For years, we’d seen a long-closed gas station along the 1926 alignment of Route 66 in downtown Depew, Okla. Drive belts and other automotive parts could be seen through the windows, like it’d been frozen in time from another era.
Last weekend, while cruising past the station, we saw a man unlock the gas station’s front door and go inside. We did a quick U-turn and investigated.
The man’s name is Scotty Orr, who moved from the Dallas area a few years ago to Depew. He didn’t own the station, but is leasing it for his boat-restoration business. On this day, he was repainting wheels, but was happy to show us around inside.
Orr said the station was long known as Gimmel’s Auto Service (or Gemmill’s Auto Parts, as it’s listed in a Depew history book from 2001).
Once inside, it became apparent why the long-neglected property had held up so well. The station’s solid stone walls, which aren’t quickly apparent from the front, make the structure as solid as a fortress.
This is the original lettering of a hand-painted sign on one inside stone wall of the station; note the backwards “N” is consistent throughout:
Here’s an original tire rack on another wall:
The shop also came with its original parts cabinet:
And remember those belts that I was talking about? They’re still there, albeit moved inside with an original Texaco credit sign:
Orr also keeps a few other relics in the building, including a small soda bottle collection. Orr says he’ll soon put a new roof on the building, which ought to give the structure many more years of life.
Orr said he’d he pleased to show Route 66 tourists around in the shop if you call 972-489-4883 to make arrangements.
Excellent news. So much of Depew seems to have such a fragile hold in this era, it’s heartening to see a good looking building being re-purposed and saved.
This is my great Grandfather’s filling station, George Washington Hicks!