8 Amazing SoCal Gas Stations to Soften the Blow of Fuel Prices
By now, you're probably tired of talking — and hearing — about the gas prices in California.
But that doesn't mean you're not looking for ways to get a little more mileage out of your trips to fill the tank.
While there are many ways to go car-free in parts of Southern California, many of us are still very closely tied to our four wheels — and paying at the pump, whether it's $4 a gallon or $6 a gallon, is a necessary evil for the majority of drivers.
Fortunately, it doesn't always have to be a soul-sucking chore (even if it does drain your bank account).
If you're running on empty, why not "fill 'er up" somewhere with some interesting architecture, scenery, or history?
Yes — in SoCal, even getting gas can be an adventure full of entertainment and oddities.
Here are 8 of the best SoCal gas stations for bringing some magnificence to the mundane — whether you're on your daily commute or using up your savings to reach a farther flung locale.
1. Union 76 Gas Station, Beverly Hills
The Union 76 Gas Station at the corner of North Crescent Drive and South (or "Little") Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills really jumps out at you as you drive by, thanks to its concrete "wings" that make it seem like it's ready for takeoff. In fact, it wasn't originally intended for this location — but instead, for Century Boulevard near LAX. That explains its "Space Age" design by architect Gin Wong of William L. Pereira and Associates, who created it in 1960 for his client Unocal (Union Oil Company of California), drawing inspiration from the airport itself.
The LAX gas station contract ended up going to competitor Standard Oil; but Unocal decided to find somewhere else to put Wong's groundbreaking design. One look at it and you'll never forget it — the three-pointed, hyperbolic paraboloid canopy swooping above the pumps like some airborne manta ray. Add the florescent bulb racing stripes into the mix, and you've got a classic Googie design that looks just as futuristic today as it probably did when the gas station opened in 1965.
Sometimes called "Jack Colker's Union 76" after its founder and long-time proprietor (who passed away in 2012), it was designated a Beverly Hills historical landmark in 2018. After filling up at your choice of self- or full-service pumps, take a look around inside the convenience store, where you can read about Colker and admire the original design rendering, which hangs on the wall by the restrooms.
2. Helios House, Beverly Hills
At the southeast corner of South Robertson and West Olympic Boulevards is the first gas station in the country to have been LEED Certified as an environmentally "green" building – a.k.a. Helios House. Although it now operates as a Speedway Express station, it was created in 2007 as part of BP's campaign to show how a gas station could be "a little better for the environment" (despite the environmental impact of fossil fuels.)
Although some of the consumer outreach programs that BP instituted fell by the wayside when the gas station changed hands — no more seed postcards that you can plant in your backyard — the building itself retains its environmentally-friendly features and its striking appearance. Architects Nader Tehrani and Monica Ponce de Leon (then of Office dA) and Johnston Marklee turned an existing gas station from the 1970s into a futuristic fever dream of faceted triangular panels made out of recyclable stainless steel.
In addition to using recycled materials (like post-industrial aluminum scrap in the restrooms and concrete made with crushed waste glass instead of sand), Helios House also features solar panels on the canopy roof, which acts as a rain barrel for stormwater capture. The entire structure lights up with low-energy LEDs at night. (And yes, it's open 24 hours.)
3. Century City 76, Los Angeles
If you're heading west down Santa Monica Boulevard, or cutting up Beverly Glen to get over the hill, you might not notice what makes the 76 gas station in Century City so special — unless you stop for a closer look. And no, it's not the fact that it sold a winning Mega Millions ticket in 2014 and a winning Powerball ticket in 2015 — or that it's previously been a destination for Hollywood studio stunt takeovers to promote new TV show premieres.
Not only are the pump canopies covered in red terracotta tile, but the Mediterranean fantasy continues with faux rock pillars and a real waterfall cascading down faux boulders! Built in 1969, the station is one of several in Southern California that got an extra decorative touch, thanks to the creativity of then-Vice President (and later President) of United Oil, Jeff Appel. In the early 1990s to the early 2000s, Appel was also responsible for installing mosaic murals, French and Italian tile, topiaries and other fanciful adornments at existing and newly-built gas stations to help beautify the otherwise banal act of filling up.
Pull on in for either self-service or full service (honk twice for someone to come help you out). But make sure you're at the right one — because even if you pump your own at a full-service station, you'll pay more. And if you're feeling peckish, stop into the nicest gas station convenience store you've ever seen — replete with crystal chandeliers. Online reviewers rave about its selection of international snacks, sweets and other goodies.
4. United Oil, View Park-Windsor Hills, Los Angeles
The United Oil at South La Brea and Slauson Avenues isn't just any gas station with a car wash. It's a Tomorrowland ride into the sky — a millennial version of Googie that makes it look as though you have to drive up on the roof and across the steel canopy above the gas pumps to get your car washed.
With a project cost of about $8 million in 2009, it was the most expensive United Oil station at the time. It was designed by architect Stephen Kanner of Santa Monica at the behest of United Oil executive Jeff Appel (see #3 above) to resemble a freeway ramp.
Although much of its appeal is an optical illusion — the ramp simply ascends and descends up, above and down behind the gas station market — it's still enough of an attraction to lure motorists away from the Shell, Sinclair and La Brea Gas stations at the other corners of the busy intersection.
5. ARCO and Tiki Tour Express Wash, South Gate
Located southeast of Los Angeles in the "Gateway Cities" region, the city of South Gate feels like an appropriate destination for gas-related entertainment, as it was once home to a General Motors automobile plant called South Gate Assembly (which closed in 1982).
South Gate is, however, incredibly far from any tropical place that might experience a "mega typhoon" or volcanic eruption — but at the tiki-themed car wash adjacent to the ARCO station at Firestone and Garfield, patrons are invited to "enjoy the ride" through a typhoon tunnel with preternaturally blue waterfalls and a red, foaming lava bath.
At the end, tornado-force winds blow your washed car dry — and after your adventure, you get free use of their vacuums to spiff up your interiors, too.
6. Blackwells Corner General Store and Shell Station, Blackwells Corner
Located about 55 miles northwest of the Central Valley city of Bakersfield, the unincorporated community of Blackwells Corner in Kern County may have been named for the early pioneer George Blackwell — but it's become infamous for being the last stop James Dean made before his fatal car crash near Shandon, California at the juncture of Highways 41 and 46.
Now a Shell gas station with the adjacent Blackwells Corner General Store and Forever Young Restaurant, it was the last place the movie star was seen alive in 1955. And its place in history is marked by giant plywood murals created by muralist John Cerney in 2004 (and repainted in 2017 by Ariel Mar) — providing plenty of photo opportunities.
Stop inside the convenience store to see more James Dean ephemera and maybe even snag some themed souvenirs.
7. Chevron and Chiriaco Summit Restaurant, Chiriaco Summit
About 6 miles east of Joshua Tree National Park's southernmost entrance at Cottonwood Springs, you'll find a truck stop with lots of history and some tasty food, too — Chiriaco Summit. It's named after pioneer Joseph Chiriaco, who established a gas station and general store at what was then known as Shaver Summit in 1933 — the same year that the gravel road between Palm Springs and Phoenix got paved and become Highway 60 (later to be replaced by the 10 Freeway). This was the historic California-Arizona route between the Coachella Valley and the Colorado River, known as "Romero Pass" and "Bradshaw-Grant Pass."
In 1945, the Chiriaco family also established the beginnings of what would become the General Patton Memorial Museum — which still houses historical exhibits about General George S. Patton and his nearby Desert Training Center and Camp Young in its indoor museum as well as its Matzner Tank Pavilion and outdoor Tank Yard.
Between the restaurant and the museum, look for the historical marker for the site of Contractors General Hospital, considered the "birthplace" of Kaiser Permanente and designated California Registered Landmark No. 992.
8. Roy's Motel and Café, Amboy
Contrary to its name, Roy's is currently neither an operating motel nor a café — although both of those types of businesses are part of its history along the old alignment of Route 66 (still designated as National Trails Highway). And they may come back some day, too. But for now, Roy's is primarily a gas station pit stop and photo opportunity between the high desert community of Twentynine Palms and the Mojave National Preserve.
The entire town of Amboy has been owned by Albert Okura — founder of the Juan Pollo fast food chain and the unofficial McDonald's museum in San Bernardino — since 2005. And while the town has had its ups and downs under his stewardship — including being closed, for a time, for pretty much anything but filming and fashion shoots — its landmark Roy's (named after its founder, Roy Crowl, circa 1938) is once again pumping gas and selling souvenirs and snacks.
Even if your tank isn't running low, it's worth swinging by to see its landmark neon sign, which was relit in 2019. Besides, the closest place to fill up is 30 miles away in Ludlow — and in the Mojave Desert, you never want to see your tank go to E.
