This marvelous photo history transports readers back to the days before pay-at-the-pump, when the price of a fill-up bought more than just a spot of petrol. Pop culture aficionado Witzel examines all aspects of bygone gas stations, from the advent of the automobile and globe-topped pumps to the 1970s and long lines brought about by the oil embargo. 280 photos, half in color.
Cool and dark, filling stations invariably smelled of grease and strong coffee. An attendant whose name was embroidered on a patch above his shirt pocket greeted motorists who pulled up to 6the pumps barking the classic line, "Fill 'er up!" Around back, the restrooms were clean - but not too clean - and somewhere near the door was a soda machine full of glass bottles
Step back to the day when a visit to the gas station meant service with a smile, a wash of the windshield, and the cheerful question, "Fill 'er up?" Since their unremarkable beginnings as cheap shacks and curbside pumps at the dawn of the automobile age, gas stations have taken many forms and worn many guises: castles, cottages and teepees, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, clad with wood, stucco, or gleaming porcelain in seemingly infinite variety. The companion volume to the Wisconsin Public Television documentary of the same name, Fill 'er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations visits 60 Wisconsin gas stations that are still standing today and chronicles the history of these humble yet ubiquitous buildings. The book tells the larger story of the gas station's place in automobile culture and its evolution in tandem with American history, as well as the stories of the individuals influenced by the gas stations in their lives. Fill 'er Up provides a glimpse into the glory days of gas stations, when full service and free oil changes were the rule and the local station was a gathering place for neighbors. More importantly, Fill 'er Up links the past and the present, showing why gas stations should be preserved and envisioning what place these historic structures can have in the 21st century and beyond.
"The first architect-designed gas station - a Pittsburgh Gulf station in 1913 - was also the first to offer free road maps; the familiar Shell name and logo date from 1907, when a British mother-of-pearl importer expanded its line to include the newly discovered oil of the Dutch East Indies; the first enclosed gas stations were built only after the first enclosed cars made motoring a year-round activity - and operating a service station was no longer a "seasonal" job; the system of "octane" rating was introduced by Sun Oil as a marketing gimmick (74 for premium in 1931)." "As the number of "true" gas stations continues its steady decline - from 239,000 in 1969 to fewer than 100,000 today - the words and images of this book bear witness to an economic and cultural phenomenon that was perhaps more uniquely American than any other of this century."--Jacket.
In this car culture of ours, what could be more American than the gas station, from the roadside pit stop in the middle of nowhere to the spit-and-polish, full service city shop? This brightly illustrated history of service stations runs the gamut from East to West, North to South, spotlighting the culture and lore of the gas-pumping garage that has kept the United States moving for a century. Whether it's the last-chance Texaco or the Sinclair dinosaur winking in the distance, the beckoning Shell, or the winged Mobil horse, it's here in all its small-town glory of compact architecture, inspired promotions, art deco pumps, and endless views of the American horizon. Author Tim Russell, one of the world's foremost collectors and historians of Petroliana, rolls out the ribbon of highway that takes us to all of those way stations of Americas motoring past.
In this compelling argument for a new direction in U.S. energy policy, a world-renowned engineer and the bestselling author of "The Case for Mars" lays out a bold plan for breaking the economic stranglehold that the OPEC oil cartel has on the world. With a new Preface and Postscript by the author.
