The Historic 6th on Route 66 Association, San Jacinto Neighborhood Association and Route 66 Association of Texas need $18,000 more to paint a proposed Amarillo Route 66 shield on a water tower in Amarillo.
About $5,000 for the effort has been raised so far. The groups need to raise the rest by Sept. 30, according to KVII-TV in Amarillo.
To donate to the water-tower cause, email info@rt66oftexas.com. Donations also will be accepted at Texas Ivy Antiques at 3511 SW 6th Ave in Amarillo. The phone number there is (806) 373-1427.
Dora Meroney, secretary and treasurer of the Historic 6th group,, a board member of the San Jacinto group and operator of the Texas Ivy Antiques store along Route 66 in Amarillo, recently told the Amarillo Globe-News what prompted the request for the shield on the water tower.
“It gets repainted every 10 to 12 years,” she said. “Last time it was painted, one of the other merchants that was on the street, and a member of the association at the time, he approached the city about painting a Route 66 on it. Since the water tower had just been painted, they said well, you will have to wait until the next cycle. This is the next cycle.”
The water tower request became one of the key components of the San Jacinto Neighborhood Plan, a document centered around the rejuvenation of the neighborhood which was adopted earlier this year. Other areas in the city of Amarillo which have neighborhood plans include North Heights and the Barrio.
The Amarillo City Council is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a change in city code that would allow the shield to be painted onto the water tower. Those groups approached city staff in May about the change.
The water tower sits at 6th Avenue (aka Route 66) and Independence Street on the city’s west side.
(Screen-capture image from KVII-TV video of artist’s rendering of the proposed Amarillo Route 66 sign for the water tower)