Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Restoring 1949 Mobilegas station...HELP?

I'm restoring a 1949 vintage Mobilegas service station, typical 3 bay box building, all the porcelin panels are there. I need photos, and a good source for Mobilegas memoribillia. I am using the property to restore classic cars and offer them for sale. I'm looking for another (used car) dealership who has done the same. Does anyone know about the "Red Horse Museum" ???
Thanks Dale 419-351-4401

I have sent you an email with some info and pictures. Please let me know if this is what you wanted.
rgds
Claes

Have you been able to identify the company that made the station. I have 100's of pictures of stations and a number of ads from around 1949-1950 period. If you could let me know the manufacturer I may be able to come up with an ad for the building.

Dale:

Is this the one with the rounded glass-fronted office area? If so, there is one like that still intact on Gratiot Avenue in the Roseville/Mount Clemens area. I know that it's North of the Macomb Mall, between the Mall and 16 mile on the West side of Gratiot/M19. Is this the Museum you mentioned?

I haven't been by there in a few months. But the last time I saw the place, it looked like they were restoring the building. Maybe they can help you?

Jim

Thank You Jim and T-Way, I'm sending you both an e-mail photo of the station I am restoring. I do not think the one in DTW is the same style. I have a photo of an ad from "Lusterlite" , I think the station was exactly as shown in their ad.

The Red Horse Museum was located in Augusta,
Kansas. To the best of my knowledge it has been closed for four or five years. It was run by Claire Patterson and featured Mobil items.

Your station is a "LUSTERLITE" Porcelain Enameled Steel Service Station, made by the Chicago Vitreous Corp. of Cicero 50, ILL. They were a division of the Eagle-Picher Company.
The pictures (ads) of the station include its use as a Mobil/Mobilgas, Skelly, Standard, Texaco and a few others. In other words it was used by everyone, and was not just a Mobil station. The red line that runs around the top and just above the windows would indicate that it is a Mobil, as other companies used different colors.
The station was offered with a number of options, over hanging roof, set up opposite of the one you have with the rest rooms on the other side, and as many bays as you wanted. My pictures show two bays, yours has three. They also offered the station with a cover that extended from the station to cover the pump islands.
All of my ads are dated in the early 60's, but this does not mean that they didn't offer it in the late 40's, they just didn't advertise it then.
I have three pictures of the station being used as Mobil. One is from 1961 and is a actual picture showing the station with both Mobil and Mobilgas on the building with the Pegasus mounted roof level between the bays. The second ad is actually a drawing showing the station with Mobilgas above the large windows and Mobil Service over the bays. The Pegasus is mounted above the door. This third ad, also a drawing, shows the station as Mobil only with the Pegasus above door. Ad #1 is approx. 5" x 8" and the picture is b&w. The other two are approx. 8.5" x 11" and are both in full color.
I will take $15.00 for all three including postage. If interested send check to:
Jack Sim
3922 Madeline Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63114