The Kan-O-Tex Service Station in

Galena, Kansas Galena is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,761. History Although the railroad was built through the territory of Galena in 1871, the community did not start until the di ...

, is a

souvenir shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...

and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

in the former Little's Service Station building, a Kan-O-Tex

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...

that originally served

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

motorists in 1934.

History

US Route 66 was designated in 1926; by 1929

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

were the first to completely pave their respective segments of this highway. Little's Service Station installed its fuel pumps on the former site of the Banks Hotel (demolished 1933) at 119 North Main Street in Galena; an

automobile repair shop An automobile repair shop (also known regionally as a garage or a workshop) is an establishment where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and technicians. Types Automotive garages and repair shops can be divided into following categor ...

was added later. Before

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

opened in the area in 1961, bypassing

entirely, US Route 66 in Kansas was a vibrant part of the "Mother Road" which led from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

. In 1979, US 66 in Galena was taken off its former Main Street alignment (which came in from

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

as Front Street, turned south on Main Street, then followed the current K-66 route to Riverton) and routed directly onto 7th Street, bypassing the station. US 66 would become Kansas State Route 66 in 1985, but the station sat vacant, closed and largely abandoned until its 2007 restoration.

Restoration

The Kan-O-Tex Service Station bears the branding of the former Kanotex Refining Company (1909-1953), a now-defunct regional fuel brand named for

, Oklahoma and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The Kan-O-Tex logo was a Kansas sunflower behind a five-point star. The station is home to a 1951

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

boom truck on which

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

's animated character Tow Mater was based;

Joe Ranft Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor. He worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation ...

, a Pixar animator, discovered it during a research trip for the movie ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

''. In April 2011, a Disney/Pixar crew returned to interview the station's owners for a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release of Cars 2. As the "Mater" name is a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

, the original truck has been named "Tater." The station was restored in 2007 and renamed 4 Women on the Route. Following an ownership change and the death of one of the founders of 4 Women on the Route, it was renamed again, becoming Cars on the Route, to emphasize its connection with ''Cars.'' Located seven blocks north of the current (7th Street) Kansas Route 66, the station retains the original aesthetic design of the

fuel pump A fuel pump is a component in motor vehicles that transfers liquid from the fuel tank to the carburetor or fuel injector of the internal combustion engine. Carbureted engines often use low pressure mechanical pumps that are mounted outside the f ...

s and exterior

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

but places a diner-style lunch counter in what once would have been the service bay of the station's repair garage. It operates seasonally, closing for the winter and reopening in the spring.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cars on the Route
previously 4 Women on the Route, at kansastravel.org
Cars on the Route Facebook page
Gas stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66 Buildings and structures in Cherokee County, Kansas Retail buildings in Kansas U.S. Route 66 in Kansas