From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

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Park Opens With Restored 1936 Gas Station


Story by Margaret Foster / Nov. 8, 2007

It isn't every day that a 70-year-old gas station is the centerpiece of a park, but that's just what happened in Glendale, Calif.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles suburb will celebrate the grand opening of a new "mini-park," a 12,500-square-foot green space around a restored streamline moderne gas station built in 1936.

"It's been a long, long process," says Michael Teahan, president of Adams Hill Homeowners' Association, which fought to save the former Richfield Oil Co. Station.

The city acquired the 120-square-foot building almost a decade ago through eminent domain, planning to restore it for the park. Nearby business owners derailed those plans three years ago, calling for the demolition of the gas station to create more parking spaces. But a neighborhood group opposed the plan with a petition and a crowd at design meetings.

"They realized they were up against a huge force, and they decided to go ahead and keep the gas station," Teahan says. "When we rose up, we established a reputation for being very active and very influential. We've done a lot of work, and it's paid off."

The city paid about $170,000 to restore the building, according to Hagop Kassabian, the city’s project manager. Its architecture—specifically its marquees—came in handy. “We thought the canopies would be perfect, rather than planting trees, to provide shade,” he says. “It’s not on any registers, but we thought it would be a great idea to save the building. We don’t have many of these buildings around the city, and it would be a shame to lose it.”

The gas station, which closed in the 1980s, may become a museum of local history, says Arlene Vidor, president of the Glendale Historical Society. "There are a number of ideas that are being floated about how to use it, but nothing is set in stone yet," she says.

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