Craner's 1948 Texaco

Elkhart, IL
Phone:

East < GO > West

This former gas station operated as Marathon and Texaco stations at various times. It was built by Fenton Craner in the mid/late 1940s and called Elkhart Oil Company. At that time it was located on Route 66 and Main St. Currently Main St. is Governor Oglesby Street. There was also a cafe in the building at one time. As of 2017 this building is part of the grain elevator business across the street.

We snapped this photo in 2016 when the station was in the middle of restoration. All of the metal cladding had been removed at this point and new windows and doors had been installed. Note the striping at the to of the building.

When we took this photo in 2012 there was still a gas price of 57.9 cents per gallon on the sign post on the corner. That was for unleaded self service gas. It's been quite a few years since that price was available anywhere in America so you get an idea of how long the station had been closed. The whole space with the two a/c units, windows and entrance were glass when the station was new.

The station features a Streamline Moderne style. The exterior was originally clad in glazed tile seen here.

The four lane Route 66 opened in front of this location in 1943 making the old road what is now a sort of service or frontage road that still runs past this station.

Photo(s): 2012, 2023