Brings back memories of the family day drives - we'd leave early in the morning and drive around in Dad's '65 Plymouth Savoy (225 ci slant 6), looking at all sorts of sights, and we'd gas up at 36 cents a gallon - it cost just seven bucks to fill up completely! I spent a lot of time in the back seat of that car. Good times... Here's a photo I took a couple of years ago at Cumberland Village, a 1920s style preserved village near Ottawa: That's a nice place. Lots of old buildings, houses, etc. transplanted from elsewhere.
Hey, that's awesome stuff there Tom. Sinclair and Skelly; both bring back memories. Good photos for sure. Charlie
I also like the sign "filling station." I always heard that growing up, also, "garage" or "service station." Those terms would be ones that would make kids today say, "HUH?"
Especially the lack of "service" today. I do remember that so well, having worked at a garage for so many years as a youth.
I passed through New Jersey recently. They do not have self-serve gas. An illegal immigrant will be happy to pump your gas for a tip. I heard that Oregon is the same, Don't know if that is true. That's about the last way to get service I guess.
Unless it has changed since my last time there, Oregon does not allow self service. Dunno about a tip. I've never given one. I usually fill up before entering Oregon, just to avoid dealing with clods who weren't born until forty years or more after I learned how to do it. And don't even know anything about the business.
Great topic, Growing up in Southern California in the 1960's / 1970's I remember: Texaco, Shell, Flying A (later Phillips 66), Richfield (later ARCO), Union 76 (worked at one during high school), Enco (later Exxon), Sunland, Standard (later Chevron), Mobil, and Gulf. I like the prices at that Shell station in Russell's photo. I've got a Texaco station on one of my Ntrak modules with prices close to that and it always get comments. The Texaco sign also goes around because back in the day most of them did.
In my home town the local Farmer's Coop is the big supplier and there stations have never been much to look at. Just a box of a convenience store selling no-name gas.
Unfortunately, there weren't any "fancy" gas stations left in my hometown. I believe the old "art deco" Esso gas station on Main St. stood as an independent auto repair shop until the early 90's, no gas. We had an Amoco, which became a Texaco for maybe 6 months before it closed (early 90's). SuperAmerica became Speedway, now there is a GoMart, Sheetz, BP and talk of Kroger adding gas pumps. Nothing exciting.... Hey, at least we still have an original Dairy Queen. Dairy Queen, Buckhannon, WV by Dean Jeffrey, on Flickr
When I was building my Richmond, Texas NTRAK modules for 1951 I had some old photos and the Sandborn Fire Insurance map for 1949. The map showed where the gas stations were but did not tell me what brands. I went to the research section at the county library and found an old phone book from 1951. I looked in the business listings for gas stations and it gave me all the information I needed. With each brand it gave the address that I could look up on the map. Here is gasoline alley in Richmond starting with Sinclair at the top left. Phillips 66, Gulf, Texaco and Humble. Out of view to the lower right were Mobile and Flintex. I was not even born then and did not move to Texas until 1967 so I have no memories of this scene.
The DQ in Williams, AZ has the new building facade with new logo, but the old lit sign on a post. It is two blocks down, on old Rt 66, from the Grand Canyon Railway