Since 1922, this teapot-shaped gas station has been a fixture on a highway near Zillah, WA. Built as a comment on the Teapot Dome scandal , the service station was in operation through the 1980s, but has been boarded up since then.
No longer on “the” main highway, the classic roadside attraction was in danger of fading away. But, luckily, the City of Zillah stepped forward to save the teapot.
Thanks to individual donations, grants and a loan, the teapot was picked up and moved recently to a new site right in town. Repair and restoration is underway, with a ribbon cutting scheduled for mid-May.
Zillah's teapot has a new home
Zillah's teapot is getting a makeover
When the teapot is completed, it will serve as welcome center for visitors stopping in town.
Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday, the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and local items for sale at airports.
This week’s souvenirs come from Washington’s Bellingham International Airport, a tiny airport just south of the Canadian border and 90 miles north of Seattle.
Allegiant, Alaska and Horizon airlines have been adding flights to and from this airport at prices that make it worthwhile for many people to skip larger airports in Vancouver and Seattle.
A terminal expansion is about to get underway to accommodate a passenger count that has skyrocketed from 70,000 passengers a year to more than 400,000 in just six years. In the meantime, though, travelers must make do with limited services.
And that means shopping for souvenirs in the tiny all-purpose lobby snack/gift shop.
There’s not much room for much stock over there in the corner, but I found neck pillows sewn by the shop manager’s sister, plenty of souvenir shot glasses, some mugs with northwest Native American designs and, in the under $10 range, hazelnuts and few other local food items.
I have high hopes for the shopping options I might find when the airport completes its expansion.
During this past weekend’s annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, I visited some of the great glassworkers, jewelers, painters, carvers, potters, weavers and other artists working in Bellingham and Whatcom County and it would be a great treat to see some of this work on display at the airport.
To find out more know about Bellingham, the “City of Subdued Excitement”, check out this popular video, also made by local artists.
