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9 Quirky Gas Stations Around the World
Get your fill of funky architecture.
Like the dentist’s office and the DMV, gas stations are one of those places people go because they have to—and as a new book from Gestalten publishing shows, they don’t have to be dull and featureless. It’s a Gas! brings some of the world's quirkiest gas stations to your book shelf or coffee table. Past and present designs are highlighted, including post-war European gas stations from the '50s, American gas stations from the ‘60s, and roadside novelties. The book takes readers through the history of the gas station, from its inception in Wiesloch, Germany, in 1888, to its more modern iterations. Here are a few of our favorite service stations featured in It's a Gas!.
Architecture by Alexander Eschweiler, photography by Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, John Margolies, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Photography by Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, John Margolies, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Photography by Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, John Margolies, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Lawrence, Kansas, was once home to a “Wigwam Village” replete with a teepee-style restaurant, cabins, and this gas station. According to Roadside America, all of the structures were demolished except for one, which was converted into a restaurant called Tee Pee Junction.
Photography by Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, John Margolies, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
It may not look controversial, but this teapot-shaped gas station is a symbol of a major 1920s political scandal. The 15-foot building was constructed in 1922 in Yakima County, Washington, to serve as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal of the early 1920s, which surrounded the fraudulent leasing of Wyoming’s Teapot Dome oil reserves by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. In 2012, the kettle was moved to another location in the city of Zillah, where it now serves as a visitors center and tourist destination.
Photography by Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, John Margolies, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Architecture by AH Asociados, photography by Jose Manuel Cutillas, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Here’s something a little more modern: The jagged wooden roof of this gas station in Legarda, Spain, has been outfitted with solar panels. Its the result of a request from renewable fuel supplier Acciona’s for a unique structure that would represent the company’s values. The station was the first one in Spain to sell bio-diesel and bio-ethanol.
Architecture by Atelier SAD, photography by Tomáš Souček, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
Architecture by Elliott + Associates, photography by Elliott + Associates Architects, from It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
It’s a Gas!, Copyright Gestalten 2018
It's a Gas! can be purchased on Amazon for $49.57.