66. Photo courtesy Dwain McMahan

Racing at Amarillo Dragway (1961) Photo courtesy Dwain McMahan

Sunset Center Mall opens September 15, 1960. (That's Tascosa High School just beyond the residential area)

Woolco opened August 9, 1967

Western Plaza Mall opens February 29, 1968. For the WP story click here

Georgia Street K-Mart

Bank of the Southwest Tower construction 1966 (Wolflin Village).

Furr Food Supermarket at E. 10th and Pierce St. Downtown

Furr Food on N. Buchanan near Palo Duro High School (1957-1987)

City Hall at the Civic Center (1968)

Roadway Inn Downtown near The Herring Hotel (1965)

Amarillo's first Howard Johnson's Motel/Restaurant opened in 1968 on I-40 near Georgia St. (Demolished for new development in 1997)

Zuider Zee Restaurant on I-40 W.

Moon over the waterfall at Scotty Golf (Canyon E-Way at S. Bell St.)

Canyon E-way to downtown 1962.

ABOVE: Dumas E-way construction 1962.

BELOW: Nearer completion in summer 1963. (Notice Tascosa Drive-Inn Theater)

I-40 and Interchange construction mid-1965

I-40 going under Washington Street March 1965

I-40 construction west of Georgia St. 1967.

This is where I-40 would cross Grand St. by 1964 (The oval is a go kart track)

A Wal-Mart Super Center is now located here.

E-way downtown dispersal system 1963.

Remember that green tower at the I-40 / Canyon E-way Interchange?

It came down in 1999

I-40 East opens from Canyon E-way 1966.

The Helium Monument opens 1968 (I-40 at Nelson St).

The TEXACO Refinery on S. Grand St. at E. 3rd (1920s - 1985)

Amarillo Sonics line-up (1967)

'64 T-Bird

'63 Corvette

What cars would look like by 1990. (magazine feature)

English Field (Amarillo Air Terminal) early '60s

Braniff Airlines (1928 - 1982)

Headed for Nam in '68

In the 60's Amarillo was the only city in Texas served by TWA which converted to pure jet service at English Field using the Convair 880 in 1965.

Wolflin Village 1965

photos above and below courtesy Michael Archer

Sears on W. 15th across from Sunset Center (1957-1982)

Sid Stout Ford was located on S. Georgia St. (where United Market Street is today)

Borden's Milk Plant on The Canyon E-way near 45th Ave (1963)

and at Christmas

Borden's Train in the Fair Parade

Denny's operated Restaurants on Amarillo Blvd. at Fillmore and on I-40 at Paramount Blvd.

Opened on Paramount Blvd. at I-40 in 1968

Demolition for the Civic Center construction 1965

Construction of the Civic Center in 1967.

Glen Campbell's Show opened the Civic Center Sept. 3, 1968.

The Business Building and Parcells Hall construction at Amarillo College Washington St. Campus 1967.

This state-of-the-art IBM computer was installed at Amarillo College in 1967. That SYSTEMS tray, which weighed about 10 pounds, would hold 800 to 1000 times less data than the average one ounce thumb drive you use today.

St. Anthony's Hospital built a major addition in 1960.

North West Texas Hospital on W. 6th circa 1964

Northwest Texas Hospital moved to a new facility in The Amarillo Harrington Regional Medical Center in 1982. This building is now a retirement center.

Baptist Hospital construction in the Medical Center (1967)

Osteopathic Hospital On W. 10th Ave

Amarillo Veteran's Hospital

Capitol Hotel (Demolished in 1977 click here to see)

The Coronado Inn & Restaurant at 7th and S. Pierce Downtown made the world's best chicken fried steak (1965-1977).

>World's best chicken fried steak is now served at Herman's Restaurant in Big Spring, TX<

7th & Fillmore Downtown

The grand old Herring Hotel (3rd and S. Pierce) is still waiting to be saved.

Battenfield Motors at 2nd and S. Polk sold the Rambler line of cars.

Whites Auto 10th and Polk Downtown burned in 1968

Tri-State Fair 1963

The smokestack at the old Zinc Smelter was a landmark for decades.

New City Hall and Downtown in 1966. The old City Auditorium is still standing.

Chanten, the elephant, was named after KFDA TV, Channel 10, which spearheaded the Amarillo Storyland Zoo fun raising efforts in the early '60s. (Photo March 1966)

San Jacinto is on old Route 66 (W. 6th Ave)

Cunningham Floral was at the east end of San Jacinto( 6th and McMasters)

The "Nat" Ballroom (W. 6th at Georgia)

Ballropom

How you played your first records.

Might have been your first tape recorder.

PRINTED MATTER

Amarillo's other newspaper

DDD in '63

PD Bowl 1963-1982

1897 - 1969

Downtown Park & Ride & Shop buses 1965. CLICK to play Downtown's jingle

The original Myers Fried Chicken location on W. 6th (Old Route 66)

Old Route 66 location (pre 1962)

New location on Georgia (1963)

Trade Winds Motel on N. Fillmore at N. E. 10th

There were fewer banks in the '60s. From this list only AMARILLO NATIONAL still exists. CLICK to hear their 60s Commercial Medley

The Georgia Street K-Mart opened November 23, 1962

Many people thought T.G.&Y. stood for Toys, Games, & Yo-Yos but the company was actually named for its founders, Tomlinson, Gosselin, and Young. Many of the new shopping centers built in Amarillo during the '60s started with a Furr's Supermarket and a T.G.&Y. store. (1936 - 2002)

Steak for a buck 1968

Wyatt's Cafeteria in Sunset Center (1962) 64 cent turkey dinner

Mead's Fine Bread (1919 - 1987)

They served "Fun at Shakey's . . .also pizza" CLICK to hear 60s commercial

Wonderland Golf is still in operation.

The Amarillo Symphony recorded an album in 1962.

The HITS September 27, 1965. CLICK to hear KFDA spots '

KFDA 1440 AM Radio was renamed on September 1, 1966 and George Taylor signed on the station with the new call letters KPUR ("The Big Caper").

If you weren't listening to KPUR you were probably listening to KIXZ 940 AM.

The year before the play "TEXAS" opened in the Palo Duro Canyon amphitheater "THUNDERING SOUNDS OF THE WEST" was presented (1965).

September 26, 1968 headline.

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Who from the 1960's can forget the music of

Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs?

Jimmy Gilmer was born in Chicago but grew up in Amarillo. "Sugar Shack" was the #1 selling record of 1963. The Sugar Shack teen club, inspired by the song, opened in the Trades Fair Shopping Center on NE 24th Ave that year.

CLICK FOR DETAILS

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Terry Stafford

Terry Stafford graduated from Amarillo's Palo Duro High School in 1960. He had Top 40 hits "Suspicion" and "I'll Touch A Star" in 1964. In 1971 he wrote the song "Amarillo By Morning" which George Strait recorded in 1982.

1941 - 1996

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J. D. Souther

Noted singer-songwriter J. D. Souther was raised in Amarillo and graduated from Tascosa High School in 1964. He was associated with The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and several other recording artists.