Serving Beverly Hills residents since the 1960s, the Union 76 gas station on North Crescent Drive might be on the verge of historic designation for its iconic curved canopy.

Councilman John Mirisch, who asked the City Council to consider historic designation for the property, called the gas station “an absolute treasure and a masterpiece” at the council’s study session last week.

The Union 76 gas station is located on North Crescent Drive, near Beverly Hills City Hall and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. (photo by Andy Kitchen)

“This building is one of the reasons why we have a historic preservation ordinance,” Mirisch said. “It’s why we have a registry of local landmarks.”

The gas station’s architect, Gin Wong, designer of several notable Southern California landmarks, died earlier this month at age 94. He was a Beverly Hills resident.

“It makes it all the more important for us to take this iconic structure, and to protect it for future generations,” Mirisch said.

The property has been a gas station since 1924. Its current design, completed in 1965, found a home in Beverly Hills after it was originally designed to be part of LAX. It is one of the most prominent examples of Googie architecture, popular in Southern California in the mid-20th century for its futuristic and space-age themes.

The unique design attracted so many drivers that gasoline sales increased 50 percent, from 100,000 to 150,000 gallons, according to a city landmark assessment and evaluation report.

Wong was a member of the board of trustees at USC since 1983.

“He was also an exemplary Trojan who was always looking forward to his next endeavor, his next challenge,” said Max Nikias, USC president, in a university news release. “As a trustee, he was deeply dedicated to advancing the university’s academic mission. He will be sorely missed.”

The city of Beverly Hills has a four-step process for landmark designation. First, City Council or the Cultural Heritage Commission considers the property’s eligibility for landmark designation. Then the director of community development completes a preliminary evaluation and schedules a public hearing, followed by the Cultural Heritage Commission nominating the property for consideration by the council. The council would then vote on whether to designate the property and place it on the Beverly Hills Register of Historic Properties, according to a city staff report.

The gas station, located near City Hall and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, was considered for designation in 2013. But the property was never formally considered by the council due to a lack of support by the property’s owners at the time.

Robert Switzer, of the nonprofit Beverly Hills Heritage, said the organization supports proceeding with designation.

Victor Omelczenko, a board member of the nonprofit West Hollywood Preservation Alliance, called the gas station “a remarkable example of futuristic design from the 1960s.” He sometimes rides his bicycle in the area.

“When I’m approaching the Burton Way bike lanes, I can’t help but marvel at the station’s curved, red spaceship-like canopy,” he said. “That building is so distinctive and otherworldly, it deserves historic landmark status.”