Old gas stations

[dh66]

Red Hot.

Rob

It's been awhile since I was last through
Meridian.....couldnt miss that one. Does anyone know if the sign is still standing? It outlasted the truck stop by a good little bit.

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[Zombie_61]

I think that's a 1985-does-1955 pit crew from Back to the Future.

Aww nuts, you're right. Oh well, at least I got the year of the car right.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

It's been awhile since I was last through
Meridian.....couldnt miss that one. Does anyone know if the sign is still standing? It outlasted the truck stop by a good little bit.

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Yep....

https://www.meridianstar.com/news/l...cle_8eb06f6c-4718-558c-8474-374225310dc1.html

Rob

 

[Zombie_61]

Yep....

https://www.meridianstar.com/news/l...cle_8eb06f6c-4718-558c-8474-374225310dc1.html

Rob

"'To my knowledge, it's going to be a permanent landmark,' Miles said." Riiiiight. When a local bowling alley closed in 2015 the building couldn't be bulldozed because it was protected by the California Office of Historic Preservation, so the new owners gutted it and repurposed it as a combo Bev-Mo/Aldi's. The somewhat unique sign out front, however, was not legally protected and many locals were concerned about it until the new owners publicly assured everyone that the sign would be preserved as well. Then they tore it down, but assured everyone that it was merely undergoing some needed renovation and would be returned once that was completed. And it was...sort of.

 

[dh66]

"'To my knowledge, it's going to be a permanent landmark,' Miles said." Riiiiight. When a local bowling alley closed in 2015 the building couldn't be bulldozed because it was protected by the California Office of Historic Preservation, so the new owners gutted it and repurposed it as a combo Bev-Mo/Aldi's. The somewhat unique sign out front, however, was not legally protected and many locals were concerned about it until the new owners publicly assured everyone that the sign would be preserved as well. Then they tore it down, but assured everyone that it was merely undergoing some needed renovation and would be returned once that was completed. And it was...sort of.

I hit the button....but really not much to like about this. I guess it's better than just tearing it down completely.

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[LizzieMaine]

Everybody loves bowling. Nobody loves Chase Bank.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

The Zwickers.

Rob

 

[David Conwill]

We have, perhaps, seen this 1939 Sinclair station in Jackson, Mississippi, before, but it just appeared on Shorpy. That means we can now see it in considerably more detail. Anyone know what the clock-face pump off to the right is for? Kerosene?

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ I'm thinking the owner of that stately home behind the station could not have been too please when the station was built, basically, in his/her front yard.

 

[3fingers]

⇧ I'm thinking the owner of that stately home behind the station could not have been too please when the station was built, basically, in his/her front yard.

I'd be kind of bent out of shape about that view.
Maybe the station belongs to the homeowner? That's gotta be a $30,000+ house. Hard to believe that someone of the means to afford that place wouldn't own the outlot. Stranger things have happened though.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Sinclair U.S. Motor" was the cheapest grade of gasoline that could legally be sold under United States specifications for motor fuel -- it was basically what they used to call "Fighting Gas," a grade offered to be competitive in price wars. Most companies had a similar cut-rate brand with no lead or other performance addititves -- just a straight, plain white gasoline. Texaco had Indian, Shell had Green Streak, Gulf had Gulftane, etc. This dealer seems to be selling it for 11 cents a gallon before taxes, which is about as cheap as it gets in the late thirties.

In addition to selling it to price-conscious drivers, stations would also sell this type of gas as a cleaning fluid, and people would come up with cans or jugs to get filled. Segregating the pump off to the side like that made such transactions simpler.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Sinclair U.S. Motor" was the cheapest grade of gasoline that could legally be sold under United States specifications for motor fuel -- it was basically what they used to call "Fighting Gas," a grade offered to be competitive in price wars. Most companies had a similar cut-rate brand with no lead or other performance addititves -- just a straight, plain white gasoline. Texaco had Indian, Shell had Green Streak, Gulf had Gulftane, etc. This dealer seems to be selling it for 11 cents a gallon before taxes, which is about as cheap as it gets in the late thirties.

In addition to selling it to price-conscious drivers, stations would also sell this type of gas as a cleaning fluid, and people would come up with cans or jugs to get filled. Segregating the pump off to the side like that made such transactions simpler.

So are you saying our friend the dinosaur fronted for a bargain-basement gas purveyor?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, every oil company did it, but not all of them put the cut-rate pump out in the open like that. SORRY FOLKS, ONLY PEOPLE WITH FOLDING MONEY GET TO BE IN THE SHADE.

 

[Fading Fast]

Well, every oil company did it, but not all of them put the cut-rate pump out in the open like that. SORRY FOLKS, ONLY PEOPLE WITH FOLDING MONEY GET TO BE IN THE SHADE.

Got it, missed it the first time. Everyone had a "low price point" offering.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And the surprising thing was, those cheapie brands were often of better quality than the higher grade stuff. Consumers Union ran scientific tests on from-the-pump samples in 1937, 38, and 39, and found Shell Green Streak the best value of all brands tested. You didn't read about that fact in any national advertising.

 

[Fading Fast]

And the surprising thing was, those cheapie brands were often of better quality than the higher grade stuff. Consumers Union ran scientific tests on from-the-pump samples in 1937, 38, and 39, and found Shell Green Streak the best value of all brands tested. You didn't read about that fact in any national advertising.

Good the CU was there for those who made the effort to read it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A CU member fills up at 14.9 cents per gallon. Note that the attendant is using an absorbent pad to keep from marring the car's finish.

 

[Zombie_61]

I hit the button....but really not much to like about this. I guess it's better than just tearing it down completely.

I agree. Besides, as a business owner I'm sure it made no sense to have a sign that says "BOWL" in front of your retail stores and they could just have easily replaced it with a more modern sign. They also saved a lot of the wood from the bowling lanes and used it as "accents" inside the stores wherever they could. 50 years from now few will care or remember that it was a bowling alley, but by being sensitive about preserving the building's history as much as possible they generated quite a bit of "good will" within the community.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Gas girls.

Rob

 

[LizzieMaine]

I wish I had a picture of my late aunt to add to this, in her greasy overalls, Army boots, and mashed-up cap with a cigarette sticking out of her mouth. In our station, as with most of the Era, the Ladies Room was entered from outside the building, while the Mens Room had an entry inside the office. She'd always use the Mens Room, grumbling, "I ain't goin' out in the cold just to take a piss." Ah glamour.