By Allison Parker
Gas stations serve a critical role in a country as car-
dependent as the United States. Along interstates, they offer travelers a place to fuel up, get a bite to eat, and use the facilities. In small towns or areas without other nearby businesses, gas stations serve as small grocery stores where customers can grab essentials. Some are even attached to museums and historical sites, giving travelers a reason to pull over and spend some money. In Route 66’s heyday, fuel stops functioned a little differently than they do today.
In the early 20th century, automobile drivers and motorcyclists bought their fuel from places like pharmacies and hardware stores, either sold in cans or out of barrels. As vehicular travel became more popular and people began driving and riding farther distances, the need for quick roadside fuel arose. The earliest gas stations were little more than barrels housed in rough sheds beside the road. By the mid-1920s and into the 1930s, fuel companies saw an opportunity to sell more gas by catering to long-distance travelers with a welcoming roadside experience. Thus the service station was born.
Service stations offered more than just fuel. The whole experience was about service. Attendants would pump fuel, wash windshields, inspect tires and oil level, and perform other maintenance tasks. The cottage-style service stations that replaced poorly constructed roadside fuel sheds gave travelers a chance to stretch their legs, purchase maps, ask for directions, learn local knowledge from helpful attendants, and share stories with fellow road trippers. In many ways, service stations made long-distance automobile and motorcycle travel not only possible but practical.
On no stretch of road was this level of care more important than on the long miles between Chicago and Los Angeles. Like the motor courts and eateries that popped up to serve travelers along Route 66, service stations brought much needed revenue to small communities and essential services to those passing through them.
When Route 66 was decommissioned, businesses that were born in response to increased travel along the route suffered, including service stations. Many were abandoned and left to crumble over time. Some were transformed into other businesses to meet new needs. Some were demolished to make way for something new. Luckily, a few have survived the decades and been preserved or restored to give travelers a chance to peel back the curtain of time and relive the experience from Route 66’s golden age.
The West End Service Station in Edwardsville, Illinois, is such a one. Opened in 1927, this station served travelers until 1964, when Route 66 was rerouted to bypass the town. After the building’s purpose of serving Route 66 travelers disappeared, it housed a dentistry practice. In 2022, the City of Edwardsville began restoring the building to what it looked like in its service-station heyday, creating a Route 66 interpretive center where travelers can learn more about the route.
Sprague’s Super Service in Normal, Illinois, is another example of a restored service station that’s worth a stop. In an era when big fuel companies built uniform stations with recognizable architecture, William Sprague chose a different approach. Opposing standardized service-station architecture, Sprague constructed a unique Tudor Revival building with steep gables and a red roof. It was a popular stop in the 1930s, but by the 1940s, a rerouting bypassed the station, and subsequent owners shifted their business to cater to the local community. In 2006, restoration began, and today it serves as a visitor center and gift shop.
Unfortunately, some service stations with historical significance didn’t survive. Take Gay Parita, located 25 miles west of Springfield, Missouri, for example. Built by Fred Mason in 1930 and named after his wife, the Gay Parita served travelers until the building burnt down in the 1950s. Luckily, Gary Turner was not willing to let this piece of history fade from memory. He reconstructed the building on the original plot, slowly filling it over the years with memorabilia, period-correct signage, and other pieces that add to the feeling that this station has been transported directly from the past to present day. Gary’s daughter Barb now welcomes visitors to the station alongside her husband, George.
Kansas gets a spot in the list of states that Route 66 passes through, but just barely. Only 13 miles of Route 66 go through Kansas, but that small section punches above its weight. The town of Galena is the home of Cars on the Route, a former Kan-O-Tex service station that celebrates its connection to the Pixar animated movie Cars. Operating as a gift shop, burger restaurant, and welcome center, Cars on the Route proves that travelers still value roadside service offered by friendly faces.
No Route 66 road trip would be complete without a photo op with a “Muffler Man,” and travelers can find that opportunity at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A 21-foot-tall space cowboy and 19-foot-tall space cowgirl welcome visitors to this restored 1950s PEMCO gas station. Inside, you’ll find toys, souvenirs, art, apparel, and more.
Perhaps the most visibly distinct restored Route 66 service station is the U-Drop Inn, the first commercial business on Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas. Art Deco detailing and two towers make it an unmistakable roadside attraction. In its prime, the building operated as both a service station and as a cafe. Now owned by the City of Shamrock, the station operates as a visitor center, chamber of commerce office, and community center.
These restored and preserved service stations serve a vital role in protecting the history of Route 66. In this age of convenience, when everyone is trying to get where they’re going as quickly as possible, what qualifies as good service has adopted a different definition. Service stations remind us of an era when good service took time, when travelers were taken care of and greeted with friendly faces and a local perspective. It’s an experience we motorcyclists can appreciate more than most.