Belated Gas Station Update

Loyal reader Keith accosted me yesterday at the TV critics press tour: "Dude, whatever happened to the gas station? Was it saved?"

It dawned on me that I shared the good news on my Save the Historic Adams Hill Gas Station site, but not here.

So a quick update: Yup, the business owner who was attempting to tear down the gas station and erect a parking lot in place of the proposed park wound up backing down, in the face of massive neighborhood opposition.

Which means... unless the Glendale city council pulls a fast one, the gas station has been saved, and the proposed park (with the classic gas station as its centerpiece) will go on as planned.

From the July 7 Glendale News-Press:

The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission decided to recommend to the City Council to approve a design of the 12,548-square-foot park that preserves and incorporates the former Richfield Oil Co. Station at the corner of Palmer Avenue and Adams Street as a gathering place for the community.

The streamline-moderne gas station, built in 1936, has divided Adams Hill. Homeowners, who want the gas station preserved, and a group of Adams Square business owners, who wanted the station's space for more parking in the area. Advocates for demolishing the gas station saw hope when the commission last month wavered on an earlier decision to green-light the park's design by the firm Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

The commission's concerns were based on false information, commissioners said. Last month, commission member Armond Agakhani said that the estimate for preserving and refurbishing the gas was as high as $500,000, and that the commission was leaning toward demolition of the building and instead adding more parking for merchants.

Preserving the 160-square-foot gas station would cost about $37,400, said Hagop Kassabian, a project manager with the Parks and Recreation Division.

"We have something here that is workable, and I hope the City Council agrees with us," Commissioner James Ward said.