Shell Service Station

The former Shell station consists of a plain brick building with four bays and a hipped roof at the rear of the lot. The site is now used as parking for a nearby restaurant. While not particularly interesting, the service station was designed by Lama, Proskauer, Prober, a prolific but largely unheralded firm, that designed hundreds of buildings, mainly service stations, but also apartment complexes across the city. The firm was active for a long span of time, from the 1920s until at least the 1980s. As real estate prices have continued to rise and service stations, especially in Manhattan, have been replaced by new development, this firm’s body of work is rapidly shrinking.