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February 23, 2007
The Poshest Gas Station in Los Angeles
What had once been a decaying, dingy, low-rent gas station and more recently a white-tented behemoth was today unsheathed to reveal a slick, brand new, stunningly designed… gas station. But not just any gas station. With its slick metallic surfaces and geometric angles, this is the gas station of the future. A Frank Gehry-inspired silver ogre dominating the corner of Olympic & Robertson.
A little better? Hell yeah.
A lot better? Not really.
All that effort, all that time, all that money and all to glorify our continuing dependence on fossil fuels.
And now, an ode to pointless beauty...
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It's organic gas, man.
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That looks like a BP logo - the station even uses similar fonts and colours in their presentation.
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I think it is a redesigned BP... too bad it doesn't say.
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Looks like something out of the flintstones
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i drive by this on my way to work every day and i have watched it grow...quite a site
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Why? It's still over prices gas.
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that is infuriating.
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It's not posh, it's grey and imposing and ugly. The construct doesn't suggest anything to do with green or environmentally friendly, it looks like a black grey smoke, the type that exhaust-spewing old cars spew out of their tailpipe.
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BH on the above street sign...means Beverly Hills...oh and they are too snobbish to have a NORMAL gas station in their back yard...
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Its the BP logo i know that!!!!
Looks like a polygon mesh from a 3d application.
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I take it the picket fence is a temp thing?
I hope the attendants are dressed like the Tin man
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I drive by this place to and from work everyday. to be honest, I was rather dissapointed when I found out it was a gas station. What with all of the enviromentaly friendly messages and whatnot. OH THE IRONY!
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while its pretty cool, its kinda ugly. However, I think they should keep building these gas stations but with better designs.
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It is a BP, the BP logo is called the helios, also the motto "a little better" is the current BP branding, in my country at least.
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For some reason it makes me want to sing the 'Working at the Car Wash' song.
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Goodness, talk about lightning rod!
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This gas station is also invisible to radar, just like the stealth bomber. hehe :-)
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Looks like a furnace.
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Its different, considering everything else in America looks the same different is good.
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What a sad waste of money on possibly one of the ugliest gas stations I've ever seen. If I lived anywhere near that thing I'd be up in arms to the city council to have that eyesore taken down. I'm sure it's had a negative impact on property values.
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yeah im sure no one is going to be buying houses in beverly hills now that they have a freaky looking gas station.
Real Voice, you've been inhaling too many fumes.
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Um... whats the point of that? Is it stealth? heh
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Q merda, nada demais... c dinehrio tudo se faz....
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Hey, let's give them some points for trying.
It's not as if gas stations will go away and the environment will clean itself up if we simply look the other way. They're a reality for the short to medium term, so why not try to make them better and more beautiful?
In the pics it looks better than most gas stations I've ever seen, and certainly doesn't look worse than its neighbors.
Notice too that the pricing sign appears to be a giant digital readout; could be an experiment in up-to-the-minute market pricing. Which would be cool.
Maybe someday your car's nav system will know not only the location of the nearest source of fuel, but also the prices of its competitors, and will guide you to the best deal for the distance.
And maybe someday that fuel will be hydrogen, not gasoline.
BP changed their name to Beyond Petroleum as a step toward the future. Is that so wrong?
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It looks like where TRON would go to fill his Lightbike.
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For you alternative fuel freaks - these people are only going to sell what you buy. In that regard they can only possibly be 1/2 the problem. With the number of SUVs and 12 cylinder Bently's, a hydrogen or electric station would basically sit idle 99% of the time - on a good day. Wouldn't you agree?
The fast food industry changed its menus when people started to move on from the grease burger. They also ditched the transfatty crap. Schools are just now getting soda machines and crap food out of their cafeterias. Being FAT went from a personal right to a disease. Why do suppose all this happened? The people changed. People woke up and their ideas & spending habits changed.
I was in LA for a while and never saw a hybrid. So fellow commenters, take some liability in the equation - it might move things along a bit.
Lastly, the materials of the station are made from either renewable or recycleable materials. The roof has fauna and collects rain water to this end. The dispensers play videos with shorts on how to save energy.
I'm not a PR rep for BP or anything, but I find it ironic that when someone first steps out to do something in the right direction, that all people can do is bitch about them not doing more -in this case, while slamming the gas pedal down to beat the next person to the red light ( La Cienega, Supulveda, Century, Sunset anyone? ). It seems to be the going thing there in your beloved LA.
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Kicking myself for not postering that mofo before the grassy-ass "fence" they had around it came down for the big reveal. I hate them.
Real-ist: Give me a break. BP is known for greenwashing ad campaigns. They're not stepping out to do "something in the right direction," they're trying to keep doing what they've been doing, only with a different hat on.
By the way, I live here in L.A. and I see hybrids everywhere.
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what is this??? BP designers: Have u ever been toEeurope and look at really cool gas stations? I don't think so.
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and where is the BIODIESEL, AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE FUELS??
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Looks pretty cool.. Can anyone get some nite pictures? Maybe we get to see some cool bounce lights.
Imma drive by there and check it out. "Green" huh.. whats up with the wooden fences, and how many trees did they hack down for that?
I will go there for some gas and some S & M action.
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Oh please, it's not so bad. People used to hate googie/mod design too, now-a-days it's landmarked. Generally, some like to complain about everything, mostly the folks who don't live anywhere near LA. I agree with who ever said that something that looks different is a good thing.
And realist is wrong, there are hybrids everywhere in LA, there are about 7 on my block alone (and no, I am not in Bev Hills)
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Uh realist,Duuh,Like there are more hybrids registered in LA than anywhere else! Why I drive one, and there are 6 on my street alone!
The 40,000+ already on the carpool lanes in Cali are just the beginning...
Don't be so bitter about LA not fulfilling all your expectations...
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Holy poop I just farted in my underwear!
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This gas station is supper cool. I drove by it this morning and I was amazed. Finally the ugly old gas stations that used to be there is gone and now a beautiful structure stands in its place. The idiot that said this is the ugliest gas station that they have ever seen must be a crack head who lives in some shitty clone housing development or some thing along the lines of imitation architecture. This building makes me want to buy my gas there and drive by there every day out of my way just so I can see it. I hope to see many more buildings like it in the near future. It is the best gas station I have ever seen in my entire life.
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This damn thing made me wreck my car. I drive past it every day on my way to work, and i was watching the grass grow up the sides, into the billbaords above. Finally one day the unveail the damn thing and i was staring at it trying to figure out what the hell it is, and bam. Thankfully the guy i hit was nice and didnt claim any fradulent damage. But still my rates are going up and all because of funky archeture. Oh well. Viva progress!!
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my uncle mark helped design this hahah it is so weird to see it!
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also not a PR rep for BP - but doesn't it get passers by to contemplate clean/renewable/alternative energy? -- I'm coming off watching "A Crude Awakening" and "Kilowatt Ours" and I'm desperate for SOME change. they're doing a little bit. what if everyone who walked by that day recycled more, or researched a bit more - it's a start, right?
baby steps people, baby steps. oh, and REAL-ist's post wasn't so aweful, of course everyone here is aware, and does their part - but i hated L.A. when i first got here too.
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and can i also say, that the first comment on this article is awesome.