In the 1960s Amarillo cleared a tract east of the historic government center, removing warehouses and small industrial buildings related to the rail lines to accommodate a new public library, a city hall, a convention center, and a performing arts center. All but the convention center and the performing arts center were designed by local architects. The various new activities brought revitalization to downtown, but by the early twenty-first century improvements and expansion were being planned.
The Amarillo Central Library (1976, Shiver Megert and Associates) at 413 SE 4th Avenue is a two-story flat-roofed, Brutalist brick and concrete building with corner windows and later Postmodern additions to the front and side. The Amarillo Civic Center (1968, Caudill Rowlett Scott, with Hannon and Daniel; 401 S. Buchanan Street), covering six city blocks under one roof, is a Brutalist complex containing an auditorium for concerts, a multipurpose arena, ballrooms, and exhibition and meeting halls. A continuous post-and-beam arcade wraps and unifies the numerous building masses of varying heights.
The Amarillo City Hall and Centennial Plaza (1966, Hucker, Pargé, Ward, Newberry and Associates) at 509 SE 7th Avenue is a novel monumental expression of New Formalism and Brutalism with its exterior quartz-aggregate concrete walls and darker projecting hooded windows. Some of the original furniture and finishes remain on the interior, along with planters in the vestibule. In contrast to the parklike setting of the buildings of the old civic center (AO1), these civic buildings are isolated by surrounding surface parking lots.