# Gas Stations in the USA 1920s - 1940s



## SeaBreeze

Some interesting old black and white photos of gas stations in the USA in the 30s and 40s, note the prices!  http://www.vintag.es/2013/06/black-white-photos-of-gas-stations-in.html


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## Falcon

How well I remember most of them.....AND the cars.  Those were the good old days.


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## Pappy

This is the gas station in Paso Robles, CA that I worked part-time at. At the time I was in the army and stationed at Camp Roberts which is now closed down. Circa, 1957. The guy washing the windshield looks like me, but that would be a stretch.


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## kcvet

my dad worked in a Shamrock station when i was a kid. in Boulder, CO


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## Meanderer

View attachment 8292


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## Rainee

I like these older gas stations I rather like the way you pull up to get your gas and then go inside to pay.. 
still do that but there is lots of more pumps here in Australia now.. out in the country they are like yours are they 
haven`t progressed as much as the big cities.. thanks for sharing.. times gone by ..


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## RCynic

Yeah, remember the days when you could pull in and multiple guys would come out, check your tires, oil, wash your windows and THEN give you green stamps for only about $0.30/gallon? Now you pull into self serve, pump your own while a high school kid studying his history book smacks gum behind bullet proof glass for $4.00/gallon.

How the mighty dollar has fallen.


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## Meanderer

RCynic said:


> Yeah, remember the days when you could pull in and multiple guys would come out, check your tires, oil, wash your windows and THEN give you green stamps for only about $0.30/gallon? Now you pull into self serve, pump your own while a high school kid studying his history book smacks gum behind bullet proof glass for $4.00/gallon.
> 
> How the mighty dollar has fallen.



When was that...60 years ago?


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## Ina

I hear what your saying RCynic, and I also remember the gas stations were where you found the best mechanics, and you could drop off your tires for retreading or to plug a whole, and then pick them up later. :tapfoot:


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## Meanderer

Art Deco circa 1933


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## Pappy

A real oldie.


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## Geezerette

Ditto to what RCynic said great old pictures!.


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## Meanderer

*Sinclair petrol station of the future at the World's Fair  (year?)*

[video]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1090832/Sinclair-petrol-station-future-Worlds-Fair.html[/video]


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## SeaBreeze

1957 photo


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## SifuPhil

Meanderer said:


> *Sinclair petrol station of the future at the World's Fair  (year?)*



1964-1965 - I went to it as a kid.

Sinclair sponsored a large part of that exhibit - Dinoland - and had 9 life-sized dinosaurs, 2 of which were motorized. I remember seeing them being shipped down the Hudson River on a barge from their creator's workshop upstate - quite a sight!


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## Big Horn

Should any of you folks be in Cody, Wyoming, I recommend stopping at the Exxon station on the east side of town.  Without any additional charge, they pump the gas and wash your windows, all of them.  They do car repairs as well.

An old man runs the place; he may be as old as I am.  I always ask for Ethyl and he knows what I mean.  I don't ask the teenagers.  Exxon Premium is the the only alcohol-free gas that I can buy here.


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## Aunt Bea

I remember when a bunch of us kids would ride our bicycles past the service station and make a point of running over the bell hose to annoy the attendant, LOL!!!


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## Meanderer

The Deserted Island!


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## Pappy




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## Aunt Bea

Pappy said:


> View attachment 42822



Great photo!

It's pretty easy to see who is doing most of the work!


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## RadishRose

The Dr. Pepper sign on the roof makes me think this is in the South.


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## SeaBreeze




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## SeaBreeze




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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer

*Gas Stations In Illinois 1930's
*
"During the 1930's my grandpa was an agent for Illinois Oil Co. and visited gas stations all over the central part of Illinois. Being kind of a gadget nut, he got one of the new 8mm movie cameras and filmed many of them and their employees. It's an interesting video record of what gas stations were like during the early days of paved roads in Illinois.
The first bit of the video is a view of downtown Peoria, the CILCO offices are visible and you can just barely see one of Peoria's Brill electric trolleybuses, which had replaced the streetcars.
Some of the views are of the gas station and bulk oil depot he owned in Gridley, Illinois, also there's a view of my grandma in her Sunday best leaving their house on 8th Street in Gridley. The train appears to a Chicago & Alton express refrigerator freight, probably filmed in Dwight.
The tanker trucks are apparently either owner-operated (notice the names on the sides), or the early gas station owners had to hire or buy their own tankers. I think the tankers were for bulk deliveries of fuel oil, diesel or gasoline to farmers. I know my grandpa's business had a tank truck for that purpose, I remember riding in it".


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## Meanderer




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## Aunt Bea




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## AZ Jim

Pappy said:


> View attachment 42822


When I was a kid all the pumps were the manual gravity type like  pictured here.  If you wanted 5 gallons the attendant used a hand lever  to pump up the gas into the glass tank on top of the assembly, then he  would open the nozzle and let the gas from the tank rub out.


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## oldman

In the first picture, the NEHI sign. How I remember NEHI Orange soda, not to mention the .02 bottle return.


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## Meanderer

A Stooges set up but still a great old station





Take your choice


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## Pappy




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## Meanderer

Bethesda Chevy Chase A252 W R Lansdowne Gas Station 1940


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## SeaBreeze




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