The San Jacinto Neighborhood Association, the Historic 6th on Route 66th Association and the Route 66 Association of Texas recently met their $18,000 fundraising goal to paint a Route 66 emblem on a huge water tower at 6th Street (aka Route 66) and Independence Street on the city’s west side.
Dora Meroney of Texas Ivy Antiques in Amarillo made the announcement Friday on Facebook:
A BIG THANKS to the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau for their promised donation that not only allowed us to reach our goal but to also have a start on our required maintenance fund.
WE cannot THANK EVERYONE who donated enough!! Hugs and High Fives for everyone who contributed!
WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT ALL OF YOUR DONATIONS!
(I have a few donation buckets to pick up and add in before we will have the exact grand total. )
Donations still can be given through PayPal at info@rt66oftexas.com.
The City of Amarillo a few weeks ago amended an ordinance that would allow the groups to paint an “Amarillo 66” shield on the water tower.
Kathryn Traves, president of the San Jacinto group, earlier said the repainted water tower would help drive new tourism to the 6th Street district.
“The Cadillac Ranch gets nearly half a million visitors yearly. We want those half a million folks to come down to Sixth Street and post pics with the Amarillo 66th shield on our water tower and spend money in our neighborhood stimulating our economy for more Amarillo,” said Traves.
UPDATE: Christy King, director of tourism for Amarillo, stated in an email today the bureau gave $4,000 for the project.
“We believe this is a great tool to pull visitors off I-40 and into our Historic District,” King wrote. “Many visitors are unaware they are passing through the original Route 66, and we want to change that. It will also bring awareness to our locals of this treasure that we have tucked in the heart of our city. It is an incredible symbol of civic pride to both our locals and our visitors.”
(Screen-capture image from KVII-TV video of artist’s rendering of the proposed Amarillo Route 66 sign for the water tower)