“Fueling Progress: 100 years of the gas station, roadside attractions and Virginia on the move”
The Virginia Museum of Transportation has announced the opening of “Fueling Progress: 100 years of the gas station, roadside attractions and Virginia on the move,” a new exhibit in the Advance Auto Parts Automotive Gallery on Saturday, April 12, 2014.
The exhibit marks the 100th anniversary of the gas station. Visitors can learn how the petroleum industry fueled our economy, mobility and progress as a nation.
“Fueling Progress adds an important narrative to the Advance Auto Parts Automotive Gallery,” said Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “To tell the story of the gas station is to tell how car ownership helped to fuel American history.”
The exhibit resembles a 1930s-era country gas station in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Most gas stations at the time doubled as general stores, hardware stores or blacksmith shops.
“Henry Ford’s mass production of the automobile allowed many in the middle class to afford automobiles for the first time in history,” says Wayne Henderson, author of 100 years of the Gas Station. “Greater demand for automobiles sparked a greater demand for the gas station and a new American industry was formed.”
The Fueling Progress Exhibit is sponsored by Advance Auto Parts, Berglund Automotive Group, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation and Anstey-Hodge Advertising Group, Inc. Additional support was provided by the Burton Center for Arts and Technology in Salem, Virginia, Ken Hogan, Norman Altizer and Nene Roe, artist.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation will celebrate the grand opening of the exhibit on Saturday, April 12 from 10 am to 5 pm. The Museum will offer reduced admission for the day: $5 per person. Children 2 and under admitted free.
Activities will include:
- Lecture by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation about the history of roadside attractions in the Roanoke Valley.
- Lecture by Wayne Henderson, America’s foremost expert on the history of gas stations and author of 100 years of the Gas Station.
- Bus tours of Carlin’s Gas Station, an award winning and restored gas station on Williamson Road, as well as the roadside attractions that dotted Virginia’s Route 11 through the Roanoke Valley. The bus tours will be offered at 11 am and 2 pm. Guides will be given to visitors so they can tour the attractions in their own vehicles.
Carlin’s Amoco station across from Berglund Chevrolet on Williamson Road in Roanoke, Virginia, was founded in 1947. For decades it served as an anchor of Williamson Road, Roanoke’s classic cruising strip. After closing in late 1990s, the station fell into disrepair.
“Carlin’s Amoco complements Berglund’s commitment to preserving the automobile history and culture on Williamson Road,” said William Farrell, president of Berglund Automotive Group. “The station also allows us to celebrate Roanoke’s love of the automobile through Star City Motor Madness, a city wide car celebration every June, and antique club car shows throughout the year.”
Todd Bandy, an employee of Berglund Automotive Group, painstakingly restored the station to its original glory. Today, it is a welcoming spot for memory-seekers, car lovers and historians.
Carlin’s Amoco has won the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation’s Adaptive Reuse Award and Preservation Virginia’s Award for Outstanding Preservation Project (small commercial). The magnificent station is listed by the National Parks Service as a state and federal historic landmark. It has been recognized by the Virginia Center for Architecture as one of Virginia’s important pieces of architecture.
