Teapot Dome Service Station

The Teapot Dome Service Station is a former gas station built in the shape of a teapot. It was intended as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal that rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves in, among other places, Teapot Dome, Wyoming. Located at 117 First Avenue, Zillah, Washington, it is an example of novelty architecture and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.HistoryThe Teapot Dome Service Station was built in 1922 on what later became U.S. Route 12. The building has a circular frame with a conical roof, sheet metal "handle", and a concrete "spout". Many such novelties were constructed as roadside attractions as the national highway system in the United States expanded during the 1920s and 1930s. The unique service station continued operation as a full-service gas station for some years. When Interstate 82 was constructed near Zillah the station was relocated less than a mile down the Yakima Valley Highway. No longer in operation, it was purchased by the city in 2007, rehabilitated, and relocated in 2012 to 117 First Avenue.