In Calhoun, Georgia, originally, the main street, Wall Street was the throughway. This became Highway 41, the Old Dixie Highway from Chattanooga to Atlanta in the early 1900s (Liebs 18). Calhoun, with its hotels and theaters, became an important overnight stop for passengers. Then, in 1977, Interstate 75 was finished, and the businesses and traffic migrated to the exits near the interstate (Liebs 34). In the last ten years, preservation and restoration efforts have re-focused attention on Wall Street, bringing this architecture of the roadside in Calhoun full circle.
In the first picture, this 1920s gas station evokes the domestic imagery that Liebs discusses. The blue, arched roof of the English Cottage style, with its white paint and double chimneys, is a representation of "the home" which held "deep-rooted symbolic value" for drivers and consumers (Liebs 101, 44); the garden plot in front is another vestige of the home image. This contrasts with the Regions Bank building to the left, with its reflective glass and square, modern architecture. The drive-up gas pumps under the 'carport' area would have been only steps from the Dixie Highway, and the two service bays to the right show that this was a busy service station. Now, the business which has adapted this location is Calhoun Auto Sales, and on the day this picture is taken, the employees are washing used cars.
The second picture shows a similar era gas station further north on Highway 41 which is in a less affluent neighborhood currently being reclaimed by Latino/a immigrants. This gas station has not been adapted or retooled. The basic elements of the first gas station are present--the drive-up gas pump area under the 'carport, the evocation of home with the pitched roof and red brick, and the chimney. However, this stretch of the 1920s-1970s strip in Calhoun does not receive much traffic as I-75 more quickly parallels 41. In the rearview mirror (lower right-hand corner of the picture), the Highway 41 strip stretches back toward the center of town.
In the first picture, this 1920s gas station evokes the domestic imagery that Liebs discusses. The blue, arched roof of the English Cottage style, with its white paint and double chimneys, is a representation of "the home" which held "deep-rooted symbolic value" for drivers and consumers (Liebs 101, 44); the garden plot in front is another vestige of the home image. This contrasts with the Regions Bank building to the left, with its reflective glass and square, modern architecture. The drive-up gas pumps under the 'carport' area would have been only steps from the Dixie Highway, and the two service bays to the right show that this was a busy service station. Now, the business which has adapted this location is Calhoun Auto Sales, and on the day this picture is taken, the employees are washing used cars.
The second picture shows a similar era gas station further north on Highway 41 which is in a less affluent neighborhood currently being reclaimed by Latino/a immigrants. This gas station has not been adapted or retooled. The basic elements of the first gas station are present--the drive-up gas pump area under the 'carport, the evocation of home with the pitched roof and red brick, and the chimney. However, this stretch of the 1920s-1970s strip in Calhoun does not receive much traffic as I-75 more quickly parallels 41. In the rearview mirror (lower right-hand corner of the picture), the Highway 41 strip stretches back toward the center of town.
In the third picture, the restoration of the downtown is seen in the work being done to sidewalks and storefronts. This goes hand-in-hand with the renovation of an important building, the Gem Theater, following the trend begun in the 1960s with the National Historic Preservation Act (Liebs 68). The sidewalks on the other side of town have already been restored. The storefronts with their awnings (another refurbishment technique described by Davis), foliage, and banners throughout town proclaiming Calhoun a "Main Street City" (see smaller picture) attest to the return of the car and the consumer to this downtown area. 
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