Historic Gordon gas station has a new home
Nov. 14—GORDON — A historic, one-of-a-kind gas station on South Packer Avenue called to Julie Phelps of Gordon.
So much so that she called ICO on five different occasions to urge the former owners to do something with the building that had served Gordon for decades.
"It came up this spring that they were going to demolish it," Phelps said. "Then they told a friend of mine that they would donate it to somebody to move it and take care of it."
Phelps said that's when she was approached by Brian Finstad, who grew up in Gordon and now lives in Superior, to consider taking on the project.
Phelps and John Sime agreed to finance the move that took place Thursday, Nov. 9.
"It's so cute," Phelps said. "It has so much potential. It's got flower boxes out front. It's got great big, beautiful windows. It's got its own special design, and it calls your name if you look at it ... that building calls my name."
The building needed to move because ICO has plans to clear the site where the vintage gas station stood for future development, Finstad said.
The former Art Nelson's Shell Station that was moved to Packer Avenue in 1947 during construction of U.S. Highway 53, now sits on County Highway Y between the American Legion and Gordon Town Hall, about 380 feet from where it was originally built in 1937 ... on the site where the Gordon Museum stands now.
Ellen Connolly, whose family owns property on White Fish Lake, donated the property for the move — the former site of the town's IGA store, which was razed in 2002.
Finstad said Mike and Dorothy O'Brien of Whitefish Lake also stepped up to pay demolition expenses of the concrete block where the building stood — a condition of ICO's donation of the building.
The building is believed to be the last of its kind — a catalog gas station built by Butler Manufacturing Co. of Kansas City, Missouri.
The company built and sold prefabricated gas stations and diners in the 1930s, but the product lines were suspended during World War II and production never resumed after the war.
The only remaining diner from the line is the Band Box Diner in Minneapolis.
The prefabricated building was constructed with two layers of insulated steel and was designed with locking panels to make it easy to assemble.
"Right now, I'm working at getting the well done and do the frame up for the back wall," Phelps said. "We've got the steel for the back wall, and we're going to try to put that on and try to close it up for winter."
Because they can't get the roof now because of winter, Phelps said the inside work will have to wait. She said they will get doors and windows in to prevent damage over the winter.
"I see it as an ice cream parlor on one side of it," Phelps said. She also has plans to open a gift shop and sell plants there, as well as add another small business in the future.
"Everything is just a plan right now," Phelps said. "We're going to do things one at a time. We're hoping the ice cream parlor will be open next summer."
She said she expects the gift shop to take a year longer to open, but she hopes to sell plants and flowers there in the spring.
"I'm retired, so I have some time, and I'm sure this is going to use up a lot of my time," Phelps said.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:15 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14 to include comments from the building's new owner. It was originally posted at 1:35 p.m., Monday, Nov. 13.
