If you live in the south, then you know there are shell gas stations all over the place. Whether you’re popping in to grab a coffee and a snack, gas up on your drive, or use the bathroom on a long car trip, Shell is the preferred choice of many drivers. But what you might not have known, is that in the 1930s, some Shell stations looked… a little different!
What is the Shell Oil clamshell gas station?
In the 1930s, Quality Oil, a local distributor of Shell had a brilliant idea to bring in more business: they would build gas stations with more than just a shell-shaped logo on them. These gas stations would be in the shape of a shell themselves! Quality Oil built seven clamshell-shaped gas stations in Winston-Salem and one in nearby Kernersville. The buildings served as wacky advertisements of themselves.
And with their bright yellow paint and quirky shell-shape, we can see why!
How long did these shell stations last?
In short… not very long, actually. The Shell clamshell gas stations weren’t super easy to make, with their cramped office and bathroom, which were boxed in with wood and wire frames, and covered in stucco. The last of these stations finally shut down in the 1950s, with the final Shell clamshell station housing a lawn mower repair shop in the 70s and 80s.
And according to Toyota Adventure Detours, “in 1976, it became the first individual station in America to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Can I visit the last remaining Shell clamshell gas station?
You can! Of course, you can’t get gas there, but you can absolutely visit the building, which is protected in perpetuity by Preservation North Carolina as a historic site.
You can go inside the shell station and check out the cool relics of the past, including:
- framed newspaper articles about the station
- antique photographs
- a teddy bear
- old Shell signs
- miscellaneous antique cans
- a tin of vintage Monkey Grip Patch
- and a coffee table book with a picture of the Shell station inside.
Road trip time! Where is it?
You’ll find the last remaining Shell clamshell station in Winston-Salem, NC. It’s a five hour drive from Atlanta… so gas up before you go (no pun intended)!
Here’s the exact address: 1111 E Sprague St, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27107
Don’t miss out on a super cool little trip, Atlanta! Check out the last remaining Shell Oil clamshell gas station.