Read on to learn why Amarillo is such a hidden gem. Discovery of natural gas in 1918 and oil three years later brought oil and gas companies to the Amarillo area. The Amarillo area is an outdoor playground. This eventually led to another county seat election making Sanborn's town the new county seat in 1893. [81] The nonprofit community theater group, Amarillo Little Theatre, has its season run from September to May. [80] The Amarillo Livestock Auction on Bull Road holds a free-to-the-public cattle auction on Tuesdays. There are more than 200 churches in the area as of 2013. Amarillo was hit by the Dust Bowl and entered an economic depression. [68] The Texas Panhandle, particularly in Hereford, Texas, serves as a fast-growing milk producing area as several multimillion-dollar state of the art dairies were built in early 2000s. The city was the home of the Double-A Amarillo Gold Sox Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League off and on from 1939 to 1982. [8] The Amarillo-Pampa-Borger combined statistical area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020. Venom plays their games at the Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum throughout the summer. Revealed by powerful earthquakes, the subterranean structures offer exciting new clues to why our planet is a chemical oddball. The city played a part in the plot of the episode, as it was a location used by series protagonist Jimmy McGill to solicit clients.[127]. Go ahead and try to see how many you can guess correctly! Another Amarillo industry and a substantial employer is the Pantex Plant, a newly built nuclear weapons manufacturing and assembly plant. The Amarillo mountains are part of the Arbuckle/Ouichita/Wichita mountains in Oklahoma. About 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Amarillo is the Canadian River, which divides the southern part of the High Plains to form the Llano Estacado. Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, opened in 2006, houses the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and Lone Star Ballet concerts. to the north of the downtown area and then curving southwest to leave the city near the Veterans Hospital. The Amarillo area is an outdoor playground. The mountains are home to numerous working ranches and quarry operations, the state reformatory, recreational homes and campsites, and scenic parklands. [151] Other utilities are primarily provided by private organizations. In 1929, Ernest O. Thompson, a decorated World War I general and a major businessman in Amarillo, was elected mayor to succeed Lee Bivins. Grady Hazlewood, a 1930s district attorney in Amarillo, served in the Texas Senate from 1941 to 1971. [14] The attractions Cadillac Ranch, and Big Texan Steak Ranch are located adjacent to Interstate 40. The southern divide of the Western High Plains is the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains geographical region. Much of the area around the city includes working ranches. From 1968 to 1996, Amarillo hosted the annual National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT), a post season women's college basketball tournament. Another natural landmark near the city, the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is located 30 miles (48km) north of Amarillo. You start pointing out landmarks and things you recognize. [72], From 2020 to 2021, Amarillo experienced its greatest amount of economic development in 30 years. While the mayor serves as a presiding officer of the commission, the city manager is the administrative head of the municipal government and is responsible for the administration of all departments. Nicknamed "The Grand Canyon of Texas," it is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 feet deep. The facility opened in 1940 and was renamed in 2005, honoring the 18-year-old Amarillo Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Film fans will enjoy the Cadillac Ranch. [24] The following decade, Amarillo's city limits encompassed 60 square miles (155km2) in Potter and Randall Counties. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo's population grew from 74,443 to 137,969. The median income for a household in the city was $52,941, and the median income for a family was $64,632. The National Weather Service in Amarillo forecasts and provides climatic data for the city. [121][122], On May 5, 2020, Amarillo ranked 13th in the nation for Highest Average Daily Growth Rate of COVID-19 cases by the New York Times.[123]. The hockey season runs from mid-September to April. [30] Similar to many towns in the Texas Panhandle, the city's downtown has suffered economic deterioration throughout the years. [10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 90.3 square miles (234km2), with 89.9sqmi (233km2) of it land and 0.4sqmi (1.0km2) of it (0.50%) covered by water. The roadway continues northward into downtown Amarillo via U.S. 60, 87, and 287, via a series of four one-way streets including Buchanan, Pierce, Fillmore and Taylor. The city gained national media attention in 1998 when local cattlemen unsuccessfully sued television talk show host Oprah Winfrey for comments made on her show connecting American beef to mad cow disease, costing them and their industry millions of dollars. Are you looking for something more serene? Tradewind Airport is a public-use general aviation airport located in Randall County, 3 nautical miles (3.5mi; 5.6km) south of Amarillo's central business district. So away we went. There is also an American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame exhibited in the museum. The city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 municipal parks, including a skatepark west of the city. These storms can be severe: Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle are situated in the western portion of "Tornado Alley" and are prone to severe weather events, occurring primarily between April and July. Tom Blasingame, considered to have been the oldest cowboy in the history of the American West, worked for seventy-three years, primarily, on the JA Ranch south of Amarillo. From 1978 to 2002, the Junior League of Amarillo and the city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department co-sponsored Funfest, a family entertainment festival, benefiting the city parks and the league's Community Chest Trust Fund. The large historic homes on this street were built close to downtown, and homes were located on the west side of the street as a symbol of status because they would be greeted with the sunrise every morning.[38]. Most call it 'West Sixth Street' when its actually SW Sixth Avenue. Approximately 8.1% of the population were of another Christian faith. "Amarillo" redirects here. What Can Stop Pickleballs Takeover Of The Panhandle? These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end" or displaying a random picture, are scattered throughout the city of Amarillo. Restaurants abound in this sleepy Texas town. In addition to some of the more established restaurants, Amarillo is known for its "hidden gems." The location of this facility also gave rise to the nickname "Bomb City". The Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is located east of Harrington Regional Medical Center. The city operates Amarillo City Transit (ACT) for localized bus transportation. Amarillo is located near the middle of the Texas Panhandle and is part of the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains region which has a surface that is relatively flat and has little drainage in the soil. So we started grabbing a bunch of these satellite pictures of cities and towns around Amarillo. The AISD partners with WTAMU and nearby Amarillo College to provide high-school vocational training. I've read articles, journals, wikis, you name ittrying to wrap my head around this. [126] Amarillo was the setting for many motion pictures, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Switchback 1997, and The Plutonium Circus, the 1995 South by Southwest Film Festival winner for best documentary feature. Nate Blakeslee. Art, education, industry, and community intertwine, creating a dynamic community known as the "Yellow Rose of the Texas Panhandle.". Amarillo entertains everyone. [134], Amarillo is served by two interstate highways: Interstate 27 and Interstate 40. Pulitzer-prize-winning author Mark E. Neely, Jr. was born in Amarillo on November 10, 1944. Considered one of the United States' top cities to start a business, this Texas jewel offers outdoor activities, various education options, and a range of professional opportunities in a Lone Star suburban setting. Several country songs have touted the inexplicable draw of Amarillo. Notable Amarilloans include actress Ann Doran (19112000), old-style journalist Bascom N. Timmons, the Dory Funk wrestling family, former UFC Champions Heath Herring and Evan Tanner, astronaut Rick Husband, professional golfer Ryan Palmer, rockabilly pioneer Buddy Knox, actress Carolyn Jones, actress and dancer Cyd Charisse, actor and poet Harry Northup, State Senator Max Sherman, Republican state chairman Tom Mechler, politicians Beau Boulter and John Marvin Jones, businessman T. Boone Pickens, Jr., singer-songwriter J. D. Souther, gambler Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston, soldier and interior decorator Clyde Kenneth Harris, and music artist and composer Terry Stafford ("Amarillo by Morning"; "Suspicion"). According to 'Cities Ranked and Rated' (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander), Amarillo averages 48 days per year during which thunder and lightning is reported. has helped the lake regain much of its volume. Both Country and Americana music are a staple at HootPub "Hoot's" for the locals. It is situated in the grasslands of the Texas Panhandle, and is surrounded by dense prairie. Transportation [139][140], Amarillo is home to medical facilities including Baptist St. Anthony's and Northwest Texas Hospitals, the Don & Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Bivins Memorial Nursing Home, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Texas Tech School of Pharmacy, and Texas Panhandle Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The depth from land surface to the base of the aquifer can range from the land surface to as much as 1000 feet below surface. Sip fresh ground coffee at 806, and you will forget all about chain store coffee. The chief city of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo is located on a sandy playa, or dry lake bed, and the tawny colour of its soil lends the city its name (Spanish: Yellow). Posted: 12/14/2019 1:33:08 AM EST. During the third week of September, the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo brings participants mostly from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas to Amarillo since 1921. It isn't too far fetched to think that given enough time, mountain ranges could get covered up thanks to a variety of reasons. Due to the lack of developed drainage, much of the rainfall either evaporates, infiltrates into the ground, or accumulates in playa lakes. The Pioneer Amphitheater, located in nearby Palo Duro Canyon, is the setting for the outdoor musical drama Texas, which plays nightly during the summer. Maps | More Weather. Amarillo sits at an elevation of about 3,600 feet. Lake Meredith is located northeast of Amarillo and in 2005 it contained at least 114billion US gallons (430,000,000m3) of water. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Amarillo's population as 6.1% Hispanic and 88.5% non-Hispanic white.