2008 is the 50th anniversary of the R. W. Lindholm Service Station in Cloquet, Minnesota. To mark the milestone, the station will be refurbished and a number of events are planned.
An exhibition of drawings, plans and photos will run at the Carlton County Historical Society June 12 - Sept. 11; A symposium featuring an architect who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright on the design will be held August 7 and on that date there will be a community celebration at the station.
The station was designed for Cloquet after the Lindholm family (related to the McKinneys) first commissioned Wright to design a home for them in 1952.The stationâs design was based on Wrightâs futuristic Broadacre City plan of 1934, which sought to create a new decentralized urban landscape. The station, however, was the only one ever constructed.
From its inception in 1958, the stationâs gasoline came from Phillips 66. That changed last summer when Phillips 66 decided to pull its brand out of Minnesota altogether. The looming Phillips 66 sign was removed and it now operates as a Spur station.
The McKinneys lease the site to Terry Chartier, who has operated an automotive service station called Best Service at the site for more than 25 years.
âItâs been a thrill,â Chartier said of working in the famous building. âIâm in everybodyâs vacation photos.â