Unusual Googie gas station could get historic status if Sacramento council approves
Marbella Sala wasn’t getting ahead of herself.
Sala, president of the Gardenland-Northgate Neighborhood Association, had just watched the Sacramento Preservation Commission vote to recommend that the City Council place an architecturally unique former gas station, constructed at 2240 Northgate Blvd. in the Googie style, on the local historic register.
Sala spoke Wednesday during the meeting in support of preserving the property. Following the 4-0 vote, she said she planned to be at City Council to do the same.
“I’ve seen staff recommendations come before the city council and the city council not approve it,” Sala said. “So I can’t take anything for granted.”
What is Googie style?
At first glance, the former Northgate gas station looks like something out of Palm Springs or an episode of the early 1960s cartoon, “The Jetsons.”
Sharp angles jut out from the roof of the building, which was constructed around 1964 and functioned for a time as an Orbit gas station. The building’s Googie architecture was unusual even for its time, as William Burg, president of Preservation Sacramento explained during Wednesday’s meeting.
“There are a lot of midcentury resources which are very kind of rectangular, kind of plain, simplistic, minimalistic,” Burg said during public comment. “Googie does the opposite of that, saying, ‘Look, here I am. If you need gas, here’s where you can get it.’”
A staff report noted that Sacramento Preservation Director Sean de Courcy determined at a Jan. 15 hearing that the gas station “appears eligible for listing on the Sacramento register.”
After the hearing, de Courcy touted the structure. “It’s probably the most remarkable example of Googie-style architecture in the city,” de Courcy said.
The staff report noted that the property was an Orbit gas station only through about 1969, when developer Jack Ferguson was last involved with it. The report added that the building had been a used car lot in recent decades.
Its preservation could make the building part of a revitalized Northgate Boulevard. Recent nearby projects include Taco Plaza at 2600 Northgate Blvd., a wall to reduce noise for nearby homes on the west side of the street and an effort to calm traffic.
The Googie style of architecture appears to be rare among former gas stations in Sacramento. Burg said during his comment that Preservation Sacramento was aware of just three such gas stations within the county, with one on Greenback Lane.
A former Orbit gas station at 2820 P St. built in the middle of the 20th century later became an auto shop, according to The Bee. Brothers Matt and Fred Haines, known locally for their former restaurant 33rd Street Bistro, opened Suzie Burger in 2008 in the former station. Suzie Burger continues to operate there, serving thin, crispy fries.
Burg expressed hope during his comment for the future of the former Orbit station on Northgate Boulevard.
“We hope that this building can find another life or another use on the boulevard,” Burg said.
Next step for former gas station
When he spoke with The Bee last Thursday, de Courcy said that at least two brothers had an economic interest in 2240 Northgate Blvd., with one writing a supportive letter related to the preservation effort and one writing an opposing letter.
No one spoke against the preservation effort before the vote on Wednesday.
After the preservation commission’s vote, de Courcy said the item will go to the City Council automatically.
“I think we’re at least six weeks out,” de Courcy said.
All four commissioners at the Wednesday meeting spoke positively about the potential preservation of 2240 Northgate Blvd., including vice chair Ian Lee Merker. The historic status would ensure that future development on the site would undergo preservation review, according to the staff report.
“It’s a piece of structure and architecture from its time that just really couldn’t be fabricated or replicated today in the same form,” Merker said from the dais.
He added, “And that piece of history, that time in our history when we reached for the stars – or in this case, just a little bit north of downtown to Northgate – was enough in my mind to say that it’s a significant structure.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
