Former Gulf Station - Gainesville, TX
N 33° 37.465 W 097° 08.453
14S E 672449 N 3722063
A restored Gulf Station stands at 517 E California St, Gainesville, TX.
Waymark Code: WM15ZWE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2022
Views: 2
There's not much to be found about this beautiful service station, although
Roadside Architecture.com has a few photos from 2018 and 2020 when the restoration was still in progress: Note the missing pumps, for example. It apparently had been vacant since 2008, and
Google Street Maps is worth a look, if only to get a peek at the previous sign in March 2008 listing regular gas at $1.69. By October of 2018, the appearance of some red paint suggests that restoration had begun. RoadsideAmerica.com also mentions a snow cone business in the parking area, which is still operating as of this posting. The pumps (Bennett), pole sign, and lettering on the building were added fairly recently here in 2022. There are no signs indicating hours as to whether one can go inside, but they've also restored the interior, where you'll find a vintage Coca Cola machine, two vintage pumps in the garage with a restored Buick and a Thunderbird, and some other interesting additions you'd have found "back in the day."
An interesting aside regarding how travel changed dramatically over less than a hundred years: The service station is located on California Street, which got its name from the Butterfield Overland Mail route that passed through here from 1858 to 1861, its destination, San Francisco.