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Groom Cross, Texas

Art & landmarks
In Groom, Texas
0.4 mi from Route 66

The Groom Cross, run by a nonprofit ministry, is a 190-foot steel cross standing a little over a mile west of Groom, TX, beside I-40 about 40 miles east of Amarillo. Erected in 1995, it towers over the flat Panhandle. A plaza of life-size bronze sculptures surrounds its base, and a visitor building with a gift shop stands beside it.

What is Groom Cross?

A white steel cross 190 feet tall and weighing about 1,250 tons, designed like the mast of a drilling rig and held just short of the height at which aircraft warning lights become compulsory. Around its foot stand bronze Stations of the Cross, an empty-tomb replica, a copy of the Shroud of Turin, a Ten Commandments monument, a fountain and a bronze Last Supper. Local television has called it the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere, and the Handbook of Texas says only that it is perhaps the largest in the Northern Hemisphere; both are claims rather than measurements.

History of Groom Cross

Steve Thomas, a Panhandle oil-and-gas man, had the idea after his wife showed him a smaller cross in Central Texas. More than 100 welders built the frame in two shops in Pampa over eight months, and the cross went up in July 1995. The ministry is a nonprofit tied to no church, and it is still active: Easter services were held here in 2025.

Visiting Groom Cross: tips

The cross is lit at night. Allow 20 to 30 minutes to walk the plaza of bronzes, and look for the Leaning Tower of Britten, a tilted water tower about 3 miles away at the east end of Groom.

Practical info

Address: 2880 County Road 2 (I-40 Exit 112), Groom, TX 79039
Website: crossministries.net
Hours: We have no opening hours for this stop yet — check the official site.

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix