A. J. Head Service Station

The Federal Aid Road Act (1916) and the formation of the Texas Highway Department resulted in the creation of Texas Highway 1, or Bankhead Highway. The Bankhead was America's second east-to-west transcontinental highway, which went through several Texas cities, including Garland. Commercial growth and a boom of businesses along the highway boosted Garland's economy for decades. A.J. Head, the original owner of the A.J. Head/Humble Station, opened a filling station in 1947. It housed many businesses to serve Bankhead Highway drivers, including a tire shop, auto repair shop, bail bond office, welding shop and discount retail store. Head sold the business in 1957, coinciding with the decreased importance of the Bankhead Highway. Still at its original location, the station has received few significant changes over the years. Designed by Robert Otis Lagrone, the two-story brick building was built in the Streamline Moderne style, popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The style emphasized smooth surfaces, horizontal lines, and curved corners. The curved brick wall of the building and the original metal canopy illustrated important characteristics of the style. While the canopy at the front of the building was removed, the steel and horizontal lines emphasized the style's industirual aesthetic. Because of its important place on the Bankhead Highway, the A.J. Head Humble Station shows its important role in Garland's essential economic and industrial growth in the 1940s and 1950s. (2018)

A. J. Head Service Station is a historical marker in Garland, Dallas County, dedicated in 2018. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.9125, -96.6351 near Garland. The nearest cataloged historic site is Roach Feed & Seed Company (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Bankhead Highway in Garland, Garland, and Santa Fe Railroad Depot.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507020088. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.