Here’s a distinctive view of a lighthouses sent by one of our readers. See if you can determine its location. Then send your idea to ebrack2@gmail.com, and include your hometown.
Tim Sullivan of Mulberry came up with the right answer to the last puzzler. “It is the unusually shaped gas station at the Teapot Dome Service Station, located in Zillah, Wash. It’s a quirky piece of novelty architecture built in 1922 as a satirical nod to the infamous Teapot Dome scandal involving President Warren Harding’s administration. ” The photo came from Rick Krause of Lilburn.
Others recognizing the photo included Dick LoPresti, Berkeley Lake; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Matt Willis, Lawrenceville; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Stewart Ogilvie, Rehobeth, Ala.; Dr. Pat Mitchell, Boone, N.C.; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, who said: “The original, 14-foot-wide, Teapot Dome Gas Station was handcrafted in 1922 by Jack Ainsworth, who ran a general store built by his father in 1908. Ainsworth wanted to grow the business by adding a gas station next to the store.
“Ainsworth built the Teapot Dome Gas Station as a bold, tongue-in-cheek reminder of the political and criminal scandal that engulfed the Harding Administration.
“There is, of course, another ‘mystery’ buried within this mystery photo. While difficult to discern in the photo, the Teapot’s deep red handle and spout appear to be made of the same material … but they are not! The handle is made of sheet metal, but the spout is made of concrete. Why concrete? This is because the spout is actually a working stovepipe chimney that is used during colder weather. So, if you ever drive by this roadside attraction, and see what appears to be steam rising out of the teapot’s spout, don’t be misled. They are trying to stay warm, not boil a pot of tea!”
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