Re: Another upscale concept from Good Egg Group
Owner planning the return of a 'palace' on old Route 66
STATIONS: Market isn’t open yet, but it’s gaining attention from passersby
Comments 0BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: October 23, 2008
Keith Paul is getting used to greeting the curious passersby at his C Market, even though the store isn’t set to open for another month.
Some are interested in the arrival of an upscale market — but others are asking about the history of the property — Oklahoma City’s only surviving original Phillips 66 station along old Route 66.
Over the past few months Paul and his wife Heather have overseen a $100,000 renovation including restoring old casement windows, garage doors and adding neon-topped lighting along the former gas pump island.
"We’re getting a lot of good comments,” Paul said. "It’s untraditional, and it just grabs people’s attention as they’re passing by.”
Such properties, once overlooked as obsolete eyesores, are getting a second shot at life across the country. At the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s conference Wednesday in Tulsa, the adaptation of such stations was a frequent topic during discussions of restoration efforts along old Route 66.
Historian Michael Cassity said the first gas stations were "palaces” reflecting a new technology and the spirit of their owners. With the creation of Route 66 and the federal highway system, companies such as Phillips entered into retailing and began rolling out a standard design.
Revisiting the past
The English Tudor style was the first adapted by Phillips in Wichita, Kan., in 1927, followed by similar stations in Topeka and then Bartlesville. The company switched to an enamel-sided modern style in 1938 — a design adapted by most gas retailers through the 1960s.
Since he was first contacted to assist on restoration of a station in Chandler, Norman architect Mike Kertok has become an expert on the early Phillips stations, traveling to dozens over the past few years.
"There were probably over 1,000 of these stations around the country,” Kertok said. "I’ve found about 90 that are still standing — but many were demolished and are gone forever.”
Missing paint?
Kertok, who did not assist on the Paul’s renovation, said it is typical of current efforts. He praises the Pauls for restoring the station’s showcase window but adds they could have used the property’s original color scheme.
Most people, Kertok said, are surprised to learn the stations’ brick facades had an early color scheme that was a "gaudy” mix of blue and green.
"Every one of these stations I’ve done, the owner thinks by removing the paint they’re bringing them back to their original appearance,” Kertok said. "But they were never that way – they were always painted.”
Kertok admits one of his own projects — renovation of an old station in Tulsa — did not involve restoration of the original paint job because of requirements of its new tenant, Avis.
"It’s a very appropriate use — the old station is the office, and the old two-bay garage is used for washing cars and details,” Kertok said.
In his travels, Kertok has seen a station in Pratt, Kansas, that he praises for keeping the original lights and lanterns.
"That’s pretty rare,” Kertok said. "It’s owned by a mortuary next door, and the building is used for storage. They keep it up very nicely.”
He also complimented a renovation in Kansas City that replaced a cement asbestos shingle roof with slates.
"They were really clever — they put a slate roof on it and used different colors, which is what was done,” Kertok said. "It was very clever way of recreating the roof.”
But Kertok has seen plenty of stations still in jeopardy, including the last-standing "N-class” station standing in Turpin.
While the future of such stations remains in doubt, Kaisa Barthuli, deputy Route 66 program manager with the National Park Service says old gas stations along Route 66 are being tracked and can be found on the Internet.
"This lets the guy who owns a small station that he’s not doing anything with know that the world cares,” Barthuli said, "and the world is watching.”
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Originally Posted by tuck
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