Now You See It, Now You Don't!
TellZall's object for February is the Pure Oil Gas Station
Today, it seems like there is a gas station at every intersection. The stations are easy to spot with large, colorful signs and other decorations. Did gas stations always look like this?
Well, during the 1920s, many Americans believed that gas stations were not appealing to the eye-that they detracted from the community. This belief caused at least one company, the Pure Oil Company, to design less obtrusive gas stations. The brainchild of the Pure Oil gas stations was Carl A. Petersen. Petersen discovered that many people did not want flashy gas stations in their neighborhoods, so he designed one that would blend in with the community. Petersen first worked for the Gulf Oil Company, but this firm did not implement his design.
In 1925, Petersen became the head of the Design and Production Department of Pure Oil. In this position, Petersen authorized the construction of his personally-designed gas stations. He designed his stations to look like small English cottages. Each station was roofed in blue tile. Blue was the official color of the Pure Oil Company. Besides the gas pumps in front of the building, little else identified Petersen's structures as gas stations.
Pure Oil continued to build stations of Petersen's design until shortly after World War II. Unfortunately, very few of these distinct gas stations still exist today. Historical societies have acquired a few of these structures, but most have been destroyed.
