By the Numbers: Renovated Osterman Gas Station Readies for its Next Act
Nearly 100 years ago, as Route 66 promised a new way to see the United States, a Swedish immigrant family built what is now the John Osterman Shell Gas Station. Located in Peach Springs, Arizona, this service station provided a much-needed place for travelers to fill up as they traveled the Mother Road.
Built quickly from concrete blocks ordered from a Sears & Roebuck catalog, the gas station came to be an important piece of the town’s history and for the Hualapai Tribe. Tribal members reside on the reservation, which is held in trust for them by the United States government. Some residents told Rhys Martin, manager, Preserve Route 66 initiative for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, “When I crested the hill and saw the lights of the Shell station, that meant I was home.” Though others, said Kevin Davidson, planning and economic development director for the Hualapai Tribe, have more painful associations of outsiders coming to the reservation to profit from tourism and dictate what businesses could be built there.
After the site shuttered and fell into disrepair, the Hualapai bought the filling station, with plans to reopen it. Then, in 2021, a microburst tore the roof off the building mid-restoration. Two years later, the site was included in the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, which drew new attention to the building and its potential.
Undeterred, the Hualapai pressed forward. With support from the National Trust’s HOPE (Hands on Preservation Experience) Crew, Benjamin Moore, Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, and other partners, they restored the exterior of the building. In March 2026, the roof on the Osterman was stabilized readying the site for the next phase in its journey, so let’s explore its transformation “by the numbers.”
The Osterman Station: By the Numbers
3,200 Square Feet: The Osterman Gas Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2012, is a one-story concrete block building measuring 3,200 square feet.
2,430 Enrolled Members of the Hualapai Tribe: 1,200 of whom live on the 998,000-acre reservation, most of which reside in Peach Springs, and now have a voice in what happens to the station next. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), in collaboration with the Hualapai, initiated a project to document existing conditions, conduct public outreach, and prepare a conceptual design report for the station.
14-day Public Comment Period: This two-week window invited members of the Hualapai Reservation and Peach Springs community to weigh in on what the historic building could become. Some would like it to be a service station and garage again, as the closest full-service station is 48 miles away.
$168,000 in Preserve Route 66 Grants: The National Trust’s Preserve Route 66 initiative provided funding over two years to support the restoration and protection of Osterman Filling Station.
8,800 Drone Images Captured for Documentation: As part of the documentation support for the filling station the National Trust in partnership with the University of Arizona’s Center for Digital Humanities took 4 different drone flights over the Osterman, using the thousands of images generated to create 3D models of the site. Explore these 3D scans in this storymap.
7 Native American Youth HOPE Crew Members: In April 2025 HOPE Crew in partnership with Arizona Conservation to work alongside seven Native American youth, teaching hands-on restoration to repaint the restored building. HOPE Crew works and trains local youth so that the skills they learn on the project stay in the community.
94 Gallons of Paint, 450 Hours of Work: Benjamin Moore & Co., a supporter of the National Trust’s work along Route 66, donated 94 gallons of paint to give the old gas station a new coat. It took HOPE Crew 450 hours (just under two weeks) to paint the exterior of the Osterman Filling Station.
photo by: Rhys Martin
Exterior view of the renovated Osterman Station.
Join Today to Help Save the Places Where Our History Happened!
Join the National Trust for Historic Preservation and play an active role in the preservation movement—strengthening communities, creating healthier environments, and fostering a more just society.
