Airplane Service Station
The station was built by brothers Elmer and Henry Nickle. Their intent was to increase business by having a service station that was visually unique, both to area residents and to travelers on newly widened U.S. Highway 25. Elmer Nickle had a strong interest in airplanes, and so the station was constructed in the Mimetic architectural style in the shape of an airplane.
The structure ceased being used as a service station in the 1960s, when it became a liquor store. It has also been a produce stand, bait and tackle shop, a used car lot and a barber shop. Knox Heritage and a local organization, the Airplane Filling Station Preservation Association (AFSPA), worked to preserve the structure. The building was renovated into a short-term rental residence.
See also
- Teapot Dome Service Station, 1922 Zillah, Washington station built in the shape of a teapot
- Shell Service Station, 1930 Winston-Salem, North Carolina station built in the shape of a scallop shell
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Plane-shaped gas station in Tennessee is classic 'roadside Americana'". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved March 28, 2019 – via USA Today.
- ^ Johnson, Octavia (July 26, 2023). "Historic plane-shape building in Powell to transform into Airbnb". WATE 6. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Blackerby, Mike (May 7, 2018). "Iconic 'Airplane Filling Station' open again as barbershop". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "National Register of Historical Places - Asset Detail". npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
External links
- Roadside America
- National Register of Historic Places
- Image gallery
- Airplane Service Station, c. 1931 — McClung Digital Collection