We have an extensive selection today of vintage service station photos, from the 1930s through the 1960s, with an interesting assortment of old cars. (Thanks to Patrick Bell for help with the IDs!) If you can narrow down any of the unidentified locations, please let us know in the comments.
I have no location for our lead photo of a colorful mid-1960s Standard location. The red convertible looks like a 1961 Ford Galaxie Sunliner, and the green camper is a 1961 Chevrolet Apache. The white car with its hood up is a 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air or Impala four-door sedan. Note the red, white, and blue gas pumps at the right.
Here’s a Richfield station in California: Cucamonga Service Station at 9670 Foothill Boulevard in Rancho Cucamonga, probably in the early ’30s. The main building is still standing, and is now in the National Register of Historic Places.
This photo of George Helm Conoco (“Your Mileage Merchant”) in Orofino, Idaho, was taken in 1941. I can’t see enough of the pickup truck fueling up to identify it, but JoAnn thinks it’s a 1934 Chevrolet, and rollfast identifies the cars on the street as a 1938 Pontiac (a four-door sedan, it looks like) and a late 1920s Chevrolet.
This attendant was on duty at Bud Taylor’s Garage and Service Station, a Texaco station in Terre Haute, Indiana, sometime in the 1940s.
This Gulf station in Cleveland, Ohio, was photographed in 1951. The car at the right looks like a 1946–1948 Plymouth — maybe a business coupe used as a parts runner.
This Mobilgas station in Onalaska, Wisconsin, was photographed in the early ’50s. The blue car being fueled up at the left is a 1950 Ford.
I don’t have a location for this early ’50s photo of a newly opened Phillips 66 station, but the dark-colored car in the foreground was a 1946–1948 Oldsmobile fastback club sedan. The one facing away from the camera on the other side was a 1951 Ford.
This photo shows Colaw’s Standard Service in Carthage, Missouri, on Route 66 at the 71. The Thunderbird on the right appears to be a 1956. The Colaw’s truck (with the “Budget Terms” sign on the bed) was a 1955 Ford F-100, and the car at the left edge of the frame was a 1951 or 1952 Chevrolet.
No location for this Mobilgas station either — I can’t make out the name on the side of the Willys tow truck/plow, which would be a good clue — but since there’s a Santa sign in the window, the black car with snow on the bumper is a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Club Victoria two-door hardtop, and the two-tone convertible behind it looks like a weathered 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner, it seems like Christmastime in the late 1950s.
No location or date for this Phillips 66 station, but some interesting cars: That’s a 1950 Buick in the left service bay, and a 1958 Oldsmobile in the second bay. Towards the right, you can just make out a couple of 1959 Chevrolets and a blue 1960 Chevrolet under the “We give green stamps” banner.
This Texaco station was photographed in 1959. It looks like there was a minor Buick convention going on: The ivory-and-gray car nearest the camera was a 1957 Roadmaster, parked next to a 1959 Buick Invicta four-door hardtop (I think that color was Copper Glow), with a Silver Birch 1959 Buick behind that.
I’m not positive about the location of this “Foothill’s Super Service” Conoco station, but that looks like a 1959 DeSoto at the right, and the station wagon fueling at the left looks like a 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad.
I also don’t have a location for this ’60s shot of a Gulf station and car wash, but that’s a Corvair Greenbrier at the right, parked next to what looks like a 1966 Pontiac LeMans. The convertible with its hood up towards the left was a 1964 Lincoln Continental, while the cars in the stalls were a 1958 Chevrolet and a 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix. The station wagon at the far left of the frame was a 1959 DeSoto, and the car on the lower right was another 1958 Chevrolet.
Shamrock Oil was based in Texas, but it had stations throughout the Southwest as well, so that’s as much as I can narrow it down this station was in Brigham City, Utah. (Thanks, Eric703!) That’s a 1958 Buick at the right, but it appeared to be a used car up for sale, so this photo was probably taken in the 1960s. (Patrick pointed out that the tire on display above the “Regular Gas for Less” sign is a narrow-band whitewall.) This was apparently a Sinclair station until 1964, so this photo was taken after that.
This Sohio (Standard Oil Company (Ohio)) station was photographed in 1964. The black car fueling at the left was a 1962 Mercury Monterey two-door sedan, while the red-and-white car pulling in at center was a 1960 Chevrolet, I think a Bel Air two-door sedan.
Finally, we have an American gas station next to a Top Hat Car Wash on 2405 Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Florida, which is now an Unlimited Auto Wash location. (The McDonald’s next door is still there too). The date of this photo was identified as “late ’60s,” but the red Charger looks like a 1970 model, and the Better Business Bureau says this Top Hat Car Wash opened in summer 1972, so “early ’70s” might be closer to the mark. To the left of the pumps are two Cadillacs — a 1970 Coupe de Ville and a 1966 Sedan de Ville, I think — flanking a brown Lincoln Continental, maybe a 1966 or 1967. I was assuming they were used cars being examined by prospective buyers, but Scoutdude notes that they might be in the final stages of being washed, as their owners watched. The yellow car behind the Charger at the right was a 1970 Buick Wildcat.
Note: If you wish to see your vintage photos featured at Curbside Classic, send them to us at [email protected].
It would be interesting to see what these old gas stations are used for today. The Texaco my dad used is today a successful meat market. A lot of jobs were lost when we went to large self-service stations.
Back where I grew up, you had Casa de Petrol on one corner, and Casa de Cadillac on another corner, and you had Casa de Cascade on another corner, and you had Casa de Burger. The whole intersection was called Casa de Corners..
Ahhhh. Good ‘ole Sherman Oaks. Fun fact, the dealer is still there – I ordered my CT4 Blackwing there in 2022.
And therr was a slotcar track called Autopia. Surprised it wasn’t cslled Casa de Slotcar
These sort of service stations were commonplace until about 25 years until, after 2001, after which the proprieters ditched the service bays in favor of convenience stroes, which were much more profitable, required less training, lower overhang and such. Just who is eating all those pork rinds and onion rings i don’t know.
The attendant at Bud Taylors Garage in Indiana has a coin dispenser on his belt. We don’t need those anymore, do we!!
Good catch!!! No we do not!
The Sohio station had Boron advertised. Boron was a additive that stopped fuel from icing. Their big advertising slogan was “Boron with iceguard” They probably sold a lot of that in the Ohio winters.
I remember working in these old typ of filling stations, good times although in retrospect I imagine the fumes I breathed didn’t help my health any .
-Nate
I love how the companies worked their name into the services/items offered. Mobillubircation, Philcheck Service, Gulflex ect. The one outlier is Marfak Lubrication, though apparently that is the name of a star so it does tie into the old tag line “trust your car to the man with who wears the star”, though I don’t know if the general public knew Marfak was a star. Surprisingly Chevron/Texaco/Caltex still offers Marfak branded greases.
In the Colaw’s Standard Service in Carthage image on the right just before the 56 T-bird looks like a 57 Buick with the hood up. I think Buick because their upper big chrome grill surround was still in place with the hood open but on a Chevy the chrome is attached to the hood. The headlight trim does however give me some doubts.
One other thing, that last picture of the car wash I think the two Caddies and the Lincoln are getting a drying after going through the car wash. I’m thinking the man in the red jacket is making sure the attendant isn’t missing a spot on his Caddy. Meanwhile the guy working on the Lincoln may be drying off the inside of the driver’s side window because some water made its way past the seal thanks to the frameless glass and how they did the seals before the auto drop windows came into being.
That’s a good observation, that’s probably what was happening.
I want to know what kind of product the $1.19 poodle poster in the window of the Shamrock station was promoting.
Did Shamrock have a poodle mascot the way Flying A had Axlerod the beagle, and Sinclair has a dinosaur?
I can read NO at the top of the poster but not the long word that follows it.
It was not the name of a cigarette brand, and they wouldn’t have been selling live dogs. But what did people want to get in there for $1.19?
I have no idea about the poodle, but in trying to figure it out, I was able to locate the actual gas station. It was in Brigham City, Utah.
My guess is that the photo dates to the mid- or late-1960s, because that particular station had been a Sinclair until 1964. In 1964, the station was purchased by someone named Jim Griffin, and it appears that his name is above the door in the vintage shot.
Mr. Griffin liked promotions – he gave away a bunch of Honda dirt bikes for his Grand Opening, and then gave away other things with fill-ups, like boxes of Kleenex, or (as shown in the photo) glasses. The banner on the sign post says Free Glass w/ fillup, and there’s same glasses sitting atop the pumps. So my best guess, is that the station offered some kind of toy poodle (I’m guessing a stuffed animal)… not for free, but for $1.19. Possibly no gas purchase necessary. Just a guess there. I wish I could read the text above the poodle!
The station is now long gone, but below is a then-and-now comparison of the site:
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zb8e3vXAhcrEfUqM6
Thanks, Eric. Now I know what the ‘B’ on the mountain side was for.
Axlerod was Basset, “When it comes to your car, boy, do we worry!”
The third picture, the Conoco station, I believe that is a 1934 Chevrolet pickup at the gas pump, going by the mirror, tailgate and gas filler location. Nice pictures.
At the curb, a late 1920s Chevrolet and a 1938 Pontiac.
Higher resolution picture here.
https://www.shorpy.com/node/26490
Notice that the gas pump on the left does not have the “contains lead” notice of the other two. Until about this time, it was a common practice for oil companies to market an unleaded low octane third-grade gasoline, which would have been suitable for older cars like the Chevy. Wishing ten years unleaded gas was hard to find except at Standard of Indiana/American/Amoco stations.
Conoco Nth motor oil was one of the first brands to have an anti-corrosion additive, U.S. Patent 2,218,134.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/97/82/95/7d7fc1bf9dfdca/US2218132.pdf
Ahh, that is much clearer, thanks!
Thank for the reply and the link. Much clearer. When I look at the guy sitting in the back of the truck, all I can think of is Grandpa Amos McCoy.
The attendant at Bud Taylor’s Garage and Service Station was 33 years old at the time !!
The 40’s were rough…
Next to last picture invites a song: Drove my Chevy on the levee….
The Rotary station on Monroe Ave in Pittsford/Rochester NY I worked at my senior year in high school (’69-’70) still exists, but it’s now a Speedway (formerly Hess) and the service bays have been long since closed up. The basic building is still the same though. Besides selling gas and automotive work, we serviced small engines and rented Hertz trucks.
The key idea here is that these are SERVICEstations. Acouple generations now have never really experienced these. Get a flat tire on a weekend trip at the wrong time of day and where do you get it fixed? More money in pop and candy now than fixing cars. I know every generation has its problems but these pictures make me nostalgic for the “good old days”.
We in NJ still enjoy having a gas jockey pump our gas, the only such state left in the USA. Nothing else mind you, just gas. Not the same as in the 50s when there was a rectangular tank where you could dunk a leaky tire or tube and check for bubbles, and get your tire plugged or tube patched, then filled and mounted. Good luck finding a squeegee anymore.
Colaw’s Standard station building is still standing in Carthage, MO but it has been made over in a style I recognize as an Amoco, and is now a custom Muffler shop. The only original Rt.66 fixture still operating there is the Boot’s Court Motel immediately across the street, about where this photo was taken from. Also, you are only 2 blocks south of Whistler’s Drive Up, my favorite smashburger grill maybe anywhere!
WOW! That first pic, I lived like 2-3 miles away in Rancho for a decade. It’s absolutely historic, even back in the 90’s.
It’s now becoming difficult to buy squirt – there are so few left. And there’s invariably some Fat Margaret in an SUV stuck in front of the pump whilst she does the overpriced shopping in the shop.
The few remaining are now tyre & exhaust or car wash centres.
I do miss the tiny kiosks and racks of oil cans.
Standard of California, first pic, was company owned. Franchised locations had red Chevron dealer signage. White pump was Custom Supreme, 104 Octane, close to aviation gasoline, for cars like my dad’s super high compression 327. That pump was demoted to unleaded in the 1970’s.
Having worked in 3 different Mobil stations in the late 60s before getting drafted, I could look at these kind of pics for days. Have great memories. One day an older lady came in and wanted to get the winter air taken out of her tires, to be replaced with summer air. Thanks !