What follows are descriptions of the five most beautiful gas stations I've encountered in my life. Two of them I haven't seen for a few years, so I'm not sure if they're still there, but the other three are definitely still in business, ready for your patronage.
1. Gas Station, Avenida Munoz-Rivera, Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, Puerto Rico
When I lived in Puerto Rico, I would walk nearly every morning from my apartment in Condado to Old San Juan and back, which was several miles each way. On this journey, I would pass by a gas station--I can't remember which brand it was now--located right on the bluffs overlooking the turquoise Caribbean. Behold the view:
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| Pumps with a view: fill up and hit the surf. |
I haven't been to Puerto Rico for a few years, so I'm not sure if the gas station is still there, but I'm sure the view is.
I couldn't find the station on Google Maps, but the link below will give you a general idea of where it was (is?)--somewhere along Avenida Munoz-Rivera (marked "25" on map) between Condado and the Capitol.
It's worth going to Puerto Rico just to fill up there.
Location of World's Most Beautifully Situated Gas Station
2. Estacion Plaza Argentina, Avenida Las Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala
This station packs the double whammy--beautiful in itself and situated in a beautiful place.
Avenida Las Americas is a wide boulevard that cuts between Guatemala City's tony Zones 13 and 14. The busy thoroughfare has three lanes going each way, but the lanes are narrow, which keeps the avenue on a somewhat human scale. The median--which is very wide--is filled with grass, pines, jacaranda trees, and fountains.
About halfway between the traffic cirles (redondeles, in Guatemala) that mark the avenue's north and south ends, sits a Shell station that looks as if it was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen (for all I know, maybe it was). The red pillars supporting the awning over the gas pumps are in the shape of Saarinen's tulip chairs, and the whole complex is vaguely reminiscent of the architect's TWA Terminal at JFK Airport.
While you fill up, you can buy excellent mangoes and watermelons from a woman who runs a fruit stand in front of the station.
Location of Estacion Plaza Argentina
3. Hollow Mountain Gas and Grocery, Hanksville, Utah, USA
Located at the junction of Utah Routes 24 and 95, the convenience store of this gas station is literally inside of a mountain. The novelty of the cave aside, the station is located in a beautiful red rock area of Southern Utah on the route to Lake Powell.
Trails lead up to the top of the mountain--over the store--which afford amazing views of the surrounding countryside.
While the store itself is nothing to write home about, the point here is location, location, location.
| Hollow Mountain Gas and Grocery, Hanksville, Utah. |
4. Texaco Station, Santiago Atitlan, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
We return to Guatemala for our final two entries. I know this seems disproportionate, but for whatever reason, Guatemalans appreciate a scenic gas station. Or maybe it's that zoning laws (or the lack thereof) in the country allow gas stations where other countries don't.
Be that as it may, alas and alack, this station no longer exists. But when I first saw it, more than twenty years ago, it was fantastic: it had one of those old-style metal Texaco signs in front of it (severely rusted), and "it" was actually nothing more than a wooden shack and one gas pump.
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| The sign at the Santiago gas station was similar to this one. |
But the view of the lake! And the fascinating, remote countryside, where Guatemalan women in native dress were doing laundry by the side of the lake. It was another world.
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| View of one of several volcanoes that can be seen from Santiago Atitlan. |
While the gas station is gone, there's a small hotel just down the dirt road from where the station stood. It's called Hotel Posada de Santiago, and there's no better place to stay on Lake Atitlan. Beautiful gardens, little stone bungalows with fireplaces, hammocks. I'm packing my bags as I write this....
| Exterior of bungalow and gardens at Posada Santiago. |
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| Interior of bungalow at Posada Santiago. |
5. Shell Station, Avenida Vista Hermosa, Zona 15, Guatemala City
I know what you're thinking: how could the capital of a third-world country have not just one, but two--TWO--of the most beautiful gas stations in the world? Like I've said, zoning could play a part, but Guatemalans do love a good gas station.
In fact, that's where the rich kids hang out on weekends. They stand around in the parking lots of fancy gas stations and drink. The following video (taken at a different gas station) will give you an idea:
But I digress. The beautiful gas station I'm talking about is pictured below.
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| Wide shot of beautiful Shell station, Guatemala City, looking south down Vista Hermosa Boulevard. |
| Close-up of beautiful Shell station, Guatemala City. |
If these photos don't exactly suggest Shangri-La, it's because you have to be there. Aside from being the cleanest and best-kept gas station I have ever encountered (I would eat off the floor here, no kidding), this establishment is located directly across a small side street from the Guatemala City LDS Temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The temple is beautiful, with its white marble spires and lush landscaping, and the thoroughfare itself--Avenida Vista Hermosa--is also attractive, with thick groves of pines running down its median.
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| Guatemala City LDS Temple |
In addition to refreshment for cars, this gas station offers every kind of human refreshment imaginable, from made-to-order deli sandwiches to nachos. Diner-style booths next to large glass windows are great places for people- and traffic-watching while you eat.
Bon appetit!
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