Some places have underground shopping malls and subways...we have underground water reservoirs that look like a scene from Harry Potter. This majestic cistern was recently discovered beneath one of the lawns at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, and what they plan to do with it is amazing. Read more about it below.
The space was built in 1927 to serve as an underground reservoir for drinking water. It was a very successful operation until a leak with seemingly no source occurred.
It's 87,500 square feet and filled with endless rows of 25-foot tall columns. The park recently realized the artistic potential of the reservoir and decided to renovate and open it to the public. I completely understand why - it would be quite a shame to leave such an enormous, beautiful space unused forever.
Entrance hatches on the ceiling will serve as skylights to illuminate the cistern, and park developers are working to bring the space up to city code standards so it can be open to the public as a temporary art space.
Once a hopping haven for road-weary travelers on Route 66, the town of Glenrio, Texas (and New Mexico) is now home only to ghosts of the Mother Road. The town has addresses in both states because it sits right on the border between the two. It includes the Glenrio Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
If you love creepy content, Only In Your State’s Vacant series – which partners with talented photographer Johnny Joo – explores a dozen other fascinating abandoned places just waiting to be discovered.
Editor’s Note: Due to the nature of abandoned destinations, many of the places featured in this series are off-limits to visitors or have actually been demolished. We do not condone trespassing and other illegal activity but rather encourage readers to enjoy learning about these fascinating destinations.
Glenrio emerged in 1903 as a bustling railroad town initially named Rock Island. Renamed Glenrio in 1908, the new moniker combines Scottish and Spanish words for 'valley' and 'river' (oddly, it has neither). It began to experience some traffic by 1917 with the establishment of the Ozark Trail.
The town's big transformation happened in 1926, when Route 66 replaced the Ozark Trail in 1926. The iconic road began in Chicago and extended through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California. The entire route covered 2,448 miles, transforming towns and connecting the nation over several generations of family road trips.
Glenrio is located at the furthest western reaches of the state's 178-mile stretch of the historic route. Over the years, a landscape occupied mostly by wheat fields and cattle gave rise to deco-style diners, service stations, and other modern buildings over the years, like the Brownlee Diner in 1950 and Little Juarez Café in 1952. Today, travelers explore the well-preserved remnants of Route 66 in Texas, including the Cadillac Ranch, the Pioneer West Museum, and the Devil's Rope Museum.
The town's location on the Texas-New Mexico border had an interesting impact on its economy in many ways. Since gas was cheaper on the Texas side, that's where you found the fuel stations. If you wanted an alcoholic drink, you had to cruise to the New Mexico side to spots like the State Line Bar. The Texas side was dry.
Like many small towns that thrived along state highways, Glenrio became a casualty of the interstate system in the 1970s. By 1973, Interstate 40 was complete and bypassed the town. After almost 50 years as a roadside destination worth a stop for a meal, fuel or comfortable stay, Glenrio saw its businesses dwindle. Eventually, there was nothing worth sticking around for, and Glenrio was left as it stands today.
Remains of buildings include a motel, its former Texas Longhorn Café, a diner, the post office, a Texaco service station, the old Route 66 roadbed, the former bed of the Rock Island Railroad, and a few homes. Having served their purpose for a particular point in time, the town and its abandoned buildings are a testament to how a local economy developed to serve specific needs and circumstances.
Have you traveled this stretch of the former Route 66 and visited the ghost town of Glenrio, Texas, and New Mexico? If you plan a journey on the most iconic of road-tripping roads, be sure to bookmark our Ultimate Road Trip Packing List for more than 60 essentials to make the trip even more fun, safe, and comfortable.
Special thanks to Cleveland-based photographer Johnny Joo of Odd World Studio for the photos used in this article. To discover more creepy and abandoned places, check out his website, Architectural Afterlife.
Did you know the tallest bridge in America was once right here in Texas? Before it was dismantled in the mid-1900s, the Pecos High Bridge stood at an impressive height of 322 feet. Today, we remember this remarkable feat of engineering and revel in the legacy the highest bridge in Texas left behind. Let's take a closer look at Pecos Bridge, the tallest bridge in Texas.
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Once the tallest bridge in Texas - and the tallest bridge in America, as a matter of fact - the Pecos High Bridge was completed in 1892.
Better known as the Pecos Viaduct, the bridge served the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway (the first southern transcontinental railroad in the nation) until World War II, when a newer bridge replaced it.
The bridge was just over 322 feet tall, making it the third-highest bridge in the entire world.
The final cost was around $250,000 - not bad for a 2,180-foot-long manmade marvel whose ironwork alone weighed over 1,800 tons!
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The Southern Pacific Railroad built a station adjacent to the bridge in 1922, and it was around this time that officials realized the bridge could not continue to hold its weight under the rapidly increasing traffic load.
A site for the new bridge was chosen in 1942, and work began the following year. In December 1944, the 1.2-million-dollar bridge was complete, and it opened to rail traffic shortly thereafter.
Still in use today, and new and improved Pecos High Bridge has shown no signs of deterioration.
Get more history about the Pecos High Bridge on the National Park Service website. Have you ever seen the tallest bridge in Texas in person? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! Head out on the road to see and maybe drive across more amazing bridges in Texas:
