Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Speedene Motor Oil sign

I bought this sign a year ago and can't find any information on it. It is double sided and use to be a flanged(?) sign but someone bent the lip to make it straight. The sign is not in the best condition but I haven't seen one like it before. It says the Rio Grande Oil Company on the bottom of the sign. Can anyone tell me anything about it, when it was used or value for what is left of it. The sign fits its "Speedene" name because I got a speeding ticket picking up the sign. Hopefully the sign is worth more than the speeding ticket. Thanks for your help.

Rio Grande Oil

That sign is cool. I like how the Speedene looks like it is on the move

This was all I could find on the company...Looks like he got out of the oil/gas business and then went into broadcasting.

Storer Communications
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Storer Broadcasting, Inc. is a former owner of television and radio stations in the United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 1920s—1940s
1.2 1950s—1960s
1.3 1970s—1980s
2 Television stations owned
3 Radio stations owned


[edit] History
[edit] 1920s—1940s
In 1927, George B. Storer and his brother-in-law J. Harold Ryan were building service stations for Speedene brand gasoline in the Toledo, Ohio area. Speedene sales were booming, thanks to a cost-cutting device implemented by the partners. They bypassed the cost of trucking gasoline to service stations by building the stations beside railroad sidings and sold their product at two or three cents a gallon under the going retail rate by filling their tanks directly from railroad tank cars. Storer decided to buy some radio spots on WTOL in Toledo to advertise his gas stations. The spots were effective, and Storer decided to use his wealth to buy the station. Storer Broadcasting was born, and the Toledo radio station became WSPD, "Speedy AM," symbolic of the gasoline brand.

Colin I could be wrong, but think you have the wrong Company. Rio Grande Oil Company was established in 1915 in El Paso. It merged with other oil companies in 1936 to become Richfield Oil Corp.

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Atlantic-Richfield-Company-Company-History.html

That is some great information about the Speedene brand from Toledo, Ohio. I have not heard of it before from Toledo. But with WSPD? I need to start doing some research on that one. I know about the Toledo ones...Hi-Speed,Hy-Flash,Paragon.....

I looked in some early phone books but no listing for Speedene?

I think we are talking about two different "Speedene" after thinking about it. Now....I need to find about the Toledo,Oh "Speedene"....

By the way WSPD still uses the "Speedy" on the radio. It's all talk radio.

Randy

Here's an early tank stick from Rio Grande Oil Co. I have owned this for years and never noticed that the LA refinery was in Vinvale CA. I have lived in the Los Angeles area my whole life and have never heard of a town called Vinvale.

I Believe Bob Richards is right about Atlantic Richfield Co. They reorganized 1937 with Sinclair and Cities service as owners with the creation of this entity, Richfield Oil Corp. again became a thriving operation. branding stations under the Richfield and Rio Grande names throughout the west.

Speaking of the Rio Grande Oil Company and Gas stations, do visible pumps float? Did you folks see this photo?

URL=http://img233.imageshack.us/i/rio1.jpg/][/URL]

Hey bob any idea where this picture is taken ?

I honestly do not, I just purchased a copy of the photo on ebay. No other info given, but the photo will go great with my other station photos above my desk. I will contact the seller and see if they have the location of the station?

Rio Grande = Big River, as the station pic shows

According to records there was a major flood in the Los Angeles area in March of 1938. Given that Los Angeles was the location of one of their refineries, I would say that would be a likely location for that photograph. Here's two links to some info regarding the flood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Flood_of_1938

http://www.anaheimcolony.com/Disaster/flood2.htm

Checkout this footage from the 1938 flood;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/4023549415/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/4018623206/

Thanks for the information about the sign and I liked the flood video.