An old gas station along State Route 821 sits forgotten in the small community of Thrall, just south of Ellensburg, Washington. It’s one of those places that’s more memory than town, a stop that history passed by when Interstate 82 came through. I remember many attempts at photographing it. The first few tries weren’t right. The light was wrong, the shadows too deep, the emptiness of the place too silent. But I kept coming back.
It was the fall of 2013. We lived in Ellensburg at the time, and I spent many days driving along State Route 821, a road that cuts through the Yakima River Canyon. The route curves through rock walls and follows the river before opening up again to the dry hills of central Washington near Yakima. Just before entering the canyon, there’s Thrall.
There isn’t much of Thrall remaining. It’s more a point on the map than a place people know. No bustling main street or anything like that. Mostly, it’s just that old gas station and a few old buildings and houses. I don’t know its exact story, but I imagine it was once a stop for travelers long before the interstate bypassed this quiet stretch of road. It’s easy to picture it busy, with drivers pulling in to fuel up for their trip through the canyon, maybe stopping to stretch their legs before pushing on toward Yakima. The railroad runs through here, and Thrall probably sprang up because of that, offering service to trains heading through the canyon. But time has a way of forgetting places like Thrall.
In 1971, when they finished building Interstate 82, most traffic stopped coming through this way. The canyon route wasn’t the most convenient. Travelers had a quicker way to get south, and Thrall was left to the quiet when the traffic stopped, and the trains did not need to stop. The gas station eventually closed its doors, and the town, if it ever had one, faded into obscurity.
I kept returning to photograph the gas station. I’d drive down from Ellensburg, waiting for the right light and shadow. Some days, the sky was too harsh, the building’s angles too stark against the landscape. But one October day, the light hit just right. The clouds were thin, stretched out over the sky, and the shadows from the trees fell softly around the building. It was quiet, that kind of calm you only get when a place has been empty for a long time. I pressed the shutter, knowing this was the shot I’d been waiting for.
Now, when I look at this black-and-white photograph, I see that it isn’t just an image of an abandoned gas station. It’s a picture of how things fade and time moves on, leaving behind places that once mattered. Thrall might not be on many maps these days, but for me, it’s a reminder of all the forgotten places out there, standing in silence, waiting for someone to notice.
Further Reading:
Leaning Pine Trees, Umptanum Road, Ellensburg, Washington
The Corner, Ellensburg, Washington
Barge Hall No. 7, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington
