Lile Art Gallery

About

Set along Amarillo’s historic stretch of Route 66, Lile Art Gallery combines a working art gallery with the welcoming spirit of an old-fashioned Mother Road stop. The gallery is operated by artist, Route 66 historian, and longtime tour guide Bob “Crocodile” Lile, who welcomes travelers looking for local art, memorabilia, road-trip advice, or simply a good Route 66 story. Visitors will find work by Lile and other artists, including sculpture and painting, alongside a collection that celebrates the character and history of the highway. Lile has spent decades traveling and sharing Route 66, and the gallery has become a place where visitors from around the world can learn more about Amarillo and the people and attractions found along the road.

One of the gallery’s signatures is Cadilite jewelry, handmade by Lile from colorful layers of dried spray paint removed from the cars at nearby Cadillac Ranch. He cuts, shapes, grinds, and polishes the accumulated paint to reveal swirling patterns, turning a piece of the famous roadside installation into earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and other keepsakes. Because the paint was added randomly by countless Cadillac Ranch visitors, every piece develops its own colors and patterns. Together with Lile’s Route 66 artwork and the gallery’s broader selection of regional pieces, Cadilite gives travelers an especially unusual way to take home a tangible piece of Amarillo’s roadside art culture.

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