Old gas stations

[vitanola]

The last photo, the one of the veteran car. The picture is obviously taken in North America because we never had Standard Oil as such, only S.O. branded as Esso.
Yet the car is right hand drive. It makes me wonder if there was any sort of ambiguity as to which side of the road motorists should keep to, in the early days of motoring.
Some sort of international agreement must have been arranged, I can't believe that every country on the entire continent of The Americas chose one side over the other, quite by chance.

That photo appears to showRollin White driving a then twenty-three or twenty-four year old White Steamer. He is fueling up at a (long since demolished) Standard station which stood at the corner of Euclid and Shaw Avenues in East Cleveland, Ohio. The other passengers are his brothers Windsor, Thomas, and Walter. At the time that this photo was taken (1930 or 1931) White Motors was a leading producer of heavy trucks. The White Sewing Machine Company (another family holding, founded by the brothers father) was the second largest manufacturer of sewing machines in the world, and Rollin White's Cle-Trac equipment was revolutionizing the construction industry.

Oh, and those Tudor Standard stations were built only in Ohio, (almost all were in Northern Ohio) so when one sees a photo of such a station one can narrow its location pretty closely.

 

[vitanola]

Yep. The drivers' door can't be unlocked from the outside unless you've got a coat-hanger on you,.

The open Ford Cars did not even have driver's side front doors until the introduction of the "Improved" 1926 models.

 

[GHT]

What happens when marketing has too big a budget:

"Let's see, we've done the sign, we put it on calendars, note pads and even thermos bottles - any ideas? Any? You, at the end of the table, is your hand up?"

"Um, yes, how, um, 'bout, um, we make a chair that uses the sign for the back support part?"

"That's crazy, but what the heck, we have the budget - a chair it is."

Ta-da!
View attachment 102009


"Hey, I think it turned out pretty well."

"You're an idiot."

Did the idiot go on to work for BP?

 

[2jakes]

 

[2jakes]

The Big Pump

The Big Pump Gas Station, King City, MO, is shaped like a giant electric gas pump.
The structure was used as a gas station office and restrooms. It was built in 1937
of galvanized metal over wood and was originally painted black and white.

The Big Pump was originally located 35 miles away in Maryville, MO. It operated
as a Skelly, a Texaco, and a Co-Op station. In the 1970s, the building was about
to be destroyed when it was bought and donated to the Tri-County Historical
Society in King City.

The structure was restored and stands in a local park.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

[BlueTrain]

The two kids leaving the store with the rocking chair on the porch probably lived in a house that was in pretty much the same condition. I have seen a couple of general stores in very similar condition, though not recently. The open space in front of the store was practically paved in bottle caps.

The advertising signs are interesting. Does anyone still advertising baking powder these days? There are products there that I've never heard of, too, like Creole Belle coffee. Undoubtedly a local favorite. Haven't heard of Ripple cigarettes but the name sounds familiar. Anyone feel an urge to have a Nehi cola and a moon pie? Okay, I know it's supposed to be an RC cola and a moon pie. I wasn't born yesterday.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, RC was originally a product of the Nehi Corporation. Although it has the stereotype of being a southern drink, it was heavily marketed on a national basis in the Era -- "Best By Taste Test!" -- and in the 1930s it was the second-most-popular cola product in the US behind You Know Who. Pepsi was a failing enterprise at that time, a perpetually-bankrupt third-rate product sold in used beer bottles, while RC was proudly sponsoring "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" on a national radio network. It wasn't until a Boy From Marketing fished the carcass of Pepsi out of bankruptcy that the worm turned.

 

[3fingers]

I have always liked RC. It was pretty popular here at one time, but not so much anymore. It has been a long while since I've seen an RC vending machine.

 

[BlueTrain]

This all reminds me of how regionally (or provincial) we are, even if it's less than we used to be. Comedians told jokes that made fun of their audience in a way that people from somewhere else would either not understand or would find offensive. I suppose tastes in food and drink are still a little regional. For instance, I'm from southern West Virginia (five miles from Virginia) but went to college in the northern part of the state (five miles from Pennsylvania). I was surprised at some of the things that were eaten up there and some, like pepperoni rolls, I later learned were a real regional specialty. At the time, though, I never gave it a second thought. In little towns in Pennsylvania, I also found that eastern European foods, like Polish sausages, were common. So you see, I learned things in college.

 

[Touchofevil]

View attachment 102196
View attachment 102197
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The starkness of the first picture is beautiful.

 

[Fading Fast]

The starkness of the first picture is beautiful.

+1, not hard to imagine Mitchum walking by in a dusty, rumpled suit (jacket off and slung over his shoulder).

 

[GHT]

The Big Pump
View attachment 102201

View attachment 102202
The Big Pump Gas Station, King City, MO, is shaped like a giant electric gas pump.
The structure was used as a gas station office and restrooms. It was built in 1937
of galvanized metal over wood and was originally painted black and white.

The Big Pump was originally located 35 miles away in Maryville, MO. It operated
as a Skelly, a Texaco, and a Co-Op station. In the 1970s, the building was about
to be destroyed when it was bought and donated to the Tri-County Historical
Society in King City.

The structure was restored and stands in a local park.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This amazing structure reminds me of an office block in the south coast town of Bournemouth. The locals call it: "The Jukebox."

 

[BlueTrain]

I guess nobody sees the same thing when they look at something. To me, that office building reminds me of the entrance to a drive-in movie theater, though rather grander than most. Or maybe a motion picture set, one wall thick.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This all reminds me of how regionally (or provincial) we are, even if it's less than we used to be. Comedians told jokes that made fun of their audience in a way that people from somewhere else would either not understand or would find offensive. I suppose tastes in food and drink are still a little regional. For instance, I'm from southern West Virginia (five miles from Virginia) but went to college in the northern part of the state (five miles from Pennsylvania). I was surprised at some of the things that were eaten up there and some, like pepperoni rolls, I later learned were a real regional specialty. At the time, though, I never gave it a second thought. In little towns in Pennsylvania, I also found that eastern European foods, like Polish sausages, were common. So you see, I learned things in college.

And there was no product more regional than gasoline. The only oil company in the Era that sold its brand of gasoline in all 48 states was Texaco.

 

[2jakes]

The starkness of the first picture is beautiful.

It's very typical of the small towns
where I go on weekends outside the big city.

Driving my '46 truck along dusty roads,
eating at local diners with Bob Mitchums
in faded jackets and gals in western
boots & jeans makes for quite an interesting journey.

Shamrock, Tx.

 

[2jakes]

I have always liked RC. It was pretty popular here at one time, but not so much anymore. It has been a long while since I've seen an RC vending machine.

RC soda water from the '50s, which only came in glass bottles
with a cork inside the cap was not as sweet as Coca~Cola or
Dr. Pepper.
This is my interpretation of '50s soft drink.
Dr. Pepper was my favorite. My pop was mgr. of the local plant.

I enjoyed watching the making of the soft drink.
The odor of syrup and carbonation with the glass bottles
rolling along the assembly line.
I also like the odor of the inside of vending
machines, especially the floor models.

The RC Cola colors and ads always remind me of gas stations,
local grocery stores and the '50s.

 

[2jakes]

 

[BlueTrain]

Tell me again why we call them the good old days.

 

[2jakes]

Tell me again why we call them the good old days.

I can only speak for myself.
But when I fell down, I could get up right away with no problem and keep on playing!

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob