The increase in automobile ownership after Henry Ford started to sell automobiles that the middle class could afford resulted in an increased demand for filling stations.
The world’s first purpose-built gas station was constructed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1905 at 420 South Theresa Avenue. The second station was constructed in 1907 by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington, at what is now Pier 32.
Reighard’s Gas Station in Altoona, Pennsylvania claims that it dates from 1909 and is the oldest existing filling station in the United States. Early on, they were known to motorists as “filling stations”. These filling stations were known to wash your windows for free.
The first “drive-in” filling station, Gulf Refining Company, opened to the motoring public in Pittsburgh on December 1, 1913, at Baum Boulevard and St Clair’s Street. Prior to this, automobile drivers pulled into almost any general or hardware store, or even blacksmith shops in order to fill up their tanks.
These vintage photos were found by Vintage Cars & People that show filling stations from between the 1920s and 1960s.
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| A fashionable lady posing with an open-topped 1928 Auburn 8-115 Phaeton Sedan at a petrol station in summertime. A sign reading “Mobiloel – Deutsche Vacuum Oel Aktiengesellschaft”, somewhere in Germany, circa 1928 |
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| Four men and a girl posing next to a Talbot DS 15/40 in rural Austria. The driver is sitting behind the wheel of this right-hand drive French car. There’s a petrol pump visible behind the car, circa 1920s |
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| A company of three posing with an Essex Super Six at a remote Shell filling station on an Alpine road. The car is registered in the city of Munich, circa 1930s |
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| A fellow wearing a double-breasted pinstripe suit and hat posing with a BMW 320 Limousine 2 Türen next to a ‘Bevaulin’ petrol pump. The car is registered in the German state of Thuringia, circa 1930s |
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| A middle-aged lady in a female suit posing with a DKW Meisterklasse Typ F7–700 at a petrol station in summertime. The car is registered with licence plates of Allied-occupied Berlin, circa 1930s |
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| A Shell petrol station in Germany in the late 1930s. A somewhat grumpy-looking station attendant is standing at the pump ready for service. The car in the foreground is an Opel Olympia |
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| An open-topped Opel 1,2 Liter Cabrio-Limousine being serviced at a Leuna filling station in summertime, circa 1930s |
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| The Karlsruhe-registered Opel being refueled at a Shell filling station on the northerly ascent of Grossglockner High Alpine Road in front of an impressive panorama, circa 1930s |
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| Two fellows posing while their Audi Front 225 Cabriolet is being serviced in the background. The word “Schweiz” (Switzerland) is handwritten on the reverse side. The car is registered in the formerly Bavarian Palatinate, circa 1930s |
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| A two-tone 1930 Packard Standard Eight Convertible Coupe refueling at a Shell filling station in early morning sunlight, December 4, 1934 |
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| People posing with a dusty three-wheeler Morgan in a sunny street. Presumably, the car has just been refueled. The woman resting her hand on the ancient hand pump appears to be the filling station attendant, 1934 |
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| Two cheerful young ladies posing on the running board of a 1936 Packard 120 Touring Sedan at a Mobile filling station in summertime. The car is registered in the state of Illinois, circa 1936 |
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| A middle-aged fellow posing with a 1946-48 Chrysler in a line-up of cars, possibly queueing for a ferry. In the background, an Esso filling station can be seen. The car is registered in the Swedish county of Hallands län, circa 1940s |
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| A couple embracing in front of a somewhat battered 1935 Ford Phaeton at an ‘American Gas’ filling station. The words “Pennsylvania 1941” are handwritten on the bottom of the print, the car is registered in the state of Massachusetts |
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| A cheerful couple posing with a 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe 2-Door Sedan at a filling station in summertime. The photograph was most likely taken in Italy, circa 1949 |
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| Two women, a man and an Opel Kadett at a petrol station. In the background, a totally empty stretch of Autobahn can be seen. The print is marked “4. Sept. 1949” on reverse, the car is registered in the town of Syke, Lower Saxony |
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| A 1952 Studebaker Starliner being serviced at a Mobiloil filling station, circa 1950s |
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| A couple refueling their Simca Vedette at a newly-built filling station on the outskirts of town. The car is registered in the city of Hamburg, circa 1950s |
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| A German-built Ford Taunus 12 M pictured at an Esso filling station in the Swiss resort of St. Moritz. A poster advertising an exhibition of paintings by Oscar Nussio can be seen in the window, circa 1950s |
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| A lady wearing a Dirndl-style dress posing with a Ford Taunus 17 M De Luxe at a petrol station. In the background, two men are refueling a moped, circa 1950s |
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| A cheerful lady in a knee-length skirt and white top posing with a Ford Taunus 12 M, while the station attendant is checking the tire pressure. Although the car is registered in the West German city of Cologne, the photograph was actually taken somewhere in the Austrian Alps, most likely in Carinthia, where the Franz Rumwolf company ran a chain of Total filling stations, circa 1960s |
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| A Mercedes-Benz 300 SE Cabriolet pictured at a petrol station in the Swabian town of Böblingen. The vehicle is registered in the West German district of Böblingen, circa 1960s |