New Ulm Oil Company Service Station
About this property
The New Ulm Oil Company Service Station is a historic gas station in New Ulm, Minnesota. The private, commercial structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on December 31, 1979. Its strong, fanciful visual images exemplify independent gas station designs of the 1920s. The Service Station is built on a diagonal axis facing the intersection of North Broadway Street and North 5th Street in New Ulm. The main facade is flanked by two imposing, copper-roofed towers, octagonal at the first level and circular at the second. A one-story office/retail area is located between the two towers, and from it projects a single-lane drive-through canopy with the gas pump area at the front. The upper sides of the canopy are capped by a parapet with a curvilinear profile. The fenestration consists of arched window and door openings under the canopy and on the two towers; all are capped by precast concrete units which join to form a decorative belt course. The entire structure is built of the rainbow Artstone block manufactured by the company that designed the building. The building was originally designed with windmill blades at the top of each tower, but they were never installed. Over the life of the building some reversible modifications were made: the red tile roof of the canopy was replaced with asphalt shingle and a wooden screen was added to the front of the canopy. In the years after being listed on the NRHP, the wooden screen and gas pumps were removed. The Service Station was a part of the boom of gas stations built throughout the country during the 1920s, corresponding with the years of expanding automobile use; the era was one of crucial development for a rural county like Brown County. The gas station was one of a series of stations designed by the Saffert Construction Company (now American Artstone Company) of New Ulm during the 1920s. These stations projected strong, fanciful design, incorporating features such as windmills and lighthouses. Differing from the standardized plans adopted by national chains, these stations were custom-designed for specific locations belonging to independent oil companies. The New Ulm Oil Company Service Station is one of two known to survive with a high degree of historic integrity.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about New Ulm Oil Company Service Station
This page lists New Ulm Oil Company Service Station. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was New Ulm Oil Company Service Station listed on the National Register?
New Ulm Oil Company Service Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1979.
What type of historic resource is New Ulm Oil Company Service Station?
New Ulm Oil Company Service Station is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for New Ulm Oil Company Service Station?
The period of significance for New Ulm Oil Company Service Station is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near New Ulm Oil Company Service Station?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near New Ulm Oil Company Service Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Brown County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Brown County.
Explore BrownCounty ›More historic places in Minnesota
Browse all historic places in Minnesota.
View Minnesotahistoric sites ›Minnesota history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Minnesotahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near New Ulm Oil Company Service Station will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.