Triangle Motel
Why it's listed
Where US 66 and US 60 meet in northeastern Amarillo, a triangular lot holds a roadside complex built to serve travelers with lodging, food and fuel. Six buildings went up between 1946 and 1952: two facing one-story motel wings in simplified Streamline Moderne, a café, a gas station, a house and a maintenance garage. The house was an assembly-line product delivered by truck, an early relative of the manufactured home. In 1956 the exteriors were covered with brick or Permastone veneer, and little has changed since. The motel rooms keep plaster walls, steel casement windows, redwood doors and tiled bathrooms, and a pole-mounted neon sign remains. The café and gas station are counted as noncontributing because of later alterations, including a roof added to the café in 2009. The complex is recognized for its link to Route 66 and Amarillo's tourist trade in the mid-twentieth century, and as a representative local example of the motel, café and gas station grouping. Silas "Si" Clayton is named as builder.
Significance in brief: The nomination cites the complex's role in commerce and transportation along Route 66 and Amarillo's mid-century tourist economy. It also treats the property as an excellent local example of a motor court with its related gas and food facilities. It is nominated at the local level under Criteria A and C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10000982, listed December 7, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 7804, 7808, 7954, and 8024 E Amarillo Blvd, Amarillo |
|---|---|
| County | Potter County |
| Listed | December 7, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000982 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1946-1960 |
| Architect / builder | Silas M. "Si" Clayton |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: Streamline Moderne; Commercial Vernacular; Minimal Traditional |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The café operates as a bar and the residence is a single dwelling. The form also marks the property as vacant/not in use. The café and gas station are noncontributing because of later alterations. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 35.22414, -101.74830 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10000982.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110000175
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.