Pump It Up
Ever wonder what it was like filling up in the good old days? A lot different, that’s for sure. While gas stations have undergone plenty of welcome changes over the years, there are also many services and features road trippers would love to see make a comeback. We take a nostalgic look back at tanking up today versus yesterday.
Drivers Could Buy Gas at Pharmacies and Hardware Stores
Before it was common to find filling stations (or, overseas, petrol stations) in the early 20th century, the first drivers could buy gas — first in open containers and then from free-standing pumps — at venues ranging from pharmacies and hardware stores to blacksmith shops and grocery stores. In some cases, drivers would pull up to a simple curbside station with pumps, according to the American Oil & Gas Historical Society; an example shows a Spitlers Auto Supply in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which closed in 1931. Curbside gas and other venues went out of fashion after Gulf Refining establishing dedicated, drive-through stations, the first opening in downtown Pittsburgh on Dec. 1, 1913, with free air, water, tire and tube installation, and a lighted marquee to protect drivers from bad weather.
There Are Fewer Stations These Days
There were approximately 200,000 gas stations in the United States by the end of the 1920s — but reportedly only 111,100 gas stations by 2016. A changing marketplace, including from more fuel-efficient cars and cars that don’t use gasoline at all, have made the business less profitable and less appealing.
Gas Station Attendant Uniforms Were Once Stylish
Today, you’re lucky if you get a T-shirt or polo with a company logo as a gas station employee. In the past, attendants dressed to the nines, with bow ties, button-down shirts, caps, and more. Today, vintage uniforms can also be collectible — a recent scroll through Etsy showed, for example, a “rare find” of a Conoco uniform patch that could be had for about $28.
Attendants Used to Take Care of Everything for You
Today, an attendant pumping gas is the exception rather than the rule. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, in 1947 the first self-service station was opened in Los Angeles with roller-skating attendants. Today, with the exception of New Jersey (where you’re legally prohibited from pumping your own gas), it’s most often a self-service world.
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