Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana FATW -- Found Along The Way -- January 2010

Hey Guys & Gals,

It's time to share the petro relics that we've stumbled across in our recent travels, and check out what other people have found as well.

If you would like to contribute to this feature, simply post the pictures here or email them directly to me and I will post them for you. Be sure to include a story or description with your submissions.

If it's too close to the next installment, please note that I may hold your contribution for posting when the new FATW comes up.
Send 'em in!!

Happy Trails!

Wes

In the past, FATW pictures featuring an old, historic photograph of a station, accompanied by a modern picture of the same building have been well-received. These "before and after" shots help us look at other modernized, "updated," or otherwise repurposed stations and have a better idea of what they may have looked like 50 or more years before.

This month, thanks to Oldgas.com member Wendell "Old Iron," we can take a look at not only a "before and after" set of photos, but also a professional artist's rendering of a unique cottage-style canopy station.


This station, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is said to have been built in the 1920s as a Standard Oil of California station, and had three visible gas pumps on the island. In the 1940s, the pumps were replaced with electrics, as seen in our first picture:


Some time after these pumps were installed, the station dropped Chevron and became an independent. Wendell mentions that "The interesting part is that a friend of mine got one of those pumps.When he started stripping it down he found old remains of Chevron decals on the doors and SOCAL decals on the sides that had been painted over."

This later picture was taken by artist David Bahm after the pumps were removed.



From this picture, Mr. Bahm created a fantastic painting:

For more information on David Bahm's artwork, please see http://www.davidabahm.com

So, you might be wondering... what does the station look like today? Well, it's now a coffee shop, and unfortunately, some heavy modifications have been made. But, hey - at least the building wasn't torn down.






Thanks, Wendell, for sharing these great images!

Wes

Tara's dad directed us to this interesting house in Plover, Wisconsin. Is this the home of an Oldgas member? I love the car and the pumps!


Not far down the road is an old station. I can't help but wonder if it was a Deep Rock, just based on the shape of the sign.



Wes

By null, shot with HP pstc3100 at 2010-01-11


By null, shot with KODAK Z712 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2010-01-11

I had the intersection listed on this station picture from the 1970's on Ecorse in Taylor, MI. So I had a 1 in 4 chance of locating it. If I had taken the modern picture from the same angle you could see how the house behind the station matched the earlier one.

By null, shot with HP pstc3100 at 2010-01-11


By null, shot with KODAK Z712 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2010-01-11

This station on Springwells a short distance off I-75 in Detroit is gone but some of the block building that shows in the old picture has been added onto in the new picture. Also the roof line of the house behind and power poles make it a match.

Nice pictures, Dave! I especially like that 70s shot of the larger Texaco. Too bad the Camaro and the '73 Cutlass aren't still there.

Wes

Wes, That is a 1973 Olds Cutlass setting next to that Camaro at the 70's style Texaco station. Looks like wedgewood blue.

I got to admit, the before and after shots are my favorite when they are posted. Even when the changes are dramatic and different from "back in the day", the history of the building is still there and not lost to a bulldozer. Nice work everyone.

On my way to Columbia, Mo. for the It's A Gas swap meet, I saw a couple vintage gas stations on the back roads. The Robertsville station has an interesting shape with the dormers on the garage roof. It is only a few miles off of old Route 66. The Marthasville station is now a bar. On my return trip, the lot was so full of cars, you could hardly see the front of the building.

Robertsville, MO


Marthasville, MO

Here is SOHIO station that was in Arlington, Ohio. It is now a barber and beauty shop. I talked to the owner of the building and he knew the history of it.

Randy

Ruth's Lunch & Service Station that was 9 miles West of Lansing, MI on the former US-16 now known as Grand River Rd.

Kinda neat to see the before and after pictures! A stranger driving by would have no idea what used to be there! I've often thought that when driving by certain areas--Just what was there in the past and what happened there on a daily basis?? Neat picture!!

Amazing how time changes things, isn't it? Almost seems to wash them away. Once a proud and busy hub of business....today just someone's home with one building gone and most other traces just gone.

The column on this old station is "L" shaped rather than rectangle, which is located on a curve on old US-16. That would make the signage stand out from either direction. It is located just outside the city limits of Lansing,MI so my old directory didn't help me Id the brand. So I called the owner who said it was a Texaco built in 1960.

Good chance it was too ! ( A texaco ) Ed Shaver