Skip to main content

The Leaning Tower of Texas - Britten Water Tower - Groom, TX

Image
By


Route 66 is full of landmarks - quirky, natural, or historic.  Many date to the highway's heyday of the 1930-50s.  However, one of the more well-known landmarks dates to the final days of the Mother Road.  Located in the small town of Groom, the Leaning Tower of Texas dates to around 1980 - the last few years of US 66's existence.

Truck Stops along the Interstate and major highways are a dime a dozen, and in the Western US, you will find them in every size imaginable, from small mom-and-pop operations to large corporate travel centers.  The former Britten Truck Stop is just one of many along Interstate 40 or old Route 66.


The story of the leaning water tower is that around 1980, truck stop owner Ralph Britten purchased the water tower as a water supply for his business.  When Britten realized that he did not have a need for the water tower - there was a better and simpler source - he decided to use the water tower as a way to market his truck stop.  Groom and his sons used a bulldozer to tilt the water tower 10 degrees.  Nothing structurally supports the tower, just two legs are buried in the ground.

The Town of Groom lights the star on top of the leaning tower at Christmas-time.

In 1980, Interstate 40 was completed in the area and bypassed Groom. The leaning tower was an instant success and a boon to the business.  The truck stop sign had a miniature replica of the tower on top.  Sadly, in 1985, an electrical fire destroyed the truck stop, and the Britten's decided not to rebuild.  The only remains of the truck stop today are the structure of the old highway sign, a small truck service shop on the old grounds, and of course, the leaning tower - which remains a popular roadside photo attraction to this day.

All photos taken by post author - April 18, 2010.


Site Navigation:


Sources & Links:

How To Get There:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more