Standard Oil Gasoline Station - Plainfield, IL
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 41° 36.499 W 088° 12.327
16T E 399556 N 4606991
Built in 1928 to service the cars along the Lincoln Highway.
Waymark Code: WM570A
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/21/2008
Views: 11
Today, the Standard Oil Gasoline Station has been restored to its original color scheme, but has been substantially remodeled and added upon to create much needed office space for downtown Plainfield. The secondary weblink listed below is the
application to the National Register of Historic Places in an Adobe Acrobat Reader .PDF format.
The interpretive sign tells the rest of the history well:
<center)
STANDARD OIL GASOLINE STATION
The last of five filling stations which lined the Lincoln Highway (est. 1912) in downtown Plainfield, this white stucco building with its red metal tile roof has been a "bright spot" on this corner since 1928 when constructed by James E. Newkirk of Joliet, Illinois.
Based on architectual plans from the Standard Oil Company (Indiana), the original structure (at the corner) utilized the company's familiar corporate colors. The "House with Canopy" form, sparkling clean appearence, prominent corner location; and well-lit landscaped, and fenced yard were all original marketing techniques employed to attract customers and to blend with nearby residential neighborhoods.
After 1932, the station was operated as Overman's Certified Texaco Station, and the distinctive blue trim was painted green. From 1956-1962, the station operated as Allen Hall's Texaco and, later, as the Welco Gas Port until 1984 when listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1984, the Andreasen family purchased, enlarged and remodeled the abandoned gas station. In 2004, the renovated th building once again, refurbishing much of the orginal building's historic character.