The Mahan gas station on Route 66 in Springfield, Illinois was converted from a working Texaco and later Marathon station into a museum by owner Bill Shea and his wife Helen. The museum contained an eclectic mix of vintage gas station memorabilia collected over the past fifty years, including the original gas pumps, wooden phone booths, signs, photographs, and other memorabilia reminiscent of old Route 66 gas stations.
As of February 2000, the former Mahan station was the oldest gas station in Illinois. It was then moved 21 miles to its current location at Fulgenzi's. It has since been fully restored. The museum's guest book contains entries from visitors from across Europe and Asia and has become a destination for international travelers exploring the Mother Road.
Bill Shea and his business were inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame in 1993 because of his commitment to preserving the history of Route 66 and gas station memorabilia, as well as his longstanding quality service to customers. The entire Shea family was inducted in 2002. Bill Shea died in December 2013 and the gas station was sold. The museum contents were auctioned off in 2015. From 2015 the old gas station building was used as Fulgenzi's Pizza & Pasta.
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