The former Mobil gas station at Washington and Pacific looked like this on Sunday night.
Meandering through west Albany on the bike Sunday night, I noticed that the removal of underground fuel tanks is complete at the former Mobil gas station at Washington Street and Pacific Boulevard.
This means that the whole property is no longer surrounded by cyclone fencing, which also means that the self-service car wash on the property is accessible once again.
I stopped and wandered around a bit, looking at the empty site.
The Linn County assessor says the station was built in 1986. I can’t remember what was there before, if anything.
The property is valued on the tax rolls as worth $764,720 and assessed at $575,030. The owner paid $11,100 in property taxes in 2025.
County records list the owner as “Truax Oil Co. Wallace,” which has a post office box in Corvallis.
The question is: What will become of this site? If and when I reach the owner, I’ll ask. (hh)
On July 28, the former gas station looked like this.
There was a gas station there before. It was unbranded and cheap. I don’t remember the name of the station. But it is the one we used to fill up our family cars during the gas crisis in 1973. As a 16 year old, it was my job to sit in line for an hour waiting to get gassed up, so I remember it well.
Truax has a corporate office in Corvallis on SW Research Way.
It is my understanding that there was once a tavern located on the site. Possible the Duck Inn.
Gary has a better memory than me.
I’m just not sure if that’s where the Duck Inn was.
Might be effects from the beer served there.
It was well known by all of Albany that 3/4’s of the men (and it was all men except for secretaries) who worked at what began as Hub City Plywood drank at The Duck In Tavern. The police knew, too, and knew what time the shifts changed and workers headed to the many taverns in Albany during that era. And, yes, the area where the service station was is the area where the Duck In was.
Previous writers are correct — there was a station there. I remember my folks getting gas there in the 1940s and ’50s. The long-time owner was a friendly man named Herb Reitz. And the Duck-in Tavern was adjoining the south side of Herb’s station property.
There was another gas station around there that had a convenience store. Their last name was coffee. I think it was a 76 station.
Yes it was “Coffee’s grocery”. As the name implies they sold groceries and also gasoline.
The dealer’s name was Art Coffey. It’s currently McClinton Painting across Washington.
Hello Clem, long, long time. I worked at Hollywood in the Early 80’s and remember delivering to your stations.
The big holes in the ground are a great start for underground parking for a new church…….Pray & fill-up gas & car wash………The Duck-in Church..
Arthur Lorenzo Coffee, Jr. (1934 – 2018) was the owner of Coffee’s Grocery and Gas Station. A 1952 graduate of Albany Union High School, he returned to Albany after serving the country as a Marine. His obituary indicates that he was a hard worker and often held multiple jobs to support his family. He was married to Dannette, who owned a dance studio in downtown Albany. In retirement, according to the obituary, he especially enjoyed his five adult children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was a devoted Beaver fan and always quick with a joke. If you are heading to the golf and event center off of Springhill Drive, look for a small coffee pot on top of a mailbox on the west side of the street. That was the location of the Coffee home.
Trust station was there and the duck in tavern was where the car wash is
Where was Hazel’s Hamburgers?
Nice memories of the long counter small place not far from the Duck Inn/ Gas station. The grocery store was there, but maybe the Duck Inn came later. My father took me there when I was very young.
There was a diner that had a walk up window at the site of the painting company (which was the store and gas station before painting company located there) was it an old dining car? It was something along those lines
But i remember getting 4 onion burgers for $1
The comments on the small, local businesses show how people fondly remember them and the families that owned them. No one will fondly remember 7-11, walmart and other businesses that did not have a commitment to being loyal to the community that supported them. Not all of them survived over the years as values and wants have changed but they are fondly missed as people were attached to the people that lived here. Albany has as disconnect between what drives our economy and community. Nothing is better than starting a hard day with a personal greeting from a local business where you get your coffee. Sometimes they offer you a free donut because they can as the owner and appreciate your loyal business. We wanted our kiddos to have fond memories of the community they were raised in.
There was also an Inn&Out burger place in that area as well. The burgers were rectangular. The name caught on, the rectangular burgers not so much.