Last week we had the fortune of picking up a really nice Phillips 66 curb or lubester sign. The seller mentioned that his grandfather owned a gas station during the 1930's until 1965. He had inherited the sign years ago but no longer had a place for it.
After making a deal, we picked the sign up. It was actually better than anticipated - a beauty with the original ring and base marked Phillips Petroleum Co.
After talking to the owner a bit he mentioned that he had a photo of his grandfathers station and it showed the sign - wow! Below is a photo of the station in Iowa and to the left edge is the sign.
The owner was kind enough to provide us a copy of the photo as shown above. He said the station was on the first level and his grandparents lived on the second level. It wasn't until 1952 that they had running water! Lastly he mentioned that the "station" and now a house is still there. Below is a Google Street View of the actual location at the same angle - how cool. It looks like at some point the owners added on to the house where the pumps were located. I wonder if they know that section was a gas pump island for decades?
While rare, it's always such a thrill to see something like this sign in its original location in a photo. One day I hope to have a reason to drive by this house and share with them this bit of history. Enjoy!
Don
