The historic Cucamonga Service Station along Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, California, may reopen next year as a museum — perhaps by July, in time for its centennial, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The article details the work the nonprofit Route 66 IECA group has done since taking over the property in January:
When the group moved in January, the gas station was in disrepair. The windows that surround the building were broken; there was a large hole in the roof and the walls, and the electrical wiring needed to be replaced. […]
More than 50 volunteers are helping to bring it back to its glory days.
New custom-made windows have been installed; the wiring and the walls have been replaced and primed. The exterior is entering the final stages and is ready for a three-color paint scheme. The lower half of the building will be blue, with a red stripe in the middle, and topped with yellow, akin to the past. […]
In September, Gonzalez was able to acquire key historical items. Two gas pumps from that era — one from 1914 and another from the 1920s — and a Richfield sign will eventually be placed on the station’s roof.
Inside, the service station display cases will line the walls and be filled with historic artifacts and car memorabilia.
To raise money, the group hosts a monthly breakfast buffet at Sweeten Hall the first Saturday of each month. The next one is Dec. 6.
Many photos of the gas station restoration work may be seen here.
The gas station opened about 1915 and closed during the 1970s. A billboard company used the property for storage until Route 66 IECA came with its offer in 2013 to buy the property. The Rancho Cucamonga City Council gave historic landmark status to Cucamonga Service Station in 2009.