{"nrhp_refnum":"96000939","name":"Santa Fe Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 S. Polk St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amarillo","county":"Potter County","state":"TX","lat":35.204437289000055,"lon":-101.83793330599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 14-story Gothic Revival office skyscraper at 900 South Polk Street in downtown Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, built 1928-1930 as the regional headquarters of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was designed by company architect E.A. Harrison.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be significant at the state level under Criterion A in Transportation, as the Western Lines headquarters from 1930 to 1989 that reflected the railroad's economic power in the Panhandle. It also qualifies under Criterion C in Architecture as a well-preserved 3-part vertical block skyscraper with Gothic Revival detailing and Moderne influences. It is one of Amarillo's few surviving 1920s downtown skyscrapers.","narrative":"Rising 14 stories and 188 feet above downtown Amarillo, this terra cotta and granite skyscraper was built between 1928 and 1930 at a cost of $1.5 million. Santa Fe company architect E.A. Harrison designed it, and Brennan Construction Company built it, to serve as the regional headquarters of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its two-story base, ten-story shaft and stepped tower carry restrained Gothic Revival detailing with Moderne influences, and the original red neon Santa Fe signs still crown all four sides. From 1930 to 1989 the building served as Western Lines headquarters, directing rail traffic across several states during the Panhandle's oil and agricultural boom. It was Amarillo's first steel-frame building and remained the city's tallest until the 1970s. Its exterior and much of its interior character survive, and the building is now being converted into county offices. It is regarded as one of the best-preserved of Amarillo's few remaining 1920s skyscrapers.","period_of_significance":"1928-1946","architect_builder":"Harrison, E.A. (architect); Brennan Construction Company (builder)","architectural_style":"Other: 3-part vertical block; Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Little altered and immaculately maintained; being converted into offices for Potter County, with first-floor storefront windows to be restored to their original appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.404881-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/9732/40973218/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/96000939.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000939/5eb1c83126-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000939/5eb1c83126-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Who What Where Nguyen Why a/k/a Anonymous Cow and J. Nguyen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amarillo_Texas_-_Santa_Fe_Railroad_Building1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Who What Where Nguyen Why a/k/a Anonymous Cow and J. Nguyen</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:Amarillo_Texas_-_Santa_Fe_Railroad_Building1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973218","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Building_(Amarillo,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7419506"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/potter-county/santa-fe-building-96000939/"}