Historic Pure Oil Gas Station (Peach Street Books)

In 2015, Dr. Carol Sabo and her sister, Beth Ann Sabo, purchased a neglected 1930s roadside gas station building. Originally constructed in a quaint cottage style (one of two such stylized gas stations in Cape Charles), the old-fashioned architecture was intended to evoke a sense of homey comfort. This was part of a deliberate branding strategy used by the oil industry in the mid-twentieth century to attract travelers during the early automobile era. In addition, the property purchased by the Sabo sisters included an adjacent structure, a 1950s garage that served as the Strait Line Auto repair shop. After renovating the property, which involved restoring the blue-roofed cottage-style building to its original charm, in 2018, the Sabo sisters opened their new business, Peach Street Books, as an independent bookstore with an adjacent café. The bookshop features new and gently used books, while the café offers smoothies, baked goods, and fresh coffee provided by Eastern Shore Coastal Roasters. Overall, the exterior restoration of the property included eye-catching architectural details and roadside landscaping intended to draw visitors, just as the original 1930's Pure Oil gas station sought to do as part of its branding campaign nearly a century ago.

In 2015, Dr. Carol Sabo and her sister, Beth Ann Sabo, purchased a roadside property containing a former Pure Oil gas station that was built circa 1930. The property also included the adjacent Strait Line auto shop garage, which was added in the 1950s. The two sisters worked to restore the property to its original charm, while meeting all of the necessary requirements for historic preservation.

Charm was an essential ingredient in the construction of "cottage-style" gas stations between the 1930s and the 1950s. During the early automobile era, greater numbers of gas stations began cropping up along roadways to provide fuel and snacks to travelers. In order to attract visitors, some gas stations were constructed in quaint or old-fashioned architectural styles, such as the English cottage style. The idea was to visually conjure in the minds of travelers a slower-paced, pre-automobile era.

As described by Jim Duffy in his article on the subject, early gas stations were initially regarded by the public as firetraps. People did not want gas stations to be built anywhere near their homes or places of work. To counteract these attitudes, in 1926, the architect Carl A. Petersen advocated for the creation of safe, efficient, and attractive gas stations that people would not disdain. After pitching his idea to the Ohio-based Pure Oil Company, the result was the invention and proliferation of the "cottage-style gas station."

Such buildings featured a white stucco or brick exterior with a sharply-pitched blue-enameled terra-cotta roof, intended to evoke the nineteenth-century vernacular architecture of the countryside. Featuring faux shutters, flower boxes, and two chimneys on each exterior side wall, they were also marked with a "P" in acknowledgement of Petersen's idea: to make gas stations more visually appealing to the average traveler by conveying a homey aura of simplicity. Ultimately, Petersen's concept became central to the early branding strategies used by the oil industry to gain the favor of the public. Identical blue-roofed cottage-style gas stations were subsequently constructed throughout the U.S. between the 1930s and the 1950s.

By the twenty-first century, however, the Pure Oil gas station and Strait Line auto shop garage in Cape Charles had fallen into disuse. The buildings were in need of repair and at risk of being razed completely. In 2015, Beth Ann Sabo and her sister, Dr. Carol Sabo, stepped forward to purchase the property. They hired the local architect, Leon Parham, to envision the interior renovations and exterior restoration of the two adjacent buildings. In addition, the architectural company RBW Design, led by Robert Bridges, has been credited with the "heavy lifting" on the project in conjunction with Kate Latham and her team.

Upon completion of the project in 2018, the Sabo sisters unveiled the new Peach Street Books, which opened in the restored property as an independent bookstore and cafe. The bookshop currently features over 10,000 new and gently-used titles. This inventory includes several books that were written and/or illustrated by local authors living on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The adjacent cafe offers fresh coffee from a popular local brewing company, the Eastern Shore Coastal Roasters. The cafe also offers an assortment of baked goods and smoothies, as well as a "dog corner" for book-loving pets.

About, Peach Street Books. Accessed March 27th 2022. https://peachstreetbooks.com/about.

Duffy, Jim. The English Cottage Gas Station that Has a Story to Tell in Cape Charles, Secrets of the Eastern Shore. December 5th 2014. Accessed March 27th 2022. https://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/wondrous-2-cape-charles-gas-station/.

Chesson, Hillary T. . Turning the page on retirement with new Cape Charles bookstore, April 3rd 2017. Accessed March 27th 2022. https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/virginia/2017/04/03/turning-page-retirement-new-cape-charles-bookstore/99977714/.