Main Street: At the Crossroads of Progress

The American Gas Station

The gasoline pump, designed by Harry Grenner and Clem Laessig in 1905, replaced the drum-and-measure system of filing gas tanks.  Their invention:  a garden hose attached to a gravity-fed tank that was controlled by a hand-operated valve. Fuel flowed freely from the hose into an automobile tank’s filler neck.  That same year, S.F. Browser & Company began producing outdoor pumps suitable for gasoline that worked on a vacuum principle. Unlike the gravity feed take, these pumps allowed for safer underground systems of fuel storage.

Competition for the gasoline consumer grew after the turn-of-the-century.  Manufacturers installed gasoline pumps on street curbs and they became almost as universal as the mailbox and the street light. This created great congestion, especially in the cities, and often led to terrible accidents. In the early 1920’s many cities banned curbside pumps.  Oil companies then began purchasing property near their pumps on which they could build “filling stations.” They would offer multiple pumps, thus allowing the fueling of several cars at one time.

While gasoline manufacturers were constantly seeking to market their hazardous product and distance themselves from their competitors, city beautiful and roadside aesthetic reform movements were also gaining momentum. As a result, attention was focused on designing filling stations that had greater architectural appeal.

By the 1930’s, the automobile was becoming an indispensable part of everyday life.  Constant improvements to the gasoline pump and design of the filling station helped support the auto industry.  However, oil companies still strove to find new ways to attract the consumer. The filling station employee became part of the marketing strategy, creating a “service station.” Neatly dressed station attendants dutifully pumped gas, cleaned windows, checked radiator fluid and tire pressure levels.  The station attendant’s appearance was to instill a sense of product quality and reputable service, which would ensure that the customer would return again and again.  In addition, routine service and major repairs could be performed in the garages built adjoining the service station.

With the invention of the self-service gasoline pump by George Ulrich of California in 1947, the era of the full service station waned.   Fewer employees were required to manage and work the gas station and they could be open all night providing fuel to automobile travelers and to the trucking industry. In the 1960’s new movements in urban planning and zoning led to the banning of new gas station construction in many cities. In addition, the United States had taken on the construction of thousands of miles of major thruways. By taking the traveler off the small roads, many mom-and-pop and independent gas stations were forced to close.  This was only fostered by the oil crises of the 1970’s when more than 10,000 gas stations were closed, sold, demolished or abandoned.

Also on display, historic images of the Spain Family, downtown Carmel and paintings by Peter Max.