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94-655: The Amarillo Civic Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Amarillo, Texas . It consists of multiple facilities including: Elvis Presley played 2 sold-out shows at the Civic Center. June 19, 1974 and March 24, 1977. There is a memorial statue of the Space Shuttle commander Rick Husband , one of the city's most famous sons, in front of the building. Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( / ˌ æ m ə ˈ r ɪ l oʊ / AM -ə- RIL -oh ; Spanish for " yellow ")

188-577: A National Historic Sites of Canada . The Warner elevator row is, as of 2019, not designated a historic site, and is still in use as commercial grain elevators. All companies operating elevators in Canada are licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission . This is a list of grain elevators that are either in the process of becoming heritage sites or museums , or have been preserved for future generations. The Manchester Ship Canal grain elevator

282-466: A skatepark west of the city. Amarillo's largest parks are Medical Park, Thompson Memorial Park, and Memorial Park, near Amarillo College's Washington Street Campus. From 1978 to 2002, the Junior League of Amarillo and the city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department co-sponsored Funfest, a family entertainment festival, benefiting the city parks and the league's Community Chest Trust Fund. Funfest

376-520: A chain reaction that would destroy the entire structure. (This dispersed-fuel explosion is the mechanism behind fuel-air bombs .) To prevent this, elevators have very rigorous rules against smoking or any other open flame. Many elevators also have various devices installed to maximize ventilation, safeguards against overheating in belt conveyors, legs, bearings, and explosion-proof electrical devices such as electric motors , switches, and lighting . Grain elevators in small Canadian communities often had

470-561: A city sales tax, and it provides aggressive incentive packages to existing and prospective employers. In the mid-to-late 1990s, the AEDC gained notoriety by sending mock checks to businesses across the country, placing full-page advertisements in The Wall Street Journal , and paying an annual $ 1 million subsidy to American Airlines to retain jet service. The AEDC is largely responsible for bringing Bell Helicopter Textron's development of

564-413: A collision course with Amarillo. The tornado, shortly after 8 pm, ripped through Amarillo's most densely populated areas, demolishing almost half of the city, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life. In 1951, the army air base was reactivated as Amarillo Air Force Base and expanded to accommodate a Strategic Air Command B-52 Stratofortress wing. The arrival of servicemen and their families ended

658-466: A common sight in the grain-growing areas of the world, such as the North American prairies . Larger terminal elevators are found at distribution centers, such as Chicago and Thunder Bay , Ontario, where grain is sent for processing, or loaded aboard trains or ships to go further afield. Buffalo, New York, the world's largest grain port from the 1850s until the first half of the 20th century, once had

752-629: A destructive fire that gutted much of the nearby milling district. (The Washburn "A" mill was later rebuilt and continued to be used until 1965.) Another example occurred in 1998, when the DeBruce grain elevator in Wichita, Kansas , exploded and killed seven people. An explosion on October 29, 2011, at the Bartlett Grain Company in Atchison, Kansas , killed six people. Two more men received severe burns, but

846-701: A horse statue and a local artist paints on it. Two of the Amarillo area's higher education institutions have at least one museum in their campuses. The Amarillo Art Center [1] , opened in 1972, is a building complex with the Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA) and concert hall located on the Washington Street Campus of Amarillo College. Located on the campus of West Texas A&M University, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum claims to be

940-403: A median household income of $ 52,941 and per capita income at $ 28,274. An estimated 15.4% of the population lived at or below the poverty line . In 2020, there were 78,706 occupied households, out of which 26,945 were married couples living together, 4,327 had a female householder with no spouse present, and 1,858 were male householder, no spouse present. The age distribution of the city in 2020

1034-441: A row along the railway tracks. If a town were lucky enough to have two railways, it was to be known as the next Montreal . Many elevator rows had two or more elevators of the same company. Small towns bragged of their large elevator rows in promotional pamphlets to attract settlers. With so much competition in the 1920s, consolidation began almost immediately, and many small companies were merged or absorbed into larger companies. In

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1128-546: A single grain-laden boat. Grain shipments were going down the Mississippi River, not over the Great Lakes/Erie Canal system. A merchant named Joseph Dart Jr., is generally credited as being the one who adapted Oliver Evans ' grain elevator (originally a manufacturing device) for use in a commercial framework (the trans-shipment of grain in bulk from lakers to canal boats), but the actual design and construction of

1222-467: Is Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway , the state park is the home of the official Texas State Bison Herd, who were captured and taken care of by cattle rancher Charles Goodnight. Local millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 funded many public art projects in the city including the Cadillac Ranch , located west of Amarillo on Interstate 40 , a monument of painted Cadillac automobiles that were dug into

1316-723: Is Amarillo's only local museum to exclusively feature local history. Other notable museums in the area are the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum and the English Field Air & Space Museum . The Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum features a collection of Native American artifacts and provides dance performances. The English Field Air & Space Museum, which had been operated by the Texas Aviation Historical Society featuring aircraft and space exhibits, in 2007 closed its doors and lost many of its aircraft. The museum

1410-584: Is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County . It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the most populous city in the Texas panhandle . A portion of the city extends into Randall County . The estimated population of Amarillo was 200,393 as of April 1, 2020, comprising nearly half of the population of the panhandle. The Amarillo metropolitan area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020. The city of Amarillo, originally named Oneida,

1504-522: Is emptied from bins, tanks, and silos, it is conveyed, blended, and weighted into trucks, railroad cars , or barges for shipment. In Australian English , the term "grain elevator" is reserved for elevator towers, while a receival and storage building or complex is distinguished by the formal term "receival point" or as a "wheat bin" or "silo". Large-scale grain receival, storage, and logistics operations are known in Australia as bulk handling. In Canada,

1598-623: Is located a 5-hour plus drive in Denton, TX despite there being a UU congregation in Amarillo it does not host a CUUPs chapter. Amarillo is considered the regional economic center for the Texas Panhandle, as well as Eastern New Mexico and the Oklahoma Panhandle. The meat packing industry is a major employer in Amarillo; about one-quarter of the United States' beef supply is processed in

1692-613: Is located near the middle of the Texas Panhandle . It does not share similar weather characteristics with south and east Texas . It is situated in the grasslands of the Texas Panhandle, and is surrounded by dense prairie. Amarillo is infamous for its unpredictable weather patterns, with massive temperature changes on a daily basis, raging winds, devastating hailstorms and "northers", long periods of drought, late frosts, spring tornadoes, dust-storms, and floods. Though urbanization, agricultural farming, and construction have taken place over

1786-496: Is milled or ground to remove stones, which could strike sparks from the millstones, and the use of magnets to remove metallic debris able to strike sparks. The earliest recorded flour explosion took place in an Italian mill in 1785, but many have occurred since. These two references give numbers of recorded flour and dust explosions in the United States in 1994: and 1997 In the ten-year period up to and including 1997, there were 129 explosions. Canadian Prairie grain elevators were

1880-441: Is no stranger to devastating tornadoes. Tornadoes have occurred in and around the city in 1968, 1970, 1982, 1986, 2001, 2007, and most recently in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The strongest tornado to ever hit Amarillo was a deadly F4 tornado that struck the city in the night time hours of May 15, 1949. Amarillo suffered a direct hit, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life in Amarillo's most densely populated areas. The tornado devastated

1974-421: Is now rebuilding its aircraft collection as Texas Air & Space Museum and is located on American Drive on the south side of the airport. Most of Amarillo's population growth and commercial development are occurring in the southern and northwestern parts of the city. Similar to many towns in the Texas Panhandle, the city's downtown has suffered economic deterioration throughout the years. To help revitalize it,

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2068-591: Is situated in the Llano Estacado region. The availability of the railroad and freight service provided by the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad contributed to the city's growth as a cattle-marketing center in the late 19th century. Amarillo was once the self-proclaimed " Helium Capital of the World" for having one of the country's most productive helium fields. The city is also known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" (as

2162-611: Is stored in the Bush Dome Reservoir at the Cliffside facility. Following the lead of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad established services to and from Amarillo. Each of these three carriers maintained substantial freight and passenger depots and repair facilities in the city through most of the 20th century and were major employers within

2256-841: Is the Canadian River , which divides the Western High Plains ecological region. The southern divide of the Western High Plains is the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains geographical region. The river is dammed to form Lake Meredith , a major source of drinking water in the Texas Panhandle region. The city is situated near the Panhandle Field, in a productive gas and oil area, covering 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) in Hartley , Potter, Moore , Hutchinson , Carson, Gray , Wheeler , and Collingsworth Counties. The Potter County portion had

2350-402: Is the need to provide separate storage for ordinary and genetically modified grain to reduce the risk of accidental mixing of the two. In the past, grain elevators sometimes experienced silo explosions . Fine powder from the millions of grains passing through the facility would accumulate and mix with the oxygen in the air. A spark could spread from one floating particle to the other, creating

2444-400: The 2000 U.S. census . In 2020, there were 76,778 households with an average of 2.57 people per household. Of the households, 60.8% lived in owner-occupied housing units and the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $ 140,030. The median homeowner costs with a mortgage were $ 1,272 and without a mortgage $ 479. Amarillo had a median gross rent of $ 876 from 2016 to 2020. Amarillo had

2538-470: The Amarillo Botanical Gardens has gardens, indoor exhibits, and a library for visitation throughout the year. The Texas Pharmacy Museum claims to be the only Texas museum specialized in the research, collection, preservation, and exhibition of the history of pharmacy, is also located in the city's hospital district. Founded in 2013, by businessman Tom Warren, The Amarillo Historical Museum

2632-675: The American Quarter Horse breed. The organization is headquartered in Amarillo and has a museum. There is also an American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame exhibited in the museum. In addition, the AQHA and Center City of Amarillo co-sponsors the project, "Hoof Prints of the American Quarter Horse" which consist of horse statues located in front of several Amarillo businesses, such as the downtown Amarillo National building, Nationwide Insurance, and Edward Jones. An area business would purchase

2726-610: The Atlantic Ocean ). All through the 1830s, Buffalo benefited tremendously from its position. In particular, it was the recipient of most of the increasing quantities of grain (mostly wheat) that was being grown on farms in Ohio and Indiana , and shipped on Lake Erie for trans-shipment to the Erie Canal. If Buffalo had not been there, or when things got backed up there, that grain would have been loaded onto boats at Cincinnati and shipped down

2820-733: The Civil War , with the coming of the railroads . The world's second and third grain elevators were built in Toledo, Ohio, and Brooklyn , New York, in 1847. These fledgling American cities were connected through an emerging international grain trade of unprecedented proportions. Grain shipments from farms in Ohio were loaded onto ships by elevators at Toledo; these ships were unloaded by elevators at Buffalo that shipped their grain to canal boats (and, later, rail cars), which were unloaded by elevators in Brooklyn, where

2914-796: The Dory Funk wrestling family, former UFC Champions Heath Herring and Evan Tanner , astronaut Rick Husband , professional golfer Ryan Palmer, rockabilly pioneer Buddy Knox , actress Carolyn Jones , actress and dancer Cyd Charisse , actor and poet Harry Northup , State Senator Max Sherman , Republican state chairman Tom Mechler , politicians Beau Boulter and John Marvin Jones , businessman T. Boone Pickens, Jr. , singer-songwriter JD Souther , gambler Thomas " Amarillo Slim " Preston, soldier and interior decorator Clyde Kenneth Harris , and music artist and composer Terry Stafford ("Amarillo by Morning"; "Suspicion"). Singer Lacey Brown of Amarillo advanced to

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3008-539: The Mississippi River to New Orleans . By 1842, Buffalo's port facilities clearly had become antiquated. They still relied upon techniques that had been in use since the European Middle Ages ; work teams of stevedores use block and tackles and their own backs to unload or load each sack of grain that had been stored ashore or in the boat's hull. Several days, sometimes even a week, were needed to serve

3102-565: The National Register of Historic Places reflect the economic growth from around 1900 to the start of World War II. Polk Street contains many of the city's historic downtown buildings and homes. The large historic homes on this street were built close to downtown, and homes were located on the west side of the street as a symbol of status because they would be greeted with the sunrise every morning. The city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 municipal parks, including

3196-553: The Working Ranch Cowboys Association is held every November in the Amarillo Civic Center . The Amarillo Livestock Auction on Bull Road holds a free-to-the-public cattle auction on Tuesdays. Now located on Interstate 40, The Big Texan Steak Ranch is famous by offering visitors a free 72  ounce (2 kg) beef steak if it (and its accompanying dinner) is eaten in under an hour. Globe-News Center for

3290-513: The county seat election and was established in Potter County. Availability of the railroad and freight service after the county seat election made the town a fast-growing cattle -marketing center. The settlement originally was called Oneida; it later changed its name to Amarillo, which probably derived from yellow wildflowers that were plentiful during the spring and summer or the nearby Amarillo Lake and Amarillo Creek , named in turn for

3384-606: The cowboy and Texas culture. During the third week of September, the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo brings participants mostly from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas to Amarillo since 1921. On the Tri-State Exposition grounds, the Amarillo National Center is a special events center for events ranging from national equestrian competitions to motor sports and rodeos . The World Championship Ranch Rodeo sponsored by

3478-680: The 77.83%, 74.53% identify as Christian. Baptists made up 40.2% of the Christian population and Catholics were 13.3% of the local population. Methodists and Pentecostals were the next largest Christian groups, followed by Presbyterians , Mormons , Episcopalians or Anglicans , and Lutherans . Approximately 8.1% of the population were of another Christian faith. In 2021, about 0.1% of Amarillo's residents identified with Judaism and 2.1% were Muslim. An estimated 1.1% followed an Eastern religion such as Buddhism or Hinduism . The closest Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagan meeting officially advertised

3572-534: The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce announced a new initiative to help local businesses rebound from the pandemic. Its tourism industry also rebounded. Amarillo has a number of natural attractions near the city. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is the United States' second largest canyon system, after the Grand Canyon and is located south of Amarillo. The canyon is a prominent mountain biking destination and hosts

3666-557: The Amarillo National Bank Plaza One building houses the headquarters of Amarillo National Bank , the city's largest financial institution. The Santa Fe Building , completed in 1930, was the regional offices of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, but was vacant for several years until Potter County bought the building for $ 426,000 in 1995 to gain new office spaces. Amarillo's historic homes and buildings listed on

3760-688: The Amarillo's public schools, Amarillo College, Canyon Area Library, Lovett Memorial Library in Pampa, Texas , and Hutchinson County Library in Borger, Texas . The Amarillo Public Library's main branch is located in downtown and operates four neighborhood branches. Wonderland Amusement Park is located in northern Amarillo at Thompson Park, named for Ernest Thompson. The park also houses the Amarillo zoo and offers picnicking . Amarillo residents are known as Amarilloans . Notable Amarilloans include actress Ann Doran (1911–2000), old-style journalist Bascom N. Timmons ,

3854-519: The Mainstage and the Adventure Space, are located west of Amarillo's downtown. The Pioneer Amphitheater , located in nearby Palo Duro Canyon, is the setting for the outdoor musical drama Texas, which plays nightly during the summer. The musical depicts a story about the history of Texas Panhandle settlers throughout the years. In 2002, the producers changed its name to Texas Legacies after retiring

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3948-647: The Performing Arts , opened in 2006, houses the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and Lone Star Ballet concerts. The facility, located just across the Amarillo Civic Center, features a 1,300-seat auditorium. The Globe-News Center was built in hope by city officials and others that it will revitalize the downtown area. The nonprofit community theater group, Amarillo Little Theatre, has its season run from September to May. The theater group's two facilities,

4042-475: The United States had 0.88 cubic kilometres (25 billion US bushels) of storage capacity, a growth of 25% over the previous decade. The city of Buffalo is not only the birthplace of the modern grain elevator, but also has the world's largest number of extant examples. A number of the city's historic elevators are clustered along "Elevator Alley", a narrow stretch of the Buffalo River immediately adjacent to

4136-423: The United States' largest capacity for the storage of grain in over 30 concrete grain elevators located along the inner and outer harbors. While several are still in productive use, many of those that remain are presently idle. In a nascent trend, some of the city's inactive capacity has recently come back online, with an ethanol plant started in 2007 using one of the previously mothballed elevators to store corn. In

4230-400: The United States. In farming communities, each town had one or more small grain elevators that served the local growers. The classic grain elevator was constructed with wooden cribbing and had nine or more larger square or rectangular bins arranged in 3 × 3 or 3 × 4 or 4 × 4 or more patterns. Wooden-cribbed elevators usually had a driveway with truck scale and office on one side, a rail line on

4324-510: The V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft and the future site of Marine One assembly in Amarillo. From 2020 to 2021, Amarillo experienced its greatest amount of economic development in 30 years. Amazon , Asset Protection Unit, and Texas Tech University Vet School were named some major organizations contributing to the city and metropolitan area's economic growth. Through the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas ,

4418-571: The annual 50-mile Palo Duro Canyon Trail Run. Palo Duro has a distinct hoodoo that resembles a lighthouse. Another natural landmark near the city, the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is located 30 miles (48 km) north of Amarillo. It is once known as the site for prehistoric inhabitants to obtain flint in order to make tools and weapons. About 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Amarillo in Briscoe County

4512-494: The area. The city is also the location of headquarters for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Petroleum extraction is also a major industry. The helium industry has decreased in significance since the federal government privatized local operations in the late 1990s. Bell Helicopter Textron opened a helicopter assembly plant near the city's international airport in 1999. The city's largest employer in 2005

4606-590: The city and most of the county as a whole lie in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7a. Amarillo is characterized by a winter season featuring large diurnal temperature variation , great day-to-day variability, possible sudden and/or severe Arctic air outbreaks (in Texas, called "blue northers"), possible blizzards and hot summers with generally low humidity. The average annual precipitation is 20.4 inches or 520 millimeters. Much of Amarillo's precipitation falls during heavy convective showers and thunderstorms during

4700-454: The city takes its name from the Spanish word for yellow), "Yellow City" for its name, and "Rotor City, USA" for its V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft assembly plant. Amarillo operates one of the largest meat-packing areas in the United States. Pantex , the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the country, is also a major employer. The location of this facility also gave rise to

4794-449: The city with corn , wheat , and cotton as the primary crops. Other crops in the area include sorghum , silage , hay , and soybeans . The Texas Panhandle, particularly in Hereford, Texas , serves as a fast-growing milk producing area as several multimillion-dollar state of the art dairies were built in the early 2000s. The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) is funded by

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4888-613: The city's depression. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo's population grew from 74,443 to 137,969. However, the closure of Amarillo Air Force Base on December 31, 1968, contributed to a decrease in population to 127,010 by 1970. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Amarillo's population as 6.1% Hispanic and 88.5% non-Hispanic white. In the 1980s, ASARCO , Iowa Beef Processors (present day Tyson Foods ), Owens-Corning , and Weyerhaeuser built plants at Amarillo. The Eastridge neighborhood houses many immigrants from countries such as Vietnam , Laos , and Burma . Many of them found employment at

4982-460: The community. Amarillo was hit by the Dust Bowl and entered an economic depression . U.S. Routes 60, 87, 287, and 66 intersected at Amarillo, making it a major tourist stop with numerous motels, restaurants, and curio shops. World War II led the establishment of Amarillo Army Air Field in east Amarillo and the nearby Pantex Army Ordnance Plant, which produced bombs and ammunition. After the end of

5076-739: The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Buffalo enjoyed a unique position in American geography. It stood at the intersection of two great all-water routes; one extended from New York Harbor , up the Hudson River to Albany , and beyond it, the Port of Buffalo; the other comprised the Great Lakes , which could theoretically take boaters in any direction they wished to go (north to Canada , west to Michigan or Wisconsin , south to Toledo and Cleveland , or east to

5170-620: The early 1900s. Discovery of natural gas in 1918 and oil three years later brought oil and gas companies to the Amarillo area. The United States government bought the Cliffside Gas Field with high helium content in 1927 and the Federal Bureau of Mines began operating the Amarillo Helium plant two years later. The plant was the sole producer of commercial helium in the world for a number of years. The U.S. National Helium Reserve

5264-485: The early 20th century, Buffalo's grain elevators inspired modernist architects such as Le Corbusier , who exclaimed, "The first fruits of the new age!" when he first saw them. Buffalo's grain elevators have been documented for the Historic American Engineering Record and added to the National Register of Historic Places . Currently, Enid, Oklahoma , holds the title of most grain storage capacity in

5358-421: The east to move Amarillo after arguing that Berry's site was on low ground and would flood during rainstorms. Sanborn also offered to trade lots in the new location to businesses in the original city's site and help with the expense of moving to new buildings. His incentives gradually won over people, who moved their businesses to Polk Street in the new commercial district. Heavy rains almost flooded Berry's part of

5452-792: The grain elevator at Ellerslie, Alberta , remained marked with its old community name until it was demolished, which took place more than 20 years after the village had been annexed by Edmonton . One of the major historical trends in the grain trade has been the closure of many smaller elevators and the consolidation of the grain trade to fewer places and among fewer companies. For example, in 1961, 1,642 "country elevators" (the smallest type) were in Alberta, holding 3,452,240 tonnes (3,805,440 short tons) of grain. By 2010, only 79 "primary elevators" (as they are now known) remained, holding 1,613,960 tonnes (1,779,090 short tons). Despite this consolidation, overall storage capacity has increased in many places. In 2017,

5546-891: The grain was either distributed to East Coast flour mills or loaded for further shipment to England , the Netherlands , or Germany . This eastern flow of grain, though, was matched by an equally important flow of people and capital in the opposite direction, that is, from east to west. Because of the money to be made in grain production, and of course, because of the existence of an all-water route to get there, increasing numbers of immigrants in Brooklyn came to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to become farmers. More farmers meant more prairies turned into farmlands, which in turn meant increased grain production, which of course meant that more grain elevators would have to be built in places such as Toledo, Buffalo, and Brooklyn (and Cleveland, Chicago , and Duluth ). Through this loop of productivity set in motion by

5640-541: The ground head first. Marsh also participated in an ongoing art project called the Dynamite Museum, which consists of thousands of mock traffic signs . These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end" or displaying a random picture, are scattered throughout the city of Amarillo. Besides these works, one can find close to the city the final earthwork of Robert Smithson (and another commission by Marsh), Amarillo Ramp . The city has events and attractions honoring

5734-497: The ground, or accumulates in playa lakes . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 90.3 square miles (234 km ), with 89.9 sq mi (233 km ) of it land and 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km ) of it (0.50%) covered by water. The Amarillo metropolitan area covers four counties: Armstrong , Carson , Potter, and Randall. About 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Amarillo

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5828-505: The harbor. The alley runs under Ohio Street and along Childs Street in the city's First Ward neighborhood. In Canada, the term "elevator row" refers to a row of four or more wood-crib prairie grain elevators. In the early pioneer days of Western Canada 's prairie towns, when a good farming spot was settled, many people wanted to make money by building their own grain elevators. This brought in droves of private grain companies. Towns boasted dozens of elevator companies, which all stood in

5922-543: The hulls of ships and elevated it to the top of a marine tower. Early grain elevators and bins were often built of framed or cribbed wood, and were prone to fire. In 1899 Frank H. Peavey "The Elevator King' along with Charles F. Haglin , invented the modern grain elevator. The first Peavey-Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator still stands today in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The Peavey invented elevator

6016-418: The invention of the grain elevator, the United States became a major international producer of wheat, corn, and oats. In the early 20th century, concern arose about monopolistic practices in the grain elevator industry, leading to testimony before the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1906. This led to several grain elevators being burned down in Nebraska, allegedly in protest. Today, grain elevators are

6110-401: The largest historical museum in Texas. Don Harrington Discovery Center , located in the city's hospital district, is an interactive science center and space theater with over 60 hands-on exhibits. Outside of the building is a steel structure called the Helium Monument which has time capsules and designates Amarillo the "Helium Capital of the World". Near the proximity of the Discovery Center,

6204-409: The last century in and around Amarillo, the native grasslands that dominate this region have remained largely untouched. Amarillo sits closer in proximity to the Oklahoma , New Mexico and Colorado state capitals than it does to Austin . The region's surface is relatively flat and has little soil drainage. Due to the lack of developed drainage, much of the rainfall either evaporates, infiltrates into

6298-545: The late spring and summer months. According to 'Cities Ranked and Rated' (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander), Amarillo averages 48 days per year during which thunder and lightning is reported. This is above the national average. These storms can be severe: Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle are situated in the western portion of " Tornado Alley " and are prone to severe weather events, occurring primarily between April and July. Severe thunderstorms can produce damaging straight-line winds, large hail, tornadoes, and flash flooding. Amarillo

6392-442: The lifting mechanism. Before the advent of the grain elevator, grain was usually handled in bags rather than in bulk (large quantities of loose grain). The Dart elevator was a major innovation—it was invented by Joseph Dart , a merchant, and Robert Dunbar , an engineer, in 1842, in Buffalo, New York . Using the steam-powered flour mills of Oliver Evans as their model, they invented the marine leg, which scooped loose grain out of

6486-438: The median figure is near 10 inches or 25 centimeters. Amarillo is also recorded as the windiest city in the U.S. by the Weather Channel. According to the 2020 United States census , there were 200,393 people, 76,778 households, and 50,005 families residing in the city, an increase of 5.1% since the 2010 United States census. At the 2010 U.S. census , there were 190,695 people residing in Amarillo, an increase of 9.8% since

6580-413: The mid-1990s, with the cost of grain so low, many private elevator companies once again had to merge, this time causing thousands of "prairie sentinels" to be torn down. Because so many grain elevators have been torn down, Canada has only two surviving elevator rows; one located in Inglis, Manitoba , and the other in Warner, Alberta . The Inglis Grain Elevators National Historic Site has been protected as

6674-417: The name of the community painted on two sides of the elevator in large block letters, with the name of the elevator operator emblazoned on the other two sides. This made identification of the community easier for rail operators (and incidentally, for lost drivers and pilots). The old community name often remained on an elevator long after the town had either disappeared or been amalgamated into another community;

6768-423: The nation's largest natural gas reserve. Approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Amarillo is the canyon system, Palo Duro Canyon . The tallest peak is reported to be 2,500 feet (760 m) underground in northeastern Potter County under the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument . Like most of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo has a temperate semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). Both

6862-452: The nearby Iowa Beef Processors plant. The following decade, Amarillo's city limits encompassed 60 square miles (155 km ) in Potter and Randall Counties. Interstate 27 highway connecting Lubbock to Amarillo was built mostly during the 1980s. In May 1982, a strong F3 tornado struck Amarillo's western suburbs, devastating parts of Dawn, and Bushland. No fatalities were reported. Amarillo

6956-404: The nickname "Bomb City". During April 1887, J. I. Berry established a site for a town after he chose a well-watered section along the right-of-way of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, which had begun building across the Texas Panhandle. Berry and Colorado City, Texas , merchants wanted to make their new town site the region's main trading center. On August 30, 1887, Berry's town site won

7050-475: The organization Center City of Amarillo was formed to establish partnerships with groups who have a large presence in the city. Since its conception in the 1990s, Center City has sponsored public art projects and started block parties in the downtown area. The 31-story FirstBank Southwest Tower was opened in Amarillo's downtown in 1971. Completed in the same year as the FirstBank Southwest Tower,

7144-569: The other side, and additional grain-storage annex bins on either side. In more recent times with improved transportation, centralized and much larger elevators serve many farms. Some of them are quite large. Two elevators in Kansas (one in Hutchinson and one in Wichita ) are half a mile long. The loss of the grain elevators from small towns is often considered a great change in their identity, and efforts to preserve them as heritage structures are made. At

7238-470: The poverty line, including 20% of those under age 18, 14.1% ages 18 – 64, and 12.2% of those age 65 or over. Part of the Bible Belt , Christianity is the predominant religion in Amarillo and its metropolitan area. There are more than 200 churches in the area as of 2013. According to Sperling's BestPlaces in 2021, 77.83% of the population identified as religious, primarily adhering to Christianity. Out of

7332-537: The previous script that was used for 37 years for a more historically accurate one, but attendance declined over the next four seasons, so it was decided to revert to the original Paul Green script in 2006. The Amarillo Public Library is affiliated with the Harrington Library Consortium. The consortium consist of public, college, and school libraries located in the Texas Panhandle that share resources and cooperate with one another. Other members include

7426-406: The remaining four were not hurt. Almost any finely divided organic substance becomes an explosive material when dispersed as an air suspension; hence, a very fine flour is dangerously explosive in air suspension. This poses a significant risk when milling grain to produce flour, so mills go to great lengths to remove sources of sparks. These measures include carefully sifting the grain before it

7520-439: The same time, many larger grain farms have their own grain-handling facilities for storage and loading onto trucks. Elevator operators buy grain from farmers, either for cash or at a contracted price, and then sell futures contracts for the same quantity of grain, usually each day. They profit through the narrowing "basis", that is, the difference between the local cash price, and the futures price, that occurs at certain times of

7614-877: The south and east sides of the city, killing 7 people, and injuring more than 80 others. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 38.6 °F (3.7 °C) in January to 79.6 °F (26.4 °C) in July. Sunny weather prevails year-round, with nearly 3300 hours of bright sunshine annually. The National Weather Service in Amarillo forecasts and provides climatic data for the city. Extreme temperatures range from −16 °F (−26.7 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 111 °F (43.9 °C) on June 26, 2011, but lows do not typically dip to 0 °F or −17.8 °C in most years, while highs above 100 °F or 37.8 °C are seen on 4.7 days on average. On average, there are 5.9 days of lows at or below 10 °F or −12.2 °C, 8.8 days where

7708-460: The temperature fails to rise above freezing, and 61 days of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+ highs. Unlike in the Rio Grande Valley or eastern portions of Texas, days where the low does not fall below 70 °F or 21.1 °C are relatively rare, due to the aridity and elevation. Blizzards occur occasionally, but snowfall is typically light, averaging nearly 18 inches or 46 centimeters seasonally and

7802-579: The term "grain elevator" is used to refer to a place where farmers sell grain into the global grain distribution system, and/or a place where the grain is moved into rail cars or ocean-going ships for transport. Specifically, several types of grain elevators are defined under Canadian law, in the Canadian Grain Act , section 2. Both necessity and the prospect of making money gave birth to the steam-powered grain elevator in Buffalo, New York , in 1843. Due to

7896-496: The top 24 in season 8 on the hit show American Idol . She returned to the show again in season 9 and advanced to the top 12 but was eliminated from the program on March 17, 2010. Former residents Evander "Ziggy" Hood and Montrel Meander are in the National Football League. The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of

7990-449: The town in 1889, prompting more people to move to Sanborn's location. This eventually led to another county seat election making Sanborn's town the new county seat in 1893. By the late 1890s, Amarillo had emerged as one of the world's busiest cattle-shipping points, and its population grew significantly. The city became a grain elevator , milling, and feed-manufacturing center after an increase in production of wheat and small grains during

8084-504: The war, both of the facilities were closed. The Pantex Plant was reopened in 1950 and produced nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War . In 1949, a deadly F4 tornado devastated much of Amarillo, shortly after nightfall on May 15, tearing through the south and east sides of the city, killing seven people, and injuring more than 80 others. The tornado touched down southwest of Amarillo, near the town of Hereford, then tracked its way northward, on

8178-426: The world's first steam-powered "grain storage and transfer warehouse" was executed by an engineer named Robert Dunbar. Thanks to the historic Dart's Elevator (operational on 1 June 1843), which worked almost seven times faster than its nonmechanized predecessors, Buffalo was able to keep pace with—and thus further stimulate—the rapid growth of American agricultural production in the 1840s and 1850s, but especially after

8272-567: The year. Before economical truck transportation was available, grain elevator operators sometimes used their purchasing power to control prices. This was especially easy, since farmers often had only one elevator within a reasonable distance of their farms. This led some governments to take over the administration of grain elevators. An example of this is the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool . For the same reason, many elevators were purchased by cooperatives . A recent problem with grain elevators

8366-470: The yellow soil along their banks and shores ( Amarillo is the Spanish word for the color yellow). Early residents originally pronounced the city's name more similar to the Spanish pronunciation / ˌ ɑː m ə ˈ r iː j oʊ / ah-mə- REE -yoh , which was later displaced by the current pronunciation. On June 19, 1888, Henry B. Sanborn , who is given credit as the "Father of Amarillo", and his business partner Joseph F. Glidden began buying land to

8460-480: Was Tyson Foods, with 3,700 employees. The Amarillo Independent School District was next with 3,659 employees followed by Pantex, Baptist St. Anthony's Health Care System, City of Amarillo, Northwest Texas Healthcare System, Amarillo College , Wal-mart, and United Supermarkets . Other major employers include Bell Helicopter Textron, Owens-Corning, Amarillo National Bank and ASARCO . Approximately 14 million acres (57,000 km ) of agricultural land surrounds

8554-443: Was as follows: 7.6% of the population was under the age of 5, 26.8% was under the age of 18, 73.2% 18 and older, 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.1 years. The median income for a household in the city was $ 52,941, and the median income for a family was $ 64,632. Married-couple families had a median income of $ 80,819, and non-family households had a median income of $ 31,663. About 15.4% of families were below

8648-512: Was completed in 1898. It had a capacity of 40,000 tons and its automatic conveying and spouting system could distribute grain into 226 bins. Given a large enough suspension of combustible flour or grain dust in the air, a significant explosion can occur. The 1878 explosion of the Washburn "A" Mill in Minneapolis, Minnesota , killed 18, leveled two nearby mills, damaged many others, and caused

8742-470: Was held in Thompson Memorial Park during Memorial Day weekend. Grain elevator In most cases, the term "grain elevator" also describes the entire elevator complex, including receiving and testing offices, weighbridges , and storage facilities. It may also mean organizations that operate or control several individual elevators, in different locations. In Australia, the term describes only

8836-541: Was the first cylindrical concrete grain elevator in the world and is now widely used across Canada and the US. Grain elevator bins, tanks, and silos are now usually made of steel or reinforced concrete. Bucket elevators are used to lift grain to a distributor or consignor, from which it falls through spouts and/or conveyors and into one or more bins, silos, or tanks in a facility. When desired, silos, bins, and tanks are emptied by gravity flow, sweep augers , and conveyors. As grain

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