Curve Station, Almena, Kansas

The Curve Station is located at the intersection of Highway K-383 and Bryant Road immediately east of the community of Almena, in Norton County. In 1994, this building was documented for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Originally built in 1937, the Curve Station was modeled after the Conoco Service Station in Norton, Kansas which had been designed by corporate architects of the Conoco Corporation. Curve Station started it’s life as a Skelly Oil Company distributor built by Melvin Cummings. Cummings was an entrepreneur that felt inspired to build his tudor-style cottage station after admiring the Conoco Station in neighboring Norton for years. He was finally spurred into action by a vacation to Colorado where he came upon a service station located along a curve of a highway near a small community. From interviews with the local patrons, Cummings became convinced that the ideal service station location required a setting long a curve in a highway and near a community, and he had the perfect place already in mind.

In 1937, Cummings opened his service station for business, operating as the Home Oil Company. While Cummings never worked at the station himself, he hired various managers and cultivated a community feel, acting as a social gathering point for locals. The Curve Station would continue to be a social gathering place for locals until 1984.

Construction

Curve Station was built by Chet Short, not an architect, but a farmer-carpenter that Cummings knew by his reputation for doing high quality carpentry work in the area. While he differed from the Conoco station by using wood framing rather than concrete and brick, he was meticulous in his craftsmanship down to the detailing of the eaves. Clarence Cate, a local plumbing and heating business owner, is remembered as installing the plumbing and electrical systems in the building.

Exterior Photos

Interior Photos

The Original Conoco Inspiration

Modern Reconstruction, Plan, and Elevations

You might notice that this plan features some things that don’t exist on the structure documented in 1994. I believe this was the original structure of the building based on the covered window and door. The second restroom was accessible only from the outside.

Where is Curve Station Now?

Unfortunately, I haven’t discovered the fate of the Curve Station. It was available for relocation in 1995, but was slated for demolition if no one wanted to take on the building.

Resources

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Kansas Department Of Transportation, Melvin Cummings, Chet Short, Bob Pratt, Clarence Cate, and Sheryll L White, Kintner, Earl, photographer. Curve Station, Intersection of Highway K-383 & Bryant Road, Almena, Norton County, KS. Kansas Almena Norton County, 1933. translateds by Wegman-French, Lysamitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/ks0164/.

Vintage Conoco Station. Kansas Travel http://www.kansastravel.org/nortonconoco.htm