On March 23, beginning at 10 p.m., the Parkway Corp. began to shift the historic Gulf gas station from Twentieth and Arch Streets to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The Parkway Corp. is a parking garage company and real estate developer that was in charge of moving the historic Gulf gas station to its new home.
According to the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, it is rare for historic buildings to be uprooted and moved around the city. Only two buildings in recent years have moved within the region: a townhouse at Ninth and Locust Streets and the King of Prussia Inn. The historic filling station will be restored to preserve an early artifact of automobile culture.
The Gulf Oil company opened the brick Spanish Revival gas station at Twentieth and Arch Streets in 1930. In the 1920s, gasoline manufacturers erected gas stations resembling cottages and houses in residential neighborhoods. To learn more about the history of gas stations in the greater Philadelphia area, check out the essay on Gas Stations by Alison Kreitzer located on The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia’s website. For more information on the historic Gulf gas station’s move to Fairmount Park, click here.