Gas Stations of the 1920s
"Thirty five cents? For a tank of gas? Are you insane? Who can afford those prices!?"
Courtesy of our very own lilwillie comes this awesome photo-set of filling stations from the early days of motoring. It’s worth a long, slow look.
There are number of things that are pretty amazing about these photos. First and foremost, obviously, is how different these filling stations are from what we’re so used to today. Dirt lots, single pumps, little shacks.
Even more amazing than that, however, is the fact that there are so many similarities to what we see today. In many ways, the filling stations we see in these photos are remarkably similar to those of the modern world. Sure, there might be flashy lighting, and high-visibility signage, but the basic idea has hardly changed. Have a look through, and see how the world has changed… and how it hasn’t.
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i like how you used to be able to stack 20 tires in the same space that would now fit 5.
My dad, who will turn 82 next month, remembers clearly that gas was 20¢ a gallon when he was a kid.
He has told me many times about how the neighborhood boys would snicker at the sign that hung in front the service station near his house: "5 GALS FOR $1"
Now, you could probably get five gals cheaper than you could get five gallons of gas, sadly.
So you got the forwarded email, too? By the way, these pictures are all from the excellent Shorpy Web site, one of my go-to sites:
http://www.shorpy.com/
I was wondering the same thing. I'm guessing we'll all just have to wonder until AteUpWithMotor shows up and delivers a 5000-word essay on early vehicle performance tuners.
On the 3rd shot from the bottom; the auto seems to be sitting on some wheels underneath the platform. 1920's dyno?
That does look to be an old dyno using train wheels, maybe? Either way, it caught my eye and made me grin from ear to ear.
I wonder if it's the opposite. Are the rims underneath turning the car's drivetrain above to facilitate lubrication? I found this cool pic on Hemmings:
<img src="http://images.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/04/Bottineaupostcard_02_700.jpg" />
$25 for a complete engine AND transmission overhaul? Sign me up!
Wait, do I have to DD a Model T for that deal?
Wheel balancing?
Perhaps not as sophisticated as a dyno; it could just be an early sort of rolling road, allowing them to run up the engine and run through the gears while stationary. Back then most adjustments were just done by general feel, without much in the way of objective instrumentation. It was mostly by "eyeballing" or done by ear, like a musical instrument…hence the term "tuning."
Sounds like how I would set the ignition timing in my '65 Mustang Six. Turn the screw in the distributor to advance the timing while the engine is idling. At the point where the engine just starts to ping, back off a quarter turn and it's done.
I absolutely love the ad slogan on the canopy in #3: "Toot-An-Kum-In".
Is it a glorious example of brash, old-school marketing innuendo?
Or merely an attempt to capitalize on the Egyptology craze?
YES!
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Also, loans and haberdashers at your local Texaco depot (#4). Fan-freaking-tastic!
I was going to make the same comment re pic #3.
I also really like the slogan in the first pic about why you should try Dome Gas. No dicking around with fancy words and long sentences, just tell it like it is: "It's Better".
It was shortened from their original slogan: "It's Better — so, youse got some kinda prolem wit dat?"
It would be another 40 years before Don Draper would come along to coin a better one-liner: "It's toasted".
Oh, but had he been 40 years early, "toasted" would apply not just to the gas, but likely the car and its driver as well.
Wow, almost all of these are from DC and the surrounding areas, back when there was room to breathe.
In #5: "Free Crank Case Service."
The bad news is that they just gob some JB Weld on it.
I remember Amaco having the sight glass and little plastic balls on the pump for the 92 Octane in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
My very first job was pumping gas as a kid 15 at the time. Dad wouldn't let me work for him until I worked for someone else. The station was Bolligs Mobil in my town. Very, very old station. I wish I could drum up some pictures of it. It looks very much like the large Amoco station pictured. The buildings where as old as the automobile.
The owner was batshit crazy but he knew it. He always said; "The difference between me and my brother? We are both crazy but at least I know it." I'd work the late shift Thurs,Fri, Sat and Sunday nights. Then mornings Mon-Wed. Everyone thought I was nuts for working late on thirsty Thursday and Friday. But I was the info man for our small town. I knew where every party was. I knew which one was going to be epic and I knew who needed to know and when they needed to be there. It was a blast. At closing, 10pm, the owner would fill my tank and throw a case of cheap beer in the trunk and thank me for my work. Off I went to party all night. This owner and I had some history. My Dad turned wrenches for him in the early 70's until a few years after I was born. When I was born the owner gave me a Silver Cup with my name, date of birth, weight and time I was born. I still have it on my shelf at home.
Another funny perk was the nudes driving in. My town has a nude beach along the river. If the nudist where nice and respectful I'd gladly give them directions. If they were assholes I'd send them all over timbuck and get them lost. Man. I saw so much tail just pumping gas. Some very, very hot. Some that made me gag. But always funny.
Sadly. He got old too and retired and sold the station. I was the very last person to pump gas there. The new owner walked in one Sunday night, asked if I worked there and then after my replying yes told me he was going Self-Serve Monday morning. So there I was fired.
The old owners wife stayed on though running the register. She still does run the register to this day.The Station looks nothing like the original. Your typical quick stop Mobil. The owner passed about 7 or so years ago. Billy was his name. Crazy as flippn hell. Many nights I'd bump into him driving around town at 3am. Just checking out the town.
I'm guessing you've heard of this, but I'll mention it just in case: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whspress/books/bo…
A quick summary: "Since their unremarkable beginnings as cheap shacks and curbside pumps at the dawn of the automobile age, gas stations have taken many forms and worn many guises — castles, cottages and teepees, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, clad with wood, stucco, or gleaming porcelain in seemingly infinite variety. But, where hundreds of gas stations once stood in Wisconsin's largest cities, only a handful remain today, victims of competition, obsolescence, changing transportation needs and housing patterns, as well as stronger environmental regulation…. We may not dwell upon the evolution of gas stations or their historical importance, but in a culture directly shaped by the automobile, stations are an unavoidable and indispensable background in our daily lives."
By the way, I work with the wife of one of the guys who did that book/documentary. I guess his new project is researching old bars throughout Wisconsin, and he'll be writing a book about that. I have a feeling that might be of interest to you as well.
Also, the Wisconsin Historical Society has a ton of old photos, including old gas stations. The site is really slow right now, but here is where you can find them: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/feature/fille…
I hadn't seen the info on the website but PBS did a hour long program on the gas stations in Wisconsin. It was a really good show. Usually plays during the day so I think I've watched it 5 or 6 times at the Shop.
Thanks for the link!
Earlier this year I actually filled up at a station in Kings Canyon National Park that still uses those.
My guess is car-powered gas pump.
That was my thought, too. Better not have to push her in…
These are all pretty epic. I especially love dyno. Awesome.
Back around 1968, my bride and I passed through eastern Washington and found a gas station with hand-operated gas pumps. A barefoot kid pumped the gas for us. He grabbed a long handle and filled these glass containers on the top of the pump, which looked like giant measuring cups. Then the gas ran into our gas tank via gravity.