The Threatt Filling Station, at the southwestern corner of the former U.S. Route 66 and Pottawatomi Rd. about 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Luther, Oklahoma (which is about 20 miles (32 km) east of Oklahoma City), is a filling station built around 1915. The station closed in the 1970s.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[1]
Threatt Filling Station | |
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| Nearest city | Luther, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°39′59″N 97°08′28″W / 35.66639°N 97.14111°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c.1915 |
| Built by | Threatt, Allen |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/craftsman |
| MPS | Route 66 in Oklahoma MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 95000038[1] |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1995 |
It is "an example of a 'house' type of station, designed in the Bungalow/Craftsman style of architecture."[3]
Its original c.1915 gas pumps had glass globes on top so that the amount of gasoline to be dispensed could be determined, but those were replaced by two c.1940 pumps.[3]
During the Jim Crow era, the Threatt Filling Station provided a place where black travelers, limited by laws restricting travel and accommodations, could stop, shop, and park for the night or just rest while traveling.[4][5]
The property in which the station was located was owned by the Threatt family, a black family that engaged in multiple entrepreneurial avenues. The Threatt family estate also provided a safe haven for displaced blacks from the Tulsa race massacre in 1921.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Hinton, Carla. "Route 66 'refuge' for Black travelers now listed among 'most endangered' historic places". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Maryjo Meacham; Brenda Peck; Lisa Bradley; Susan Roth (May 31, 1992). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Threatt Filling Station". National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2018. With accompanying two photos from 1991
- ^ Hinton, Carla (December 11, 2018). "'A safe haven': 'Green Book' movie, preservation efforts fuel renaissance for former Threatt Filling Station in Luther". GateHouse Media, LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ Jones, Perris (February 26, 2021). "Route 66 service station was safe haven for Black drivers passing through 'Sundown Towns'". Hearst Television. KOKO News. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- ^ "Threatt Filling Station and Family Farm Named One of Nation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places". Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
External links
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Media related to Threatt Filling Station at Wikimedia Commons