Talk about a one-of-a-kind road stop, this is it! Yes, famed architect and visionary Frank Lloyd Wright designed a gas station. What’s more, the station is still in business today!
Love quirky roadside stops, architecture detours, and photo ops that beat the usual rest-area selfie? Put the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed gas station in Cloquet, Minnesota, on your “to see” list.
Where it is and how to find it
The station, R. W. Lindholm Service Station, is in Cloquet, Carlton County, in northeastern Minnesota. It’s about 20 miles southwest of Duluth and just off State Highway 33 near the junction with I-35. This makes it an easy stop for RVers driving up or down the North Shore or cutting west toward the Iron Range. The street address is 202 Cloquet Avenue.
A brief history
Ray W. Lindholm was an oil executive. He’d previously asked Wright to design his home. In the early 1950s, Lindholm asked Wright to design a filling station for his hometown, Cloquet. Wright completed the gas station plans in the mid-1950s, and the station opened in 1958.
Wright regarded the gas pump island and canopy project as more than just functional infrastructure. Instead, Wright saw the fuel station as a potential neighborhood hub and part of his Broadacre City dream. He envisioned folks gathering at the top of the canopy to visit and enjoy the view.
Note: Wright’s Broadacre City concept envisioned a sprawling community consisting of small farms and homesteads where families enjoyed a direct connection with nature. This was in stark contrast to the cities of Wright’s time, which were often cramped, densely populated and lacking any green, open spaces.
Architectural design and wonder
Frank Lloyd Wright’s gas station was later recognized for its architectural importance and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Wright’s gas station design includes a large, cantilevered canopy with a triangular profile. Wright oriented the canopy to point toward the nearby St. Louis River. The canopy features a glass-walled observation and lounge space above the service bays. Skylights bring daylight into the repair areas, and stepped concrete block construction gives the building strong horizontal lines.
Some of Wright’s more radical ideas, like suspending fuel dispensers from the canopy to free up pavement, were nixed to meet safety rules. However, the finished building still captures Wright’s larger idea: to make even a gas station feel integrated with the landscape and connect with the town’s social life.
Not a museum?
Unlike some of Wright’s other buildings, the Cloquet gas station building still serves customers. Over the decades, Wright’s gas station operated under Lindholm ownership. Later, it carried national fuel brands.
Ownership shifted in the late 2010s, and while it continues to care for cars and sell fuel, it’s also treated as a local landmark. If you stop by, be mindful that the site is primarily a business.
Why go?
Frank Lloyd Wright’s gas station is a combination of the practical and memorable. You can refuel, maybe fill up your propane tanks, or get a quick repair (with appointment). In addition, you can walk around one of the few examples where a superstar architect applied his ideas to a traveler’s needs.
Visitors to Frank Lloyd Wright’s station say, if you ask, a mechanic will open the second-floor room for a panoramic view.
Tips
Here are a few tips for your visit:
- Plan for a brief stop.
- If you want to snap photos, aim for a quick, respectful visit.
- Park so as not to impede customers’ access to the pumps or service bays.
- Combine the stop with nearby natural attractions. Jay Cooke State Park and the Duluth lakeshore are close by.
- Use Cloquet as a convenient fuel and snack break on your longer run between the Twin Cities and the North Shore.
In the area
This area of Minnesota offers RVers a variety of options. You can hike, fish, boat, or simply enjoy the views. Duluth isn’t far away, if you want more sightseeing opportunities.
Have you visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s gas station? Tell me about it using the comments below.
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RVT1224
I’ve been past or thru Cloquet many times over the years traveling between Fargo ND, Mpls and Duluth. Never noticed this stn!
Thank you for the discussion, especially the background of how it came to be designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Gail! Have a great week and safe travels.
In Buffalo, NY there’s a car museum, the Pierce Arrow Museum. They have a full size constructed model of a filling station that had been designed by Wright to be built in Buffalo but was deemed unsafe and impractical. It is beautiful though.
Indeed, the staff is wonderfully accommodating to a visitor. It’s well worth exploring all of the 2nd floor.
And, do take note of the author’s politeness suggestions.
We’ve visited and taken pictures. We also camped in the Cloquet campground when I was teaching the MSF motorcycle safety course in Duluth.
Whatever is the thing going thru the roof supported by 2 legs? Has flwright on the vertical facing the road
What a nice design and welcome for visitors. Better than a Buckys or a Stucky’s.