U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) in the state of Texas extended across the Texas Panhandle from its designation in 1926 to its decommissioning in 1985. Route description The original US 66 followed an east-west line across the Texas Panhandle from Glenrio, New Mexico and Texas to Texola, Oklahoma. When Interstate 40 (I-40) was constructed most of the highway was upgraded in place, reducing construction costs and keeping existing towns close to the new highway to minimize tourism losses. Bypassed towns included Glenrio, Adrian, Vega, Conway, Groom, Jericho, Alanreed, McLean, and Shamrock; US 66 in each is retained as a business loop or spur of I-40. Outside of the towns, US 66 is typically retained as a frontage road for I-40. Route 66 originally crossed from New Mexico into Texas at Glenrio, an unincorporated community founded in 1903 as a Rock Island Railroad siding. During Route 66's heyday, Glenrio's cafés, filling stations and businesses such as the First/Last Motel in Texas served travellers on the highway; after the road was bypassed in 1973, Glenrio became a ghost town. Adrian (pop. 149) bills itself as the geographic "Midpoint of Route 66". Flo of Flo's V-8 Diner in Pixar's Cars is based on Fran Houser (who owned the Midpoint Café but has since semi-retired); the Mia and Tia characters are based on two sisters at the Midpoint Café. In Vega, Texas, the 1947 Vega Motel remains in operation as a historic motel. Amarillo is the only major city on the Texas portion of US 66; its 6th Street Historic District includes a dozen buildings incorporating elements of Spanish Revival, Art Deco, and Art Moderne design including homes, service stations, a historic fire hall and a church. The Cadillac Ranch inspired the Cadillac Range mountains in Cars while the Tex Dinoco character adopts the appearance of the stretched, longhorn Cadillac vehicles at Amarillo's Big Texan Steak Ranch. The Ranchotel, a tourist court built in 1940 and designed architecturally to resemble a Texas ranch, was one of sixty-eight Route 66 lodgings operating in Amarillo by 1953. The building still stands in good condition but is now used as apartments. Eastbound alignments out of include one that parallels I-40 (where one can find the Steak Ranch), while another is along I-40 business, multiplexed with US Route 60 for several miles out of town. The original alignment was probably along 8th Avenue, but that alignment