The historic Spraker Service Station, located at 240 S. Wilson St., aka Route 66, in Vinita, Okla., may be demolished by the car dealership that owns it.
The Spraker Service Station (pictured above) is a cottage-style Conoco station built in 1929. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It sits on land owned by C.R. Moore Co., a Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealer.
Last week, I got wind from a Vinita official who heard the Spraker is going to come down. I was unable to talk to C.R. Moore’s principal owner, Scott Moore, despite leaving several phone messages.
However, Sharon Moore, who is dealer trade coordinator, confirmed that the dealership wishes to tear down the Spraker Service Station because it’s in disrepair.
“It would take $10,000 to fix up that building,” she said.
But when I informed her the building was on the National Register of Historic Places, she was unaware of that, and it seemed to give her pause.
I also informed Vinita City Administrator Charlie Enyart about the Spraker’s possible date with the wrecking ball. He, too, seemed surprised the building was on the National Register. Enyart told me he would speak to Scott Moore and get back to me within a day or so. That was the middle of last week. It is now Monday night, and still no word from him.
Enyart said the city has little legal recourse to stop the demolition. To raze the Spraker Service Station, a permit is required. However, Enyart said these are mostly a formality to ensure the sewer line is properly capped.
About the only other course of action for Route 66 aficionados is to encourage the dealership to not tear down the service station and find other uses for it.
So it’s letter-writing time. Here are the talking points:
- That the Spraker Service Station is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tearing it down would not only be a loss to a region, but to an entire nation.
- That Spraker Service Station is eligible for cost-share grants from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for rehabilitation. The fact the Spraker is on the National Register also makes it available for federal grants. In addition, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association can provide volunteers to help repair the structure.
- That Spraker Service Station is a good candidate for adaptive reuse. It could be an ideal site for Route 66 souvenirs and auto accessories. Country Classic Cars on old Route 66 near Staunton, Ill., gets a substantial amount of revenue from a gift shop that sells Route 66 memorabilia.
You can write directly to the C.R. Moore dealership with its contact form here. Its snail-mail address is: C.R. Moore Motor Company, 228 S. Wilson, Vinita, OK 74301.
You can write a similar letter to the editor to the Vinita Daily Journal. Letters can be e-mailed to vdjnews@cableone.net . Keep letters to 200-300 words, and include your address and phone number so the editor can verify you.
Be sure to keep your letters polite and upbeat. Property owners are more willing to reconsider their plans to demolish historic buildings when they find that preservationists are reasonable people who want to help them — not enemies bent on halting progress.
If you have personal memories or stories about the Spraker, you might mention those in your letter as well. It’s important to let the property owner and the community know how much this historic building means to the traveling public.
If the C.R. Moore Co. relents and decides to preserve the station, we’ll let you know.