Matt U.
Yelp
For anyone who appreciates history, architecture, scandal and the Venn diagram where all of them overlap, the historic Teapot Dome service station in Zillah, Washington is for you!
Located on the main drag in downtown Zillah, this iconic structure is both hard to miss and a poignant reminder that if you are an elected official and do something dumb, it will probably be memorialized forever... Perhaps in the form of an old gas station!
For those who are unfamiliar with the teapot dome scandal (like I was until about three minutes ago) - here is a link to a Wikipedia article that will give you some background.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal
In a nutshell, the presidency of Warren G. Harding was rocked by some illegal activity where leases to drill for oil were granted inappropriately. One such place was in teapot dome, Wyoming... Hence the name. Wouldn't you know, those rascals in Zillah, Washington were on the ball and constructed this novelty gas station as a reminder of the past and to give your kids something fun to look at when you would stop for gas. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have active pumps anymore, but they do use it as a welcome center for the community.
There's a nice little parking lot out front, some restrooms if you need to stop, and plenty of opportunity for a picture that will remind you of those clever people down in Zillah! Also, I can imagine architects may appreciate all that goes into a place like this. At present, I don't have a good enough appreciation for the complexities of architecture to know whether not this place is a masterpiece or a piece of crap. Either way, it looks like something out of a nursery rhyme and is unique in the service stations that I have ever been privy to.
If you're going through the area, it's worth taking a three minute detour to go see this place!