HISTORY OF THE STATION
The R.W. Lindholm Service Station, or
more commonly known as the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station, has become an
icon in Cloquet in the past half-century. Located on the corner of
Cloquet Avenue and Highway 33, the station is an architectural treasure –
the only operating gas station ever constructed from the designs of
Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wright’s connection with Cloquet began
when the Lindholm family was searching for an architect to design their
new home. Lindholm’s daughter and son-in-law had studied architecture
and encouraged their father to employ Wright. The architect accepted and
after designing and building the Cloquet residence in 1952, Wright
approached the family with the idea of building a gas station.
The plans for a service station had been
occupying Wright for over 20 years. The station’s design was based on
Wright’s futuristic Broadacre City plan of 1934, which sought to create a
new decentralized urban landscape. Wright’s his new client’s oil
business provided a perfect fit for the architect’s vision. He saw no
reason “a little beauty couldn’t be incorporated into something as
commonplace as a service station”. The station, however, was the only
one ever constructed.
Commonplace the Lindholm station is not.
Stepped cement blocks support a copper canopy that extends
approximately thirty-two feet. A glass-walled observation lounge anchors
the signature cantilever while a slender towering pylon reaches from
the polygonal roof to a height of sixty feet. It used to hold the name
PHILLIPS on the upper portion and the number 66 in the middle. (From its
inception in 1958, the station’s gasoline came from Phillips 66. That
changed last summer when Phillips 66 decided to pull its brand out
ofMinnesota altogether. The looming Phillips 66 sign was removed and it
now operates as a Spur station.)
Wright originally envisioned eliminating
standing pumps and placing fuel lines in the cantilevered roof, thereby
offering motorists uninhibited access to the station. This was never
carried out due to fire code standards and the traditional ground fuel
pumps were utilized instead. The three service bays are fitted with
skylights to help facilitate the work of mechanics. Cypress wood is
found throughout the structure, from the shelving for auto accessories
located in the garage and diamond shaped sales office, to the decorative
cut elements in the restrooms.
The site was listed on the Historic Registry in 1984 and has been operating as a gas station ever since it opened on October 31st, 1958.
