Cornelius ("Bill") and Kathryn Tuomy were siblings from a family with deep roots in the Ann Arbor area. The pair were in the real estate business, and were responsible for the development of the Tuomy Hills area of Ann Arbor. In 1928, when Stadium Boulevards was first constructed, the Tuomys decided that the area where Stadium crossed Washtenaw needed a gas station. They hired Ann Arbor architects Lynn Fry and Paul Kasurin to design this service station, though other sources list the architect as Frank Carson (winner of the 1925 Prix de Rome). The Standard Oil Company leased the station, and exhibited a replica it at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago.