What does “FILLING STA.” mean on a Sanborn map?

FILLING STA. is one of the ways a Sanborn surveyor lettered filling station / gasoline onto a building footprint. Sanborn abbreviated hard, because the words had to fit inside the building.

How it appears on the sheet

FILLING STA. GASOLINE GAS. GASOLENE AUTO FILLING STA.

Small kiosk-like structure set back from the street line, pump islands drawn as small circles, and lettering for gasoline storage. Sanborn often noted underground tanks and their capacity in gallons.

Why people look for it

Underground storage tanks and dispensers are the classic reason a lender asks for a Phase I ESA. That is a reason to read the sequence of editions rather than one sheet, and to ask an environmental professional what it means for your transaction — not a finding about any property.

Reading it properly

• Note the edition year. The lettering describes that year only.
• Check the previous and next editions. A use that appears once may be a survey artefact; a use across three editions is a pattern.
• Read the neighbours. Adjacent uses matter as much as the parcel itself.
• Take the sheet, with its citation, to a qualified professional rather than a summary of it.

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Other terms

• Auto repair / garage
• Dry cleaning / dyeing
• Coal gas works / gas holders
• Foundry / iron works / metal plating
• Blacksmith / wagon works
• Paint, varnish, oil and chemical storage
• Laundry
• Printing / lithography
• Planing mill / lumber / saw mill
• Tannery
• Ice plant / cold storage
• Coal yard / fuel oil
• Railroad yard / roundhouse