Hjulet

Ringnes before the main building burned down.

An old postcard from the late 1930s.

A postcard from the 1950s.

Hjulet is an old roadside cafe located by the old Mosseveien at Ringnes in Ås, Norway. It was originally an old coaching station before the cafe was built in the 1920s or 1930s. It got its name "Hjulet" (The Tire), from the huge advertising wheel placed over the building by Askim Gummivarefabrikk. Hjulet was a popular stopping place for people taking Sunday drives. It was also a hang out place for teenagers of Oslo, especially the motor interested kids that also hang out at Youngstorget. In the 1960s the building with the tire on contained a bowling alley and pinball games. The cafe was located at the cabin next by the tire-building. When the new E6 was opened in 1970, business halted, and the place was sold two years later.