Description
Sun-drenched Amarillo, Texas, circa 1950s, is captured in this sepia-toned postcard, showcasing a bustling street scene with vibrant shopfronts like Montgomery Ward’s Gadgets & Diamond Shop. Brick buildings and parked cars line the streets, hinting at a thriving city. This view, looking north on Polk Street from 8th Avenue, depicts the heart of the Panhandle, a landscape once known as the Llanos Estacados, showcasing the transformation of this historically raw and weather-beaten West.
Front Text (cleaned):
Amarillo, Texas
Montgomery Ward
Gadgets
&
Diamond
Shop
Diamond
Back Text (cleaned):
Looking north on Polk Street from 8th Avenue. This is the Panhandle, once known as the Llanos Estacados ("Staked Plains"). It was open range, short-grass cattle country. It was, and in many ways still is, the raw, weather-beaten, hearty, tough West. Today, oil refining, packing plants, and farm machinery have added wealth to modern Amarillo. Amarillo is rated one of the top ten business cities in the nation and growing at a very rapid pace.
