{"nrhp_refnum":"96000938","name":"Potter County Courthouse and Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 S. Taylor St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amarillo","county":"Potter County","state":"TX","lat":35.208101498000076,"lon":-101.83542510599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county courthouse and a county library on Block 60 in downtown Amarillo, Potter County, Texas. The eight-story Art Deco courthouse was built 1930-1932, and the one-story Prairie School-influenced library dates from 1922. Both were designed by W.C. Townes and associates.","why_significant":"The buildings served as the focal point of Potter County government and reflect the economic growth, cultural aspirations and political history of the county seat during the 1920s oil boom. The courthouse is a distinctive Art Deco design among many similar commissions in the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico. The library was the fourth county library in Texas and the only one with its own building at the time.","narrative":"Rising eight stories above the courthouse square in downtown Amarillo, the Potter County Courthouse was built between 1930 and 1932 for $315,000. Architect W.C. Townes gave it a stepped, skyscraper-like Art Deco form clad in terra cotta, with stylized cattle and cactus motifs at the entries and tower. On the same block, the 1922 county library, designed by Townes and J. Roy Smith, is a one-story buff brick building with Prairie School detailing. Its basement held public lounge facilities for women and children visiting downtown. Both buildings grew out of demand for public services during the 1920s oil boom that transformed Amarillo. The library opened as the fourth county library in Texas and the only one with its own building. The courthouse was financed by a 1930 bond election and structured to employ local workers during the Depression. Both buildings have served county government continuously and keep a high degree of historic integrity, which supports their local significance in government, social history and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1922-1946","architect_builder":"Townes, Lightfoot & Funk (courthouse architects); Lambie, Charles (courthouse builder); Smith and Townes (library architects); W.M. Rice Construction Company (library builder)","architectural_style":"Art Deco; Prairie School","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Current functions are courthouse and government office use; the buildings have been in continuous service as county offices since construction and retain a high degree of integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.254693-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/9732/40973214/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/96000938.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000938/ad335b3bd4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000938/ad335b3bd4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Who What Where Nguyen Why","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potter_County_Courthouse_building_-_Amarillo_Texas_USA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Who What Where Nguyen Why</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potter_County_Courthouse_building_-_Amarillo_Texas_USA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973214","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter_County_Courthouse_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7235256"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/potter-county/potter-county-courthouse-and-library-96000938/"}