Below are photos from 2005 of an abandoned Humble Oil gas station that time has obviously forgotten. This relic is located at 1019 S Laredo St. in a wedge of land between Laredo St. and what used to be S Pecos St., which was cut off when the US 81 expressway was built in 1952. Today, it sits in the shadow of the double-decked section of I-10/I-35. Humble Oil, founded in Humble, Texas, eventually became part of Exxon in the mid '60s.

While Bexar County tax records indicate the building was built in 1950, City of San Antonio staffers estimate is was built in the 1930s, and the San Antonio Conservation Society reports that it first appeared in the City Directory in 1927. Reports are that it was abandoned in 1977.

The building is barely visible from the freeway and I actually stumbled upon it while driving around looking for vantage points for roadside pictures of the highway. Despite the obvious age of the building, it seems to have held-up quite well-- they don't build 'em like that anymore!

Reports from around 2010 indicated that the owner would like to see it restored and adapted for re-use as an office or cafe, but the last time I checked, it still appeared abandoned.

In 2009, this building won the first-ever National Trust for Historic Preservation's “This Place Matters” contest.