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Anyone know the story of this funny fella?
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Old gas stations
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2jakes
I'll Lock Up
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Anyone know the story of this funny fella?
I could not find information except for location.
The Umbrella Service Station, General Petroleum Gas on La Brea Ave. By 1946, the gas station was gone and a retail strip center was built on the site. Perhaps our esteemed colleague can enlighten us.
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David Conwill
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I can't say I know anything about the Umbrella or Violet Ray Gasoline, but here is a bit of information via The Old Motor.
"'Violet Ray' anti-knock gasoline, was refined by the General Petroleum Corp. based in Los Angeles. The San Jose News, October 3, 1928, issue contained an article on the front page about the Oil Company’s rollout of the new and improved violet-colored motor fuel introduced at '3500 of its dealers in the Pacific Coast States.'"
"'Violet Ray' anti-knock gasoline, was refined by the General Petroleum Corp. based in Los Angeles. The San Jose News, October 3, 1928, issue contained an article on the front page about the Oil Company’s rollout of the new and improved violet-colored motor fuel introduced at '3500 of its dealers in the Pacific Coast States.'"
LizzieMaine
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"Violet Ray" was a reference to the 1920s fad for quack-medical "violet ray machines," which basically were just a UV lamp connected to a high-voltage coil that you zapped yourself with in order to cure your carbuncles and restore your sexual potency.
These gadgets had no therapeutic or beneficial properties whatsoever, other than the placebo effect, but they made a great deal of money for the same sort of unscrupulous crackpots who convinced the desperate, the stupid, and the gullible that radium water was a health drink.
The gasoline, of course, had nothing to do with UV rays, but the purple dye looked pretty glistening in the cylinder of a visible pump. Colored gasoline was itself a fad of the twenties -- "Green Streak," "Orange American Gas," et al -- but it faded out with the decline of the visible pump in the 1930s. The last notable example, Blue Sunoco, lingered into the early 1960s, even though you couldn't really see the color unless you spilled it on your clothes.
These gadgets had no therapeutic or beneficial properties whatsoever, other than the placebo effect, but they made a great deal of money for the same sort of unscrupulous crackpots who convinced the desperate, the stupid, and the gullible that radium water was a health drink.
The gasoline, of course, had nothing to do with UV rays, but the purple dye looked pretty glistening in the cylinder of a visible pump. Colored gasoline was itself a fad of the twenties -- "Green Streak," "Orange American Gas," et al -- but it faded out with the decline of the visible pump in the 1930s. The last notable example, Blue Sunoco, lingered into the early 1960s, even though you couldn't really see the color unless you spilled it on your clothes.
Ghostsoldier
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Rob
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Has a bit of a "The Petrified Forest" feel to it.
Heals, really! I've done that job and you don't want to do it in heals.
LizzieMaine
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Those stockings won't last very long, either.
Benzadmiral
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Rob
Top pic: That's a '56 Chevy, the best-looking in my opinion of the famous Tri-Fives. But the car to its right looks like a late '60s Dodge Charger, so this must be from, say, '67 or later.
Middle pic: Yes, Stephen King fans, there is a town called Castle Rock, but it's in Colorado, between Denver and Colorado Springs. I think it was named for a tall bluff that exists near the town. But that bluff is nowhere as sandy-looking as in this pic. "The Junction" could mean it was in Grand Junction, CO, on the western slope of the Rockies and closer to Utah. As FF said, it has a Petrified Forest vibe.
The third pic: I'd certainly stop there for my gas, even if it cost more than other stations, if she were working there. But what are the "5'11" and "6'0" on the pumps? It's not the price, as those would show in the white digits-on-black windows.
Benzadmiral
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Saturday morning shopping day in Bedford Falls, a couple of years after the war. The town's booming now that Old Man Potter has kicked the bucket. . . .
Rob
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Look at these
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Rob
Why is a stewardess pumping gas?
2jakes
I'll Lock Up
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Perhaps it's because a stewardess is the only one that can also work on a beetle engine from the front and do a great job.
The heels provide the needed height to reach the most difficult parts.
And as Lizzie noted... the stockings did
not last for long.
Took long time to fix but it was worth the wait!
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Uh, that's not where the engine is.
I hope she found her pants...
I hope she found her pants...
LizzieMaine
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I'm guessing that photo was taken in the UK before 1971, and that the numbers are in fact the price -- five shillings elevenpence for the premium and six shillings even for the Super-Special. That apostrophe is actually an alternate way of writing a "/" or shilling-mark.
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The heights of the attendants in their heels.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
GHT
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Spot on Lizzie, there's a further clue in the background, no mention of the word gas and the name of the garage: Aylestone Service Station. Aylestone is a suburb of the City of Leicester and service station is how we describe gas station.
There were plenty of ladies working in garages back then but the one's that served me, albeit with a welcoming smile, never had a forage cap on.
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We use to call them service stations, too. Back when you could still get your car serviced there.
Sent directly from my mind to yours.
LizzieMaine
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The definitive trade publication for the industry. We had a subscription, and I used to read it at the supper table when I was very young when there was nothing else at hand.
GHT
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We used to buy our fuel in gallons back then. See the price that Lizzie mentioned, in today's decimal money that equates to 30pence. Today a gallon of fuel, diesel or petrol, will cost over six pounds. And here's how they get away with it.
The UK gallon is larger than the US one, our gallon is approximately four and a half litres. So as fuel prices rose, gallons disappeared and were replaced by litres. Now it looks much cheaper. Most people who have never bought fuel in gallons couldn't tell you the difference between a gallon and a litre, the ploy worked.
We have a tax on tax situation with garage sold fuel. Fuel tax is almost 60pence per litre. (57.95p) VAT or value added tax is added to most retail products. the cost of the fuel, plus the fuel tax is added together and then twenty percent VAT is added. But although we are experiencing a sharp rise in prices, seeing fuel advertised at £1:30, well that doesn't look too bad.
If we still had gallons, that advertised price would be, about £6:10. How did they get away with it? We were told that our fuel tax was harmonised across all the European Union countries. So if we have to pay through the nose, so too do the French, Germans, Spanish, Italians. So that makes it alright then.
KY Gentleman
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Here’s something you don’t see often anymore, and I don’t mean the “vintage air machine!”
