Just south of downtown off Interstate 10 is a hidden vestige of San Antonio history, now renovated and given a completely new life. If you’re driving northbound on the highway, look closely off to your right, and you might even be able to spot it.
Situated where South Laredo Street meets the interstate is a mysterious white building with blue tiles that looks like it was transported from another time. In a previous life, it was a Humble Oil Service Station, an outpost of the gas company founded in Humble, Texas, in 1911, according to the Texas Highway Man. The station at 1019 S. Laredo St. in San Antonio is considered the last of its kind intact, but part of another can be found in San Antonio at Southtown’s Bliss restaurant.
Bliss, a popular Southtown restaurant, is home to another Humble Oil Service Station if you know what to look for. (Courtesy of Google Maps)
SteinReal Family Limited Partnership – headed by local real estate developer Dennis Stein – owns both the 1019 S. Laredo property and the Lucy’s Doggy Day Care and Spa next door at 937 S. Laredo, according to Bexar County records. The Humble Oil Service Station itself is valued at $242,710, per county records.
Once upon a time, there were countless of these across the state, but the lifetime of the Laredo Street building in particular is a little hard to pin down – a 2012 MySA article pins it to the 1930s, although sources differ. County records say it was built in 1950, though the Texas Highway Man says the San Antonio Conservation Society notes it first appeared in the city directory in 1927.
How San Antonio’s Humble Oil Service Station went from boom to bust
Humble Oil enjoyed a heyday during the mid-20th century as the largest domestic producer of crude oil during World War II, the Texas State Historical Association notes. Additionally, the Humble brand was sold solely in Texas during the ’40s, and sales boomed from 7 million gallons of refined products in 1917 to 540 million by the end of the decade.
So, what happened to San Antonio’s mysterious old gas station? In 1973, Humble Oil was absorbed into Exxon Company, U.S.A. – and the Texas Highway Man reports that the building was likely abandoned by 1977. It would later fall into a state of disrepair, as Google Maps images dating back as early as 2007 show it yellowed and crumbling.
This Google Maps image from 2007 shows the Laredo Street gas station looking worse for wear. (Courtesy of Google Maps)
Mysteriously crumbling building in San Antonio sees new life as doggy daycare
An unexpected turn came in 2012 when Stein’s business partner, Max Golman, opened a second location of Lucy’s Doggy Daycare and Spa next door. Google Maps images show the old Humble Oil station suddenly looking polished and restored, and it seems to be in OK shape today, though there are some signs of wear and tear.
Meanwhile, the doggy day care is active, and if you drive past, you can see countless pups playing in an enclosed park between Lucy’s and the Humble Oil building. MySA reached out to Lucy’s for more information, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
This article originally published at Once-forgotten San Antonio building trades oil lore for four-legged fun.