The Triangle Motel in Amarillo, Texas, was added to the National Register of Historic Places effective Dec. 7, according to an e-mail today from the National Park Service.
The State Board of Review unanimously voted in late September to recommend the Route 66 motel to the National Register, so the national listing was deemed all but certain. The Triangle was built in 1944.
Still, the listing remains a tribute to the efforts of owner Alan McNeil and roadies. The motel hadn’t operated since the late 1970s, and was in such bad shape due to neglect that by 2006, the city was set to tear it down as a nuisance.
But McNeil stepped in, placed a $2,000 down payment to buy the property, and roadies volunteered to help clean it up as much as possible. A year later, the Triangle received a $26,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to stabilize the structure.
McNeil is very close to paying off the mortgage after receiving donations from roadies this fall. Owning the Triangle free and clear will enable him to sink more money into restoration efforts.
The Triangle also will be the site of a one-day preservation project during the Route 66 festival in Amarillo in June.
(Photo by Mary Ann Waber)
Win!!!!
Another instance of roadies banding together for the common good and keeping more roadside history from the wrecking ball.
Sad to see it in disrepair. Here is a postcard image on the Triangle from the 1950s: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=166736060020039&set=a.166735340020111.46586.156802257680086
Believe me, it was much worse just a few years ago.
You had a link to the story about the cleanup some years back, did you not? I know I remember seeing/reading about this place, and it had to have been here. I wondered what had been going on with it.
A link to the cleanup day is in the fourth paragraph, Dave.
Thanks Ron. That’s the one I was thinking of. Since I had not heard / read anything about this place in so long, I was afraid it had run into difficulties again. Glad to see things are still moving in the right direction.
AWESOME – can’t wait for the project day during the upcoming festival! Maybe Amarillo will take notice soon, and start helping to recover the East end with more effort, there’s an aweful lot of cool signs still out there?
Can the https://www.trianglemotelrt66.com/ webmaster post updated pictures? Would like to see the progress.
Thanks!
Yes, this is a great property and their doing a wonderful job. The building has a marvelous look to it.