Former Route 66 Gasoline Service Station in AZ

John Osterman Gas Station, Peach Springs Arizona

Date added: September 02, 2024

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The John Osterman Gas Station, located on U.S. Route 66 in Peach Springs, Arizona was constructed in 1929. The service station is an example of the types of privately owned commercial businesses that emerged along U.S. 66 and flourished due to the heavy use of the highway. As the automobile quickly became the preferred method of transportation, numerous auto-related businesses such as gas stations and repair shops opened along the nation's emerging roadways. As one of the most prominent east-west highways, U.S. Route 66 supported thousands of such businesses. The John Osterman Gas Station is one of several that operated in the small town of Peach Springs, which relied heavily on Route 66 traffic for its livelihood. The station is one of the few surviving auto-related businesses in Peach Springs.

Peach Springs is located approximately twenty miles south of the Grand Canyon in the traditional territory of the Hualapai Tribe. Travel and transportation has played a large role in the town's history, as the rise and decline of various transportation corridors have shaped its development. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, travelers and explorers discovered the natural springs in this area and it became a common stopping point and watering place. As railroads penetrated the West, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) was completed through northern Arizona in 1883, and the ample water supply at Peach Springs made it a division point along the line. A small town organized along the tracks and a post office was established in 1887.

Peach Springs experienced a period of prosperity during the late nineteenth century. Numerous businesses appeared in the town, including a Fred Harvey Company Harvey House. Saloons and other Peach Springs establishments also catered to the traveling public and local residents. In addition to being a prominent spot along the railroad, Peach Springs drew a number of tourists by offering easy access to the Grand Canyon via Diamond Creek. However, in 1901 the Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railway was constructed, which provided better access to the Grand Canyon, and tourists began to bypass Peach Springs.

The town fell into a period of decline, which was worsened when the railroad moved its division operations to Seligman in 1907, and Peach Springs became only a minor stop on the line.

In the years following World War I, improvements in area roads ushered in a new era of prosperity to Peach Springs. During this period the National Old Trails Road was constructed through the region. This route served as a major transportation corridor in northern Arizona as it linked several roads and trails into a single roadway. The route inspired new growth and development in Peach Springs. Through the late 1910s and the 1920s several new businesses emerged in the town including two trading posts, a hotel, and various garages and service stations.

One of those who initiated a business on Route 66 in Peach Springs was John Osterman. Osterman was a Swedish immigrant who after first serving in the Swedish and then German Merchant Marines found himself traveling through the Southwestern United States during World War I. He found work on a dairy farm in Tempe and then on a cattle farm in Peach Springs. Osterman applied for citizenship and enlisted in the U.S. Army. After serving in World War I, Osterman returned to Peach Springs and opened a garage and service station in 1923. Later that year he married a local young woman named Dorothy Shawver.

In 1926, the alignment of the National Old Trails Road in Arizona was designated as U.S. Highway 66. At this time the road was widened and improved, and traffic through the town increased steadily as automobile use rose and U.S. 66 became one of the nation's primary highways. Peach Springs became one of the busiest communities on the highway along the stretch of U.S. 66 between Kingman and Flagstaff. Much of the highway between these two communities was an oil-surfaced gravel road until the late 1930s when asphalt paving was completed.

With the rise in automobile traffic, Osterman had his brother Oscar join him in Peach Springs, and the two opened a trading post in addition to their service station. Business continued to increase and in 1929, John Osterman built a new Shell service station and garage on U.S. 66. Next door to the station, he constructed the Peach Springs Auto Court, which consisted of fourteen units, a bathhouse, and an office and the Ostermans' home. Osterman's gas station joined a number of new properties in the community including the Peach Springs Trading Post and the Qumacho Cafe and Tourist Court. The Trading Post became well known for its Native American crafts from the nearby Hualapai Tribe and other merchandise.

The building constructed by Osterman was a vernacular design of poured concrete and rock-faced concrete block. The station has few allusions to any popular style of the period and was built in the tradition of the "House with Bays" form. This gas station form featured an office which was designed to resemble a small house and then had a series of attached garage bays. The John Osterman Gas Station is a variation on this form with a much larger garage bay than the office section. The size of the garage is indicative of the large amount of repair work the station undertook in addition to the sale of gasoline and other automotive products.

The development of such businesses as the John Osterman Gas Station was a common occurrence along U.S. 66 in the early twentieth century. Throughout the road's length, small, privately-owned businesses were opened to cater to the many travelers and tourists. These were often operated by a married couple that started out with one business, such as a restaurant or gas station, and expanded into other areas, such as motels or tourist courts, that also benefited from the tourist dollars. Gas stations were especially prevalent along U.S. 66 as a necessary requirement of automobile travel. Automobile use rose rapidly in the 1920s and 1930s leading to a boom in gas station construction. As author John Margolies noted, "The overbuilding of gas stations in the 1920s was exceeded only by the building boom of the 1930s. There were 143,000 retail outlets for gas in 1929, 170,000 by 1933, and this number ballooned to a staggering 231,000 in 1940." Gasoline consumption rocketed as well. In 1909, gasoline consumption accounted for 25% of the petroleum market. A short ten years later, it was 85%.

John Osterman and his family operated both the gas station and the adjacent tourist court into the late 1930s. The section of U.S. 66 that passed through Peach Springs was paved around 1936, which further facilitated the flow of traffic. The Ostermans eventually sold their Peach Springs business and moved to Kingman where John Osterman began a car dealership. By the late 1930s the gas station in Peach Springs was operated by Earl Boyd, who continued to operate the business into the 1950s. The gas station remained affiliated with the Shell Corporation into the late Twentieth century as it passed through various owners including the Martin, Byars, and Ricardi families. In 1982, Robert Goldstein purchased the station. Goldstein and his family had moved to Kingman, Arizona from Nebraska in 1937 when he was fourteen years old. He later moved to Peach Springs and operated a grocery store in the trading post building. Goldstein purchased the John Osterman Gas Station in Peach Springs in 1982 and continued to use it as a gas station and garage for several years. The property is now owned by the Hualapai Tribe.

Traffic along U.S. 66 through Peach Springs remained heavy until Interstate 40 was constructed. The section of I-40 between Kingman and Seligman was completed in 1979, bypassing the eighty-four-mile stretch of U.S. 66 that had connected the two towns. The change in Peach Springs businesses was abrupt as one local business owner recalled: "Before the bypass, Route 66 was almost like a city street, a city boulevard. After Interstate 40 was completed it was ghostly quiet." Businesses soon closed and the population began to decline. As a result, a number of commercial buildings in the community were razed including the Peach Springs Auto Court.

With the renewed interest in U.S. 66, tourism is increasing all along the highway, and especially on the section between Kingman and Flagstaff. This former section of U.S. 66 is one of the longest stretches of the original roadbed in the Southwest and is now a state highway with the designation as "Highway 66." The John Osterman Gas Station remains as a reminder of the prosperity Peach Springs experienced during the early- to mid-twentieth century as an important community along U.S. 66. Although no longer in use, the building retains much of its original design and form and continues to reflect the history of transportation along the highway. The tribe is currently engaged in developing a preservation plan for the building with the intent of reopening the gas station as an outlet for alternative fuels.

Building Description

Constructed in 1929, the John Osterman Gas Station is a one-story concrete building with a poured concrete foundation, a corrugated metal gable roof, and a rock-faced concrete block exterior. The station is located in the community of Peach Springs (pop. 600), Arizona facing the original alignment of U.S. 66. The community contains the offices of the Hualapai Tribe, the owner of the property. The building occupies a rectangular lot on the south side of the highway and is currently used as a garage. The property consists of the gas station building, two concrete gas pump islands, and a sign pole, all of which date to 1929. In front of the building is a large curb cut and a paved area of asphalt; a larger paved parking area is located to the west. The gas station is one of only a few commercial buildings constructed in Peach Springs in the early Twentieth century along U.S. 66 which remain extant.

The John Osterman Gas Station is a one-story concrete block building with a poured concrete foundation, a gable roof of corrugated metal, and an exterior of rock faced concrete block. The building was constructed with poured concrete vertical and horizontal piers with the rest of the walls of rock faced concrete block. The main (north) facade has an original gable roof, drive-thru bay. This bay retains two original, concrete gas pump islands. The north island is rectangular and approximately 11' in height. This island retains two, ca. 1980-1990 gas pumps and two steel posts which support the canopy. The south island is also rectangular and has a surface of wood planks over the pump foundations. This island is supported by original square concrete posts with chamfered corners and tapered concrete bases. The canopy has exposed eave rafters and an original roof of pressed metal shingles. In front of the island is a sign pole; the sign has been removed.

The storefront of the station has two display windows with original concrete sills and above the windows and door is a shared poured concrete lintel. The display windows were originally single-light design but were replaced ca. 1998 with the existing single-light design with rectangular frame and plywood panels. The main entrance has a ca. 1988 two-light glass-and-wood door. Above the door is an original single-light transom. The garage bay on the main facade has paired hinged wood doors added in 1994. Windows on the main facade are original six- and nine-light steel awning units with concrete lintels and sills. Some windows have security bars. The roofline of the main facade has a stepped parapet with a rectangular opening to access a storage room.

The east facade contains a garage bay with an original sliding track wood garage door. This door is of vertical board design with two upper window lights of a three-light fixed design. This door is missing its window glass and has added plywood panels. This entrance has an original concrete ramp and a concrete lintel above. This facade also has an original nine-light steel awning window with a concrete lintel and sill. At the roofline of the facade is a stepped parapet wall. At the northeast corner of the building is a concrete pier with a round finial at the roofline. The west facade of the building has three original nine-light steel awning windows with concrete lintels and sills. This facade also has a stepped parapet at the roofline. The rear or south facade has an entrance in the west bay with a solid steel door added in 2004. This facade also displays six window bays with original nine-light steel awning windows with concrete lintels and sills.

The interior of the station office is partitioned from the rear storage and adjacent garage bay areas by original wood and plaster walls. The office walls have a plaster surface while the partition walls separating the garage and storage areas have surfaces of rock faced metal panels. The floor of the office is of concrete scored into a rectangular pattern. The garage section has a concrete floor and exposed walls of concrete blocks. The ceiling has a post and tress system with wood planks and corrugated metal at the roofline. The garage retains its original hydraulic jack floor hoist. Along the north wall of the garage section are two restrooms which are partitioned by rock faced concrete block walls. The east restroom is used for storage and no longer has a door or fixtures. The west restroom has an original five-panel wood door and ca. 1970 bathroom fixtures.