For places that are basically stopovers, it’s curious how we all have a relationship with gas stations. Consciously or not, we pick the ones we prefer; or avoid. And in the end, we certainly spend a good deal of time on them. Sometimes, memorably.
Clean, greasy or stuffed with our favorite snacks, we all have our preferred ones. And in this collection, I chose vintage images showing a bit of life at the gas station. Either folks filling up or on a stopover, hanging out, or with attendants busily performing some duty.
I own a ’63 Dart. Cant buy service like that though at any price today! Nice pic. Thanks for the nostalgia. I’ll have to drive the old dart tomorrow now!
Some great shots here!
I especially like the B&W Mobilgas station near the top, with the Visalia Moose Lodge sponsoring a “Safety Economy Run.”
Back in the day, my little league baseball team was sponsored by Moose Lodge #493, who doled out some of the oldest, scratchiest woolen jerseys imaginable. Mine was always too big.
Would love to get a better view of that Suburban-like vehicle that’s partially blocked from view on the left. Looks like it has the Mobilgas logo on the door. “Happy Motoring.”
Brings memories of “Elmer’s Shell. a full service station in Western St. Louis County my parents and then I used when of driving age. the building was in the Mid century Modern suburban style that matched the homes in the neighborhood, down to a faux stone chimney with the golden yellow shell logo on it. 2 service bays and a large office area that held a coke and candy machine. of course, Oil and even tires could be purchased as well, Elmer even ran a flat bed tow truck. Would pick up and deliver if you were a steady customer.
I think today most of us shop purely on price. There’s no other explanation for how long people are willing to wait in line for Costco gasoline.
There was a brief period, maybe 20 years ago, that Exxon tried to distinguish itself by promising clean restrooms. I found that they and their franchisees were actually keeping that promise, which made Exxon my station of choice on road trips. Maybe I was the only one who cared. Those days seem long gone.
Back in the 1960’s TEXACO made a killing with their “REGISTERED RESTROOMS” .
My father was very fond of them having six screaming brats .
I ran an ARCO station and never had any problem keeping the heads clean, those who don’t are simply _LAZY_ and yes I know some customers make a point of being nasty and filthy in there .
I’m loving these pictures because they bring back so many fond memories .
I remember how dull and drab the average filling station was compared to today’s mini convenience stations .
My parents were horrified that I wanted to be a gas pump jockey, as it turned out it wasn’t a horrible job and I learned a lot, it was of course at a full service filling station .
-Nate
Cross-country road trips meant that my family during the 1960-1970s were grateful for service stations regardless of their branding. Finding ourselves in the middle of Nevada on Rt. 50 after midnight meant stopping where we could. More than once, our trips after midnight meant asking the local police where we could buy gas. My father worked the “graveyard” shift for twenty years, so his biological clock was wide awake after midnight. When crossing empty parts of the US, to keep the engine cool and arrive to be first in line at a popular national park, meant he drove after hours.
I couldn’t sleep during this long night trips. There were too many siblings packed around me to find much comfort. So, being in effect the copilot, when he pulled into a filling station meant I crawled out along with my dad to take in the experience. Wash the bugs off windows, check tires and lights, stretch my leg, empty my bladder and catch a road treat at 3:30 AM in Grand Island Nebraska, was not an uncommon experience for this grade schooler.
The overhead lights hummed, every insect within 100 miles were buzzing against the neon lights, the dogs slept by the cash register, and it was a quiet world of intrigue for me. By the age of 6, I tracked our road trips on free filling station road maps and knew the next crossroads. By the age of 12, I updated a daily trip diary, recording the cost of a gallon of gas, how much it totalled, and any extra road costs. (I still have those notebooks!)
I loved the sounds of the night trip. The coolness, the smells, the glowing eyes of the wildlife we passed, the blackened road signs that light up when they reflected our Ford’s headlights, the glow of the dash, the distant radio signals on an AM radio set to the lowest volumn we were capable of hearing, the bond between my father and I, his copilot.
My favorite snacks are still circus peanuts, jerky and these salty cheese waffles everyone else refuses to eat.
I haven’t see those cheese waffle things in decades. I loved those.
Sadly missed by me too!
Me too.
I know what you mean about not having room to snooze during family road trips. There were 9 of us–2 adults, 7 kids–and Dad didn’t like wagons, so we never had one. Oh, the everlasting squabbles! No A/C, either. Beautifully written. Thanks!
VanillaDude : yep ;
I too have fond memories of filling station stops .
I’d love to try those cheese waffles ! .
I love cheese grits and they’re nowhere to be found these days .
-Nate
Miss those days of real Full Service, that ding when you drove in, and the white-tiled buildings with actual service bays!
Here’s a Cities Service (now called Citgo for you young whippersnappers) from 1958:
Whoops, no, it’s an Amoco… now part of BP in the US.
The best thing about the service stations of old was that a relationship could be built with the owner, who hopefully was a good mechanic. If you bought gas at the station frequently, the owner usually was more than happy to assist with you with problems or maintenance, in a fair and honest manner.
This certainly brings back memories; the days when you knew the owner of the gas station and they actually did repair work. You could get flats fixed, buy batteries and get your car serviced. Sadly, the independent garages started disappearing in the 70’s-now they are but a distant memory.
I used to like some of the giveaways these kinds of stations had. With a minimum purchase they’d give out steak knives or drinking glasses or pot holders. I still have some screw drivers that I got.
When cleaning out my mother’s house, I found a set of “put a tiger in your tank” drinking glasses. From the early sixties when Esso used this as their advertising slogan.
I can still hear the “ding ding” as my father would pull in with the family loaded in our Ford wagon
My first two credit cards were Standard and Gulf with those signs on them. I used them on my first solo cross-country trip to go to grad school at UCLA. Some motels accepted them (Gulf was good at Holiday Inn). Hard to believe someone used to pump gas, wash the windshield, and check oil for us…
My first card was Shell and I pumped gas at a Shell station. As I recall, Shell and Texaco were the only brands sold in all 50 states.
Same with me as to my very first card at 18. Also in San Diego Shell passed out San Diego Charger drink glasses of which I think mine are packed away. However, parents moving to the Bay Area meant the Shell stations were passing out 49er glassware.
I noticed the photo of the Gulf station with the Comet in the foreground, there is a banner advertising Expo ‘67. Maybe in the Montreal area? I also noticed 3 VW bugs in the picture!
I believe that photo is from White River Junction, Vermont (based on the Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in the background and the Vermont license plate). So close enough to Montreal for an Expo 67 banner, I guess.
Expo 67 was fun .
-Nate
A lot of great photos in the batch.
#1 Love the snow tire sale $11.99 that won’t even cover mounting these days, and of course the Breezeway Merc in front of it.
#2 We know the location and date, we just don’t know whether it is the start or the finish of the Safety Economy run.
#3 3 pickups in one shot, definitely in farm/ranch country and not in the big city, though the hats and boots say that too.
#5 is interesting with the wide whites on the drag car and of course all the kids on their bikes are checking it out. Definitely no uncommon to see a drag car at the service station where it was likely built after hours. Their big selling point that they wash rear windows too.
#10 Fine China only 99 cents!
Assuming it’s 1964 in the top photo, that (as low as) $11.95 for a snow tire would be $121.66 in 2024 dollars.
At the intersection of Minnesota 33 and Cloquet Avenue, here is the only working gasoline service station built in accordance with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City design. I always wished to visit but never managed to.
https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MN-01-017-0042
Photo #7: Gulf Station
I see two Beetles driving away from the camera and one parked at the gas station. Suspect the one parked is a canvas top (very rare). Based on the Chrysler – Plymouth sign in the background, my guess is 1966 or 1967.
Photo #6: Woman & Child in front of 1957 Ford
Based on the mountains in the background and the adobe building next to the gas station, I’m getting a New Mexico or Arizona vibe here. On their way to or from California.
I believe the car in Photo #7 has a 1967-68 Vermont license plate. I think the photo is from White River Junction, Vermont, since the side of the Chrysler dealer says Hartford Motors, and there was a Hartford Chrysler-Plymouth in White River Junction.
Photo #6 is actually from a Carter gas station in Estes Park, Colorado. Amazingly, the building (and the neighborhood building) still stands. StreetView capture and link below:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3spPtvje8ZdsY3uM8
Picture from the 1960’s. Dad’s high school friend and his brothers ran this gas station and full repair facility for about 50 years. Spent a lot of time in that place myself getting our cars serviced there in the 80’s until they retired.
What town is the pic from?
Vancouver, B.C. Texaco stn. opened post WW2 up to early 2000m then retired.
Loving that 55 Chevy at the Sunoco station with the nicely radiused rear wheel openings.
My dad owned a standard oil station in Hialeah Florida back in 1959 went there after school every day I was 12 and I would help out putting gas in the cars for the customers had a lot of fun
Great pics from the past. Too bad the third last picture, where vacation attired dad is retrieving something from the trunk of his Rambler, doesn’t include the entire roadside Texaco sign.
Back in the day when a neighbor owned the corner SERVICE station. It built loyalty and an actual connection. Granted cars required much more servicing but it was a totally different experience.
I remember when I was a kid. We were driving home from Washington to Wisconsin and my dad stopped at a station somewhere in North Dakota. The year was 1968. Five men leapt into action cleaning our windows, checking the tires, the oil, even the battery. All this for what was probably $3 worth of gas. Another time we stayed overnight at a mom and pop motel and when came out in the morning all the windows had been cleaned on the car and a card advertising the service station next door was under the wiper. So naturally we patronized the station. Ah, the good old days.
Wonderful photos and memories…thank you…love the comments!
7th photo, black & white, Gulf station. Up until recently there was a vintage GULF sign like that still in use at a Gulf station on Rt. 46 in Parsippany NJ.
New Jersey still requires that an attendant fill your tank, but the “ding-ding” wire strip is no longer found. Haven’t driven over one in about 20 years. I miss the ding-ding bell!
Amazing that the vintage Gulf sign was still in use so recently. I think it dates back to before the mid-60s when the logo was changed from that shown in the lower left below:
Great memories. Gas Station, Filling Station or, Service Station all the same. You pull in ” dig- dig” then the attendant comes out, you tell him Hi- Test or Regular. He opens the hood, checks the oil level, air pressure, cleans the windshield, And set’s a date for your oil change. You pay him and get green stamps. All for .19 cents a gallon.
I remember in new jersey had stations for blacks across the street from the whites had station around late 60s
Those damn liberals ! .
-Nate
Barney’s Gas in Duxbury, Massachusetts still has it! Full service. Love shot with the souped up tri-five and all the kids!
I like the Rambler at the Texaco Star Chief pump….it’s got curb feelers! I need those.
Vanilla Dude– Loved your story. Reminds me of John Denver’s song On The Road
I worked at my dad’s Texaco station in s c when I was 15. I’m 70 now. I loved when someone came in to get gas and service. We had full service. The old building is steal there but it’s a tire store now. O yea the customer wanted there green back stamps.
Grew up in Southern California, Newport Beach. My folks owned a then-new’ ‘56 Fairlane two door hardtop and a ‘53 Chevrolet pickup (5 window). During the summer we would put the camper on the truck, load it with sleeping bags, camping gear, a Coleman stove and us boys. We would navigate Route 66 across the Southwest and eventually turn north to make our way to Western Kansas to visit family. On the way we naturally had to stop for fuel at Whiting Brothers out in the middle of nowhere known as the Mojave Desert in a town now bypassed by I-40 that was called Amboy. We left home around midnight so we could make the California -Arizona border by dawn to try and escape the intense heat (no air conditioning back then). Each filling station was an adventure for my brothers and me : armed with our dimes we would search out a snack of some kind and possibly a cold drink. The smell of the gasoline, the heat shimmering off the ground and the warm breeze made some indelible memories. Hearing Spanish being spoken and trying to catch a word or two. Through Arizona , Dad would find a safe place to stop for lunch just off the highway. Sometimes there would have been a summer rain and the aroma of moist hot earth would well up around us. We boys would pile out of the camper and goof off till we ate. From time to time we would see Navajo kids peering over some of the boulders nearby and watch us.
We would make a game of who could name the most license plates or name the vehicles we saw.
Those gas stations were a link for us for directions, water for the radiator, local information about highway construction or a new, shorter route for us to take. All memories now : GPS replaced paper maps, debit cards are used in vending machines instead of going into the station and interacting with the cashier, 4 lane Interstates have replaced two lane blacktop roads. Few drive that far anymore, flying replaced the hands on personal experience of road travel. Progress? Sometimes I wonder.
I remember when Shell stations would give out a Hot Wheels car with every fill-up in the late 60’s. I still have every single one of those Hot Wheels in one of those big plastic Hot Wheels tire carry case. Occasionally I take them out and reminisce about those good ol’ days driving around for one reason or another hanging out with my Dad…..
As mentioned in some of these other posts, the “ding-ding” when driving in for gas or service, and one or more service attendants hustling out to check the tires, radiator, wiper blades and wash the windows, along with fueling up, is such a long gone normality in American life. My Dad talking “shop” on one subject or another with the attendant or owner was such a fascination for me. More than likely what started my love affair with American made cars from 1972 and older.
As said so many times before,
“Ahh, the good ol’ days”……
That Safety Economy Run was just 2 weeks after Marty McFly arrived from 1985
Was hoping to see a Sinclair, my uncle owned one in the 1950’s /’60’s in Waukegan IL
We had some Sinclair images before, but featured on their own: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-snapshots-55-dodge-plus-others-at-the-sinclair-gas-station-texas-1955/