What Would You Do With This Place?

[JC23]

Quick back story. On VaCa, used a back road instead of the interstate and saw this garage shop. Damn near locked up the brakes on the rental car. It's on a corner lot on a busy road.

As you can see, it needs some work. That shot of the ceiling beams is from the office. Check out the lift in the middle bay. I think it's just like BB767 has in his 1930's shop.

I was all but drooling while shooting these pics. I was thinking about how cool it would be to just pick this place up and put it down behind my house; then have at it.

If this was on your ideal piece of property, what would you do with it?

Let the madness begin!

 

[regguy1]

Ex Gas Station, looks like old tank still in ground...may have been abandoned for a reason.

Why don't you consider this place, it has a 3 bedroom brick home and this shop with lifts and fenced storage area behind building. 15 miles west of Cleveland. PM for info

 

[crewchief888]

i think i'd put a roof on it, i'd hate for my tools to get wet.




i'd be a cool project to say the least.

i'd have to finish it, cuz i'd be living in it after the old lady tossed myass out

 

[Stephenw]

Where are you on vacation at?

I know a shop that looks identical to that. It's in Lehi, Utah.

 

[Stuart in MN]

The side wall looks like it's leaning out quite a bit...there may not be much to save there.

 

[Kevin54]

I can't think of the fellow member on here , but there was a thread a while back where someone was looking for pics of a hoist very similar to that to build a replica model of. An I-Beam hoist or something along those lines. Looks to be a little bit older than BB767's lift. Cool looking pics though. Would be a little bit of work to fix it up. How deep would you say it was? In the one pic it doesn't look to be a very deep shop

 

[Justanoldguy]

That structure would be easy to duplicate in your back yard.
But would it then have the same charisma as the original?

 

[ZRX61]

If this was on your ideal piece of property, what would you do with it?

Demolish it & start over, it's nowhere near big enough....

 

[nmanitou]

It's a "do-over". Nothing to save there, but very possible to duplicate with new materials. It's much easier to make something new look old, than the other way around!

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

I agree it is a start over. Thomas has a lot more to start with and a connection to the original business. With careful painting the patina could be duplicated.

I would be worried about EPA when looking at an old gas station. Even if you get a clean “bill of health” today, they can come back tomorrow and nail you to the wall.

 

[JC23]

Stephanw - It was in SE Georgia, just off of I-95 and slightly north of the FL border.

Kevin - Good eye! It wasn't very deep. I was guessing not much more than a car length. I would think you'd be hard pressed to drive a big azz Lincoln in there.

ZRX61 & nmanitou - Guys! Where's your imagination? This is like fantasy football! Dream on!!!

I'd use it for the front and build a big shop behind it with a side door. Make the old place the clean side with just one walk thru door into the bigger part.

And did you notice it already has new windows!!!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I can't think of the fellow member on here , but there was a thread a while back where someone was looking for pics of a hoist very similar to that to build a replica model of. An I-Beam hoist or something along those lines. Looks to be a little bit older than BB767's lift. Cool looking pics though. Would be a little bit of work to fix it up. How deep would you say it was? In the one pic it doesn't look to be a very deep shop

I know where the top of a hoist like that one sits this very minute.


As for me, I'd roof the place,after the tanks were out. Block up the right door for more work shop area and 2 new doors on the other.

 

[7echo]

Put in the garage glass doors, a kitchen, and sell burgers, subs, and pizza. When the weather is nice, open the bay doors. Joes Garage and Grill.

On US 1?

 

[sberry]

What would I do,, hmmmm V

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Bulldoze it and start over with a red iron building.

 

[dansmurf]

I would love to find something like that close to my house. As long as the price is right. I would give up a bit of shop space to have the coolness of having an old gas station. But as I am finding out there would have to be allot of research. EPA, taxes, insurance, etc...

 

[eborcim]

I think you did the best thing for this place...take some pics to share. There are loads of those old places around here where the interstate(s) bypassed the little town and the small businesses shuttered.

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Thats neat, thanks for sharing it with us JC

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think you did the best thing for this place...take some pics to share. There are loads of those old places around here where the interstate(s) bypassed the little town and the small businesses shuttered.

Very true, how many times do all us look at a bldg as we drive by and never take a picture of it to share.

 

[markviii]

Tom and I would have done a double-take on passing this place and probably stopped to look around (measured, dreaming of the work that went on there back in the day). But, it's not a keeper, as far as I can see. It's on a busy road and it appears to be just a basic "box" with few unique characteristics to redeem it. rlwhitetr3b and dansmurf gave good advice. There really doesn't look like anything of value to save.

Personally, I thought my hubby (BB767) was crazy in the beginning to think of saving the 1930s shop. I came around to embracing the vision because of Tom's personal connection to the property/family and I got sucked in to vortex of cool "stuff" and the history and knowing we now had a space of the eventual retirement home. Without those things, I don't know if I could have gotten on board for the ride as easily.

I don't see those things in this particular property you found, JC23, though it does help to solidify a vision for you. Measure it and think "bigger". It doesn't look big enough, especially depth-wise. You'd get frustrated having to have a car hanging out the door so you had room to walk around it when trying to do any work. Old, underground tanks scare me. If this place has been on the market a long time, there's a reason and it's probably related to some EPA issues.

Chris

 

[JC23]

Thanks, Chris. I couldn't help but think of you guys when I saw that lift.

Yeah, it would be too small for a real shop. But I still can't stop playing 'What If' in my head. Most of all, it's a shame the place got to this point and will likely never see any action. But those of us here at GJ have folks like you to thank for showing us not only what can be done but how to do it.

I would also thank Roger 55 for taking a design such as what I found and making it work. His build is burned into my brain right next to my car DNA.

BTW, I don't really know if this place is for sale or not. I did shoot around the 'No Trespassing' signs to bring this to GJ for all to enjoy.

 

[Thumper]

Shitttt............A few 2x4's......some 3/4 plywood.....a bucket of paint.......Dream Shop!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lippyp]

I'd repair it and then knock the back wall out and build bigger behind so you enter via the old gas station.

For my ideal garage I'd love an old WWII vintage aircraft hangar, where we are looking at houses there are loads of old abandoned WWII era airfields around so its not that daft of an idea. Heres a few google earth pictures of three that are within a few miles of a a number of houses we've looked at. All three are WWII era RAF airfields, I think the middle one still has a gliding club use part of it but the other two are not in use.

 

[JC23]

That's pretty cool, Lippy. I had no idea there were that many left. An old hangar would be a neat shop. Kinda like the old firehouse I saw and lusted after. Live upstairs, work on the floor and get to slide down the brass pole.

You going to do just that? You'd have your own drap strip!

 

[ZRX61]

I'd repair it and then knock the back wall out and build bigger behind so you enter via the old gas station.

For my ideal garage I'd love an old WWII vintage aircraft hangar, where we are looking at houses there are loads of old abandoned WWII era airfields around so its not that daft of an idea. Heres a few google earth pictures of three that are within a few miles of a a number of houses we've looked at. All three are WWII era RAF airfields, I think the middle one still has a gliding club use part of it but the other two are not in use.

How about the old Control Tower at Tangmere?

 

[bazzateer]

The shape of that middle one looks familiar, much like an old airfield in Northants where a few guys race cars occasionally.

 

[drmoonshine]

I would restore it and rent it out seeing as I probably live no where close to it.

 

[Lippyp]

The shape of that middle one looks familiar, much like an old airfield in Northants where a few guys race cars occasionally.

They're all in Shropshire, the triangular one is Rednall, the third one is Tilstock, can't remember the name of the middle one, theres loads more too. Because of where they were they were all training bases pretty much as they were nowhere near any targets being past Manchester/Liverpool?birmingham with sod all industry and nowt the other side of them apart from a few welsh people. Rednall was also where some of the D-Day casualties were flown back to from Normandy. I think it is still licensed as an emergency landing strip, they have run the odd drag race on it and the control tower and buildings are used for paintball and airsof wars.Theres still some active airbases too with RAF Shawbury which is the RAF and Armies main helicopter training base and RAF Cosford not that far. Theres a lot of odd surplus stuff pops up in hosues around there too, one we went to look at had a garden fence made out of what I'm pretty sure was the steel mesh they used to reinforce grass airstrips and one had a WWII era nissen hut in the garden.