Restored Signal Gas Station, Portland, OR Photo courtesy Jim Paul
Places to Visit Oil & Gas Museums and Restored Gas Stations

Museums, Restored Gas Stations and Displays

• Museo Nacional del Petróleo - National Petroleum Museum of Argentina, featuring a very large collection of machinery and pumps, along with educational exhibits
• Fisogni Museum - Italian automotive & gasoline marketing museum, plus an extensive online resource, Via Tirano, 18, 20030 Palazzolo Milanese di Paderno Dugnano, Italy, Ph. +39-2-990941 - Fax +39-2-99094206, Versione Italiana
• Wijnakker Automobielen - Zeeland, Holland, Classic gas pumps featured with classic cars in an auto showroom
• Hemmings Motor News - authentically restored 1940s Sunoco station in Bennington, Vermont near their offices. It is an operable station that sells gas, call: 1-800-227-4373
• Smithsonian Institution - Washington, D.C., National Museum of American History, "Oil from the Arctic" display, featuring memorabilia of the Alaska oil exploration and a group of marketing collectibles from the companies involved, info: (202) 357-2058
• Mayor Gary's Garage - Port Republic, New Jersey. 1931 Mobilgas station and Model A Ford showroom. Open for tours. Appointments are required. (609)652-0366 or email
• Museum of Automobile History - Syracuse, N.Y., fantastic display of automobilia through the years, info: (315) 478-CARS
• Quality Oil Co. Shell - restored unique shell-shaped Shell station at Sprague and Peachtree Streets in Winston-Salem N.C. thanks to Preservation North Carolina
• Gas Station Antiques in Lincolnton, NC. It's a 1927 Sinclair Station that includes a living quarters and a tourist court. The old station has been completely redone and provides the backdrop for the antique store that handles vintage gas merchandise. Located at the intersection of Hwy's. 27 & 150. (704) 732-4900 Open Wed-Sun.
• American Oil Museum - operated by Larry Stancil in Selma, NC, call: 919-965-2372
• Gulf Oil, Quincy, Florida - Restored station with gas pumps and memorabilia on display inside.
• Westbrook's Esso - Kingwood, WV., restored station with visible pumps
• Weaver's Garage - Burlington, West Virginia, located on U.S. Route 50 and Patterson Creek Road, about 10 miles west of Romney. The museum is open by chance, your best bet is on weekends
• Oil and Gas Museum, Parkersburg, WV., 119 Third Street, 304-485-5446 or 304-428-8015, email: David McKain
• Drake Well Museum - Titusville, PA  (814) 827-2797
• McKinley Museum - Canton, Ohio, Presidential museum has a reproduced a 1929 gas station on a "Street of Shops"
• MD Garage - Boston, Ohio, restored by the National Park Service with Pure Oil signage as a historic part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area
• Carrol Hook Collectibles - Portsmouth, Ohio, petroleum and Chevrolet memorabilia display and sales, info: (614) 353-1957
• Gulf Oil gas station - Tazewell, Tennessee. Restored station located on Old Route 25E.
• B/A station & museum - Newtonville, Ontario, finding a new life as an auction house, this 1950s B/A displays the owners impressive B/A Gas petroliana collection
• Oil Museum of Canada - Oil Springs, Ontario. The Museum is located where James Miller Williams dug the first commercial oil well in 1858. Drilling rigs, petroleum industry artifacts
• Petrolia Discovery - Petrolia, Ontario, Canada. A field comprising of 60 acres has been set aside as a living museum, a major historic, recreational and educational exhibit
• Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village - 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, P.O. Box 1970, Dearborn, MI 48121-1970, call: 313- 271-1620
• Gilmore Car Museum Includes a reproduction 1930s Shell gas station complete with original signs, pumps and equipment, 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, (269) 671-5089, open May-October
• Red Crown Mini-Museum - located at the corner of 6th and South Streets in downtown Lafayette, Indiana
• Community Memories - operated by Charles Whitworth in Jeffersonville, IN, Call: (812) 282-4595
• Trump's Texaco Museum, Knightstown, Indiana - Bruce Trump's restored 1950s Texaco station, 39 N Washington St. at Brown St., (765) 345-7135
• Shylers Restaurant, Evansville, Indiana - Decorated with gas pumps and signs. East of Hwy 41 on Lloyd Expressway to Green River Road then south 1 mile.
• Northwoods Petroleum Museum in Northwoods of Three Lakes Wisconsin. Limited hours, call first 715 617 0566
• Double T Qwik Stop - Merrillan, Wisconsin, Dennis Myher's 1930s replica Conoco station next to modern station
• Zunker's Antique Car Museum - 3722 MacArthur Dr., Manitowoc, WI 54220, call: 414-684-4005, (includes gas station display)
• Martin's General Store Museum - Millburn, Illinois, history museum of general store and gasoline merchant
• "Pop" Johnson's Conoco station, Pontiac, Illinois - restored 1920s octagonal metal building moved to Thresherman's Park, on Rt. 23, 3 mi. N of I-55, near Arco Pipeline tank farm
• Volo Auto Museum, Volo, IL, Antique auto museum and antque mall with gas station display with visible pumps
• Shea's 66 Museum, Springfield, IL., Extensive private collection of gas station and Route 66 memorabilia by a lifetime local Texaco dealer. Open Wed-Fri & until Noon on Sat. I-55 exit north Bus Rte 55, then right on Grand, left on 9th. 2075 Peoria Rd. (217) 522-0475
• Mid America Designs - Effingham, IL Corvette parts and accessories maker has an early station as a photo backdrop
• Ray's Auto - 404 E. Hawley, Mundelein, IL 60060, currently in use as Jim Bauersmith's auto repair shop
• Soulsby's Shell - Rte. 66, Mount Olive, Ill., auctioned off, but maybe someday will be back
• Shell History Museum - operated by employees of Shell Wood River Refinery in Roxana, IL, usually open Wed-Thurs 10-4, call: 618-255-3718 Official Shell Museum Web site
• Arkansas Museum of Natural History, Oil & Brine Museum, 3853 Smackover Highway, Smackover, AR (870) 725-2877
• Bo's Hollow - Salem, Mo. Gas up at working MS-80 gas pumps in this old time station near Montauk State Park.
• The Big Pump gas station, on property owned by the Tri-County Historical & Museum Society of King City, MO.
• Red Oak II - Carthage, Mo. restored Phillips 66 station in an historic village
• Gas from the Past - 1950s gas station inside and displays of restored pumps, soda machines, coin-op vending machines and other memorabilia, 401 A Legend Lane, Peculiar, MO 64078, (816) 779-0298, open weekdays and some Saturdays (Call first)
• The Filling Station - 305 E. 35th St., Davenport, Iowa, Pat Quail's restaurant and collectibles display
• Old Phillips Station, Creston Iowa on the West edge of town on Hwy 34. Frank Phillips was born here. Open part time as a visitors center
• Restored Phillips 66 station/museum, Massena, Iowa located north of the north edge of their downtown area.
• Winterset, Iowa. Texaco station restored for the set of the movie "Bridges of Madison County," now revamped as an Internet service provider's office. The pumps and building are still there, but the rest of the gas memorabilia items are gone.
• Oil Rig Museum - International Petroleum Museum & Exposition, Morgan City, Louisiana
• Caddo-Pine Island Oil and Historical Museum - Oil City, Louisiana
• Kansas Oil Museum and Butler County Historical Society - El Dorado, KS
• Kansas Oil and Gas Hall of Fame and Museum - 5944 10th Street, Great Bend, Kansas, production to refining exhibits
• Oil Patch Museum - 1-70 and US 281, Russell, Kansas, oil production & early equipment,  Russell County Historical Society (785) 483-3637
• Spudder Restaurant -6536 E. 50th St, Tulsa, OK, nice "dinner-only" eatery extensively decorated with oil company signs, globes and memorabilia, 918-665-1416
• Lucille's - the mother of the mother road operated a Conoco station on Route 66 in OK until her passing in 2000
• Healdton Oil Museum -  315 East Main St., Healdton, OK (405) 229-0317
• Marland Mansion and Estate - 901 Monument Rd., Ponca City, OK, (800) 422-8340
• Woolaroc - Phillips Family and Oklahoma "Oil Patch" museums, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• Houston Museum of Natural Science, Wiess Energy Hall - One Hermann Circle Drive, Houston, TX (713) 639- 4600
• Shell Headquarters - Shell museum on the first floor of One Shell Plaza in downtown Houston, TX
• Shell Museum at the Deer Park Refinery -Deer Park, TX (east of Houston).
• Petrified Wood Texaco Station - Decatur, Texas. Legendary station still attracting travelers with a cafe next door.
• Ocean Star, Offshore Energy Center - Texas offshore rig converted to a museum, Galveston's Pier 19, Harborside Drive at 20th St.
• Texas Pride Barbecue - Adkins, Texas, near San Antonio, restaurant featuring a recreated 1940 gas station country store
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum - Canyon, Texas, 1020s oil field and gas station exhibits
• Sinclair Station - Snyder, TX, a restored 1930s era station (Located about halfway between Abilene and Lubbock Texas on Hwy 84 and Hwy 180 that travels directly past the station in an East-West direction. I-20 is about 26 miles to the south of Snyder.)
• Tower Conoco on Route 66 - Shamrock, Texas, being restored to 1930s grandeur to serve as a Chamber of Commerce & Tourism center
• Larry Lawrence's Antiques, Cars, & Parts - Mt. Pleasant, TX, East 1-30, Exit #165 - Service Road 903-572-2589
• Texas Energy Museum - 600 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas 77701, call: 409-833-5100
• East Texas Oil Museum - Kilgore, Texas, full scale oil boomtown exhibits
• Edgewood Heritage Park - Edgewood, Texas, restored village
• Poppy's Antique Mall and Museum, Tye, (Abilene), Texas, operated by Leo and Dodie Smith 915-692-7755
• Permian Basin Petroleum Museum - Midland, from the formation of oil, its exploration, geology, pipelining, marketing and refining to the economic and political impact of the industry, (915) 683-4403
• Central Texas Oil Patch Museum - Luling, Texas, tracing its roots as a cradle of petro history, open Mon-Fri, 9-5
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum - Canyon, Texas, 1920s oil rigs and gas station
• Shoemakers Truck Stop West - Lincoln, Nebraska. Restaraunt/store is filled with petroliana. They probably have about 30 gas pumps, including a Tokheim 850, Wayne 492, Fry 117, Wayne 60, Dayton 50, Hawyeye-Dart and more. There are alos a lot of signs and globes. 4800 West O Street
• Motion Unlimited Museum, Rapid City, South Dakota, operated by Bill and Peggy Napoli info: 605-348-7373
• Shell Canada - 3rd St & 4th Ave.S.W., downtown Calgary, email: Jim Wilson, there is also an oil history museum in Calgary at Heritage Park
• "Little Conoco on the Prairie" 1930 Replica Station - Adams County Historical Society, Brighton, Colorado (Denver area) 303-659-7103
• "It's A Gas" - display at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV, call Vikki Ford at: 702-345-1511
• Old timber & stone gas station - Longmire, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Panorama view of station with visible pumps (Requires Quicktime plugin to view)
• Shoup Store - Shoup, Idaho. Vintage visible pumps still in daily operation.
• Teapot Dome Station - Zillah, WA, teapot shaped 1922 station restored and still pumping gas
• Signal Gas Station - Portland, Oregon, restored with public grant funding
• Flying A station - Gladstone, Oregon, restored for possible retail use.
• Clark's Travel Center Auto/truckstop & Historic US 99 General Store, 82253 Indio Blvd., Indio, California, petro and transportation collectibles, Route 99 mural, museum, 760-342-4776
• Santa Paula Union Oil Museum - the original California home of Union Oil Company, videos, working models, games, and displays. The historic company offices have been restored to the appearance of 1890. Mike Nelson, director
• The Filling Station Restaurant - Orange, California. 201 N. Glassell St. at Maple. In a vintage Richfield station with old gas pumps on display.
• Justice Brothers Racing Museum - Over 50 restored gas pumps are on display (all types) at the racing museum. In addition over 200 globes are displayed throughtout the facility. The museum is located on historic Route 66. 2734 E. Huntington Drive, Duarte, CA 91010 626-359-9174
• Kohlweiss Auto Parts - Extensive gas and automotive sign collection in the showroom. Open 8-7 weekdays and 8-5 on Saturday and 9-2 Sunday. 1205 Veterans Blvd, Redwood City, 94063 CA
• Peterson Automotive Museum - 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif., automotive displays and streetscapes including a 1930 Richfield gas station and a display of restored gas pumps, 213-930-CARS, map & more info
• West Kern Oil Museum - Taft, Calif. (805) 765-6664
• AG Museum - Merced, Calif. gas pumps, signs, currently restoring a 1918 gas station, 4498 E. HWY 140 (the main road to Yosemite Nat'l Park, agmuseum@elite.net, open Tues.-Sun 8-5
• National Historic Route 66 Federation - photo gallery of gas stations, motels and more on the Mother Road
  

To avoid disappointment, call first for hours and specific directions.

For more links to other web sites for roadside enthusiasts see our Web Directory Roadside page

This page is an ongoing effort, depending on enthusiasts around the world for information. Your suggestions, corrections and comments are necessary for a complete and accurate list. Drop me a line using this EZ form, to improve this list. Photos very welcome.

Thanks to those who have contributed information already.

 
Copyright © 1997-2007 by Jim Potts, information from Petroleum Collectibles Monthly used with permission

by Jim Potts

Gasoline pumps - Antique gas pumps