Predominantly a feature of hideously disposable and generic suburban and highway architecture, gas stations are rarely much to look at. This dependable lack of visual appeal, strangely, makes them a popular challenge for photographers, doing their best to make something ugly look pretty or interesting.

Fortunately, every so often someone designs an innovative gas station to spice up the genre, and WebUrbanist has chronicled the most noteworthy in their listicle of 10 Snazzy Gas Station Designs. We’re especially sad the lighthouse gas station at right never got built, although we can appreciate that putting a gas station out on some rocky seaside promontory doesn’t make much sense.