The Whiting Brothers named their very early gasoline stations by location, a geological feature, or even for the manager. Then they began numbering their gasoline stations in the order each was opened. During this transition they apparently went back in time and numbered some of the early named stations too. This we know since during these early years the Whiting Brothers distributed small cards that were like directories of all of their gas stations open at that time. Some of these early directories listed various stations by both number and name. It appears that by the 1950s, if not earlier, the Whiting Brothers had organized all of their stations by number. But what happened to these named stations? Some were assigned a number but, if so, which one, or were some named stations closed and a new numbered station opened in the same area or town? Research has proven to be difficult for several reasons. First, old telephone and city directories (if they are actually available now) usually list Whiting Brothers gasoline stations as "east of town on US 66" or something vague like that. (Very few early Whiting Brothers gasoline stations were "in town" and had actual street addresses.) Second, there are very few local residents remaining who actually recall the earliest of the Whiting Brothers gasoline stations. Third, many of the earliest stations by now have been razed so tracking down their actual locations without other information is nearly impossible to do. And fourth, the Whiting Brothers were known to occasionally "move" their gasoline stations to a better or preferred location in the same general vicinity. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that when this happened the new station got a new, higher number but some evidence suggests sometimes the original number was maintained even though the station "moved".
As perhaps the height of nerdiness, I prepared a table of Whiting Brothers gasoline stations that existed on Route 66 below. Jerry McClanahan contributed valuable information toward filling in this table. And a number of long-time residents of several towns with whom I have been in contact have also contributed to the understanding of the Whiting Brothers gas station history in those towns too. And I should mention a concerning source too. The State of California Water Rescources Control Board published records of contaminated groundwater clean up sites. In fact, the Whiting Brothers did not do a good job ensuring the groundwater safety at many of their locations in California. Defunct Whiting Brothers gas stations in Lenwood, Newberry Springs (Fort Cady Road location), Needles (both locations) and Hinkley (west of Barstow and not Route 66) are/were all on the State of California clean up site table. That's where I got some of the location information here. This table is incomplete and some entries are "best educated guess" and likely not precisely accurate so we are looking for more authoritative information from any readers. Station locations are listed from west to east.
| Town, and any General Location Information | Station Number | Address or More Definitive Location, if Known | Comments and Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenwood | 41 | 24645 West Main (across from a trailer park) | Razed. Fenced-off hazardous waste site. Signs placed by the State of California warn of cancer-causing chemicals. |
| Barstow | 22 | Two miles west of Barstow | |
| Barstow | 103 | 1841 W. Main Street | Shared the property with the WB Motel. All structures have been razed. Location is now a Sleep Inn motor hotel and a cable television office building. |
| Newberry | 45 | North side of Highway 66 | This was originally a small café. Closed in 1968 when I-40 was completed in the area but still standing. A film company re-painted the sign as "Dry Creek Station" for a movie so this name is occasionally used for this station. (The "Dry Creek Station" letters are pretty well faded now.) Replacement WB station was built on the northeast corner of old Route 66 and the Ft. Cady Road exit off I-40 and it operated until about 1982. The replacement station is gone. |
| Cadiz (Chambless) | South side of Highway 66 | Located about one-quarter mile west of Chambless Camp on the south side of 66. The old station still stands as a non-descript shell. | |
| West end of Needles | 32 | 2402 West Broadway | Closed in the early 1980s. Now razed, it is an empty lot today. |
| East side of Needles | 90 | 901 East Broadway | Closed in the late 1980s. Now razed, it is an empty lot today. |
| Red Ball Station in Needles | East end of Needles. Did this become Station #90? | ||
| Yucca | 47 | East side of Highway 66 | Located at the Whiting Brothers Yucca motel. Closed in about 1990, it was razed at the same time as the motel, about 1996. Some signs remain as does the concrete slab where the station stood. |
| Three Miles West of Kingman | 31 | 2666 SW Highway 66 | This station is now Dan's Auto Salvage southwest of Kingman near McConnico and the junction with Oatman Road. A yellow VW Bus rests on the pump canopy. (The Whiting Brothers purchased all three gas stations that Chester Lewis owned in Kingman in 1933. Chester "Chet" Lewis went on to build and operate the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook.) |
| Northwest side of Kingman (US Highway 93) | 18 | 1246 West Beale Street, 1 mile north of US 66/93 junction | This gas station was just south of the former WB Motel (now Economy Inn) and not on 66. It operated until about 1990 when it was razed. Its location at the southern corner of Beale and Metwell Drive is now a parking lot for a modern Chevron station. (The Whiting Brothers purchased all three gas stations that Chester Lewis owned in Kingman in 1933.) |
| Two Miles East of Kingman | 19 | 2201 East Andy Devine? 2545 East Andy Devine? |
Station operated until the mid-1980s but is now razed. A café once shared the site. Later telephone directories list the station at two different addresses on Andy Devine Avenue. 2201 address places it within the present Lewis Kingman Park. 2545 addresses places it at the modern Napa auto parts store. (The Whiting Brothers purchased all three gas stations that Chester Lewis owned in Kingman in 1933. Chester "Chet" Lewis went on to build and operate the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook.) |
| Truxton | 42 | 16117 East Highway 66 | Now operating as Truxton Station, a gas station, towing and auto repair business. The metal building attached to the south side of the gas station is new. |
| West side of Seligman | 15 | ||
| East side of Seligman | 26 | North side of the road | Razed. Where 4-lane Chino becomes 2-lane Chino there is a paved apron on the north side of Chino that led into the gas station. This is just northeast of the intersection of Chino and Crookton Road. Although the Whiting Brothers considered this station "on 66" it was literally about 50 yards east of true historical Route 66 (Crookton Road). The house for the station manager still stands behind the site. |
| West of Ashfork | 94 | North side of Highway 66 | Razed in 1997. The location is part of a large flagstone storage lot. |
| Two miles east of Ashfork | 11 | County Line Road | Razed. It sat along the south side of Highway 66. When Highway 66 was upgraded to limited-access standards a new frontage road called County Line Road was built on property that was once the front of a couple of motels (Martin's Motel and the Sleepy Hollow Motel and Café) and the WB station site. |
| Williams | 95 | 347 W. Bill Williams | Station is at the corner of Bill Williams Avenue and South 4th Street and attached to part of the former WB Motel (now Arizona 9 Motor Hotel). In 2012 a western mural scene was painted across the front of the building. |
| Ten miles west of Flagstaff | 9 | North side of Highway 66 near Bellemont | The gas station and the primitive cabins were likely closed at about the time Bellemont was bypassed in 1963. All structures were razed in the mid-1990s. New construction covers the old WB site. |
| Flagstaff | 91 | West Highway 66 | The station operated from the late 1950s until 1978 and was located on Highway 66 immediately east of the Kit Carson RV Park. The gas station closed and the building was sold to the Kit Carson RV Park. A second story was added and the building now serves as their main office (2101 W. Route 66). The canopy and gas pump islands still exist. The early Kit Carson RV Park office, which I was told by locals was more like a kiosk, was razed. |
| Cactus Gardens Auto Court Station. Two miles east of Flagstaff |
24 | 2136 East Santa Fe (Later 2138 East Santa Fe) |
The gas station was built in the early 1940s and operated until the late 1980s at least. By 1988 the station was branded a Mobil gas station but was still operated by the Whiting Brothers. The station shared the site with the former WB Motel (now Rodeway Inn). The gas station structure is now the Enterprise Car Rental office. |
| Rock House Station | 5 Miles East of Flagstaff. | ||
| Whiting Brothers Garage/Auto Court in Winslow | 4 | 825 West 2nd Street | Shared site with WB Motel. Now a vehicle repair business. (The Whiting Brothers operated a Ford dealership at 815 West 2nd Street beginning in about 1940.) |
| East side of Winslow | 23 | 1402 East 2nd Street | Was a vehicle repair business for many years and then closed. It may be open as a U-Haul agency (June 2015). |
| West end of Holbrook / Whiting Brothers Motor Company |
3 | 728 West Hopi Blvd. | The gas station became Welding Services & Supply in about 2010. This Welding company moved to a different location in Holbrook and the present owner lives in it and uses the part of the building as a shop. But signage still calls it "Welding Service & Supply" (as of June 2015). The WB auto dealership and the WB general offices were behind this building and to the east and west. I think the old shop buildings to the west where Route 66 Tire is today (822 West Hopi) were WB buildings since the Whiting Brothers used the address of 816 West Hopi as their main address at one time. All of the front dealership buildings to the east have been razed and a modern Safeway store occupies some of the site. Many old dealership shop and storage buildings in the rear of the property (south side of Arizona Street) are still standing and some are actively used. This gas station was run by Allen "Tubby" Hensley for decades before the I-40 bypass of Holbrook (1978). |
| East Holbrook | 43 | 866 Navajo Blvd. | Remodeled and now operates as Speedy's convenience store. This station was also run by Allen "Tubby" Hensley before the I-40 bypass of Holbrook. All the Whiting Brothers gas stations in Holbrook closed soon after the I-40 bypass in 1978. (By the way, Hensley's Gas and Mini-Mart at 404 Navajo Blvd. is run by Allen's son but was never a Whiting Brothers station.) |
| East end of Holbrook | 17 | 2200 block of Navajo Blvd. | Has been abandoned since at least 2010 and for sale (June 2015). This station was run by Bob Hensley (Allen's brother) until the I-40 bypass of Holbrook. |
| Sanders | This station still stands on the north Frontage Road next to the LDS Church. It was once a Stop n Go gas station and market. Faded red and yellow bands are still visible on the building. | ||
| Cedar Point Trading Company | 35 Miles West of Gallup. The Cedar Point Trading Post was 2 miles east of Sanders on the south side of US 66 and Interstate 40 at Exit 241 (Ortega Road today). An old photo shows this trading post selling Conoco gasoline. But this Cedar Point Trading Company may not be the Cedar Point Trading Post anyway. | ||
| State Line | 34 | Lupton | North side of 2-lane Highway 66 just west of the state line. Petley photo-chrome postcard #6227 shows the station signboard in the distance. This gas station was replaced when Interstate 40 was built. |
| State Line | Lupton | After Interstate 40 was completed, thus cutting off Lupton station #34, the Whiting Brothers built this replacement station on the north side of a new access road that connected old Highway 66 from Manuelito, NM, to the Lupton Exit. This station was about 100 yards off of true historical Route 66. The building still stands about 100 feet east of the Chief Yellowhorse complex. The station building has been expanded to the east and may be occupied. A travel trailer has been semi-permanently parked under the canopy for years. | |
| West of Gallup | 40 | "3 Miles West" | I don't know about two different stations west of Gallup. No documentation exists that suggests both were in operation at the same time. And that would not be likely anyway. One station (was it 40 or 14?) was located on the north side of Highway 66 just east of the West I-40 interchange. Gallup telephone books of the 1940s and 1950s do not list any west-side station. I don't know if these stations closed very early or simply did not have telephones. |
| West side of Gallup | 14 | "2 Miles West" | |
| East side of Gallup | 12 | 700 East 66 at the East Y | The WB gas station was closed in about 1980 and the building was used as the office for Economy Used Cars. In about 2005 the old WB station building was razed and replaced by a modern metal building as the car lot office. The canopy that stands in front of the new metal building is the original repainted WB gas station canopy. The business now operates as Danny's Auto Sales. |
| Continental Divide | North side of Route 66 and I-40 | Shared site with WB Motel. Gas station not used today. Some signs remain. | |
| Milan | 257 ? | Razed. A Courtesy Card from the Milan station is clearly stamped station number 257 but that does not seem right as all of the other numbers assigned to Whiting Brothers stations were in low one-hundreds or less. The station was located on the south side of Route 66 about a third of the mile west of today's railroad overpass, near the Allsups. | |
| East side of Grants | 20 | 719 E. Santa Fe Avenue | Razed and now a parking lot. Station was on the south side of Santa Fe Avenue (located between Santa Fe Avenue and the railroad tracks) near Bradley Street. |
| San Fidel | 39 | North side of Highway 66 and I-40 | Shared site with WB Motel. Motel and station were burned but the front of the gas station structure remains. Some signs remain. |
| Albuquerque | 29? | 2914 West Central Avenue | This gas station is believed to be the first Whiting Brothers station in Albuquerque and was operating in 1942 or earlier. This street address was valid in the 1950 Albuquerque City Directory but Albuquerque adjusted some street addresses on West Central and a year later in 1951 this station was operating as the Valley Service Station (not Whiting Brothers) with an address of 3906 West Central Avenue. The building has been razed and its location is now Lujan Motorcycles. A Whiting Brothers directory card described station #29 as being at the "West End of the Rio Grande Bridge." That would probably be this station or the one listed below. |
| Albuquerque | 29? | 3110 West Central Avenue | This gas station is believed to be the replacement for the first Whiting Brothers station (above) as it was just two blocks away and is listed in the Telephone Directory as operating by 1951. When Albuquerque adjusted some street addresses on West Central this Whiting Brothers station was re-assigned an address of 4202 West Central Avenue. By 1963 there was no longer a listing for this station. It has been razed as modern retail buildings are located there now. A Whiting Brothers directory card described station #29 as being at the "West End of the Rio Grande Bridge." That would be this station or the one listed above. |
| Albuquerque | 8713 West Central Avenue | This gas station was listed in telephone directories for a brief time during the early 1950s. Its location would have been pretty far west of downtown Albuquerque back then. | |
| Two miles west of Albuquerque | 38 | 5922 SW Central Avenue | This station was just west of the Whiting Brothers Motel and first appears in telephone directories in 1963 so it is considered a replacement for station #29 above. This business was formerly known as Koppers & Benninghoff Automotive so the Whiting Brothers likely purchased an active enterprise and re-branded it. The gas station was operated by the Whiting Brothers until 1986 when it was presumably sold since it was re-branded Dowdy's Gas. The station has been razed but the foundation and white-washed signboard remains just west of the Americana Motel (5908 Central Avenue SW) which was formerly the Whiting Brothers Motel. |
| Five miles east of Albuquerque | 37 | 10605 NE Central Avenue. | This Whiting Brothers gas station was operating in 1953 or earlier and was far east of downtown Albuquerque at that time. It operated into the early 1980s and was closed by 1986. The building has been razed and replaced by a modern IHOP restaurant. |
| Buford / Moriarty | 72 | 421 E. Central Ave. (Old Highway 66) in Moriarty | This is the last open station with original WB signage operated by Sal Lucero. (The last time I was by it was open for vehicle servicing only and gasoline was not being pumped. I don't know if that has changed.) In the early two-lane days the location of the few commercial businesses on US 66 was called Buford. (See page 76 of Jack Rittenhouse's 1946 A Guide Book to Highway 66.) The City of Moriarty was one mile south on State Highway 41 but in time reached north and absorbed what was once called Buford. |
| Santa Rosa | US Highway 66 | Razed and replaced by a modern Pizza Hut building. The Pizza Hut is now Papo's Pizza at 1973 Will Rogers Drive (Historic Route 66). | |
| Cuervo | 75 | West end of Cuervo | I was told that this station was bought and razed by the highway department when they built Interstate 40. It was located on the south edge of today's Interstate 40 and where the south frontage road meets Beck Street puts you about 50 yards from its old location. |
| Newkirk | 78 | US Highway 66 | Now operating as Route 66 Gas. A lean-to storage room on the east side of the original WB building has been converted into the Newkirk post office. |
| Tucumcari | 71 | East Tucumcari Blvd. | The gas station was located far to the east of town nearly to the I-40 interchange. It was razed but the white-washed signboard remained until about 2018. |
| San Jon | 70 | East side of San Jon | Station was located on the north side of Highway 66. It was closed and then it later burned down. (Sal Lucero managed this station until 1969.) |
| Vega | 74 | Center of Vega | South side of Highway 66. |
| Amarillo | 73 | 7501 East Amarillo Blvd. | Gas station is abandoned today on the north side of old Highway 66 a bit west of the Triangle Motel. |
| Groom | 77 | West side of town | The gas station was on the north side of Highway 66. The building is the office for the local Justice of the Peace (2013). |
| Shamrock | SE Corner of E. 12th St. and N. Nebraska St. | In the late 1990s it was the Sugar Shack (coffee and donuts). It later became an automobile repair or tire shop which then closed. More recently the building was shared by Hot Rod Pizza and Evans Towing. The building retains a bit of the Southwest Vernacular architectural look with stepped parapet details at the front corners. |