1920s Gas Station Building

310 Pine Street, Normal, IL
Phone:

East < GO > West

This was the Wm. Snedaker and Son Service Station offering Red Crown Gasoline and Polarine Oil. It opened on Sunday April 5, 1925 and offered a souvenir for every customer that day.

GPS: 40.517839, -88.980467

A couple of weeks later, on April 25th the elder Mr. Snedaker petitioned the city to install a street light the corner of Pine and Walnut streets by his station. That was probably a good idea because the station was broken into on May 25th with the crooks making off with some tire patches and oil according to a note in the local paper. When is the last time you had to patch a tire or inner tube on your car?

Red Crown Gasoline was a brand of the Standard Oil Company and by 1930 the station was advertised as selling Standard Oil Products. They also advertised Cabins for Tourists in 1930. Polarine was a brand name for a line of motor oil sold by Standard oil.

In 1939 the station was advertised a Corvel - 70 - Products Stations, possibly having changed hands. In 1942 The station was advertised as the Jim Leach Service Station which was only open from 7AM to 7PM daily, except Saturday when they were open until 10PM, in cooperation with the National Defense Plan.

A-1 Locksmiths & Security was located in this building when we went by in 2015 and 16.

The brick columns on the front corners of the building supported the now closed in drive through canopy over the gas pump island. The drive through extended back about half way between the windows on the side of the building. The back part of the building was used for the office etc.

This building is directly across the street from the Sprague Super Station.

Photo(s): 2015