UNDERSTANDING SIGNIFICANCE
A Gulf Service Station on the current site of San Marco Square’s Balis Park during the early 1930s. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
FORM
This former Sun Oil Company filling station opened at 252 East 8th Street in Springfield in 1928.
Many early gas companies used the massing, scale, and shape of their stations to reflect architectural trends taking place locally. For example, by the late 1920s, Spanish Mediterranean Revival architecture had become a very popular design style throughout Florida. Seeking to integrate its identity with this popular architectural style, two filling stations affiliated with the Sun Oil Company opened on East 8th Street in Springfield embracing the Mediterranean Revival style. Today, the Sun Oil Company is known as Sunoco.
This former Sun Oil Company filling station opened in 1929 at 1003 East 8th Street (8th and Evergreen) in Phoenix. At the time, 8th Street was a busy corridor featuring a streetcar line that connected the city to the port and other heavy industry along Talleyrand Avenue. Evergreen Avenue provided a direct connection between the Eastside and Evergreen Cemetery.
CANOPIES
1601 North Pearl Street was built by Standard Oil Company in 1931.
In addition, canopies became an important central element of the early drive-in filling station. Sheltering customers, pumps, and attendants from bad weather, the design of canopies provided an opportunity to provide character and aesthetic quality to non-descript buildings. The Standard Oil Company was well-known for their use of the canopy to embellish the look of their filling stations. Early examples of former Standard Oil filling stations can be found all throughout the urban core of Jacksonville. Former Standard Oil stations can easily be found with the identification of a dominant canopy design featuring a low pitched, hip roof with a Y-shaped metal truss for support.
1601 North Pearl Street’s Y-shaped metal truss for the support of its canopy.
A former Standard Oil filling station at 528 North Myrtle Avenue that was originally operated by Alex English and Jason Ennis in 1928.
This former Standard Oil filling station at 4001 North Main Street opened in 1939 near Andrew Jackson High School in Brentwood.
ROOFS
Rue Saint Marc in San Marco Square was originally a Shell gas station with a roof intended to mimic the design of a Ranch style house.
During rapid expansion of mid-20th century suburbia, chains also utilized roof configuration and pitch to stand out from the competition. The roof of Shell’s Ranch house style design was a central element for their Stylized Box concept.
NEW USES
This Tropical Smoothie in San Marco at 1808 Hendricks Avenue opened in 1938 as a filling station.
While historic gas stations may be underappreciated, they tend to be well suited for start-up businesses and adaptive reuse projects. Throughout Jacksonville, former stations have been retrofitted into restaurants, cafes, residences, and other automobile related uses.
1004 Hendricks Avenue opened as the Eldridge S. Oliver filling station in 1941. Today, it is the location of Flavors Thai and Bar.
The King Crab House occupies a former Standard Oil filling station that opened at 3125 North Main Street in Brentwood in 1933.
Now a private Springfield residence, this Texas Oil Company filling station opened in 1927 at 1555 Pearl Street.
Reference Source: The National Parks Service Preservation Briefs: The Preservation and Reuse of Historic Gas Stations
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com