With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today .
The Curious History Of LA's Gas Station Topiary Art
Topiary art outside the Mobil station at Melrose and Highland (Image capture: Apr 2019/Copyright 2019 Google)
()
Outside the Mobil gas station at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Highland Avenue in Hollywood, lush green animals greet customers near the sidewalk.
They're topiaries -- art fashioned from plants -- and they appear at a handful of local gas stations owned by United Pacific, formerly known as United Oil.
The fauna-based flora-critters are eye-catching, so much so that an anonymous reader wrote in to ask LAist, "Who makes the gas station topiary art I see around the city?"
We have harvested you an answer. And it begins, as so much does, with a burst of inspiration in the 1990s.
Support for LAist comes from
At that time, Jeff Appel, the son of United Oil's then-president, was refurbishing one of the company's gas stations in Corona Del Mar. In the course of his comings and goings, he would frequently drive past what he called "a topiary place."
"I said to myself, 'Hey, wouldn't it be great if I could have them do a Pegasus horse?'" he told the Los Angeles Times in 2000.
He convinced his father to let him go through with it (the Pegasus is Mobil's mascot), and a topiary legacy was born.
Appel began adding the art where he could, and his vegetation-based menagerie soon expanded to include rabbits, squirrels, snakes, dinosaurs, tigers and monkeys, according to the Times.
But his vision wasn't limited to plant animals.
Appel also started installing expansive murals at his refurbished stations. He took inspiration from Googie architecture. He installed fanciful solar panels. And he even commissioned some trompe l'oiel paintings, according to the New York Times.
''I discovered I had a knack I never realized I had,'' he told the paper.
Support for LAist comes from
United Oil was purchased by Fortress Investment Group in 2014, and renamed Union Pacific. A representative from the company told LAist that the topiary art still decorating the outskirts of many of their gas stations is left over from ten to 20 years ago, and is now just maintained.
The spirit with which they were installed is being maintained, too, on social media. The art makes occasional appearances on Twitter and Instagram.
We Love To Answer Your Questions
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The study found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, not drugs or alcohol. -
Kevin Lee's Tokyo Noir has become one of the top spots for craft-inspired cocktails. -
A tort claim obtained by LAist via a public records request alleges the Anaheim procurement department lacks basic contracting procedures and oversight. -
Flauta, taquito, tacos dorados? Whatever they’re called, they’re golden, crispy and delicious. -
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress. -
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent.
Best of LAist