{"nrhp_refnum":"79003464","name":"Shell Gas Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Yosemite Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"La Grange","county":"Stanislaus County","state":"CA","lat":37.66381275200007,"lon":-120.46254241399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A prefabricated tin service station on Yosemite Boulevard in La Grange, Stanislaus County, California, built around 1920 (estimated). It has a main building, a projecting covered service area and a separate restroom unit.","why_significant":"The form describes it as illustrative of early U.S. service station architecture from the 1920s. Its prefabricated construction reflects the new cultural mobility. It combines traditional elements (decorative finials) with avant-garde ones (the streamlined Moderne restroom unit), and the form calls it a rare vernacular example of its type and period.","narrative":"This small service station on Yosemite Boulevard in La Grange was built around 1920 from prefabricated tin. It consists of a main building, a projecting covered service area and a separate, free-standing restroom unit, also made of tin. Finials decorate the four corners of the flat-roofed service area, a detail the form links to the eclecticism of 1920s skyscraper caps. The restroom unit has rounded lines that reflect an early Moderne, streamlined aesthetic. The station is considered important as an example of early American service station design from the 1920s. Its prefabricated construction is also seen as representative of the growing mobility of the period. Because it shows both traditional and forward-looking design trends side by side, it is described as a rare vernacular example of its type and era. The building remains on its original site, was in good condition when documented, and continues to operate as a service station in a commercial setting. The architect and builder are unknown.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Prefabricated tin vernacular service station with 1920s eclectic finials and nascent Moderne restroom unit","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in use as a service station, in good condition, with no known threats to the site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.084245-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79003464.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003464/c15d8d5802-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003464/c15d8d5802-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mirokuofnite","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shell_Gas_Station,_La_Grange,_CA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Mirokuofnite</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shell_Gas_Station,_La_Grange,_CA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857840","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Gas_Station_(La_Grange,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55633047"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/stanislaus-county/shell-gas-station-79003464/"}