Adaptive Reuse

Reimagining older buildings is critical to our future. We need to assign the appropriate value to the resources that went into our existing building stock and to continue their use to reduce our carbon emissions. As we transform these buildings we create a dialog between the past and the present. The continuity of the built environment enriches the community and the history of the places we live.

For gas stations, these transformations can show us how we can make a better future for these sites. These stations can become places for the local community to gather and can have new commercial uses serving their neighborhoods. Some of these are historic landmarks worth preserving and others can show the rich layers of changes to the use and character of these structures.

Photo: GO’C Studio

Mini Mart City Park

In Seattle, Washington a former gas station has been transformed into a cultural center and a pocket park, opening in 2022. The goal of the artist collaborative SuttonBeresCuller at the Mini Mart City Park was to clean the site with environmental remediation and create a space where people can come together to strengthen community ties. The architects, GO’C Studio designed a gallery in the front of the building and storage in the back with a courtyard in between. The site has been turned into a park.

Photos: GO’C Studio

La Station

In 1969 a station designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was built on Nuns’ Island in Montreal, Quebec along with three residential buildings.  After the gas station closed in 2008, it was carefully restored and converted to a community center called La Station by the architectural firm FABG. The two enclosed spaces under the cantilevered roof were converted from a convenience store and garage into spaces for young people and seniors. For more information, see the documentary film about the station and Mies’ architecture “Regular or Super: Views on Mies van der Rohe”.

Photo: Kate McDonnell, Creative Commons

Photo: Niroyb, Creative Commons

Lake Street Winery

This former Geneva, New York gas station was built in 1922, closing in the 1970’s. After being used as a glass repair shop and a bus station, it became Lake Street Winery in 2013. Many of the original Texaco station features are preserved. The area under the canopy has been transformed into outdoor seating.

Photo: Michael Woods

Starbucks - Gilmore Gas Station

This Streamline Moderne style gas station was built in 1935. Its Hollywood, California location made it available as a backdrop for films and photoshoots. The station was designated a historic cultural monument in 1992. After sitting vacant for many years, Starbucks began the adaptation to a cafe in 2015, preserving the historic elements. The station continues its automotive use, though much of the site is consumed with the drive through window waiting lane.

Photo: Michael Woods

Fuel Cantina

In 2008, this Charleston, South Carolina gas station was converted into a restaurant. The garage doors remain in place, opening up the interior to the outdoors. Gas pumps have been turned into light fixtures. The rear of the site has been converted into a courtyard for outdoor dining with old gas pumps and other automotive elements adding character. There are two other stations in Charleston have been converted to restaurants; Leon’s Oyster Shop and Xiao Bao Biscuit.

Photos: Michael Woods