Ambler's Texaco Gas Station

You've pulled into Dwight, where old Route 66 crosses Illinois Route 17, and the little white building in front of you looks less like a gas station than a cottage that wandered out to the road. That's on purpose. Look at the roof running straight out over where the pumps stood. That canopy kept the weather off customers, and the whole building was meant to feel like home.

Standard Oil of Ohio developed this house and canopy style in 1916, on the theory that travelers would be more at ease buying goods from something that evoked comfort. Jack Schore built this one in 1933. It went on to dispense fuel for 66 continuous years, until 1999, which made it the longest-running gas station on Route 66. The number matches the highway's, and it still seems like a coincidence.