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Frank Lloyd Wright gas station now 50
What may be the most famous gas station in Minnesota is celebrating its 50th birthday Thursday. The Lindholm Service Station in Cloquet has the distinction of being the only gas station ever designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wright is revered for the houses and large public buildings he's designed, and this small gas station incorporates many of the same traits.
85 Reader Comments
I have seen that gas station, it is pretty cool. You can't go wrong with Wright. Now If I could just convince them to add some alternative fuel pumps....
it's ugly and so is most of the rest of the stuff FLW designed. I understand his architectural contribution in terms of history, but aesthetically I think most of it is garbage.
Well, I guess I'll have to vote for bob on this one.
FLW aesthetic garbage? Really? Can you further (objectively) expand on this statement?
wayne, I have more distain for the urban architects of steel and glass than I do for someone who made the attempt to incorporate natural surroundings into their designs. Yes, Wright has his failings but his influence is still wide-ranging around the world.
The Cloquet gas station was actually just a very small piece of a much larger plan he had sketched out for an urban development. As with many other works, the beauty lies in the planning; not the execution. If you look at the architectural renderings, the gas station becomes a thing of beauty. The original plans called for the fuel dispensers to be hung from underneath the overhang, but building codes at the time prohibited such an arrangement.
Nearby the Cloquet gas station is another Wright-designed structure: the Lindholm house, abutting the western edge of the Cloquet Country Club.
My interest in Wright was piqued way back when I lived in Tokyo. His Imperial Hotel, demolished in 1968, was legendary on so many levels -- not the least of which was its innovative use of moveable pilings for foundation support, a technique that allowed it to survive the great 1923 earthquake undamaged. Many of Tokyo's tallest buildings today still use the same (albeit updated) technology.
uh, aesthetics are subjective, spacey, so no, I cannot add objectively to a discussion of personal aesthetic choice
forgive me if I haven't much faith in FLW's capacity for urban planning.
like most futurist/modernists he wanted to do something new without being grounded much in what worked. some of it worked, some of it didn't. I will fully admit his contributions (such as the one you mentioned), but honestly I just don't much like the look of most of his stuff. I appreciate the integration of his buildings into their environments, but unfortunately there are a limited amount of cases where that's practicable.
well judgments about beauty are rooted in some universal expections, at least within cultures, so I think you could if you chose to. at the very least I figure if you find something so revolting, you could provide some specifics.
he designed for a vacuum. all the 'superstar' architects did (and, well, still do). they all want to have their buildings as a masturbatory showpiece set apart from everything else. there's never any relation to, or respect for, the built environment around the buildings. which is, of course, why so many of FLW's buildings were out in nature somewhere. it's the perfect setting for them, honestly, because if there were anything else around them you'd see how ridiculous they are in context.
also, let me 'ooh' and 'ahh' some over a zillion fucking cantilevered porches build off the sides of hills.
wayne, you would've considered the Impressionists to have not been grounded, either. And Picasso? What a freak!
The "art" of innovation is often not grounded in what is presently realistic. Imagine explaining to someone 50 years ago what the Internet was to become ... and they would've told you "Why not just use the phone or write a letter or go to the library?"
Oh, ye, of little faith and foresight.
built*
FLW has nothing on R. Buckminster Bucky Fuller in the "vision" department.
And the busiest intersection in Cloquet is Hwy 33 at Doddridge Ave... or maybe it's the entrance to WalMart. Toss up.
actually I think impressionism is pretty awful too.
but as far as considering architecture an 'art' form, the problem with that is that architecture, unlike other forms of art, has to serve a practical purpose as well. you don't live in a painting or work in a sculpture, but yet we allow buildings to be constructed that are absolutely terrible for their purpose, except they look pretty so it's ok!
can't we just fund more public sculpture and kick starchitect assholes like gehry to the curb?
and, uh, noodles ...
changing styles have nothing to do with adoption and uptake of technology. we could have skipped modernism altogether and would still have the internet, or whatever you're trying to say.
my only point is that architecture transformed from the practice of building functional buildings that were beatiful to the practice of building beautiful (or sometimes not, just outrageous) buildings that performed their functions poorly. bauhaus proved that putting function first doesn't necessarily result in ugly buildings, yet so many architects of our era completely ignore function.
but honestly I just don't much like the look of most of his stuff. I appreciate the integration of his buildings into their environments, but unfortunately there are a limited amount of cases where that's practicable.
Well, that's pretty much a subjective opinion. Thankfully, you're in the minority on that.
...but as far as considering architecture an 'art' form, the problem with that is that architecture, unlike other forms of art, has to serve a practical purpose as well. you don't live in a painting or work in a sculpture, but yet we allow buildings to be constructed that are absolutely terrible for their purpose, except they look pretty so it's ok!
And to think how much you pissed and moaned about the new 35W bridge design because it didn't suit your aesthetics.
being functional does not preclude being beautiful, but sometimes people forget completely about the functional part (like that piece of wadded-up trash further down the river by gehry)
Well, that comes down to a subjective opinion. You don't like FLW or Gehry, or Rapson, etc. Many more people do like them, and even find them beautiful.
obviously the majority is always right in matters of subjective opinion
uh?
I'm assuming that wayne is in with the majority -- people that don't like FLW and prefer the beauty of Super America gas stations
uh, yes, that's exactly what I said. I said "I don't like FLW AND I love modern shitty gas station architecture too"
oh, wait, no, I never said the second part, nor implied it.
ps, the american built environment is mostly ugly as hell
Once again wayne comes into a thread like a ray of sunshine to brighten everyone's day!
Since you don't like Wright or Gehry, wayne, who do you like?
I have no idea if a majority prefer them or not. I just said many more people do. When it comes to architectural aesthetics, why should we trust your vision any more than FLW, et al.?
If only FLW could have gotten this thing built!
I really like FLW's prairie style homes. As a sort of anti-social person, I appreciate how they tend to be turned away from the street, with sort of guarded or hidden entrances.
I've visited the gas station, and I wasn't really impressed.
Also: I really disliked the Weisman when I moved here, but after a few years of biking along the river and watching it at different seasons/times of day, it has grown on me.
as far as fairly recent architects go, I like Ccalatrava, (some of) I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano amongst others.
actually dougie, the chicago spire by calatrava is essentially the same idea (only a better design). and it's under construction now.
why should we trust your vision any more than FLW, et al.?
you shouldn't and I never asked you to. I expressed a distaste for the work of Mr. Wright and got jumped all over for it.
That spire looks like a dildo.
heh. you didn't get "jumped all over for it". You're such a baby.
and FLW's tower looks like an evil fortress, which is much cooler.
I'm with wayne - Gehry is annoying. So you can bend metal, big wup. Where am I - Millenium Park, LA, the U? I don't know it all looks the same! Halp!
wayne = Debbie Downer
For some reason, that's the image that's stuck in my head. Esthtically displeasing, too. ;)
Maybe, just maybe, it's the way you expressed your distaste, wayne, that inspired people to jump all over you.
But what do I know?
come on thats just a regular old building with a few twists...can't we keep those kind of buildings in Dubai.
Personally I prefer Rem Koolhaus, I like how that CCTV headquarter building acts as a frame against the blue sky backdrop.
wayne, you went well beyond "expressing a distaste" for Wright, in your subsequent comments.
not liking pop architecture is like not liking the beatles*
people are just shocked, shocked, that you could possibly find something so obviously good to be lacking.
*I don't dislike the beatles, this is just a good analogy.
I think koolhaas does better work on a smaller scale. have you seen some of his massive plans for dubai?
wtf, rem. wtf.
Speaking of architecture check out the new renderings of the Twins Ballpark
I think it will look great.
but you didn't say it was "lacking" you said most of it was aesthetic garbage
but you didn't say it was "lacking" you said most of it was aesthetic garbage
come on thats just a regular old building with a few twists...can't we keep those kind of buildings in Dubai.
Dubai and southeast Asia are home to some of the most exciting skyscraping arcitecture going on today.
Twins renderings - Awesome! When did they add all the seats in the outfield? That is great!
yes, it's lacking in aesthetic quality.
I don't care one way or the other about pop architecture, but I have lost interest in all the ways the world disappoints Wayne.
All they had to do was resist the urge to put a retractable roof on the stadium.
I like the natural stone. Gonna look nice.
they've always had seats in the outfield...but only about 4000 in left, about 1000 in right, and none in ceter...did that change?
I haven't tried to peek inside, but I drive by the south side a few times a week, and the limestone facade is creeeping around slowly...looks good if only for the fact that I no longer have to see Target Center. now if they could do something about the ugly rainbow-esque brick pattern on the west side of the Target A ramp overlooking 3rd Avenue. It's embarrasingly dated from the 1980s.
From the stadiums that I have seen with retractable roofs they look terrible from the outside. Miller Park, Safeco, huge eyesores.
I thought the original drawings had almost no seats in left. Maybe not.
I totally agree with retractable parsk. I've never been to any, but on TV they just look atrocious.
I heard rumors they will be opening the roof of Parking Garage B for tailgating and would have bleachers set up to hold 300 or so people.
How fricking awesome would that be!
I've been to games in Milwaukee and Phoenix, and they are both hideous from the outside and too cavernous on the inside. Although on 100+degree days in Phoenix, it's nice to have the roof closed and the AC cranked, filling the stadium with cool air that's scented with Gordon Biersch's garlic fries while you sip a Fat Tire.
I wonder if the Twins amortized the roof cost vs. the benefit of the additional revenue it would gain over the life of the stadium, and whether that wasn't enough to get it done, or if the whole thing collapsed under the weight of trying to finance an additional $100,000,000 or whatever it would have cost.
they ought to have bleachers open to watch the construction. I'd pay $5 to take my lunch up there once or twice a month.
If you stop in the skyway between the B and C Ramps where the Target Center enters you get a pretty good look at the construction. At least you did a few months ago the last time I walked by.
one thing about the stadium that is of concern...there seem to be no exit /entry points on the west or south, and only a train platform on the north...meaning that other than the train riders, everyone else is going to get funneled out of the right field into downtown at one time unless the game is a blow-out. that sounds like a nightmare clusterf*ck.
Speaking of architecture check out the new renderings of the Twins Ballpark. I think it will look great.
it's a dynamic design; I like the inside and the wide angle view, but I wonder what it'll do for me up close... it's a bit fractured looking in the close-up drawings.
there seem to be no exit /entry points on the west or south
Downtown screws up my sense of direction, but are you talking about the 7th and 3rd sides? I think you're what you're supposed to do is just step from the concourse on to the roads at those places.
South would be 7th street...road would make sense...does that mean I can't drive home that way on game days? that would suck.
West would be BNSF / bike trail / incinerator side. I believe this will be referred to as the rear end of the stadium.
Would you be able to drive that close on game day anyway? They shut down a good portion of the roads around the dome on game day as it is.
uh, yeah, there's really nothing on that side of the site anyway. I guess they could get an easement from the incinerator site to expand the sidewalk, but ... to where? some run-down warehouses? There's not even empty lots to plop down parking on over there.
I suppose the stadium shifting from DT MPLS's east end to its west end is good news for St. Paulites who work in DT MPLS, but bad news for folks who work DT MPLS and live in the western burbs.
They only shut down roads around the Dome during Vikings games, except for Kirby Puckett Place, of course.
I can see the construction from my window at work. Unfortunately I can't see the field. Bummer. Though I might see pop flies during games.
I have contract parking in ramp B and am hoping it will come in handy when the stadium opens. I only park there every few weeks but when I do, I always check out the construction from nice and close up.
I often drive by the new Gopher's stadium on my way home. It looks pretty cool -- and HUGE.
I used to work in the 3-story office building it now looms over.
Yeah, that new Gopher stadium really looms over the road (Oak? 4th?) that goes by there.
Bob, are you referring to the old fire station? I used to drink quite a bit in there, back when Station 19 was in business. My friends always wanted to go for the cheap college drinking aspect, but I fell in love with the place the first time we went in the afternoon and I saw someone studying at a table with a pint. The basement was pretty nice, and had lots of dartboards. How I miss that place.
There was an Austrialian themed pub in the firehouse basement at one time, too. Can't remember the name.
No, I mean the unremarkable office building on 4th that used to face the old Peking Gardens restaurant (now gone). It was then the home of the American Academy of Neurology. Other neighbors, now gone: the MN Daily office, which then became a bike shop, and now is torn down.
I think it was creatively called "The Pub Down Under." I guess I never realized those were two separate places (or that Down Under was even Australian-themed). What's in that building now, an architectural firm or something?
i predict that the new Gopher football stadium will yield the worst passing stats in the country. It's basically a horseshoe with an open west end and if you've ever tried walking to Mariucci or Williams on a windy day, you'll agree that it's just one big wind tunnel on 4th Street. That wind is going to blow into the football stadium and just swirl like a tornado.
That, and the fact that it will be the University of Minnesota's football team doing about 50% of the passing.
coach mason's running attack and total lack of passing defense would have been perfectly suited to the wind tunnel. he would have gone 5-1 at home and 1-5 on the road every year.
It's basically a horseshoe with an open west end
But that's exactly what the old memorial stadium was where Tony Dungy became so famous for his passing attack that he was drafted by the pittsburg steelers as a defensive back. heh.
Bud Grant played in the ol' horseshoe, too. And Bronco Nagurski.
there is no better party vibe than college football tailgating on a crisp fall morning. except for maybe a rave in the middle of a cornfield, but that's a story for a different post.
Never got interested in college football. Didn't know any of the players. And since I'm not a U Grad, what do I care about them?
People are rabid for the college football in the south. I think it's a holdover from the Civil War.
there is no better party vibe than college football tailgating on a crisp fall morning. except for maybe a rave in the middle of a cornfield, but that's a story for a different post.
an illicit art opening in the basement of an underground art gallery replete with nude body painting, accordion punk music, doll parts, primal scream therapy, and tequila
People are rabid for the college football in the south. I think it's a holdover from the Civil War.
That'd be a stretch, Rat, considering what we now call "football" was primarily played on the quadrants of northern universities (e.g. Harvard) in the mid-19th century. The first organized inter-collegiate teams weren't founded until 1873 ... then, too, among only the Ivy League schools.
Why didn't Frank Lloyd Wright design any stadiums?
I'm thinking State's Rights and regional identity.
You ever hear people from the Midwest go: Hell, yeah! Midwest!
Let's hear it for Corn!
Only Bob does that.
I've got 110,000+ people who will tell you they're rabid in the north as well....you can find them in Ann Arbor on 6 or 7 Saturdays every autumn.
I'm probably opining out of almost complete ignorance, here.
But this is America. We're allowed to do that.
By your third drink go ahead and talk about oh, I don't know, your knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church based on your reading of The Da Vinci Code.
We'll give you a break.
Why didn't Frank Lloyd Wright design any stadiums?
if you look @ the exterior renderings of the new twins stadium and squint really hard, you can see his influence.
The limestone looks like the same stuff outside the 'CCO studio.
Never got interested in college football. Didn't know any of the players. And since I'm not a U Grad, what do I care about them?
Few people remember that the Gopher football team won the rose bowl and the national championship the year before the vikqueens came to town. They haven't been close since.
ah .. I forgot that they actually lost the rose bowl. heh. But they were voted as national champions before the bowl games were played, so ...
knowing your tendency towards historical revisionism, I figured it was intentional.
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