Must stop if driving on Route 66

We stopped by first thing in the morning and the lady owner/operator was so inviting and informative about the property. She gave us the full history and how she had to do everything herself through grants and other means as the parent company, now Citgo, would not assist with this surviving piece of history. Of course the photo ops are fantastic here as well. People exploring Rte 66 must be missing out on this property as I see only 1 other review. Highly recommend. There are items inside as well for purchase.

It is hard to imagine but Sprague's Super Service Station in Normal, Illinois, could be the only tourist attraction in the country that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but hasn't been reviewed by TripAdvisor. Until now. Located at 305 Pine Street, on the southwest corner of Pine and North Walnut Streets, this three-story Tudor Revival structure was built in 1931 by William Sprague to include a gas station, garage, restaurant and living quarters for Sprague and his family and a gas station attendant. It was built to serve drivers on Route 66, which was opened in 1926 and stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles. The first gas stations along the historic Mother Road were simple curbside pumps outside general stores. By the late 1920s, Route 66 supported stand-alone gas stations usually with two pumps beneath a canopy with a simple office attached. Over time, gas station buildings became more substantial. Like Sprague's Super Service Station. By 1931, when Sprague built his gas station, most of the nation's gas stations were affiliated with major oil companies such as Pure Oil, Phillips Petroleum and Texaco. Architects for these companies provided functional, standardized gas station designs. For example, drivers could glance at a white building with three green stripes and know at once that it was a Texaco station. Sprague, an independent, designed his own station with three pumps and all the trimmings. Today, the gas station features a gift shop and visitors and Route 55 historians can admire the property from 9 to 5 Wednesday through Sunday.