New Deal Cafe -- Roosevelt TX
N 30° 29.460 W 100° 03.440
14R E 398525 N 3373669
A ghost sign for a 1920s/1930s gas station cafe at Roosevelt Texas that catered to the automotive and dining needs needs of travelers along the Old Spanish Trail.
Waymark Code: WMTVJ0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/10/2017
Views: 3
The vestiges of the Old Spanish Trail in Texas are found on the various Main Streets that run through the center of little downtowns and on the frontage roads that parallel the modern I-10 highway. Many of the FM roads, State Loops, and State Highways that parallel, diverge from, and return to the I 10 as it makes its way from San Antonio to El Paso are what’s left of the old US 290, nationally known before 1926 as the Old Spanish Trail.
In Roosevelt, the OST was Allison Street. It passed through the heart of what once existed here: a store, a gas station or two, a motor court, and a couple of churches. Today this road through Roosevelt is State Loop 291, but you can still see the traces of the OST era.
Blasterz love these old gas stations especially when they are made with local rock. The odd shape and rock façade of this old gas station caught our eye as we made the bending turn on the Texas Loop 291 that would inevitably take us back to the I-10 along the former route of the Old Spanish Trail.
Daddy Blaster indulges Mama Blaster (especially in the Golden Hour), so he was willing to stop for a few minutes. Good thing - we spotted the ghost sign on the side of the building's entry for the New Deal Cafe, which operated here during the 1930s. The cafe would definitely have been a welcome stop for hungry OST travelers.
We tried but failed to find any clue as to the identity of the oil company that operated this station. Maybe it was an indepenent?