The popularity of the automobile spread quite rapidly in the 1920s and 1930s. Naturally, a new building – the service station – had to be created to meet the needs of these vehicles. The gas station quickly became a cultural icon in Canada’s rural and urban landscape. Irving wanted its service stations to have a distinctive architecture. The turret typical of Sam Roy’s gas station designs gives them a cachet that may be unique in Canada.

This original Irving service station, originally from Sackville, New Brunswick, was acquired and restored to its original condition by the Village historique acadien in 2005.

Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving (1899-1992) was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. In 1924, he owned his first service station in Bouctouche and created his own gasoline, which he named Primrose. The following year, he moved to Saint John and in 1931 erected the Golden Ball building, which became his headquarters.

Irving Oil, founded in 1927, sells gasoline in some 100 garages across the Atlantic. By 1936, Irving had become one of Ford’s largest distributors in the Maritimes. That same year, the firm consolidated six bus companies, the S.M.T. System, thus becoming the largest bus network in the Maritimes. Also in 1936, Irving establishes a service station in Sackville, designed by Sam Roy.

From 1935 to 1950, there’s no doubt that Samuel Sam Roy, (Sam King) (1895-1978), was one of the most prominent Acadian architects. Sam Roy was born in Sainte-Marie de Kent and studied architecture in Boston. In 1930, he was hired by Irving to build a service station in Halifax. This may well have been the first to feature the turret emblematic of Irving service stations of the time.

In October 1936, Sam Roy was responsible for the construction of the Sackville service station, located at the corner of Main Street and Allison Avenue. On November 19, the first operators, Paul and Reynold Blakney, took over.

• Typical gas station turret designed by Acadian architect Sam Roy