History Old Gas Stations Today-Derelict or Period Restored.

Gas Stations in NZ never had much if any style except for BP Stations of the 40's and 50's. JW

 

The Rapp Station in Cedar Falls, IA and the Youngville Cafe on Hwy 30, south of Vinton, IA

Gary

 

Yes. that's still the original glass. The window frames where rotted beyond repair though, so needed new frames, including the door.

Here is a before pic




Was quite a challenge to find somebody who was willing and able to make those curved frames. At the end I found an 80 year old retired carpenter, he did an amazing job.

Frank

 

The Stockade Service Centre I posted before, but that photo had a modern car there. The other photo: my father bought his used 1959 Custom 300 from there sometime in the 1960's.

 

Caltex station in Mörarp

 

Shell in Sollebrunn, active between 1935-1950 now a museum.
These tiny little stations were popular in sweden, besides gas they sold oil and small service stuff like plugs wires belts...
Almost all of them were demolished but this one survived, its quite popular to build your own copy of them for your backyard.

 

There's one of these in Van Wert Ohio

 

Hello,

Laguna Beach is a So Cal historic location. Today, it is one of the destination locations on every travel website, brochures and magazine articles about vacation spots for everyone. We have been traveling to Laguna Beach since the late 40s as our dad was an avid surf fisherman. He loved going to various beaches, rocky out points and barren sandy shores to fish for what is in season. If the catch was good, it was stored in an ice chest and our dinner for that evening was fresh barbequed fish.

But, the times he took us to Laguna Beach, it was a long drive from Long Beach, but it was a vacation of sorts. Sometimes, we stayed in a motel. Other times, we drove home in time for dinner. Sometimes, to keep our mom happy, we went early, fished until lunch, took our mom to lunch in a Laguna Beach restaurant and drove home with her happy. Although she grew up near the ocean, she was not the most enthusiastic beach goer or more like, a visitor sitting under an umbrella waiting for the day to be over.

Although, not to portray our mom as a naysayer about her anti-fishing scenarios, she was ahead of her time. During this time, she wanted to purchase this waterfront cliff lot for her permanent home. Wow, think of that, two brothers growing up in Laguna Beach right on the ocean. Remember, they were not million dollar houses or properties back then. It was like buying a lot in a residential area, although it was far away from the metropolitan city areas. Values and times change and it was an opportunity for her.

If that simple purchase had gone through, we could have seen the old car dealer on Coast Highway and got gas at the old gas station on the same property. There were lots of old gas stations along Coast Highway, but by the time my wife and I started our journeys in and around Laguna Beach, it got down to only one on the ocean side of the PCH highway and a few stations that turned into auto repair shops. Today, no working stations on the ocean side of the highway in the whole town.

The inland side of the highway had/has two working ones in the North, three in the middle and one in South Laguna. That went on for years and still is the exact number today.

Jnaki

As it turned out to be, no purchase of an oceanview lot on the beach side of Coast Highway for our mom and two "poor" kids not having grown up in Laguna Beach. Our history would have been completely different with a new community and location. Plus, it would have been a two hour drive to work for our dad every day, one way. No freeways back then, just a two lane winding road to head inland to central Orange County. He could have done it, and by the time the real freeway came to be, it went right into Los Angeles. But, our dad would have aged faster than normal.

So, what happened to the Ford-Lincoln dealership and old gas station? Many, many years later, my wife and I frequented this multistory modern artistic design building complex that had wonderful stores, restaurants and did not affect precious parking spots along the Coast Highway. (just steps away from one of the best surf spots in Laguna Beach, Brooks Street Beach.) All underground parking for shoppers and restaurant visitors. The restaurants were excellent and the shops held our buying power and interests for quite some time.

The old dealership and gas station were taken down for Laguna Village Faire offices, parking and cute shops/restaurants. From 1938 to the late 60s to present reconstruction and upgrade of the original block long construction units, still functioning, but not to the extent of popularity that happened for the first couple of years of after the grand opening.

Across the Coast Highway, two famous surf spots are still pumping when the swell hits. Oak Street and the more famous spot, Brooks Street.

 

This is the Foreign Car Hospital in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. You enter by driving in between the attached apartment building into the garage space which is on the rear of the property. The rear door then exits into the alley at the rear of the lot.

The interesting thing is that this has been an auto servicing building pretty much since it was built. At one point, it was one of the earliest British import dealerships in the city. It was then owned for a long time by Allison Hartman, one of the early women auto mechanics in the city, who raced in various SCCA events (she eventually sold the shop to its current owner and then went to law school & passed the bar at 75 years of age).

One of the shop's more recent former mechanics is currently the Director of National Intelligence.

 

Hello,

As has been posted, the Farmer’s Market area of the Fairfax District in Los Angeles is/has a long history of development. Look up the history of the area and it involved plenty of early automotive history, L.A. sports history, movie/tv industry, and commercial enterprises that continue to this day in modern times. Some items are gone and only an inkling of what was once a happening thing back in those old days.

A little history from the Fairfax District in Los Angeles:

The Young Gilmore Steps In

“In 1918 Arthur Gilmore passed away, leaving the business to his son Earl Bell Gilmore. The business quickly went from selling gasoline from a horse-drawn carriage on the corner of 3rd and La Brea, to its first gas station at that same spot, followed by a whopping 3,000 additional gas stations built along the west coast.”

“The young Gilmore had a unique and energetic approach to business, partnering with daredevils in the automotive community like John Cobb who would set the land speed record at the time of 369.7 miles per hour. He built a stadium that housed midget-car races, boxing matches and other events, as well as a baseball field that housed the wildly popular Hollywood Stars to the north. Gilmore land was actually very prominent for all manner of sporting events in Los Angeles.”

Jnaki

The old Gilmore Gas Station at the Farmer’s Market located just South of the CBS Television City in west Los Angeles. You can still find an antique gasoline station display outside at the Farmer’s Market where their original gasoline station once stood.


Note:

Some remnants of the whole Fairfax District make the early history fun to remember. Other places that served their time in the center of people’s lives back then are now gone and a part of local researching history. YRMV

 

Hello,

It would take a lot of imagination and work to get it back to the original structure. There are plenty of old gas stations available for converting to a different business or reverting back to a real working gas station. But, the EPA restrictions are costly and if owning a gas station is in the future for anyone, get ready to spend some cash…
same location since 1960
This location is right next to one of the most popular Mexican restaurants in the local beach area. The restaurant caught fire and has spent the last year remodeling the whole place. As far as walk in auto repairs or sales, this gas station is one good place for catching anyone’s eye as they enter/exit the restaurant or as the main Coast Highway goes North or South through the city.

Jnaki

Back when we frequented this coastal city on our southerly surf trips from 1961 to the current times, it was a thriving gas station. We did have our choice of this one in the central area of town, two more, as we drove South on our way to Camp Pendleton surf spots and farther south to San Diego + Baja coastal towns. These gas stations in the southern end of Orange County were our final stops. For some reason, they were also some of the least expensive gas in any coastal cities. Also, no one wanted to get Pemex gas back in those days unless it was an extreme emergency.

Great location, standing empty for a while, and business exposure for auto repair or sales as there are only two other automotive sales locations in this sleepy coastal city.

The 60 + years of service to the community now lies empty and ready for a new business, with direct access to the busiest Coastal Highway that runs right in front. YRMV

 

I took this from a moving car and it shows the lack of style most country garages displayed in New Zealand. JW

 

Hope this is OK but here is a link to a dozen old gas stations here in Minnesota.

https://www.roadarch.com/gas/mn2.html

 

A big thanks to all who have posted on this thread in the past two years and look forward to more in 2024.
All the best for the New Years. JW (OP)

 

I came across a couple photos of the AMOCO station I ran with my brother from about 1977 thru somewhere around 1990-91 . Good times , we ran a pretty quick Dart on the local 1/8 th mile tracks and had all the work we could want. He rebuilt automatics , I did the R&R. Most cars we had one in the rack ready to go and could get you out in a day or two at the most. When FWD cars became the norm I moved on to wholesaling them. I sure did not want to work them any more. I was only 18 when we started out.

 

Came across this old Art Deco Caltex Gas Station while on a road trip, unusual for NZ as it has Style. JW

 

Great that two young guys did it themselves. As a kid riding the school bus, we passed a station daily that looked like yours. I'd day dream about the GTO race car visible through those glass doors! Seems every small shop had a race machine brewing. Great memories.

 

Oatman, AZ from the 40's and today...

 

I had this old Mobil Station for several years, I was building Hot Rods out of it for all that time. But some reality's lead to me having to move it on. I wish it had come along ten to fifteen years earlier in my life, I wasn't a businessman, I had far more friends than customers, it was getting expensive, I was working alone and while there I had a T.I.A. (Mini Stroke). However I use to love working there.

There was a very talented young guy (early 40's) in the area that was working out of his garage in town. I mentioned to a mutual friend, He should be working out of the shop instead. Well along with great skill, he had what it took to be a solid businessman. He is doing good stuff out there. and I'm glad this old station is still not only viable, But doing really well under the direction of its current owner.










This is the beginning of my pal Ed's Coupe. The next picture is of it finished at his Garage.







And above is just a small sampling of the junk that came through...

 

Recent trip to Duncan, AZ, where I spent my summers at my grandparents.

This used to be a thriving Chevron gas station at the corner of Main and Route70, well
into the 80's...

 

Another from Oatman, Az. this one on Rte. 66

 

From Rte. 66 in Mo.

 

U.S. 40, Lawrence Ks.

 

Two Guns , Az.


Derelict

 

Was that a subliminal message "Don't even think about robbing this place"!

 

Rte. 66 Odell , Il

 

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