The Waystation Ticket Desk

Waystation

From Shell Station to Visitor’s Center

This George Street service station was built in the early 1930s with an attached double-bay garage and operated as a Shell Station for many years.  It was purchased by the State of North Carolina in the 1950s in preparation for the reconstruction of Tryon Palace. The architectural firm of Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn developed plans to transform the gas station into the Tryon Palace Restoration Complex Auditorium. An addition was made on the East side to house a museum gift shop, and a 200-seat auditorium was built to the West. The Waystation remained the center of Tryon Palace visitor orientation until the 2010 opening of the North Carolina History Center, and is still used today by visitors to Tryon Palace, for ticketing and site information.