Tag Archives: Gas stations

Night view of the grand opening of a Union Oil gas station, Los Angeles, 1932

One of my favorite things to find are photographs of the openings of businesses that get the full Hollywood treatment. Usually it’s a supermarket getting a searchlight treatment, but in this shot from 1932, it’s a Union Oil gas station … Continue reading

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Bob’s airmail service gas station, 5453 Wilshire Boulevard

This is Bob’s airmail service gas station, which stood at 5453 Wilshire Blvd, at the corner of Cochran Ave. The plane is a 32-passenger Fokker F-32, which was a white elephant of an aircraft that never really worked right. They … Continue reading

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The Umbrella Service Station, General Petroleum Gas on La Brea Ave, circa 1930

In a city which has a realty office shaped like the Sphinx and an ice cream store shaped like an ice cream, why wouldn’t you have a gas station shaped like an umbrella? This eye-catcher stood on La Brea Ave, … Continue reading

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Signal Purr-Pull gas station with Art Deco tower, Beverly Hills, 1931

This photo shows us an attendant pumping gas at a Signal Purr-Pull service station with an Art Deco tower, in Beverly Hills, 1931. Why don’t we build gas stations like this anymore? Back in the 1930s, they may not have … Continue reading

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Sherman Oaks Service Station 15362 Ventura Blvd., Van Nuys

It’s not for nothing that Los Angeles is known as the city of automobiles, so it follows that its gas stations should be out of the ordinary, too. This was the Sherman Oaks Service Station, which stood at 15362 Ventura … Continue reading

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The Sunset Tower & Standard Oil gas station, Sunset Strip, 1933

I think this photo is “so L.A.” it’s almost ridiculous. On the left we have the Sunset Tower, a hotel that opened on the Sunset Strip in 1929. And on the right we have that quintessential L.A. sight: a gas … Continue reading

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Union Oil gas station, Los Angeles, circa 1931

  I love everything about this circa 1931 photo: the architecture of the Union Oil gas station, the modern miss out and about in her two-seater convertible, and the fact that she’s being assisted by not one but two attendants … Continue reading

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Union Oil Company service station, Los Angeles, circa 1931

I don’t know where this full-service Union Oil gas station was located, but if it was still around, I’d go there. They really don’t make ‘em like they used to. (circa 1931)

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Intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and La Brea Avenue, looking east, in 1928.

The intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and La Brea Avenue, looking east, in 1928. The Dyas-Carlton Cafe (which opened in 1928) is at left, then a Gilmore Gasoline station on the opposite corner. We can also see a Bank of Italy … Continue reading

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