Colonial Beacon Gas Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Colonial Beacon Gas Station
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 474 Main St., Stoneham, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1922 |
| Architect | Coolidge & Carlson |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| MPS | Stoneham MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 84002554 |
| Added to NRHP | April 13, 1984 |
The Colonial Beacon Gas Station is a historic gas station at 474 Main Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It was built c. 1922 by the Colonial Oil Company to be a flagship station in their chain of filling stations. The concrete and stucco building was designed by the Boston firm of Coolidge & Carlson. It has two main sections: an octagonal section that once served as a drive-through filling area, and a rectangular service area to its left. Corinthian columns originally supported the octagonal section; these have since been covered over or replaced. The octagonal section is topped by a round dome, at whose apex is a small pillared section that was once topped by a grillwork globe that housed a light. This light, when illuminated, became the beacon which gives the station its name. The service area and pumping bay have a band of starburst panels that run along the top of the flat roofed service area and around the base of the pumping area dome.
The building served as a filling station until after World War II. Since then it has served a variety of retail services, for example as a flower and produce shop in 1984. None of these uses have significantly affected the integrity of the building. The pumping bay has been enclosed in glass, making it into an integral part of the interior space.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, at which time it was one of four surviving Colonial Oil filling stations. It formerly housed an ice cream parlor before being demolished.
