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A unique art deco and Native American blend of building styles. |
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According to the legend on the window, this was the Midway Station. |
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Adrian's sole claim to fame, even in its heyday, was being the midway point on Route 66! Like this old store, the self-proclaimed "Midway Station". The design is certainly eye catching as one cruises Adrain's main drag.
To the west, there are hardly any signs left of Route 66 stops. Gruhlkey is about the only one before New Mexico. There used to be a Caprock service station there but now only a Stuckeys.
My point is that motorists needed to be prepared for 23 miles of nothing before Glenrio. These are definitely the "wide open spaces", largely due to the dry conditions. OK, and the flat terrain. |
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The garage portion of the store. |
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The "Fabulous 40" motel. I guess the "40" refers to the Interstate. Which is odd since it isn't close to I-40. |
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The Midpoint Cafe. |
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Looking to the west, the jog in Route 66 (the I-40 frontage road) is obvious. The right side of this right-of-way was for the RR. |
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The front of the Midpoint Cafe |
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The reason for the jog in the highway was to build the grain elevator. |
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These signs are all over Adrian. I never found out what they were about. The pavement in the background is I-40. |
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I didn't eat at the Midpoint Cafe; I ate at the Stuckeys in old Gruhlkey west of town. <sigh> So many Route 66 choices to make. But I bought a Route 66 souvenir (a Mother Road license plate) there!
The diamond-shaped signs are in several of these pictures. If you click on the pictures, they are legible. I'm still clueless about their meaning for the community.
The big concrete grain elevator was probably built by a coop in the 20s. It was normal for them to be about 10 miles apart since most farmers at the time trucked their grain to town in horse-drawn wagons. In order to place it next to the RR tracks in the middle of town (where else?), the highway was rerouted. The structures on the north side of Route 66 disappeared in the project. |
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Another Adrian Route 6 station. |
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And yet another |
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One set of midpoint signs |
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Another midpoint sign. Probably put up by Chamber of Commerce. |
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All these references to the midpoint really bring home how much was lost when Ike pushed the Interstates through. There was no place for highways which go south then west; so Jeffersonian. (Jefferson was an engineer who proposed laying out the western US in rectangular squares of townships and sections regardless of geography.)
Think about trying to drive over 2270 miles at about 20 mph in your Model A. Although most of the traffic through Adrian was from Oklahoma ("going okie") and Missouri in the late 20s and the 30s. They were all trying to get to California, the Promised Land.
To them, I'm sure the increasing lack of civilization after leaving Amarillo, TX began to make them wonder if they had made the right decision.
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An authentic wood windmill at the local museum. Maybe a place to fill overheated car radiators in those days. |
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This old building is just off Route 66 in "downtown". Maybe an old garage. |
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