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

Amarillo, Texas -- 1953

1880 Map of Texas Counties with a Newspaper or Periodical

The following map of Texas was published sometime shortly after the 1880 census and shows the counties of Texas that had newspaper and/or periodical publications based on the 1880 census. If you look at the map, you should see that Donley County was the only county in the Panhandle that published a newspaper or periodical, as indicated by the yellow triangle. In fact, there was only one other county in Texas west of the 100 degree longitude line that published a newspaper or periodical.

 

Buildings at 7th & Taylor in 1916

What was at the intersection of 7th & Taylor in 1916?

The old US Post Office building, built in 1914, was on the NW corner; the old Moore-Poston Company building, which sold dry goods, was on the NE corner; the old Weather Bureau was on the SE corner, and the St. Charles Apartments, built in 1911, was on the SW corner. Today the old post office building is still standing, but is now called the Coble Building. The old Moore-Poston Company building was replaced with the Herring... Furniture building, but is now a parking lot. The location of the old weather bureau is now home to the Happy State Bank building, and the old St. Charles Apartments building was demolished in 1932 and replaced with the building that is now home to Eddie's Napoli's Italian Restaurant.

The St. Charles Apartments would have been a very convenient place to live in 1916.

Old U.S. Post Office on the NW corner of 7th & Taylor in about 1916. Built in 1914

The old Moore-Poston Company Building at the NE corner of 7th & Taylor in about 1916. The company sold dry-goods.

The old Weather Bureau at the SE corner of 7th & Taylor in about 1916

The St. Charles Apartments at the SW corner of 7th & Taylor. Built in 1911, it was demolished in 1932 and replaced with a building that became the Greyhound Union Bus Depot.

 

Talmage Place at 14th & Van Buren was built in 1927.

Talmage Place was a 6-story apartment building built in 1927 at 14th & Van Buren by rancher and oilman H. E. Smith. It had sixty apartments. The building is still standing today as part of the Park Central Retirement Community. It hasn't changed much, has it?