Standard Oil Gasoline Station - Welco Gas Port, Plainfield Illinois

Date added: August 30, 2024

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With the widespread adoption of the automobile after the turn of the century, the American environment underwent many radical changes. The gasoline station was the first structure built in response to the automobile and tackled the problem of gasoline distribution as more Americans could afford the luxury of motoring. While it is probably the most widespread type of American commercial building, it has traditionally been ignored. The fate of early stations seems that of authentic 1840 general stores. The social contacts encouraged between attendants, local customers and cross-country travelers may have been what led Sinclair Lewis to suggest that working in a filling station was the best vantage point from which to study American culture. Since demand exceeded supply, early stations were convenience-oriented. As competition increased and oil companies sought to minimize community opposition to the crudeness associated with gasoline distribution, image became a selling point. Three major types evolved: Fanciful, Respectable and Domestic. The Domestic type adopted the appearance of a picturesque cottage, suggesting a link to the family institution, a warm and relaxed association. The Domestic station was most popular in the East; the Spanish mission style in the Southwest. Standard Oil developed the finest station chains, small houses or cottages with canopies. Later, they prefabricated a prototype using tile roofing and stucco wall finish. A culmination of these earlier developments, the Plainfield "house with canopy" station, originally constructed as a Standard Oil station, exhibits a curious Midwestern combination of Domestic and Spanish elements. Gasoline stations became a welcomed beacon to the travelers in the early highway days. In 1921, the Lincoln Highway, the first paved transcontinental U.S. highway, was routed through the main street of Plainfield. In 1922, the stretch between Plainfield and Joliet, the only unpaved stretch in Illinois at that time, would be completed within months. As other portions of the highway were completed nationwide and traffic increased, a Plainfield site along the highway (later U.S. Route 30) seemed to be a natural choice as a point of distribution. Corner sites were preferred by the oil companies, able to accommodate necessary driveways and afford access from two streets. However, by the 1930s, some stations broke from individual designs in favor of corporate imagery through uniform buildings and paint schemes. Standard Oil Trust stations, Plainfield station included, adopted red, white, and blue schemes appropriate to the company's signage. Although the "house with canopy" style dominated nearly one-third of stations built in 1930, the Depression invited changes in station design. Amounts of plate glass increased with a corresponding reduction in exterior decoration. The 1932 Plainfield station reflects these trends. Possibly one of the last decorative stations in the Chicago area, they became unfashionable when, in the same year, the sleek and functional stations were introduced to America. Since its construction, the building has been almost continually occupied. An interesting interpretation of the Domestic type, the building is intact and in excellent condition for its vintage.

Building Description

The Welco Gas Port, at Plainfield, Illinois, was originally built in 1932 as a Standard Oil gasoline station and has changed relatively little since then. The original shape of the detached, one-story, single-bay building was rectangular. It consisted of a square, enclosed office and restroom connected to a square, canopied open bay. Presently, however, the shape is that of an ell due to a later (circa 1960) addition to the south.

The original building is constructed of brick with a stucco wall finish. The roof is composed of two pitched sections. The major section, with its street-facing gable, covers the office area and open bay with its ridge running north-south. The other section is more steeply pitched with an east-west running ridge. The original metal roofing, imitative of mission tile, is still intact. Finials are positioned at the apex of each gable.

The simple and unobtrusive addition, which served as a car wash, is constructed of cement block and has a flat roof. A wood-shingled, pitched false roof runs along the exposed north side of the addition.

Other features of the station include four piers which protrude through the roof and are crowned with opaque glass-globed electric lights. The north piers are decorated only by a simple belt course near their tops; the south piers are unadorned. The open eaves conceal receptacles for tiny electric bulbs which originally dramatically flooded the walls with light at night. The underside of the canopy is sheathed in tongue and groove beaded siding. A simple stuccoed chimney rises from the point where the roof ridges meet.

The metal sash windows vary in size but each is comprised of multiple lites. Each of the two wooden doors of the original building has three horizontal recessed panels below a six lite windows one door opens to the office from the bay and the other opens from the east into a restroom. A transom runs above the north-facing windows and office door. Doors into the addition include a flush wooden door and two overhead fiberglass garage doors. The original building rests on a protruding concrete sill. Window sills are exposed brick.

Although some stucco has loosened in a few areas and some panes of glass are missing, the building, overall, is in good physical condition since it has been continually occupied.

Since its construction, the station has remained virtually intact. The trademark red, white and blue paint scheme has been replaced by an orange and yellow scheme. However, it appears that only two of the station's original exterior appointments are missing the gasoline pumps which stood between the north piers and the octagonal neon clock which was once mounted in the street-facing gable.