The Frost Motor Company, established in 1924

In January 1925, William Frost moved his Buick-Cadillac car business to 507-9-11 South Tyler Street. In August 1938, he was still at the same location, according to an article in the August 14, 1938 edition of the Amarillo Sunday News and Globe. The building at that location today looks like it was probably the building used for the Frost Motor Company.

Building at 507-9-11 S. Tyler

Article from the 14Aug1938 edition of the Amarillo Sunday News and Globe

The Amarillo Hotel, 1889 to 1965

According to Wikipedia, the first photo was taken in 1889, three weeks after the "Town of Amarillo," Texas was incorporated. (The "City of Amarillo" was not incorporated until 1899.) In the 1889 photo, the 2-story building on the left was the old Amarillo Hotel, which at the time had thirty rooms and was located at 3rd & Polk. The second photo shows the hotel at a later date, after another wooden structure was built next to it.

The third photo shows the new brick version of the hotel that was built in 1908 next to the old wooden hotel, which is partially visible at the right edge of the photo. The old wooden hotel was later moved to 3rd & Van Buren so that a new 1922 brick addition could be added to the 1908 structure.

The fourth and fifth photos show the hotel with its 1922 and 1927 additions. The old wooden hotel that had been moved to 3rd and Van Buren and was being used to housed hotel employees when it burned down in 1926.

The seventh photo shows the Amarillo Hotel sometime after it closed its doors as a hotel on April 7, 1965.

The last two photos show the tower portion of the hotel on April 16, 1978, the day it was demolished by implosion, which supposedly took only eight seconds to complete.

The building on the left is the old Amarillo Hotel that was at 3rd & Polk in 1889

The old Amarillo Hotel at 3rd & Polk, sometime after it was built in 1889 and 1908, when a new brick version of the hotel was built right beside it. 

The brick building in the photo is "The Amarillo" Hotel built in 1908. It was built next to the old wooden Amarillo Hotel, which was 1889 and can be seen at the right edge of the photo. After the 1908 brick hotel was built, the old wooden hotel was used to house hotel employees. The wooden structure was later moved to 3rd & Van Buren so that a new brick addition could be added to the 1908 structure in 1922.

The new Amarillo Hotel at 3rd & Polk. The portion of the hotel on the left side of the photo shows a lighter brick portion and a darker brick portion. The lighter brick portion is the part of the hotel that was built in 1908. The darker portion is the portion that was built in 1922. On the right side of the photo, the portion beginning at the awning and going back to the edge of the photo looks like the addition that was added to the hotel in 1927. Notice that the façade is different.

The back portion of the wing along 3rd St. may have been the 1927 addition since it had a different exterior design.

1939 Amarillo Hotel Billboard

Photo taken sometime after the Amarillo Hotel closed its doors in 1965.

1914 Photos Showing the Construction of the Old US Post Office at 7th & Taylor.

The Cobble Building on the NW corner of 7th & Taylor was built in 1914 and was originally the US Post Office here in Amarillo. At the time three other buildings were already on the three other corners of 7th & Taylor. On the SW corner was the St. Charles Apartment Building. On the SE corner, kitty-corner from the Post Office, was the old Weather Bureau. And on the NE corner was the 2-story Moore-Poston Building. The following photographs were taken before and during the construction of the old post office in 1914.
 

This photo was taken from the yard of the old Weather Bureau at 7th & Taylor, looking northwest at the site of the future post office. Notice that 4th & Taylor is unpaved, but has sidewalks crossing over at each corner of the intersection. The backside of the old Opera House can be seen at the left edge of the photo. Also, the flagpole in the yard of the Weather Bureau can be seen in the foreground.

This photo shows the site being prepared for construction.

This photo shows the construction site with the still doomed Potter County Courthouse in the background. The dome of the courthouse was removed in 1915 to add a 4th floor, so this is evidence that this photo was taken before 1915.

This photo shows the construction site, looking southwest. The backside of the old Grand Opera House can be seen in the upper right corner of the photo.

This photo shows the construction site in the foreground and the backsides of the old Grand Opera House and the Green Brothers Furniture Company, both of which faced Polk Street.

This photo shows the construction site with the St. Charles Apartment in the background on the left side of the photo and the backside of the old Grand Opera House on the right side. The old Polk Street Methodist Church can also be seen in the distant background.

 

This is another photo of the construction site, looking north.

This photo shows the construction site, looking northwest past empty lots to reveal buildings on Polk Street.

This photo from in front of the St. Charles Apartment Building, looking northwest. You can see the corner of the sidewalk in front of the St. Charles Apartment Building in the lower left-hand corner of the photo, next to the fire hydrant.

This photo shows the nearly completed Post Office with the St. Charles Apartment Building across the street in the background.

This photo shows an interior shot of the Post Office.

This is another interior shot of the Post Office.

1938 - Cal Farley's Goodrich Silvertowns

Clipped from the August 14, 1938 edition of the Amarillo News-Globe

This is the old Cal Farley's Goodrich Silvertowns building today.



Clipped from the August 14, 1938 edition of the Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Late 1920s photos of Amarillo taken from atop the Herring Hotel

This photo shows the Rock Island Depot to the Northwest of the Herring Hotel. Today there is only an empty lot where the depot once was.

This photo shows the Ft. Worth-Denver Depot north of the Herring Hotel, about where the Pierce Street Overpass is today. Also, the 2-story, brick building near the upper right-hand corner of the photo is Horace Mann Jr. High School, which was built in 1910 at N. 6th & Buchannan.

This photo shows the city North-northeast of the Herring Hotel

This photo shows the city East-northeast of the Herring Hotel.

This photo shows the city east of the Herring Hotel.

This photo shows the Sante Fe Train Depot to the East-southeast of the Herring Hotel

Late 1920s Photo of Amarillo taken from Herring Hotel looking Northwest

Late 1920s view of Amarillo taken from atop the Herring Hotel, looking northwest. Included in the photo is the old Rock Island Depot



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



Old Amarillo Ice Distribution Company in the 1920s photo



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



One of the buildings in the 1920s photo



The empty lot in the foreground was the site of the old Rock Island Train Depot

1910 -- Sante Fe Depot under construction in Amarillo Texas

1910 - Santa Fe Depot under construction in Amarillo, TX

1960 -- Santa Fe Depot, Amarillo, TX

Today -- Santa Fe Depot, Amarillo, TX

Population of Amarillo in 1920 was 15,494.

In 1920, Amarillo was the 15th largest city in Texas with a population of 15,494. Towns larger than Amarillo at the time included Ranger, Denison, Waco, and Wichita Falls. Today, Amarillo has a population of 196,429; Waco, 130,194; Wichita Falls, 104,553; Denison, 22,816; and Ranger, 2,468. The Amarillo "metropolitan area," which includes four counties, has an estimated population of 236,113.

1920, June 15 - News on Amarillo Industrial Development

Sprinking Suggested for Dusty Amarillo Business District - Twice-a-Week Hearld, 8 Jun 1906