The Most Historic Gas Station In North Carolina Belongs On Your Bucket List
By Megan Shute|Published November 14, 2018
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
Though gas stations are often thought of as merely an inconvenient stop along a road trip, they can also be part of the fun, and sometimes, even a destination. Take, for example, this incredibly quirky and historic Shell Station in North Carolina. This might just be the only gas station you’ll ever want to add to your ever-growing North Carolina bucket list. Let’s take a look, shall we?
In the 1920s, a North Carolina Shell oil distributor, Quality Oil Co., came up with a plan to attract customers by building shell-shaped gas stations. At least eight of these small scallop shell stations were constructed in the Winston-Salem area, but only one has survived throughout the years.
Located in the Waughtown-Belview Historic District, this unique representation of novelty architecture was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1976.
The single-story Shell station was built by R.H. Burton and his son, Ralph, in 1930 at Sprague and Peachtree Streets in Winston-Salem and is truly one-of-a-kind.
One year and approximately $50,000 was spent to restore this local landmark to its former glory. Preservation North Carolina, an organization dedicated to preserving historic sites across the state, worked to remove layers of faded yellow paint to reveal the shell’s original yellow-orange color.
The original front door was repaired, as was a crack that was previously sealed with black tar. The wooden, trellised shelter that once housed the car wash and allowed cars to be serviced in the shade was also reconstructed.
The oil company even donated restored gas pumps and replica lamp posts to complete the restoration of this unique landmark that now serves as not only a quirky attraction, but as a satellite office for Preservation North Carolina.
This Shell station speaks to the literalism that was common in advertising during the 1920s and 1930s, and is easily the most historic and fascinating gas station you’ll find in North Carolina — and maybe even America as a whole.
The old shell-shaped service station is located at 1111 E Sprague St., Winston-Salem, NC 27107. Have you ever experienced this unique slice of history hiding in plain sight? What about this historic and puzzling graveyard?
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