Embassy Gulf Service Station Photos by and courtesy of Mehrdad K. Rahbar |
The Embassy Gulf Service Station, designed in 1936 by Gulf Oil Corporation architect P.L.R. Hogner, was conceived and sited to complement its setting as part of an aesthetic directive by the Gulf Oil Corporation to construct a gas station with details, materials and massing more commonly associated with the mainstays of the communities such as banks and libraries. More than 170,000 gas stations were doing business in the United States by 1933. By 1937, Gulf Oil corporation alone boasted 60 service stations in Washington. The construction of the Embassy Gulf Service Station was part of Gulf’s corporate expansion in Washington, DC. The exacting reviews and regulations in Washington necessitated that most of the Gulf stations designed for the city required further adaptation from their original designs. The siting of the station adjacent to Rock Creek park triggered a review by the Commission of Fine Arts, as well as review by the National Park Service and the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission. The Embassy Gulf Service Station is an important symbol of Gulf Oil’s commitment to developing gas station architecture as community assets worthy of praise and preservation.
The Embassy Gulf Service Station is is located at 2200 P St., NW. It is open to the public during normal hours of operation.