posted 03-18-2006 06:20 PM            

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.

posted 03-19-2006 05:42 PM            

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

posted 03-20-2006 06:09 AM            

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

posted 03-21-2006 11:19 AM            

a circa 1946 map:

A 1938 lion:

a 1930's lion:

posted 03-21-2006 08:50 PM            

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

posted 03-22-2006 09:39 AM         

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..

posted 03-25-2006 03:58 PM            

A '32 California \ Arizona Map:

posted 03-26-2006 09:37 AM            

Here's a different 1939 map: