Amarillo, Texas, is lobbying for the creation of an officially sanctioned cultural district that includes Route 66.
According to the Amarillo Globe-News:
The proposed district lines aren’t a compact square, but instead stretch to include downtown with the Amarillo Civic Center Complex and Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, Southwest Sixth Avenue/Historic Route 66 with music venues and galleries, the collection of art endeavors in The Galleries at Sunset Center, South Western Street where the summer concert series Starlight Theater has been produced in Sam Houston Park for years, the Amarillo Little Theatre venues in and near the Wolflin neighborhood and Amarillo College’s art and performance facilities on South Washington Street.
Center City of Amarillo is hosting three public hearings about the idea and will send the application before the June deadline. If accepted, the Texas Commission on the Arts would issue the 10-year designation.
There are 28 such cultural districts in Texas, but the closest is Lubbock — more than 120 miles away.
Cultural districts offer some promotional advantages, and the Texas Commission on the Arts also provides grants.
Amarillo’s Sixth Street Historic District, aka Route 66, seems to not attract as much attention from tourists as it deserves. It’s a gem, and if a cultural district draws more visitors, I’m all for it.
(Image of the Sixth Street Historic District in Amarillo by Laura Bittner via Flickr)