Built in 1936 as a longtime Shelby landmark, Rainbow Conoco was designed by Continental Oil Company architects as an adaptation of Pure Oil Company’s English cottage-type station and reflected Continental’s mid-1930s architectural policies for a design that could blend with both commercial buildings and residential environments. The station features off-white glazed brick, natural orange-red brick trim, and a steep dark green asphalt gable roof, a color scheme that made it readily recognizable to passing motorists as a Continental Oil outlet. Except for modern pumps and signage, it remains virtually unchanged, including restrooms with original multi-colored tile trim. Oscar Gunlikson and his son Jim operated the station from the 1940s until 1960, and local residents long knew it affectionately as “Joe’s” after Joe Kincaid, who took over in 1965. It is one of the state’s finest examples of 1930s gas station design and one of the company’s oldest continuously operated outlets.