The ABC-TV affiliate in Amarillo gave two minutes of air time about the historic U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas.
The Route 66 landmark, lovingly restored in 2004, serves as an office for the town’s chamber of commerce and as a welcome center for tourists.
One thing I didn’t know was the U-Drop Inn is hosting Telsa superchargers for the company’s electric cars.
The National Park Service had this information about the U-Drop Inn, aka Tower Station:
Built in 1936 by J.M. Tindall and R.C. Lewis at the cost of $23,000, this gem of a building got its start in the dust when John Nunn drew his idea for the station on the ground with an old nail. Plans were later given to architect Joseph Berry who set the final wheels in motion. With its Art Deco detailing and two towers, the building was designed and constructed to be three separate structures. The first was the Tower Conoco Station, named for the dominating four-sided obelisk rising from the flat roof and topped by a metal tulip. The second was the U-Drop Inn Café, which got its name from a local schooolboy’s winning entry in a naming contest. The third structure was supposed to be a retail store that instead became an overflow seating area for the café.
(Nighttime image of the U-Drop Inn in 2011 by Gouldy99 via Flickr)