Pure Research

I was driving through Aurora and saw this adorable Tudor-style service station. What was it originally and when was it built?

260 S. Lake St., Aurora. 

According to the city of Aurora's website,  the structure was originally a Pure Oil gas station. 

Pure Oil gas stations in this style were built across the country from 1927-1946, and there were many in the Chicago area besides this one in Aurora. And much like Sears homes, Pure Oil stations are still standing today, just waiting to be discovered!

This is a Pure Oil station in Charleston, WV soon after opening. This photo captures many of the original details, and gives you an idea what the stations looked like after construction. The rustic English style design was copyrighted by the company. The exterior walls were rubbled stone. The roof was blue clay tile, which was the same blue as the Pure Oil logo. Gutters were made of copper.

401 St. Charles Rd., Maywood. 

516 4th St., Wilmette.

 

950 River Dr., Glenview. This station appears to have the original blue tile roof, which made it easy for customers to identify it as a Pure Oil station. The flower box is rotting, but hanging on.

2786 IL-387, Zion. This station was built in 1937 and is a coffee shop today.

502 Lincoln Highway, Geneva. This station is a bank today, and the bays are now ATM lanes.

If you look closely, you can see the Pure sign inside, as well as two old gas pumps.

This was what the customer waiting rooms looked like. The photo is of a now-demolished Pure Oil station in downtown Evanston. Looks a lot nicer than my local Jiffy Lube!

The architect of the Pure Oil English cottages was Carl August Petersen. The Pure Oil executives believed that the stations' pleasing appearance would draw motorists, and, as an added benefit, the attractive cottages could blend into residential neighborhoods. 

"It was the finest station ever built, setting the style for those that followed," said Petersen in a 1979 article in the Orlando Sentinel. Petersen died in 1982.