Gas Stations
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Gasoline is a competitive business. Brand loyalty is fleeting, and customers often choose a station simply based on which side of the road it occupies. Early retailers attracted customers with courteous service, clever architecture, clean restrooms and, above all, convenience. Gas pumps changed along with motorists' needs, evolving from simple hand-cranked mechanisms to sophisticated electric pumps that calculated quantity and cost.
Conoco Gasoline Filling Station, 1915
Visible Gasoline Pump and Service Station outside S.W. Raymond Auto Sales, Adrian, Michigan, 1915-1929 - 1
Manual Crank Gasoline Pump, circa 1915
W. H. Flessel's Auto Station Garage, Huntington, Long Island, New York, 1916
Visible Gas Pump, Birch Tree, Missouri, 1979
Gasoline jumped in price due to World War I shortages, and motorists grew suspicious of "blind" pumps. Who could be sure they were getting all they paid for? "Visible" gas pumps first fed gasoline into a clear glass tank. The motorist could then watch confidently as each gallon of fuel drained into his or her car.
View ArtifactStandard Crown Visible Delivery Gasoline Pump, circa 1920
Advertising Poster, "Butler Paper is a Gas," circa 1987
Hill & Tibbit Super Service Station, Washington, D.C., 1934
"Treasure Island Itself - The Selling Equipment for Filling Stations," 1925
A.F. Steiner Super Service Station at Harper and Harvard, Detroit, Michigan, August 1934
Citrin-Kolb Oil Service Station, 1936
Ford Gas Station Attendant at Gasoline Pumps, December 1934
Ford V-8 Automobile by a Gas Station Pump, February 1935
Brochure Advertising the Xacto Sentry Pump Outfit with Type "C" Tank and Fittings, 1929
Mobil Pegasus Sign, circa 1940
Eye-catching logos helped oil companies to attract and keep customers. Texaco had its big star evocative of the Lone Star State. Shell had its bright yellow shell. Exxon featured a tiger in its ads, encouraging motorists to "put a tiger in your tank." Mobil suggested speed and performance with its Pegasus winged horse introduced in 1934.
View ArtifactTexaco "Fire-Chief" Gasoline Pump, circa 1940
Wayne Showcase Gasoline Pump, circa 1940
"Quality Tokheim Service Instructions for Electric Meter Pumps," 1949
Teepee Amoco Station, Lawrence, Kansas, 1977
Any brand of gasoline will make your car go, so some retailers devised novel ways to set themselves apart from the competition. This gas station in Lawrence, Kansas, was built in the shape of a giant Native American tepee. Other stations throughout the United States were shaped like airplanes, windmills, lighthouses, Chinese pagodas, and even Egyptian temples.
View ArtifactHull-Dobbs Ford Super Service Station, Memphis, Tennessee, 1935
Texaco "Ask Attendant for Key" Restroom Sign, 1940-1960
Union 76 Gas Pump, San Luis Obispo, California, 1977
“Panorama” gas pumps, with narrow bases and wide, easy-to-read displays, first appeared in the early 1960s. Double-nozzle designs like this one allowed the pump to dispense two different gasoline blends at two different prices, or allowed two motorists to fill up simultaneously on both sides of the island.
View ArtifactTexaco Service Station, circa 1960 - 2
Mobil Gasoline Station, circa 1965
Texaco Gas Station, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2003
Self-service pumps were common at American gas stations by the end of the 1980s, and pay-at-the-pump credit card readers meant that customers didn't even need to enter the store. Instead, retailers attracted them inside with convenience items and basic groceries. Service garages, like the one at this Texaco station, became rare as car warranties required repairs at the dealership.
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