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(first posted 9/11/2017) Time to go back and pay another visit to Dave Gelina’s Flickr page of his collection of vintage Kodachorme (mostly) slides. This time I visited his gas stations and signs album, and picked out some of them. Is it’s a theme we can easily relate to. these shots from the 50s and 60s make clear how drastic the evolution of the gas station has been, from bucolic country pumps in front of the general store and the typical urban corner gas station with its two pumps and two service bays, to today’s self-serve mega-pumpers. And note what a huge variety of companies were selling gas back then.
This first shot is worthy of a calendar, a winter shot of a Texaco station in upstate NY, if I remember correctly.
Here’s something from a warmer clime.
These two gals undoubtedly keep their elderly Chrysler clean and well maintained.
Uniforms, with hats no less.
A ’63 split-window Corvette getting fed.
Atomic City, Idaho’s store, post office and gas station.
Here’s one from Canada. I know of BP, but not BA.
Cape Cod.
Sturgis, South Dakota.
Waiting for the next customer.
Cola time while the car gets filled up.
Pumps in front of the Lunch Room.
Dressed in their Sunday finery, in Dentom, NC.
An already older urban station.
From around 1950 or so.
Filling up in Pennsylvania, in the winter.
Dowd’s Store, in Fibre, MI.
A house fire nearby. Better that than the gas station.
Humble stations.
Typical country store and gas pumps in Hunter’s Run, PA.
These pumps are in front of Zimmerman’s Hardware store, in Intercourse, PA. Note the non-gas consuming vehicles just past the pumps.
One from the Amalfi Coast area of Italy. Gas stations were always a rather different format over there. Just gas; service was at garages. I guess they were ahead of us in that way.
Another country store in East Derry, NH. Jenny gas.
Classic four pumper in the early 60s.
This is in Los Angeles.
Lehigh Acres. Sounds like Pennsylvania to me.
Letzler’s Motors, a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer as well as Mobilgas.
Los Vegas, naturally.
Small town Missouri. Gravel instead of pavement. The water spigot probably got used a lot.
Lake George, NY.
Paul’s has their own plow truck. This is who bought 4×4 pickups back then.
Rudy’s Garage in San Diego. No need for covered garages.
Nice fastback Chevy.
A ’54 Buick Skylark.
An urban gas station in Boston is also home to a small taxi company.
The free air pump at gas stations was always a draw for kids and their bikes.
Looks like a Model A in front of this neighborhood Sunoco station.
No self serve back then.
The joys of winter.
Presumably the proud owner of his own business.
I was not a fan of those low GM gas fillers when I was a gas jockey.
The previous three shots are from a Union 76 station in Santa Ana, CA. Not that there are two other stations across the intersection.
I love these fine old stations from the late 1920s that were tiled.
Taking the kids for a ride in the Metro.
Dressed up.
I’ll end with this bucolic station, as it’s about as different as our gas stations today as possible.
Great photos! Thanks, Paul for a real Monday morning treat. I wish I could go back and bring that little red and white ’56 Ford home. And yes, I hated those low, low GM fuel fillers too. At least they kept the pump jockeys from dribbling fuel all over the paint.
Yeah–’56 Ford, basic 2-door sedan, red & white two toned, blackwall tires. Yet when I go to shows all I see are retractables, convertibles, and hardtops, usually gobbed up with skirts, cont. kits, gaudy non-stock wheelcovers, etc. No one seems to appreciate the classic simplicity and authenticity of an example like this.
Beautiful composition on that shot, with the little girl descending the steps in that pretty blue dress!
100% agree
1955.. smaller looking tail lights on 1955. And missing the wrap around parking light on front fender below the 272cu V-8 badge.. 54-56 Fords were my high school rides..
My hate for them comes from the time when I inserted one, turned on full, let go, and the nozzle came right back out, turned 180 degrees and shot gas directly in my face, eyes and mouth. That was no fun.
After that, I made sure the nozzle was not loose in the filler, and kept my face out of possible harm’s way. I can still taste that gas today. No wonder I like EVs. 🙂
Good lord! That sounds awful!
I remember the one time I got petrol on me and I remember how hard it was to get rid of the smell. But on one’s face? Yikes!
I ran to the sink and washed out my eyes under the running tap for a minute or two. Then I went back to work. Stinking of gas, and my skin somewhat irritated. We were made of sterner stuff back then; didn’t even consider going to the boss and asking if I could go home, or at least to change my shirt, which was well-doused. I was mighty glad to get home after work and take a long shower.
Yup, that’s exactly what I did when I got doused. In my case, it was the cab mounted filler on an early Sixties F-100 that spat back at me. I stripped off my shirt and took a quick rinse at the sink. Then, back to work. No slacking just because you were soaked in flammable liquid!
At 16, beside high school, I worked afternoon’s at the Buick agency detailing, in the evenings at a Beacon gas station, and weekends for a magnetic sign company. A ’59 Cadillac Coupe deVille got me the same way, in the face and down my shirt. The station manager saw it happen and yelled for me to rinse off, he took care of the customer. He always kept spare uniforms there because he did mechanical/lube work. He told me to change, I still couldn’t get rid of the taste and skin irritation, but it helped. The worst location to me are 63-65 Riviera, The filler is so low, any acceleration was accompanied by a spray of gas around the license plate and three feet behind the car. We had gas stations on each of 4 corners, and had gas wars. Premium was 19 cents at those times. One regular customer with a charcoal gray ’66 Continental sedan stopped in each morning and put 25 to 75 cents in.
I believe that is a 1955 Ford.
Where did all these come from? Normally, people back then didn’t take pictures of “mundane” subjects like gas stations and parked cars. It’s almost as if one of us went back in time and took all these terrific photos. What was formerly mundane becomes exotic and beautiful!
What things are common now that, 50 years from now, we will wish we had photographs like these of?
Gasoline powered cars, and the filling stations that sold gas, not electricity.
Likely these were shot by the people who were connected to these businesses. I personally prefer these to any “art” photos! They reveal more of reality. The photos by the city photographer
documenting the routine street conditions are 100x more interesting than all of the “art” photos and “social commentary” photos of a city combined for the same reason.
Fantastic.
That Tydol station and General Store looks like the general store we went to in Edenville PA. Two gas pumps. The owners lived there.
These photographs look like they were taken last week. What a treat.
That’s Kodachrome for you! They’ll probably still look that good 50 years from now, maybe 100 years.
Will we even be able to access the photos stuck in our 50 year old phones, assuming we kept them? Will inkjet printouts survive a long time?
That is Calef’s in Barrington, NH. The store is still there in most of it’s old time glory but no gasoline is served.
WONDERFUL! Best way to open up a Monday. Brings back lots of smiles as I (mis)spent my youth hanging out a gas station (Sinclair, then became an Ashland) in a Village of 500 in western Pa. This pics bring back the sounds and the not unpleasent smells. The warmth of a gas heater in the building with 2 feet of snow outside. A cold “pop” for 10 or 15 cents. The candy machine that had the the chrome knobs you pulled toward you and heard the mechanical bits working and drop your selection. The coffee machine with its Chicken soup (Bullion) choice. The sound of the “ding, ding” when a customer pulled up. And all the other sounds and smells. If you grew up like I did, you’ll remember! 😉 Sadly the station and a couple of houses behind it where sold and demolished back in the 80’s and a convenience store with gas pumps replaced it. I moved away decades ago and after living all over, settled in Kentucky. There is one typical gas station that I have seen in Upton Ky. with a one bay garage, and a gas island with two pumps. Not a national brand, just a mom and pop thing. Seems to always be busy when I get down that way.
I kept looking at the houses near the stations, because those were where I would have loved to live as a kid. Those station operators would have gotten so tired of me hanging out there.
These pictures remind me that during the 40s and early 50s Chrysler was No. 2 of the Big 3, and they are represented like it in many of these pictures. And as in real life, the independents were fairly few. I loved the shot at the East Derry General Store with the Nash and the Hudson out front.
Modern me recognizes that under every one of these pictures was one or more steel underground tanks that were happily corroding away while the owner was bilssfully unaware until he could no longer blame pilferage for the fuel loss from his tanks. Those old tanks eventually created nightmares for some of those property owners (and their insurers).
Yeah you’re right, that’s why many, many traditional gas stations went the way of the dinosaur. After Pa. Lived in Florida for many years. Water table is so high there that leaky tanks where of course a very big deal. One popular brand was FINA. They where all over Florida. They all went under because they couldn’t afford to replace the steel tanks with fiberglass.
Wow, what a wonderful collection that has me pining for a time machine! Could this guy be the ‘real’ Gus Wilson??
pining for a time machine…. +1, I grew up in that era. Miss aspects of it.
This could be straight out of my childhood in eastern Canada as well. Very real and evocative image.
I’d say so, because that’s a Chrysler. If he was standing next to an Oldsmobile I’d think it was Ralphie’s Old Man 20 years later.
I still have my mother’s “Penna” license plate of that year, came from her ’55 Chevy. 1957 was the last year PA issued new plates annually. Starting in ’58 with the yellow on blue 6-digit plates, you received stickers instead, and the next set of plates wasn’t issued until 1965 (reversing to blue on yellow again).
Would like to know if this is the old “Brady St Esso” in my hometown.. Think the building is still there. H’mm.
Close to Brady/Mckean St’s , intersection.
Whenever my parent’s went on a road trip, I used to always enjoy searching for every gas station’s all purpose/plowing pickup truck or Jeep, as we drove by. I recall our local BP station used an Econoline pickup. While the FINA station across the road used an old WW2 Dodge W-37.
Wow, what a treat, Paul.
Keystone was a short-lived brand here in PA. 60s/70s. I had a Keystone coffee mug as a kid, although to this day I never drank coffee.
Carter was one of the 19 or so different brands under which Esso, or Humble, sold their products. Fallout from the 1934 Standard Oil trust breakup.
I think British American was tied to Gulf, I think each took the other’s credit cards.
Boron is somewhere around Ohio, because that was Sohio’s out of state brand.
One truck said Mamaroneck on it which would place it to Westchester County NY above NYC.
I liked to look at the backs of my dads gas station credit cards and see the gas station brands that we did not have in Oregon but you could use the credit card at in another state.
Neat. Always a treat to look these locations up. Atomic City and Hunters Run PA buildings are still there, not gas stations though.
That Humble gas truck might be a nice CC topic someday.
And Paul’s plow truck – I want that truck!
Wonderful slices of Americana! I love how they show the “real car” people drove then; not the romanticized version of the 50s and 60s some people have that it was all muscle cars and hot rods!
That reminds me of a meme my cousin shared on Facebook years ago — a picture of a 1969 Chevy Malibu Sport Coupe juxtaposed with a picture of a 2009 Malibu sedan with the caption “this is why GM is failing”. I assume the implication was supposed to be that they’re failing because their cars are no longer “cool”. Of course that’s complete B.S. If that were the key to success Toyota would be nowhere as big as they are. But more to the point, it’s based on a completely rose-colored idea of what 1960s cars were like. GM and others made plenty of dull family sedans back then, too. It’s just that those aren’t the cars people tend to remember.
Syke, whose father owned a Chevy dealership in the ’60s, has posted exactly the same thing, and I completely agree with you.
To hear some tell it – and to watch modern movies set in that era – every GM A-body produced from the mid-60s to about 1970 was either a Chevelle 396SS, a tri-power GTO, a W30 442, or a Stage 1 Gran Sport. You’d think that the six cylinder ones with dog dish hubcaps only existed in the brochures, but those of us who lived through that time know better.
Don’t get me wrong, I like fully-optioned older cars. But I have an equal appreciation for the more modest ones that were driven by the vast majority of solid, working folks. Thankfully, some of these “strippers” are being preserved.
Agree, two door mid size cars are non sales these days. 4 door pickup/SUV/CUV is today’s ‘large family car’. And they are “cool” in that they sell like proverbial hotcakes.
So many of these brands represented in the small Ohio town of my youth: Ashland, Gulf, Shell, Texaco. I have a dim recollection of a Sinclair station. I believe it changed to Sunoco.
I grew up down the street from the Sohio station (Standard Oil of Ohio) and fondly remember the sights, sounds and smells of hanging out there as a pre-teen brat.
One of my uncles ran a Gulf station in Columbus, Ohio.
Just love the first shot of the Texaco station with the snowy nighttime background. Looks like it could be a scene from ‘It`s a Wonderful Life’ if it was filmed in color. Stories like these are why I keep coming back to CC.Thanks.
If it was an Esso instead of a Texaco, I’d swear it was from the final scene of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.”
Wonderful movie, if bittersweet.
Beautiful, nostalgic shots, especially that snowy nighttime Texaco. I’m sure Kodachrome has something to do with it, but that’s sure not the dreary, ubiquitous orange sodium vapour lighting of the present.
BA was the British American Oil Company, one of the oldest gasoline refiners and retailers in Canada. It’s original logo colours were red and green before a change to orange and blue after its purchase by Gulf in the mid-1960’s. After a few transitional years of Gulf colours on BA signage, all the stations were switched over to Gulf branding.
The shot of the BA station reminds me of the Supertest stations we used to have in Canada.
Love all the TV antennae in the background. Looks like Jane St north of Dundas.
That building style looks like what Shell did years ago, they built or remodeled many of their gas stations to look somewhat like suburban ranch homes. A lot of those buildings are still around. Some are still gas stations but selling other brands of gas, some have been repurposed for other types of businesses.
These photos really make me realize how much I dislike living in today’s complex world of the future. Despite the problems that existed back then (polio, anyone?) I’d go back in a heartbeat if someone showed up in a TARDIS and offered to drop me off.
A great and fascinating variety from old and rural to ‘modern’ and urban. Interesting that the vast majority are painted white (and often with red trim). My second favourite has to be the tiled one; it has something of an égyptienne flavour, but the last one, with it’s magnificent tree almost serving as a makeshift shelter, is just lovely.
May I offer this, from Britian in 1958 – Robin Hood Garage, near Epping, Essex:
Yet another coffee table book I would purchase. Paul, thank you for sharing this wonderful collection of photos.
BTW – that bug shield on that old Chrysler is about the grossest thing I could see on my lunch break.
Beautiful photos, Paul. I, however, am very much looking forward to being able to simply charge my car when I get home. No gas station required.
You have a Baker Electric? (c:
Excellent, Paul!
thank you!
I never realized that the “Put a tiger in your tank” slogan was used by Esso and Humble before Exxon took over. I assumed that was a creation of the 1970s, but a Tiger poster is in two of the pictures here.
Also, the Humble station has the “Happy Motoring!” slogan above the garage bays — another marketing item I thought was an Exxon creation.
Great assortment of photos here!
You must be a youngin’ Eric. I distinctly remember the big deal when I was like 11 or 12, when all the Esso stations in Baltimore changed their name to Exxon.
I had an Esso gas station on my train garden and fashioned a “We’re changing our name” sign for the model gas station out of an Exxon advertisement I found in a magazine. I’m 57, but vividly remember this. I was really surprised to see that they still had Esso stations up there in the Great White North (at least until a few years ago, anyway).
I never knew about “Carter”, but it was obvious from the shape of the sign that it was in the same “Exxon” group as Esso. I think there was one called Enco that had a similar sign as well.
Yep, we still have Esso stations here today in Canada. I remember when they used to put out a printed NHL schedule every year, when I was a kid. I would tape mine to the wall in the kitchen and write down all the scores. Then at the end of the year the tape would tear the paint off the wall to my dad’s dismay.
The one that strikes me strange around here is Gulf. Many years ago, all of the Gulf stations became Chevron, much like all of the Esso stations became Exxon.
They’re now all Gulf stations again. Not sure what happened there.
Uh oh…down the rabbit hole.
This Canadian Esso jingle from about 1960 was around for many years – sort of a Canadian equivalent of ‘See the USA, in your Chevrolet!’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vcibXPkT7I&t=0m48s
And Esso being the main sponsor for ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ on TV for decades, there was always a hockey version.
Well, I looked it up and Esso changed over to Exxon in the US in 1973 — about the time I was born, so unfortunately I missed out on that big deal!
I’m 37, so I obviously don’t remember the change from Esso to Exxon, but along the same lines I remember when all the Gulf stations in my part of the country changed to BP in the late 1980s or so. And I was similarly surprised to see Gulf stations in Boston about 10 years ago.
A Gulf station or so have made their way back to Columbus Ohio.
I was surprised to see some Sinclair stations last year when vacationing in Arizona. I thought that brand went completely belly-up in the mid 1960s.
I was surprised too by Sinclair still being around in 2005 when we drove cross-country. They seemed most common in Utah.
Then just last month, we were in Wyoming for the solar eclipse, and Sinclair stations were a frequent sight, including within Yellowstone Park.
There`s also one just a few miles before Devil`s Tower in Wyoming, and many more in Utah, and Nevada. I too thought they were out of business, but I guess there still are many of them in the West.
The local station that became Exxon gave away tiger tails with fillups, I used to have tiger tails sticking out of the gas fillers on several of my cars,still have a couple of them.
Paul this is wonderful! In St Louis the hot brands when I was a kid were Standard
and Shell you found these two every mile
Lots of Phillips 66 also it seems to me that the other stations were always changing
hands The worst seemed to be Gulf Lots of stations but they always seemed
to be changing operators
I thought the filler necks in the back of the car was a great idea, because that way you could pull in on either side of the pump. However it did not work out tooo well for you Paul, so I’m glad they have mostly standardized on the driver’s side now.
All the colours on the cars were in such variety in contrast to today’s black and whites and beiges that are so predominant.
Free air for bicycle tires was great, it’s mostly pay for a minute now I guess.
Great shots! Keep them coming.
The parkways around NYC and in Connecticut have free air in all the stations. It oughta be a law.
My father worked for Esso back in the early 1960s, here are some pictures.
It must have been a special event.
A Plymouth Valiant filling up.
I see a white bubble top 61 Olds in the background. My aunt had a blue one, same body style.
A Buick Riviera getting some gas.
Look at the price of the gas!
And the tires spiral wrapped in paper!
Great selection, thanks!
The old picture of Sturgis looks like a nice peaceful place. Shame it has become a tourist trap for upper middle class bikers.
they only come for a week or so in August.
I wish I had a time machine! Yeah buddy, I’ll give you $8000 bucks for that brand new ’63 Riviera! I’d have to find vintage, period correct cash though!
I keep cars that are special to me. I’ve had my ’64 Riviera 40+ years and my ’65 around 18 years, My flagship is my ’63 Electra convertible bought on my 18th birthday (50 years ago), with 30,000 miles and three years old. She has 456,000 now and still looks and runs as new. I’ve thought about a time machine for years, need one big enough for large cars.
Beautiful Kodachrome pics! My dad had an Argus 35mm camera from 1958-1965, and he used nothing but Kodachrome slide film. There’s 100s of those slides somewhere. I’ve got to get those scanned and digitized!
I love old gas stations and photograph the buildings wherever I see them. Frequently they are abandoned or have been repurposed. Here are some photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/7192687976/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/4697294519/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/4680960520/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/8338266691/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/3918425514/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/3581560861/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769887328/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/4074243562/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/20152566666/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/20568196576/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/17378171691/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/13891419853/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/8644916699/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/8644848057/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769034053/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769112895/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769980846/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769106599/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2601968855/
Always enjoy your excellent photography Jim. Some great shots here. It is bittersweet seeing these rebranded buildings. Nice seeing them preserved, but very rarely is it to their original glory.
Thank you as well for previously supplying the link to Bob Mayer’s excellent YouTube channel of original 70s road tests. The period reviews are a strong reminder of the inferior products, by today’s standards, all the domestic manufacturers were selling then.
https://www.youtube.com/user/thecardsaysmoops/videos
+1 on the Bob Mayer’s car reviews. They are real period pieces – amazing quality for the time given the cameras/equipment they had available compared to today. And he certainly tells is like it is. These are valuable reminders of how poor quality control could, esp in the 70’s and 80’s. He’s especially brutal on the cheapening of GM interiors with flimsy and unattractive plastics everywhere.
Nice. The days of full service, free air, water, and under hood checks, along with window washing and 29 cents a gallon gas.
The huge bug catcher is something I remember seeing as a child, that picture brought back this memory.
In the Sinclair photo (#2), it looks like one of the old chest-style pop vending machines on the far left.
For the…ahem…younger set, these had rows of glass bottles suspended by their necks between flat metal bars, and hanging in cold water. You put a dime in, slid a bottle along the row to a gate on the left side, and when you lifted the dripping wet bottle out the gate shut with a satisfying clunk.
Hadn’t thought of those in years…
Had a similar setup in the barber shop that I got my hair cut in the 60’s. Dad would give me and my brothers enough for the hair cut and a dime for a Chocolate Solider or creme soda.
Last I heard, the barber shop is still in business.
(I wish I could refer to the pictures by numbers–no easy way to do that.) Letzler’s, I see was a PA place. In this 1960 ad they can boast of being a Chrysler dealer since 1925, and in the auto business five years before that (top half first):
Letzler Motors, bottom half:
Is that a curb feeler behind the front wheel of the blue/green chrysler at the owens esso station ? I have never seen one mounted behind the front wheel ,and he don’t even have white wall tires In new jeresy wawa gas stations have free air
All the curb feelers I’ve seen were behind the front wheels and behind the rear wheels, as on my dad’s ’56 Fireflite.
This is best set so far!?
[house fire photo] The “Marshall’s Tourist Court” is a bit east of Springfield, MO. Here are the apparent original owners selling out in 1948. Paul’s photo above notes the new ownership:
“Lehigh Acres” sure sounded like PA to me too, Paul–but the sky and houses didn’t look right. Turns out it’s a development advertising *heavily* in northern-city papers ca. 1955-58, selling a little piece of the dream (top half):
Yeah, that didn’t exactly strike me as Pennsylvania either. Should have known. Thanks for your additions, as always.
Three of the Shell pump jockeys with uniforms have rain covers on their caps……
Thanx for the memories ! I mostly enjoyed my time working in a three pump service station .
-Nate
Love it love it! I am quite fond of old service stations. Back then if we were on a road trip in the 1950’s, when Mom stopped for fuel, we got to drink a refreshing Coca-Cola that we purchased from the vending machine. Free maps, too. Ding-ding of the fuel pump as each gallon was counted along with, on some, a rotating sight bulb towards the top on the side of the pump that was a spiral inside the glass that turned as the gasoline passed through it on to its way to your car.
B/A or British-American became Gulf Canada.
Nice pics
I love vintage Penna license plates, I was born in Maryland but my folks and family were PA born and raised, growing up in the 1980’s I remember those Keystone State and “You’ve Got A Friend In” Pennsylvania license plates.
Unlike in Maryland where you could not use the pre 1986 non Maryland Great Seal crest after the 2 year sticker expired and had to get the Maryland Great Seal crest plates, in PA you could use the plates issued in 1977 up until 2000.
I actually like the older plates that had the outline of the State of PA on them. I picked up one of the older ones for less then $5 several years ago at a antique mall. I still have it.
Here in NJ you can still use a license plate as old as 1959 (as long as you got it back then). I just spotted this original-owner 1960 Thunderbird with its original NJ plate issued in ’59 or ’60–still legal and binding! The series started with AAA in ’59 so this is early in the series. My father is still using his 1960 NJ plate starting with “EYW”, which he transferred to newer cars as he got them.
I remember those massive bug screens, and they sure look funny now. Back in the day, however, they were quite useful, especially seeing all the bugs on it!
There was a gas station/garage in Old Monroe, MO, I believe, and our family was on our way to Louisiana, MO to visit relatives one Sunday. Our 1953 Dodge blew a water hose just before the bridge coming into town on what used to be Hwy 79, so dad and I were walking to get help while mom & grandma waited in the car. Someone gave us a ride to the garage, the car was towed to the garage and we ate lunch while it was being repaired.
Didn’t make it to our destination that day, as it was already getting late, but those old garage/service stations sure served their purpose back then!
I seem to recall that particular garage was of art-deco, yellow/brownish porcelain tile construction, but after looking at the town on Google Street Level view, the building doesn’t seem to be around any longer, but I was either 10 or 11 years old, so memory may be playing tricks.
Love, love, love these old photos. Life certainly was different, and I wish architecture now could be as creative!
“One from the Amalfi Coast area of Italy. Gas stations were always a rather different format over there. Just gas; service was at garages. I guess they were ahead of us in that way.”
The last time I was there, just a few years ago (Positano), it’s still that way, a couple of pumps on the side of the very narrow road.
Beautiful, nostalgic photos that bring back memories of my childhood. The two-tone blue 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe in the one photo is exactly like the one my father had.
Just as nostalgic were the way in which these photos were taken. With a mechanical camera and Kodachrome film. The results are stunning. I still marvel at the color and quality of the hundreds of 60 year old plus family photos and slides my parents took with their Kodak Tourist II camera, still in perfect operating condition today.
These photos illustrate quite well how dominant GM was back in the day. You see Chevys everywhere, more common than Fords, which of course were also plentiful. But GM had the “medium price field” nailed, with Buicks so prevalent in the 50s and Pontiac taking over in the 60s. Oldsmobiles were not uncommon either, and they would have their day in the sun in the 70s. Mercury never had much of a chance (although there are a few 49-51 models making cameo appearances); the Chrysler brand seems to have fared far better in comparison.
Those are just absolutely beautiful…
Love the shots!! Just FYI the Lehigh Acres station is in Lehigh Acres, Florida just east of Fort Myers.
I could not help, but notice the lack of ethnic diversity in these photographs and wonder if the Southern gas stations were segregated.
The two ladies who’s Chrysler has the bug guard is one of my favorite photos since there is so much detail.
https://i1.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/DG-gas-2-women.jpg
No “Gate” gas stations? Maybe they are a regional thing, or weren’t around in the 50s and 60s. I am in Russell Springs, KY. I was a gas jockey at one in the late 90s. It closed around 10-15 years ago and the building stands vacant now. Enjoyed all the photos as usual. Keep the great material coming, it is appreciated!
Here’s one from my own collection:
1947, probably Bronx or Westchester County, NY
The cover shot of the Texaco station, along with the two Texaco station winter shots below, are actually the same gas station, about 20 years apart. The cover shot from the 1940’s, and the other ones circa 1968.
All are from Jamestown NY, the northeast corner of N. Main St. & East 5th St. The gas station is long gone, but the wonderful old brick house behind it remains.
I betcha that Lehigh Acres Service Station was right next door to me, in Lehigh Acres Fla. The wide-open windows, summer clothing and other tells just convince me this is right in SW Florida.
What a great series of pictures. Sharing.
Great photos!
I love the pics and I appreciate someone scanning them and it takes work. That said, I don’t like someone claiming copyright for scanning found photos. The person who took the photo is probably dead. Any relatives who’d otherwise have a claim aren’t attached, either. I suspect it wouldn’t hold up in court, but I don’t even like seeing the tag.
I feel fortunate as a little kid in the ’70s, to have seen much of this branding still around. Big oil companies didn’t press for continual brand refreshes, on their stations, the way they do now. So many small town stations, retained their ’50s look. Right down to ancient soda machines and pumps.
The local corner gas station was a path to the middle class for many returning WW2 vets and a “chance to be your own boss”.
Isn’t it Las Vegas, not Los?
At any rate, great photos!
Each photo is a real gem!
I must have missed this when it was first posted, great shots!
I too learned my lesson about making sure the nozzle was securely placed in the filler pipe when I worked at a busy 8 pump station in our little town. There was a knack to getting it just right. Nothing like a face full of premium unleaded to start your shift….
The other potential surprise was if a ’70s Volvo with a partially full tank pulled up. Twist that cap off too fast and you’d get pretty good blast of gas all over your shirt. Not sure why but we learned to give it a slight turn and wait for the “hiss” to subside.
As noted above, you just washed it off and kept working.
M’am, could you please put that cigarette out?…..
I opened each photo and crawled into them. Interesting that every single filling station was filled with Caucasians. That just wouldn’t have happened if he had visited where I grew up. There was always Black gas jockeys. About halfway through the photos, it just suddenly dawned on me. Certainly there were Black customers, right? Not a single photo. This photographer never traveled South?
This leads me to wonder, before segregation was outlawed, how did Black families travel? We know they had their “Green Book”, for accommodations, and they rarely depended on restaurants while travelling, but what about filling stations? Anyone know how that was handled 70 years ago?
I did a bit more research and discovered that Esso filling stations advertised in the Green Book and other travel guides for Black American motorists. I also read that African American families weren’t welcomed at Shell filling stations, and those were avoided. Esso and its subsidiaries saw opportunities to provide these profitable services – and as we saw with Ford Motor Company during the later half of the 20th century, reach out to Black Americans to help establish roots in the Black communities in the USA through business.
Thank you Esso and Ford for seeing citizens beyond their race before 1964.
Found one!
Fantastic retrospect! Surprised not to see a FLYING A station!
The Sinclair station near the top of the page is on the Broad Causeway between Miami and it’s beach suburbs. It still operates as a Chevron.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chevron/@25.8870994,-80.1557552,2494m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x88d9b286e9b63445:0x7353a507bf0e587c!8m2!3d25.8877776!4d-80.1447195!16s%2Fg%2F1tghdys0?hl=en&entry=ttu
I worked at service stations during the summer in my teens. It was hot, greasy and always smelling like gas. Before pollution controls and unleaded.
Joy gas station in Toronto. It’s been preserved for history.
Later shot
Now
I’d be challenged to name the cars in this overhead shot.
Sadly, I can name quite a few. While I may be struggling to tell the difference between a Kia and a Cadillac SUV today – I can look at that photo and tell you with a pretty good level of certainty.
Phrase heard most often at Clark Oil, 2000 Portland in Minneapolis, circa 1969:
“Buck’s worth and a pack of Kools.”
Okay, identifying the cars is relatively easy for anything before the 1970’s, but I get into identifying the pumps: Wayne, Bennett, Tokheim, Bowser, Gilbarco, and the relatively rarer Union. Gulf, Mobil and Cities Service had pretty much special cabinet shapes and designs. Others such as Phillips, Texaco and Skelly tended to choose catalog models. What I like to look for is the rebranded station with either pumps or building architecture that screams (______!) but is now (______.) We still have a bunch of Texaco Teague designed structures here in Albuquerque. That canopy is a dead giveaway.
The picture of the kids filling their tires with free air was from a gas station that was 2 blocks from where I grew up in Chicago—Fullerton and Kostner. Jimmy Leon’s Standard station from which I bought LOTS of gas over the years, My Dad moved into that same home we lived in in 1918 and moved out in 1978—his history knowledge of the area was fantastic. In 1918 a mile West of there was dirt roads and the Western limit of the Chicago city boundary. I am amazed that I did not know any of those kids as it may have been before I was in grade school as the cars are from the late 40’s when I was about 5. Lots of memories from that corner as our family Doctor was above the drug store across the street. Thanks for the memories to the photographer.