Gas Station Adapted for Different Use

Team: Snap Happy

Team Member: Jen

Location: Sutter Street, Folsom, CA

Photo credit: Roy Vogel

Giuseppe Murer was born in Crespano del Grappa, a small town about 40 miles outside of Venice, Italy, on November 15, 1885. At age 12, he was apprenticed to Signor Giuseppe Melchiore as an apprentice in his carpentry and cabinet-maker’s studio. In this studio, Murer mastered cabinet making and finish work.

At the age of 21, Murer immigrated to the United States, arriving at Ellis Island, New York on October 6, 1906 and traveling on to San Francisco to look for work helping to rebuild the city after the 1906 earthquake. Unable to find work, he moved on to Shasta County and eventually arrived in Folsom around 1910. He became a U.S. citizen on September 10, 1910.

Murer worked at various jobs, applying his carpentry and cabinet-making skills. He built the back-bar in the Folsom Hotel which survives to this day. “Joe,” as he became known, eventually bought the Folsom Hotel and went on to design, build and operate other buildings and businesses on Sutter Street including a gas station and garage built with an Italian influenced design flare, the Folsom firehouse (which survives on the north side of the 700 block), and the old Folsom post office at 627 Sutter Street.

This photo shows a detail of the area where the pumps originally stood. In the vintage photo above of the de-commissioned gas station as an Antique store, the pedestal was still in place. 

Workin' at the Car Wash... Yeah!

team: Young
member: Chris
location: San Jose, CA
item: gas station adapted for different use

Here's Chris waiting for his car to get steam cleaned and detailed... did you read about the stupid truck driver who didn't cap his load of recycled cooking oil/grease in Campbell?  Created quiet the mess on Campbell Avenue one morning - super smelly too!  So what's a guy to do when he's got a brand new ride but get it cleaned up, on that truckers dime!

This is our favorite place to take our cars for that special treatment! It's right on the corner of Coleman and West Taylor.  You gotta get there early on the weekend!  Lots of busy workers!

Gas station turned tow shop

Team Fresno
Team member - Chris
Location - Sanger, ca

We were driving from Minkler over to Kingsburg and had to take a little cruise thru Sanger...on our way Chris was showing me where their 2nd tow company and storage yard was located and where he worked when it was still theirs. As we drove by we realized it was a former gas station. The service bays are now used to store impounded vehicles that cannot stay outside. The cashiers office was where Chris' office was at.

It is still a tow company with the same name, just not run by Chris' family anymore.