Thesis (M.C.E.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Sue McNeil, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 234 p. : ill., map Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 226-233).

This thesis contains the results from researching historic gas stations along U.S. 40 in Indiana and from exploring the effects of the automobile and oil industries on the evolution of this building type. It reaches conclusions about how the stations in the study area differ from national design trends and from the prototypes created by major oil companies.Of the major gas station design types, only residential and oblong box stations were found in the study area. Since the other design types were common across the country, it is reasonable to assume that such structures also appeared in Indiana and have subsequently been demolished. Although not all types and styles were found in the study area, those that were found were comparable in form and design to other stations throughout the country.Ultimately, this thesis is a case study of gas stations in Indiana. It can be used to evaluate stations throughout the state and provides a framework for further research on gas stations along other Indiana highways. / Department of Architecture

This thesis argues that early nineteenth-century domestic architecture along Indiana's eastern National Road (Wayne, Henry and Hancock Counties) was a product of the available local materials, not a product of cultural influences traveling along the Road. While the first chapter drives in this point, the second and third chapters describe the local materials (builders and carpenters, wood, saw-mills, clay, brickmaking and limestone), and explain construction techniques in a series of case study buildings. The thesis concludes by not only confirming the proposition, but also by making a few conclusions regarding early nineteenth-century construction methods. / Department of Architecture

Since its inception as part of the National Road in the mid-1800s, the Illinois section of U.S. 40 has undergone changes in both alignment and surfacing materials. Improvements in the road surface progressed from dirt to macadam and from brick to concrete as public usage and demand dictated. Hard-surfacing of the road in the late 1910s and early 1920s precipitated an increase in automobile traffic, replacing the horses, wagons and carriages which crowded the route when it was known as the National Road. Improvements in the internal combustion engine combined with assembly line production provided cheaper and faster automobiles. Increasing numbers of automobiles lead to congestion in areas where the road passed through town centers, and their acceleration in speed generated an increase in accidents at sharp curves and turns. These problems were often rectified with newly constructed by-passes and realignments. As the road and the automobile evolved, so evolved the built environment which lined the road. As the automobile became more affordable, an increasing number of middle-income families took to the road and these families needed food, gas and shelter for the night. Enterprising land owners along the route began to provide these amenities, while providing an increased income for their own families. These small businesses were generally housed in vernacular buildings, often built by the owners themselves. By-passes, realignments, and later the advent of the franchise, often meant the dramatic reduction of these family businesses and abandonment of the their unique buildings and structures.This study attempts to answer the following three questions. First, what was the original alignment of U.S. 40 through Illinois? Second, to what degree is the original road configuration still in existence today? Third, how much of the automobile-related built environment of the earliest route presently remains? Results reveal that significant sections of the historic road surface combined with numerous and varied vernacular motels and gas stations provide a visual experience of the automobile era during the fifty year period between 1920-1970. / Department of Architecture