A set of Shamrock Convention Center dedication plaques where unveiled during the new Convention Center’s open house on June 20, 2024.
Shamrock Convention Center
Mayor Lynn Ramsey; Council Members Scott Barefoot, Russell Killingsworth, Jeanne Crossland, Joe Bob Kinnaman, Micky Mitchell; City Manager Troy Potts; Sims + Architects Plains Builders, Inc. 2024.
Shamrock Convention Center – “The Armory”
On the afternoon of Friday, June 25, 1948, businesses were closed, and the public was encouraged to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the new American Legon Home for the DeShazo-George Post 68, American Legon of Shamrock. The ceremony was held on a three-acre plot of land just south of the city limits of Shamrock on the west side of U.S. Highway 83.
At over 18,000 square feet, the new Legion Home, with its large dance floor and assembly hall was built at the cost of $65,000. The main building framework was an airplane hangar salvaged by volunteers from a WWII airbase in Pamapa, and the facade was constructed of native fieldstone quarried from Childress.
On Sunday, April 10, 1949, over twelve hundred Legionnaires from around the Panhandle helped dedicate the new building. At the time of this dedication, the new American Legion Home was considered one of the largest and finest in the State of Texas,
In the early months of 1951 after Shamrock received the appointment of a National Guard Unit, the Legion Horne was remodeled to make accommodations for the National Guard Armory. In the coming years, the building would be referred to by the citizens simply as the “Armory.” In 1995, the National Guard Armory became the Shamrock Community Center.
On February 12, 2020, at 19:58 a.m., the Shamrock Volunteer Fire Department received the call that the iconic building was on fire. In a matter of a few hours, the building was completely destroyed and a community was devastated.
For over seventy years, the building was the center for community activity. It served the community in many capacities, from dances and concerts to conventions and trade shows, weddings, reunions, and quinceañeras. It was the epicenter of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. It played host to famous big band orchestras and country artists, movie and television stars, NFL stars, a Hall of Fame radio personality and Grammy award winning songwriter, six Texas Governors and an Astronaut who flew to the moon.