Convenience store design: gas pump location

[Streck]

Isn't there something a little incongruous about having a "Colonial" gas station? Did they have gas stations in Colonial times?

It would sort of be like having a "Colonial airport terminal!"

Where is good contemporary contextual American architecture that reflects the purpose of the building???

[Luca]

Isn't there something a little incongruous about having a "Colonial" gas station? Did they have gas stations in Colonial times?

It would sort of be like having a "Colonial airport terminal!"

Where is good contemporary contextual American architecture that reflects the purpose of the building???

Well, how about an indoor toilet? A kitchen that is not a scullery maid's preserve?? 'Colonial' architecture is a familiar American archetype, a stylistic grammar that is very adaptable and harmonious, it is simple and practical. Why NOT a gas station??

If time-of-introduction is an issue, maybe then an art-Deco gas station??

Oh, and airport terminals should be neoclassical. Obviously.

[Cardinal]

Isn't there something a little incongruous about having a "Colonial" gas station? Did they have gas stations in Colonial times?

It would sort of be like having a "Colonial airport terminal!"

Where is good contemporary contextual American architecture that reflects the purpose of the building???

Colonial Revival architecture was one of the popular styles up to the 1930's. Many early gas stations would have had this architecture. Similarly, I could point to Tudor, Georgian, Gothic, and other styles common at the start of the last century. It is sometimes easy to forget that gas stations have been around since about 1910. Not many examples exist in urban areas, but you will see them when you are traveling in rural parts of the country.

[John V.]

Hi folks, I am in the gas station business and just registered today to comment on this one thread. I had stumbled across and bookmarked this thread two years ago while pursuing a site development on a historical downtown lot, and I just stumbled across it again while going through my bookmarks.

I am posting links to pictures of the station we built. The pictures don’t do it justice as there is currently road construction going on in front of the facility, but they do convey the overall concept.

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I have received countless complements regarding the end result of this project and I am proud of it, although there are a lot of better architectural details I had in mind that became lost in translation between my architect and myself, or that we simply did not have time to implement.

To understand my outlook on this subject it is important to note that fuel sales account for roughly half our gross profits and our facilities cost between one and two million dollars to build, on top of premium lot costs. In light of that, I cannot imagine making the decision to spend my time, money and effort to build a facility where the fuel islands would be hidden from the driver’s sight, unless perhaps it was in an area that had absolutely no competition for miles around. In which case my customers would be paying a premium price.

One primary question I have regards the meme that fuel canopies are ugly and that cars are ugly. Why is that axiomatic? I am often inspired by the thought that form follows function when I see all the examples of works of art that are draped over that concept. Be it a weathervane, a doorknocker or the houses we live in, each of those items is often used as art rather than purposely hidden from view. I have seen the same lockstep mind-set regarding garage doors facing the street. Such a stance must dismiss the beauty of an old carriage house or else be capricious. (This paragraph was not intended to be argumentative but instead was a request for readers to scrutinize long held assumptions).

And so, taking advice from a book by Russell Versace, I see an opportunity to invent within the rules and to make the fuel canopies beautiful instead of adorned with the garish colors of a major oil company. I see an opportunity to borrow architecture from the old railroad depots, which had freestanding canopies in plain view for commuters to stand under. And I see an opportunity to use materials and details that complement the surrounding architecture and borrow from the vernacular architecture.

It has been said that architecture is “frozen music” and my goal was to make our building one harmonic phrase in the lovely song that is our historic street front. Many of the village residents agree that we were successful.

[mike gurnee]

Thank you, John V, for your comments and photos.