November 24, 2009

Star of the Ozarkian Road

When road trips were still an intensely human and mechanical experience, service stations were an essential part of the motoring landscape. Stations cultivated an image of confidence, a flair, to attract a road-ready public. The rock stars of modern architecture - Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Norman Foster, Albert Frey, and others - all tried their hand at penning humble gas stations.

[Top 15 Mid-century Modern Stations @ Oobject]



Conscious of my grandfather's career with Esso Oil, I find a quick and visible charm in service station architecture. In examples throughout the Ozarks, one can still see the span of history as styles evolved.


"House" style station on Arkansas 7 in Jasper, bungalow on Missouri 59 in McDonald County

Stations first modeled themselves after cottages and bungalows that mimicked the quaint atmosphere of early suburbia.


Southwestern flavor near downtown Neosho, MO

The petroleum industry has been a titan of commerce for over a century, and corporate branding efforts grew with America's increasing post-war mobility. One pattern was a Southwestern revival, invoking the freewheeling romance of Westward expansion.


Plate glass and sharp angles in Rogers, AR, and Carthage, MO

Eventually, modernism fostered buildings in blunt contrast to their surroundings, rather than cottages in native form. Sharp, steeply-raked angles of glass and steel marked the peak - literally and figuratively - of service station architecture.


Straight edges in Powell, MO, Neosho, MO, and Harrison, AR

Ultimately, cars became less maintenance-intensive and more economical, and gas stations changed their profit focus from the automobile to the consumer. Today stations are little more than miniature grocery stores. Razor-thin margins on fuel sales leave little in the way of extravagances or enthusiastic help. A filthy squeegee well on the side of a trash can, watery pay air compressor, and self-serve fuel pump are all that remain. Modern convenience stores are rarely eye-catching, and contribute little to the attraction or passion of contemporary automotive travel.


Repainted Phillips station in Noel, MO

The shuffle of time has left most of these vintage structures to the elements, so they must be enjoyed while they stand. Some of the more iconic structures, like the Phillips 66 cottages, have been fortunate enough to attract historic preservation. A few structures live on as something even more.



One great example is Laurel Kane's D-X Station on Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma, just a shout from the Western edge of the Ozarks. She revived the classic station and filled it with a trove of Route-66-a-bilia, including a collection of Packards and other timeless American iron. Laurel maintains a blog to put faces to the travelers and assorted, ahem, characters who pass through the station from points all over the world. Worth a read:

[Ramblings of a Route 66 Business Owner]



Like old service stations, Route 66 encapsulates my fascination with car culture, the open road, and uniting sense of American mobility. The Mother Road just glances the Northern edge of Ozarks, an area that has revealed a surprising wealth of unique drives and discoveries on its own. More than I could ever find the time to write about, even. Take that to a macro view, and you have the eight-state epic that is Route 66. Literature, television, and a litany of song covers have fostered an international allure and push to embrace motoring yore. Laurel's enterprising preservation of a piece of Route 66 history could be well applied to the less traveled corners of the Ozarks.

So put a tiger in your tank and check out these classic service stations.

November 12, 2009

Driven: Arkansas 74

The truth hit like an exploding moonshine still. The crown of the Ozarks - and therefore best place in the world by necessary and biased association - may be Newton County, Arkansas.

Wipe up your computer screen and stay with me. This craggy square of forest-capped limestone, home to less than 9,000, is core Ozarkbahn. The county corrals some of the most remote and rough-hewn terrain in the Ozarks, which incubated an amusingly vibrant backwoods culture. The racier chapters of Newtonian history include illicit whiskey production, premier marijuana agronomy, hippie communes, and the only hillbilly theme park in the world. The native earthiness still beckons droves of outdoor fans to trails and rivers. Most importantly, this capsule of the spartan, beautiful, and unique is crisscrossed by a stunning circuit of highways.

[Arkansas 74 on Google Maps]

We already know Arkansas 21 and Arkansas 123. Another great route from the Newton County playlist is Highway 74 from Ponca to Mount Judea.




This 28-mile drive is neatly divided in the middle by the county seat, Jasper. Starting at its Western end, AR 74 leaves Highway 43 and ascends from Boxley Valley into a mile-long hill climb loaded with narrow hairpins. This section alone is entertaining enough to enjoy until your brakes melt, but rest of the jaunt offers plenty of curves and Kodak vistas.



Lost Valley, Steel Creek, the Ponca Wilderness, and the Upper Buffalo River are among the Ozark's most popular destinations for camping, hiking, canoeing, and gratuitous shutterbuggery. Driving enthusiasts be warned: 74 carries a lot of traffic over from Scenic 7 at Jasper, and few drivers have the skill, vehicle, or inclination to traverse the road in anything but a dull plod. Jasper is also a favorite biker stop, so the potential to get slowed up is even worse during hospitable tourist weather. Want one more hazard? There are hundreds of elk in the area, and they're not very automobile-compatible. Dodge the obstacles, and 74 is a blast.



A final set of hairpins bring 74 into Jasper, where the road joins Highway 7 to cross Indian Creek, then twists East out of town. Thanks to lighter traffic, the second half of this drive has a different complexion. While the elevation changes aren't as extreme, the road maintains a steady roster of curves and scenery. Highway 74 eventually combines with Arkansas 123 near Hasty, and tracks four miles South along the bluffs by Big Creek to Mount Judea. While 74 continues East for several miles from there, this is where you part ways to continue South on 123, the best road in Arkansas.



Traffic: can pick up significantly during tourist season
Driving challenge: from rolling scenery to "hope the guardrail stops you"
Purty mouth: remember, the whole route is in Newton County
Ozarkbahn rating: a perennial favorite