NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WRKN) — Drive past 725 Lebanon Pike, and you might think it's just another old Nashville brick building, but for a historian, it's anything but. 

"Early gas stations like this are very important to our history," explained Claudette Stager, retired deputy state historic preservation officer with the Tennessee Historical Commission.

It looks more like a house, but the little building on Highway 70 heading into Nashville was once a gas station — and it's not the only one. Pure Oil, a large petroleum company at the time, built these gas stations. Stager knows all about their importance. She retired from a decades-long career with the Tennessee Historical Commission. 

"A lot of people who are interested in this will see the roof or the canopy and say, 'Oh, it's a Pure Oil roof on that."  

The Pure Oil gas stations are known as cottage revival style. The warm brick, sloped roof, smaller size all make the building look like something out of a fairy tale set in the English countryside. Stager said the entire design was intentional. 

"It's a comfortable style. And a very attractive style. And there's houses in various neighborhoods that's similar to this." 

An old map labels 725 Lebanon both a "rest" and "filling" station. Pure Oil's goal was for these gas stations to blend into the community and make customers feel right at home so they stop in and spend money. 

"You could stop, get your gas, maybe go inside, use the restroom if they had. A lot of them had canopies over it, so you would be protected from the wind and the sun and the rain." 

"And then go inside and meet a friendly gas station attendant, who at that time would pump your gas, clean your windows and check your oil." 

Today, the cottage style building on Lebanon Pike has evolved from a gas station to a car dealership. The current owner said that over the years, he's received a lot of interest in his building. 

This this Lebanon Road location isn't the old rest station in our area. There's also a Standard Oil built in Bowling Green in 1921, as well as one in McMinnville - also a Pure Oil - that is exquisitely preserved. All of these are gems of the past that are still around today. 

"We need our history to remember what happened. And whether we want to repeat it or we don't want to repeat it, that's it." 

The Bowling Green and McMinnville service stations are listed on the National Register of Historic places. 

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/why-these-cottage-style-homes-were-once-gas-stations/