A long-closed gas station called Valentine Station in Valentine, Arizona, reopened a few months ago as a gift shop.
Marian Pavel, traveling Route 66 as part of field research to update his company’s Route 66 Navigation app, found out last month about it reopening.
Route 66 Navigation passed along the news on Facebook:
Contacted through Facebook, the owners said it reopened in May.
On the station’s website, it states:
Welcome To Valentine Station. We are located In Valentine Arizona and have been a roadside stop for Arizona Route 66 travelers since 1945. We no longer sell Gasoline at .27 cents a gallon, but we will keep you updated on our bit of the Mother Road. […]
Valentine Station is a small Mom and Son effort, our goal is the preservation and Restoration of Valentine Station Gas Station, travel trailer motor-court facilities and hotel rooms.
We would like to share our knowledge & stories of the local area, learn and explore more & connect with fans and enthusiasts of Route 66, small-town Americana and simple living.
The station is located on 12626 W. Historic 66 in Valentine (map here). Its phone number is (928) 716-8038. It sits on a stretch of original Route 66 in western Arizona, between Peach Springs and Hackberry.
According to several archived photos on the internet, the station used to be a Union 76 franchise.
(Image of Valentine Station in Valentine, Arizona, via Facebook)
A post office station was once located inside the filling station building and a “Post Office” sign was once painted above the doorway.
Was that in the last 10, 15 years, Landrunner? I found old stories where people would travel to Valentine to send cards with the Valentine postmark for Valentine’s Day.
It was during my frequent travels through there between 1995 and 1997 when I first viewed the abandoned “Post Office” Union 76 Filling Station. Was sorely disappointed that it was closed down. Although, I was able to obtain the rubber inked stamping from the Federal Bureau of Affairs located in Valentine as Route 66 and More official documentation that I was there.
…. The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs building that is.
This is great news!