Calpet Super Station

Place

Calpet Super Station (Demolished)

One of the most exotic, glamorous places to fill up your tank.

Place Details

Address

3237 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90010
Get directions

Architect

Style

Decade

Property Type

Community

For a brief time, the Calpet station just west of Vermont was the most stylish place on the boulevard to fill up your gas tank. 

The station itself was architecturally distinct, with a Moorish-domed cashier's hall and a ladies lounge furnished tastefully with Venetian mirrors, cozy rockers, and settees.

On opening weekend in 1927, customers streamed in to the accompaniment of an orchestra and were greeted by film stars including Buster Keaton and Norma Talmadge.

Calpet Girls greeted customers in Tunisian costume, and male station attendants pumped gas in white shirts, bow ties, and maroon jackets with puttees and breeches.

Texaco soon took over Calpet. An office building now occupies the site.

B' Hend & Kaufmann Archives/L.A. Conservancy | California Petroleum gas station