Filling Station, Drugstore, Grocery Store

Constructed 1942-1943

1951 Sanborn Fire Insurance map with original retail buildings indicated in orange. 5 - Filling station 6 - Drugstore 7 - Grocery store Drawing source: Diagram by author, background plan courtesy of Proquest Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970

From left: filling station, drugstore, breezeway, grocery store ca. 1943 [LJHA]

The first pair of buildings contained the filling station, drugstore, and grocery store, and were concrete slab-ongrade foundations with wood frame construction clad in asbestos shingle. The irregular trapezoidal footprints were designed to work with the radial downtown plan. Although they contained three separate businesses, Dow’s consistent use of cladding materials, wood doors, clerestory windows, and a continuous flat roof united these separate buildings as a harmonious composition. Film taken by Alden B. Dow near the time of construction shows the continuation of the office building’s bold color scheme: white-painted shingles, pink window sashes and doors with dark green frames and trim, and a mixture of dark green and pink at the exposed framing and trim boards of the roof overhangs.

5 | Filling Station (demolished)

Filling station [ABD Archives] Ground markers at former filling station, 2021

Filling station from Center Way [LJHA] Filling station canopy removed and window openings infilled, 2021

A diamond shaped footprint on the northeast side of the drugstore housed the Humble Service Station, eventually renamed Schmidt’s Service Station. An extended roof overhang sheltered the gasoline pumps and was supported by two columns and beams with elegantly tapered ends. In the 1950s, the enclosed volume of the filling station was subsumed into the drugstore retail space, and its extended roof overhang at the former gasoline pumps was demolished. Today, ground markers in the pavement indicate the approximate locations of the pumps.

6 | Drugstore

Drugstore, ca. 1943 [LJHA]

Drugstore Center Way and This Way facades, 1943 [LJHA] The drugstore facade has been altered, but the tree at the intersection of This Way, That Way, and Center Way remains, 2022

2021

Adjoining the service station, the drugstore’s faceted plan responded to the irregular shape of the site created by Dow’s radial downtown design. The store’s flat roof extended beyond the exterior walls considerably to provide shelter from the sun and rain, and the wood framing of these overhangs was left exposed. The drugstore’s most prominent façade faced out to the Center Way intersection and was almost entirely glazed. Six large square windows were arranged to offer an uninterrupted view for each soda fountain booth at the interior. Above, operable clerestory windows with screens could be opened to provide ventilation while the deep roof overhangs above shielded them from direct sunlight. These clerestory windows repeated on the west façade facing This Way, providing ample daylight for the retail space while the solid wall below allowed for fixtures and displays. A single entrance door was located in a notch at the northwest corner, and a set of double doors was nestled under the breezeway near South Parking Place. The doors were wood with large glass vision panels, and each one had an expressive wood screen door with repeating horizontal elements. The screen doors allowed business owners to keep their doors open for ventilation while keeping out insects.

Drugstore window wall at soda fountain, ca. 1944 [LJHA] Infilled window wall and altered roof overhang, 2021

Drugstore and filling station, ca. 1944 [LJHA] Infilled window wall and storefront entrance, 2021

Today, the drugstore building bears very little resemblance to the modern, window-filled original structure. In the 1950s, the drugstore’s large picture windows facing the center of town and clerestory ribbon windows were replaced with primarily solid walls and a small, modern glass storefront entrance. The deep flat roof overhangs were shortened, and the exposed wood framing was enclosed with soffits. A brick base and stucco replaced the original painted asbestos shingle siding. Additional renovations over the years moved the building further from its modern roots. The flat roof overhang was modified again, creating a blocky, protruding awning clad in painted sheet metal. The overhang returns to the face of the building via an angled soffit enclosed with strips of painted wood, completely concealing the top of wall and original ribbon clerestory windows. Several large display windows and a single leaf storefront door have been added at the northwest wall.

Drugstore Center Way and This Way facades, 1964 [LJHA] 2022

Carriage Square, 1950s. From left, Lake Jackson State Bank, Ben Franklin (former grocery store, breezeway, drugstore. [ABD Archives]

From left, Ben Franklin (former grocery store), breezeway, and drugstore, 1950s [ABD Archives] 2021

2022

7 | Grocery Store

Grocery store on This Way [LJHA] 2021

Grocery store entrance on This Way [LJHA] 2021

Lake Jackson’s first grocery store, the Piggly Wiggly, was located just across the breezeway from the drugstore and featured a more regular rectangular plan with an angled facet at the primary façade facing This Way. This façade contained prominent double entry doors framed with large plate glass windows on either side. The clerestory windows utilized at the drugstore were repeated, extending over the doors and along the two adjacent facades. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store eventually became a Ben Franklin variety store and housed numerous businesses throughout the years. The building retains its overall form with deep flat roof overhangs, although their original exposed framing has been enclosed with a painted plywood soffit. A portion of the primary storefront entrance with double doors and large, flanking sidelights remains. The wood trim of the clerestory windows and transom windows above the doors remains, but the glazed areas have been infilled with painted plywood. The façade facing This Way has received several new openings including a set of double doors, a single leaf door, and five display windows. The original painted asbestos shingle cladding has been replaced with stucco, and at South Parking Place, a mural celebrating Lake Jackson’s history covers the entire façade.

Breezeway between drugstore and grocery

Breezeway as seen from This Way [LJHA] 2021

Breezeway as seen from South Parking Place [LJHA]

When first constructed, a continuous flat roof united the three building components and sheltered a breezeway with a generous glazed storefront display area and set of double doors at the drugstore. Today, the roofs of the two buildings are independent of each other and separated by a narrow gap. The canted detail of the drugstore overhang is self-supporting, but the truncated overhang of the grocery store was not designed to cantilever. Added horizontal framing extends from the face of the grocery store building and is supported by closely spaced metal pipe columns down the center of the breezeway. This structural system and the gap above create an awkward division of space between the buildings, further complicated by light poles located close to two of the pipe columns. Solid walls now line the breezeway on both sides instead of the generous glazed storefront that once provided welcoming transparency on the drugstore side.

2022