The city of Webb City, Missouri, is seeking to land a grant to restore a historic gas station in its downtown, reported the Joplin Globe.
The station, which once sold Sinclair and Tydol gas, was built in the 1920s and designed to look like a replica of a nearby post office and serve those vehicles.
The U.S. Filling Station, located at 223 W. Daugherty St. across from the post office, was deeded to the city about a year ago without restrictions by the Patten family trust, said Mayor John Biggs. It was the family’s hope that the city could have it restored. […]
Erin Turner, economic and community development coordinator for the city, said the initial estimate to restore the station is about $62,000. But since downtown Webb City was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the contractor has to be certified for historic preservation, which could push the cost higher.
The grant would pay for 60 percent of the project and the city would be responsible for the remaining 40 percent.
Turner said some longtime Webb City residents and business owners have already offered to help cover the city’s share if it receives the grant. A Patten family heir has pledged $5,000, Biggs said, and David Perry, president of Cardinal Scale Manufacturing, has pledged $25,000.
Two of the council members wanted the property sold instead, but the five other councilors voted down the motion. The property had been used rented for 10 months by a man who was restoring cars.
This Google Street View image from May 2013 shows the station looking considerably nicer:
The station sits about a block north of a 1930s Broadway alignment of Route 66.
It would be the second historic gas station Webb City will have restored. The Webb City Route 66 Information Center is housed in a vintage gas station that was renovated and reopened in 2010.
(Hat tip to Ron Hart; 2009 image of the Daugherty Street gas station by John Hagstrom via Flickr)