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The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café in Shamrock, Texas, is an Art Deco filling station and cafe built in 1936 on Route 66, topped by a four-sided tower. The City of Shamrock owns it, and as of May 2026 news reports describe a cafe in the building.
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Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe
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Site-level location · 35.2145° N, 100.2495° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
On the corner where US 83 meets Historic Route 66, Shamrock's Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café is a 1936 Art Deco landmark that the National Park Service calls one of the most imposing and architecturally creative buildings along the length of the road.
According to the NPS, J. M. Tindall and R. C. Lewis built it for $23,000, after John Nunn drew his idea for the station on the ground with an old nail; architect Joseph Berry then took the plans forward. It was designed as three structures: the Tower Conoco Station, named for its four-sided obelisk topped by a metal tulip; the U-Drop Inn Café, named from a local schoolboy's entry in a naming contest; and a third unit planned as a retail store that became overflow seating. The NPS says it was the first commercial business on the newly designated Route 66 in Shamrock, and that the spire still spells C-O-N-O-C-O.
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Historic building housing a cafe and the Chamber of Commerce. The cafe keeps its own hours; check before travelling.
ACCESS
At East 12th Street where US 83 meets Historic Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas; the City of Shamrock owns the building. The cafe keeps its own hours.
COMMUNITY
Visitor Log
TRANSPARENCY
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