Theme: HOMES - Testing to see if you remember the acronym mnemonic for a collection of U.S. freshwater lakes. - All the lakes are clued as non-lakes, all theme entries are symmetrically placed.
1A. Pennsylvania city of about 100,000 : ERIE
9A. Tribe also called the Wyandot : HURON. More info at Wikipedia.
20A. Motor City's state : MICHIGAN. The one lake not on the Canadian border.
37A. London's province : ONTARIO
54A. A cut above, with "to" : SUPERIOR. It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.
64A. With 66-Across, one of five found in this puzzle : GREAT 66A. See 64-Across : LAKE
Argyle come back to earth here. If you had started with the reveal at the bottom of the puzzle this should have been a snap. Stacks in the corners and one theme entry in the middle produces a fine visual look. Some strong downs tie it together.
Across:
5. Fabled blue ox : BABE. Paul Bunyan, owner.
14. TV warrior princess : XENA
15. LAX postings : ARR's (arrivals)
16. Prefix with meter : ANEMO
17. Señorita's love : AMOR
18. Modernists, for short : NEOs. Opposite of paleo(from last Tuesday)
19. News anchor Connie : CHUNG
22. Striped zoo creatures : OKAPIs
23. Man, in Milan : UOMO. This one tripped me up.
24. Chili spice : CUMIN
26. Star footballer : ALL PRO
28. Emergency levee component : SANDBAG
32. Scottish hillside : BRAE
33. To the point : BLUNT
35. Where Mandela was pres. : RSA (Republic of South Africa)
36. Tonsillitis-treating MD : ENT. Ear,, Nose and Throat, Otolaryngologist didn't fit.
39. Medit. land : ISR. (Israel)
40. "C'est la __" : VIE
41. iPod button : PAUSE
42. Down Under greeting : G'DAY
43. Insistent words of affirmation : "YES, IT IS!"
45. Deal with a bare spot, perhaps : RESEED. Rogaine almost fit.
48. Selfless sort : GIVER
50. French cathedral city : METZ. A city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.
51. Job listing of a sort : RESUME
58. Two-time loser to Ike : ADLAI
59. Caesar's 107 : CVII and 65A. Caesar's being : ESSE
60. K thru 12 : ELHI. It's not going away.
61. Glowing signs : NEONS
62. Letters on a phone button : OPER (operator)
63. Scads : A LOT
Down:
1. Midterm, e.g. : EXAM
2. Do followers, scalewise : RE MI
3. Protects from disease : INOCULATES
4. Batting helmet opening : EAR HOLE
5. Orono, Maine, is a suburb of it : BANGOR
6. Surveyor's measure : AREA. Yes, I tried ACRE first.
7. Bucking horse : BRONC. Oh.
8. Start of summer? : ESS
9. Access illegally, as computer files : HACK INTO
10. "__ me, you villain!" : UNHAND
11. Agree to another tour : RE-UP
12. Former Atlanta arena : OMNI
13. Christmas quaffs : NOGS. Great with some Jack Daniels.
21. Holy terror : IMP
22. Gulf State resident : OMANI. The Gulf of Oman off of the Arabian Sea.
25. Loan shark : USURER
26. Immortal PGA nickname : ARNIE Palmer.
27. Thick : OBTUSE. Can be confused with OBESE but they are not mutually exclusive.
29. Control freak in a white dress : BRIDEZILLA. Great entry. The portmanteau wedding consultants bestow on brides who are particularly difficult and obnoxious.
30. Syrian leader : ASSAD. Bashar Hafez al-Assad.
31. "CSI: NY" actor Sinise : GARY. Lt. Dan to Forrest.
32. Bunch of beauties : BEVY
34. Andalusian article : LAS. Andalusia is former name of southern Spain.
37. Rose-colored glasses wearer : OPTIMIST
38. Wet behind the ears : NAIVE. Phrase Finder.
42. "Who are you kidding?!" : "GET REAL!". "As if!"
44. Tropical lizard : IGUANA
46. Ewing Oil, e.g. : EMPIRE. There is a real Ewing Oil but this refers to fictional oil company from the television series Dallas.
47. Notice : SEE
49. Sends regrets, perhaps : RSVP's
51. Pealed : RANG
52. River of central Germany : EDER. Map.
53. Gin flavoring : SLOE
55. Direction reversals, in slang : UIEs
56. "Yeah, what the heck!" : "OH, OK"
57. Communion, for one : RITE
59. Miler Sebastian : COE. And now he's the Rt. Hon. The Lord Coe so he's done alright for himself.
Argyle
