Emporia Travel Gas Station (Closed)
Emporia, VA
Photo courtesy Tait Hilliard

If you're traveling old U.S. 301 through Emporia, it's hard not to notice the Emporia Travel Gas Station station sitting beside the Dixie Motel. The two made a perfect roadside pair, welcoming generations of travelers long before Interstate 95 pulled most of the traffic away. 08-08

The station has long since closed, but it still looks right at home beside the old motel. It's easy to picture families pulling off the highway for a tank of gas, a night's rest, and then heading back on the road first thing the next morning.

Roadside combinations like this used to be everywhere along America's highways. Today they're getting harder to find, which makes stops like the Emporia Travel and the Dixie Motel well worth a closer look if you're following the old roads instead of the interstate.

Pure Gas (Closed)
Dinwiddie, VA
Photo courtesy Tait Hilliard

This sign was all that is left of the Pure gas station in Dinwiddie, VA. Check out the old Pure logo on this lonely roadside sign still standing tall. Many thanks to Tait Hilliard for info. 08-08

The old Pure logo is what makes this one so special. Even without the pumps or the building, it instantly takes you back to the days when stations like this lined America's highways and every oil company had its own distinctive look.

UPDATE: The station is long gone, and recent records have not confirmed whether the old Pure sign still survives. Like so many roadside landmarks, its fate remains uncertain. 08-26

Sinclair Oil
Talladega County, AL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

It's not every day you come across an old Sinclair Oil station that's still wearing its original sign. This one, tucked away along U.S. Highway 280 in Talladega County, has long since been converted into a private home, but the familiar green Sinclair lettering is still there to remind travelers of its past. 01-09

Built with a distinctive stone exterior, the station once doubled as a general store and even included living quarters upstairs. For years it served both local residents and motorists traveling the old "Florida Short Route."

UPDATE: The building remains a private residence, and the vintage Sinclair sign continues to make this one of the more unusual roadside survivors in rural Alabama. 08-26

Gas Station
Anniston, AL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

This old Gas Station in Anniston proves that you don't need the pumps or the signs for a building to stand out. The sleek Art Deco styling has survived the years remarkably well, making it easy to imagine what it looked like when cars lined up out front. 04-09

Although its original brand has been lost to time, the station still has all the clean lines and streamlined look that made these modern service stations so appealing decades ago. Buildings like this were designed to catch a motorist's eye, and this one still does.

The pumps may be gone, but it's nice to see the station itself still standing. As more old filling stations disappear each year, survivors like this become even more special.

Dixie Gas (Gone)
Alma, GA
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The old Dixie Gas sign is what first catches your eye at this station in Alma. It was one of those familiar roadside marquees that could be spotted all over the South, and seeing one still standing was becoming a rare sight even when this photo was taken. 11-10

By then, the station looked like it had changed very little over the years, making it an interesting reminder of the days when independent gas brands competed with the big national chains. It was the kind of neighborhood station that served local traffic long before modern convenience stores took over.

UPDATE: The station may have since been remodeled, and the familiar Dixie branding has disappeared. 08-26