Oldgas.com Home  

Click here for Original Gas Pump Plate auction listings

Home | Help | Events | Auctions | Parts | Pictures | Links | Contact
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4



Howdy everybody. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the oldgas gods for the chance to do this feature.I'm just hoping I can do 1/2 as good a job as Doc has done in the past.

This month we are going to feature the Union Oil Company AKA: UNOCAl. The company with that famous old 76 ball.

Here's a little history on the company.
To form Union Oil, co-founders Lyman Stewart, Thomas Bard, and Wallace Hardison merged their holdings. Although they could not then have foreseen the tremendous impact the automobile would soon have on oil demand, they were aware of oil's potential as an industrial and transportation fuel.

Stewart and Hardison met in the Pennsylvania oil fields, which boomed after the country's first oil well was drilled near Titusville in 1859. The partners built up modest oil fortunes, then sold out and moved west in the 1880's to seek greater opportunities in California.

In 1890, Stewart and Hardison combined their oil assets with those of Thomas Bard, a prominent businessman, to form the Union Oil Company of California. The company was incorporated on October 17, 1890, in the small town of Santa Paula, located about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

In 1891, Union Oil opened the first petroleum research laboratory west of the Mississippi with the initial aim of developing a process to extract non-smoking kerosene from the heavy California crudes, much less suitable to such use than the lighter, cleaner eastern oils. While the goal eluded Union Oil chemists, that rudimentary lab began a long tradition of research that served the company well.

By 1913, there were nearly 123,000 automobiles in California, prompting the company to open its first service station -- or "gas stand" -- on the corner of Sixth and Mateo streets in downtown Los Angeles. As the number of automobiles mushroomed, the company worked hard to keep pace. By 1925, Union had more than 400 service stations on the West Coast.

As the world went to war in the late 1930s, Union -- with a dynamic new leader in former steel man Reese Taylor -- beefed up production and refining to pour out fuels to support the Allies. The company's growth continued into the booming postwar era as Union expanded in all directions: discovering the first natural gas in Alaska and the first oil in Australia; taking a lead position in offshore development in the Gulf of Mexico; building a thriving chemicals business; and developing a revolutionary refining technology -- Unicracking -- that became the most widely used in the world.


Got Socony???

Tom
Value Questions and Showcase forums

Please - NO offers to Buy or Sell in this forum category

Statements such as, "I'm thinking about selling this." are considered an offer to sell.
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's a few maps to get things started:







Lets see your maps everyone.


Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,772
Likes: 1
Veteran Member
Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,772
Likes: 1
Come on guys. Lets see some Union 76 maps!!!!!


Wanted: Gas pump globes:Sinclair & affiliates, IL companies. Ripple bodies. Anything Sinclair, Stoll, Pierce, 4 Bros.


http://www.lastgas15.com/
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 76
G
Veteran Member
Online Content
Veteran Member
G
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 76
Here is a couple of maps from the 50's Richard



Couple of more the one on the left is 1968 the one on the right is 1966. Richard



[This message has been edited by gatorgaspumps (edited 03-19-2006).]

The top one is 1978 and the bottom one is 1973



[This message has been edited by gatorgaspumps (edited 03-19-2006).]

The last two are both 1972. Richard



[This message has been edited by gatorgaspumps (edited 03-19-2006).]

Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's a couple more:





Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's a 1940's harbor refining map of California:



Here's a 1920's union oil map of the west coast:



Thanks & stay tuned for more...


Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's some lion oil maps:

a circa 1946 map:



A 1938 lion:


a 1930's lion:


Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 22,780
Likes: 5
Veteran Member
Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 22,780
Likes: 5
Nice LION & HARBOR maps, BUT what do they have to do with UNION OIL CO.?
db

Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,656
T
Veteran Member
Offline
Veteran Member
T
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,656
My personal favorite, the Minute Man!





I have to go to my office and dig through my maps for more Union 76


C Cragg
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 29
G
Active Member
Offline
Active Member
G
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 29
HARBOR REFINING COMPANY of LONG BEACH , California was a UNION OIL subsidiary brand.

HARBOR map images for 1951 and 1969 are shown on John Cirillo's 'Gas Station Signs' website.


Text and scans were from David Aldred. link..

http://www.gassigns.org/harbor.htm


There is a HARBOR map on John Roma's 'Road Maps' website , and information about another HARBOR brand owned by CHAMPLIN. link..

http://zippy.cso.uiuc.edu/~roma/roadmaps/


There is a photo of Harbie the seal who used to guard HARBOR gas stations in LA and Orange counties up until the early 70's
on the 'Roadside Peak' website. link..

http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/california/socal/socalroadside/socalroadchar/
Robert

Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
here's a 1932 union map for the LA olympics:


A '32 California \ Arizona Map:


A 1934 Triton oil map:


Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's a 1939 Washington/oregon map:


Here's a different 1939 map:


A 1927 west coast map:


Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Here's a few 1950's & 60"s maps:






Got Socony???

Tom
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,656
T
Veteran Member
Offline
Veteran Member
T
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,656
You'll have to forgive my experimenting. I'm trying to design banners like Doc does using Photoshop. We'll see how this looks.



C Cragg
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4
Veteran Member
OP Offline
Veteran Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,094
Likes: 4


Got Socony???

Tom
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Oldgas, Ryan Underthun 

Link Copied to Clipboard

Click here for Gas Pump auction listings

Copyright © 2023 Primarily Petroliana Interactive, All Rights Reserved

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5