Posted on 03/20/2011 1:33:45 PM PDT by P.O.E.
(snip)...I thought it might be fun to relive that long past era when gas stations were truly “service stations” with a look at some of the major gasoline brands as seen through some of their old marketing photos. Gas station architecture is a fascinating genre unto itself, ranging from crude, early stations with curbside pumps to the elaborate mini-Roman temples of the 1930’s. Our focus here will be on stations from the 1960’s, for two reasons – first, a decent number of them still exist, albeit with heavy modifications and rarely under their original brands, and secondly, I’m sure that some of you remember these great stations in their heyday. (snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at pleasantfamilyshopping.blogspot.com ...
LOL!
Posh!
True, but they sure as heck were never “petrol stations”.
LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFciUhOKfCQ
“She was, in today’s vernacular, “smokin’ HOT” and we were in a loaner Corvette.>
My grandpa always called them “service stations”. I was born too late to really appreciate gas stations, but I remember we were in the South on a trip and filled up at an old one that still had the globes. I was intrigued. When I got a little older I started to collect gas station collectables. I’ve even got a 1956 Tokheim pump with an original Shell globe on top in my living room. My wife isn’t crazy about it.
There was something special about using an air pump at the local gas station to inflate your bike tires. I mean, you could use a hand pump back at your own house, but using that pump with the dial-in pressure gauge was just cooler! You'd bring the tire up to pressure with about a 1 second blast.
Thanks for the pleasant memories ping.
Cool!
Dang, beat me to it. I actually remember that place being in business, up to the seventies. The antique pumps replaced more modern ones during restoration.
It’s really a “Shell” station, isn’t it, lol? A local distributor built several of them in the thirties, that is the only one to survive. I think it actually has a state historical marker now.
You mean you remember S&H Green Stamps?
Yes I do.
Between 1966-69 I was old enough to work at my father service station on a busy highway between Brentwood and Antioch, California if I remember, this is almond orchard country near the San Joaquin Delta.
I think the gas was .19 for regular, .21 for premium and we also had ethyl which I think was higher than premium, 100 octane stuff at .24 a gallon or 9/10ths.
I think the station was a Flying A with the pegasus horse, I was but 11 years old, my dad played a good trick on me when he asked me to check the coolant on a volkswagon, and he made money telling customers that the air in the tires needed to be changed, his brother my uncle was so dumb he thought when a tire was 32psi it was 32 pounds heavier.
We had the large glass coke bottle style of oil available, a one bay stall with an air lift, tire repair equipment and a small stock of headlights, bulbs, fan belts and hoses. Back then things were pretty basic. We had both Blue Chip and S&H Green stamps, the latter seemed to be more sought after, a few years later when we again had a station in San Jose when IT was still orchards we advertised 10X blue chip stamps with fillup, well there was a nearby California Hihway patrol office and they had those great big patrol cars with a 30 gallon tank I think and they would come to our station jut for the stamps, the machine was like an old rotary phone, you dialed in the amount and it rolled out like a paper towel, these officers were getting a LOT of stamps.
I think the Blue Chip or S&H stamps idea would or could make a comeback successfully.
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