Teapot Dome Gas Station

The Teapot Dome Service Station in Zillah, Washington is one example of novelty architecture listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Many such novelties were constructed as roadside attractions as the national highway system in the United States expanded during the 1920s and 1930s. The 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". The station was intended to be 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. 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. It is no longer in operation. In 2007, the town of Zillah purchased the station, and is attempting to raise money to keep it around. The town also moved the teapot to its current location.