Whiting Brothers

46756 National Trails Highway, Newberry Springs, CA
Phone:

East < GO > West

A chain link fence surrounds the old Tony's Cafe cafe building that became a Whiting Brothers Station on Route 66 in Newberry Springs, California. The white "Ethyl" pump on the left in this photo is displaying a price of 36.9 cents per gallon, the "Super" pump in the middle sports a much more reasonable price of only 33.9 cents per gallon. Those prices would seem to be in line with a mid to late 1960s and early 1970s time period.

The label on the pump on the far right shows to layers of text. The top layer appears to say Desert Mountain Super and the layer behind it that has been painted over appears to say Whiting Brothers Super with another line below that. Barely visible in the darker section the label says Gasoline, I'm not sure which layer that goes with, maybe both.

The name on the sign on the roof was changed to Dry Creek Station when a part of a movie was filmed here, I'm not sure of when that was beyond it apparently being after the station closed when I-40 opened in 1968 and before the early 1990s.. The name Dry Creek Station was barely visible on the long faded yellow sign when this photo was snapped in 2013, but the Whiting Brothers shield was still pretty easy to recognize. When I-40 opened nearby in 1968 the station closed and Whiting Brothers built a new station the NE corner of I-40 and Fort Cady Rd..

The building carries signage for Tony's Italian & American Food that was still on the front of the building in 2013. That's where it all started for this cool old building, before Whiting Brothers and everything else, it was Tony's! The building was constructed using railroad ties in the walls and stucco over them.

A lady by the name of Mary McGee bought the property in 1982. As a side note for Route 66 fans it should be noted that she was one of the last two teachers the Amboy School.

Just east of the main building and inside the fenced of site is this small building with a single pump for diesel fuel out front to accommodate large vehicles that wouldn't fit under the canopy.

Photo(s): 2013