The long-closed Threatt Filling Station near Luther, Oklahoma, is receiving some much-needed work from preservationists and volunteers who want to see the Route 66 landmark standing for decades to come.
According to KFOR-TV in nearby Oklahoma City:
Now, crews from the Oklahoma Historical Society, National Trust for Historic Preservation and Guthrie Job Corps are working to preserve it.
Students gain hands-on carpentry experience and other lessons they may not get in the classroom.
“I’m not really good with history in school, but, you know, being hands on and coming to a historical place and learning it means a lot to me,” said Dynasty Henry, a student at the Guthrie Job Corps.
The preservationists also included The Hope Crew, which travels the country to help revive historic buildings, reported KOCO-TV, also in Oklahoma City.
“We weren’t aware of this giraffe style. It’s a regional style, not only in Oklahoma but all through the Ozarks. So, through our research, we learned the appropriate paints to use the right mortar and how to bring it back its original aesthetic look,” said Molly Baker, of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Hope Crew.
Noted Route 66 photographer and author Shellee Graham was one of the volunteers and posted photos of the work being done:
One of the members of the Threatt family also posted photos online:
And here’s another post from the Oklahoma Route 66 Association:
The Threatt family wants to reopen the gas station as an interpretive center by June 2024.
Built by Allen Threatt in 1915, the gas station remains one of the few surviving Black-owned businesses along Route 66. The bungalow-style station made of rock from the Threatt farm’s quarry was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The Threatt Filling Station operated until the early 1960s or ’70s, when it was converted into living quarters.
In recent years, the station has received grants from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, plus a fundraiser led by Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell. The Threatt station in 2021 was named one of America’s Most Endangered Places.
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