Frank's Old Station

Built in the mid-1930s along Route 66 when the highway ran through the village of Williamsville, this gas station was part of a time when early service stations were gathering places where travelers and residents drank coffee, chatted, and shared news from up and down the Mother Road. Williamsville once had over a dozen gas stations serving Route 66 travelers, but when a bypass was built to the west in 1940 many of them closed. This station operated as a gas station from the mid-1930s until 1963, then survived through conversion to other uses. Norman McDaniel owned this Marathon station from 1954 to 1958. Frank Kahlrus, a Williamsville native, owned The Old Station from 2000 to 2016, and his eccentric personality and collection of memorabilia made it an iconic stop for Route 66 travelers. In 2016, Jason Hayward purchased the property and restored the exterior to its original appearance, using it as a canvas for vintage gasoline signs and artifacts, and today it continues to welcome guests from far and wide who share their own stories.

Williamsville, Illinois · United States