“If partitions may speak,” what sort of tales do you assume a 100-year-old service station may share?
I’m significantly keen on fuel station historical past as a result of the gas business runs in my household. As of 2023, it had been a century since my great-grandfather constructed a service station in northern Utah.
I discovered myself taking a visit again in time to historic Stone Avenue in Tucson, Arizona, the place an enthralling ice cream cone-shaped constructing has survived a century in comparatively unchanged form and situation. Many individuals who move by it day by day on the busy avenue in all probability don’t even give it a passing look.
Design was performed by Cecil H. Moore who lived from 1913 by way of 2009. His venture portfolio was intensive (and centered virtually solely round Tucson), with over 350 initiatives over a 40-year profession.
Newspaper Excerpts
My fascination with the ice cream cone constructing accelerated with a deep dive into on-line newspaper archives. One of many web sites I browsed had over a billion pages at my fingertips – all I needed to do was discover the best key phrases, location, and date ranges to browse.
Based mostly upon the analysis, it seems that the Stone Avenue handle was initially a non-public residence. Or, maybe as was the case with my grandfather’s station, it had residing quarters inside it.
Through the years, the station’s handle was used to market many autos in categorised advert listings. Right here had been only a few of the newspaper excerpts that caught my eye.
- The oldest itemizing that I may discover was dated Might 16, 1923, and it was for a Ford sedan priced at $400. Even at solely three years previous, the automotive already had a recent paint job.
- In January 1942, a tire was stolen from a automotive parked on the service station. Apparently, this was a fairly rampant type of crime through the period (World Struggle II was properly underway on the time, and it’s doubtless the availability of tires and different automotive provides for home use had been restricted).
- In March 1946, the Shell station was additionally working as a radiator restore store. When was the final time you had your radiator re-cored?
- In December 1947, you could possibly purchase a brand-new Buick Tremendous convertible in “Powder Puff Blue.”
- In February 1952, Joe’s Shell Service Station was granted a constructing allow for re-roofing valued at $150.
- In March 1952, the station marketed Goodyear whitewall tires, saying, “White sidewalls which are constructed to remain white; the neatest trying tires you possibly can put in your automotive.”
- By 1962, the station was referred to as “Previous Pueblo Shell” and it was promoting fairly a singular mixture of merchandise in the identical advert. Goodyear tires in 15-inch sizes had been provided at $9.99 every, and ladies’s nylon hose had been provided at two pair for $1.00. Speak about a one-stop store!
Declare to Fame
Few pictures exist of the Stone Ave service station all through its lifetime, however I used to be in a position to dig up a colourful image from about 1978 when the worth of gas was posted at 66 cents per gallon. At the moment, the station was “Union”-branded.
One particular story took place when the constructing – or at the very least a nook of it – was featured in a 1980 film starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. The movie was referred to as “Stir Loopy,” and one of many scenes confirmed the primary characters breaking down of their 1957 Dodge A-108 Sportsman van on their cross-country highway journey from New York to a metropolis within the southwest referred to as Glenboro. They stopped on the Union station for repairs, and we noticed a glimpse of the unmistakable roof awning within the background.
Present State
It’s been about 40 years since any gas was pumped or snacks had been bought from 648 North Stone Avenue. The constructing right this moment is occupied by a Medicare advisor, a tax accountant, and a bail bond service.
It could be fascinating to roam the closets, attic, and crawl house to see what sort of relics would possibly stay from its fuel station heritage. For now, I’ll simply dream of shopping for a 1947 Powder Puff Buick Tremendous.