Tag: gas station

Workmen excavating the Illinois & Michigan Canal discovered the stone in 1846, but it “was not then considered of superior quality,” according to A. T. Andreas’ History of Chicago. Within a decade, however, the buttery yellow limestone began to appear in buildings in Chicago, giving the city “a light, bright, and almost French appearance.” One of the most famous structures is the Chicago Water Tower built in 1869 and described by Oscar Wilde as a “castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it.” ( I wonder if the water tower inspired John Murphy to build his castle.)

And then that persnickety old cow of Mrs. Leary kicked over the bucket that caused the fire that burned Chicago to the ground and revealed that perhaps the original discoverers of the Joliet stone were right. (I know that this version of the fire is most likely an apocryphal story but I like it.) By the way, if you hadn’t figured it out, the water tower survived the inferno.

The great conflagration had disastrous affects on the Joliet rock, which “seemed as though [it] actually burned like wood,” according to a newspaper account. Builders were so prejudiced against the local stone that in the first 30 days after the fire, most ordered brick, from as far away as Philadelphia. Yet by 1876, when the City of Chicago and Cook County teamed up to build a combined courthouse/city hall, to replace the buildings lost in the fire, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution that builders had to use limestone.

One could look on the Board’s decision as local pride and an interest in helping local businesses but that would be naïve. The Chicago Tribune called the process “utter absurdity.” This was Chicago in the 1870s, where corruption had become an artform. The Board’s initial choice of contractor put in a bid of $895,000, or what would amount to a “at least a quarter of a million steal.” When that bid failed, the Board hoped to make their money by finding an architect who would help plunder the system. Despite repeated editorials in the Tribune against the “Ring,” the Board chose to use Lemont Limestone for building the courthouse.

Two years later, when work began on the City Hall part of the building, the Tribune again railed against the Board’s decision. The Alderman “cannot but bring disgrace upon the city and turn the public building of our enterprising young city into a monument of imbecility and stubbornness.” Eventually, builders turned to the Salem Limestone, which became the dominant stone in Chicago.

Clark wrote that no one knows where or how Murphy acquired his stone for his castle. Nor is it known when exactly he applied the stone façade, which is a two to three-inch thick veneer. It may have been part of the original 1925 building or during an expansion in the 1930s. And finally, Clark notes that there are some blocks of Salem Limestone, along with pieces of granite and marble, making the building even more intriguing in my eyes.

Photo by David G. Clark (His web site has more info on the building.)

Castle Car Wash began life in 1925 as the John J. Murphy Gas Station. Murphy had purchased the triangular property on the corner of S. Hamlin Street and W. Ogden Way in 1924. According to a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination written in 2005, Murphy sold gas from 1927 to 1964. The property sold in 1970 and variety of gas stations, auto repair shops, and towing companies filled the premises until it evolved/degenerated into the Castle Car Wash in the late 1970s.

Murphy built the station on Ogden Avenue to exploit the road’s recent designation as US Highway 66, better known as Route 66, which terminated a few miles east of Murphy’s business near the shore of Lake Michigan. The early days of Route 66 were an exciting time as Americans began to rev up and hit the road. Between 1920 and 1930 the number of gas stations exploded from 15,000 to 124,000. By 1927, more than 20 stations dotted Ogden Avenue, along with garages, repairs shops, and dealers.

As I quoted in my chapter in Stories in Stone about Lamar’s filling station, “The gas station…is undoubtedly the most widespread type of commercial building in America,” wrote Daniel Vieyra in Fill er’ Up: An Architectural History of America’s Gas Stations. What had begun merely as a way to distribute gas, evolved into the full-scale sales and service center so familiar to the American roadside.

Vieyra breaks station designs down into four recurring themes. Most elegant were the Respectful buildings, which often resembled a Greek temple. Functional buildings catered to a motorist’s sense of efficiency, as exemplified by the simple, streamlined box. Domestic stations satisfied those seeking a more familiar or rustic look, such as an English or Tudor-inspired building. Domestic, Functional, and Respectful buildings did share one common theme; large companies designed them to foster a corporate image.

Some station owners eschewed corporate branding and endeavored to attract motorists with whimsy. They built stations out of old planes and modeled them after lighthouses and windmills. They made them look like tank cars, oversized gas pumps, Brobdignagian oil cans, and colossal shells. Vieyra labels this architectural style Fantastic and delineates its golden age as 1920 to 1935.

No one knows what inspired Murphy in his design but his little “castle” is definitely Fantastic, though the NRHP nomination describes it as Late Gothic Revival. The stone veneer building, with its corner tower topped by a crenellated parapet, must have been quite the sight in its glory days.

Photo used courtesy Charles Leeks

From a geological point of view, I cannot determine what stone was used on the building. It is clearly a heterogenous mix and I have been told that some of the rock is Salem Limestone but I have not seen such gray and yellowish blocks of Salem. Some of the blocks could come from limestone quarries in Joliet and Lemont, however, I am not familiar with what color stone comes from those sites. (Any observations that anyone has would be great.)

Photo used courtesy Charles Leeks

Like many other older, whimsical buildings, Murphy’s station has suffered through vacancy and minimal upkeep. And what has been done hasn’t been good, including boarding up windows and removal of the parapet, apparently for safety concerns. A recent survey has revealed that the castle is the only Late Gothic Revival station remaining on Route 66. In response, Landmarks Illinois, a non-profit devoted to historic preservation, listed the castle on their Chicagoland Watchlist in 2008.

Photo from Landmarks Illinois web site. Photo by Janine Wilkosz

Fortunately, the stone gas station building has apparently been protected, at least for now. A new owner has plans to open it as a restaurant and has hired an architect to help with restoration. The roof has been replaced and the building cleaned and tuck pointed, though the parapet is still gone. I do hope it will be preserved; the castle is a unique reference back to an important era not just of Chicago’s history but of our country’s history when the automobile was just beginning its long run into the fabric of our lives.

One last note, in researching John J. Murphy’s wonderful little gas station, I have discovered that North Lawndale is famous for its stone buildings, most of which were made from Salem Limestone. I plan to follow up soon with further information.