Teapot Dome Service Station

The Teapot Dome Service Station is a former gas station built in the shape of a teapot located in Zillah, Washington, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

Teapot Dome Service Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Teapot Dome Service Station is an example of novelty architecture and of a roadside attraction, August 2017.
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Location	Old State HW 12 Zillah, Washington United States
Coordinates	46°24′16.8″N 120°16′10.35″W
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1922
Architect	Ainsworth, Jack
Architectural style	Follies
NRHP reference No.	85001943 [1]
Added to NRHP	August 29, 1985

Description

Located at 117 First Avenue, the station is an example of novelty architecture. It was intended as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal that rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves in, among other places, Teapot Dome, Wyoming.

History

The Teapot Dome Station, 1987

The station was built in 1922 on what later became U.S. Route 12. The building has a circular frame with a conical roof, sheet metal "handle", and a concrete "spout". Many such novelties were constructed as roadside attractions as the national highway system in the United States expanded during the 1920s and 1930s. The unique service station continued operation as a full-service gas station for some years.[2] When Interstate 82 was constructed near Zillah in 1978 the station was relocated less than a mile down the Yakima Valley Highway. After the gas station was closed in 2006, it was purchased by the city the following year, rehabilitated, and relocated in 2012 to 117 First Avenue.[3][4] It now serves as Zillah's visitors center.[3]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Yakima County, Washington
• Airplane Service Station, 1930 station built in the shape of an airplane, Tennessee
• Chester teapot
• Shell Service Station, 1930 station built in the shape of a scallop shell, North Carolina

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Determining the Facts Reading 1: Representational Architecture, Roadside Attractions, National Park Service.
3. Meyers, Donald (May 14, 2017). "It Happened Here: Political scandal inspires gas station". Yakima Herald-Republic. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
4. Hale, Jamie (July 26, 2018). "Roadside attraction meets political scandal, at Teapot Dome in central Washington". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

External links

• Teapot information – City of Zillah
• “Roadside Attractions”, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan