There's a little town in the Texas panhandle, not far from the Oklahoma border that lays claim to the unlikely name of Shamrock. With hardly a speck of green to be seen, I'm not sure how it acquired such a moniker. Shamrock's not much more than a wide spot and a crossroads with I-40 for a white noise machine.
My first visit to Shamrock was a bit of happenstance, I was heading east on I-40 heading home from a twelve week road trip and some kinfolk were headed west on I-40 bound for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We made plans to meet and Shamrock was the closest thing to a city anywhere near the midpoint between us.
Ended up meeting up at the U-Drop Inn and ever since I've been unable to drive past Shamrock and not drop in.
Didn't realize it until I was doing research for my most recent road trip but this is an example of Art Deco architecture, and an unusual one at that. Seems gas station/restaurant combos were not the norm for that.
Almost forgot to mention the reason such an interesting building is here. Back before the coming of the interstates, Route 66 was the main road through here and the 'Mother Road' to many. Shamrock is one, the U-Drop Inn sits along the road that once brought prosperity.
The coming of the interstate condemned it to that slow, lingering decay symptomatic of the hangover that always seems to follow the American Dream. Now it's a museum, with Tesla charging stations out back and a 24-hour public restroom in front. Which was rather nice, the museum was closed when we were there but the bathroom wasn't.
The other places still hanging on along Route 66 seemed to be heavily involved in trafficking nostalgia. Business was not brisk. On a surface level it all just seems incredibly kitschy but at the same time there's something incredibly fascinating about it.
How do places like this keep on keeping on? What sorts of folks still wind up here and what draws them here? What is it about that era that continues to captivate? Don't got the answers to any of that but I'm pretty sure it'd be good fodder for many a photo project.
If you ever find yourself on I-40 heading across Texas and have a few minutes to spare, you should drop in and investigate for yourself. It's something to see, and to take a moment to try and picture what it was like back in it's heyday.
That's enough out of me, but if you're a fan of Ken Block or drifting, or just watching people in souped up vehicles doing ridiculous shit in general, check out this video which visits some of the places pictured above.