Photos of Vintage Auto Dealerships, Repair Shops, and Gas Stations
- Thread starter ayilar
- Start date
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
Westlake at Roy, Seattle, WA. Still there .. sorta .. and back story at link.
source: Seattle Now & Then: McKay Ford on Westlake
1949
2016 -- still there, refurbished, new trees. etc...
Today -- wonder how the old structure kept all that prime "frontage". Looks like facade was retained, back end razed/built on? Clearly occupied
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Gardner, MA (about 70 miles west of Boston). Smaller town but not in the sticks, old dealer/garages buildings still potentially standing in residential neighborhoods (could have favorable zoning for my purposes).
I look at these kind of locations - particularly old dealer/garages as potential "retiree home garages. Suitable overhead clearances, reinforced concrete floors, good electrical (for compressors, lifts, etc,) etc.
Former Woods Garage & Chrysler Plymouth, circa early 1970's. About 4,000 sq. ft.
Now, a manufacturing company
Saunders Rambler & Jenney Citgo station. circa, mid 1970's. Razed in the 80's though.
About 4,800 sq. ft, could be sub-divided with other relevant auto businesses (green box, left side has man doors and overhead doors, curb cuts, etc.,) to work on my stuff in exchange for a break on the rent.
I look at these kind of locations - particularly old dealer/garages as potential "retiree home garages. Suitable overhead clearances, reinforced concrete floors, good electrical (for compressors, lifts, etc,) etc.
Former Woods Garage & Chrysler Plymouth, circa early 1970's. About 4,000 sq. ft.
Now, a manufacturing company
Saunders Rambler & Jenney Citgo station. circa, mid 1970's. Razed in the 80's though.
About 4,800 sq. ft, could be sub-divided with other relevant auto businesses (green box, left side has man doors and overhead doors, curb cuts, etc.,) to work on my stuff in exchange for a break on the rent.
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My old stomping grounds. Got "bombcyloned" few days ago. All the best to them as they get things back to normal.
When I first got my "retiree home garage" idea was there back in 1998. I finally got something way out in the sticks that was big enough for the fleet yet affordable, but the zoning officials denied residential variances three times. So I just kept my house in the suburbs (Clarence).
Detroit is like this in many areas . An industrial, urban powerhouse city, on a water way, with LOTS of suitable, ex-factories/dealerships IN the city limits and among residences.
However, the neighborhoods, even if residential variances were granted, are many times a little "rough". Same exists in the "suburbs" .. not tough at all, but $,$$$,$$$ and NO chance for variances on industrial buildings. Too rich for my piggy bank in either city.
sources: The car dealers of 1950's Buffalo - Buffalo Stories Archives & Blog, 1212 Abbott Rd, Buffalo, NY 14218 | LoopNet
Maxon Cadiilac - Pontiac, before that built 1927 as a Pierce-Arrow dealer, Main @Jewett, Buffalo. Art-deco beauty still there.
I kinda tried (big enough building, but way too much land) to buy this one in 1999. Abbott Street in Lackawanna (a little east of downtown Buffalo).
Back then a bit pricey (had a huge parking lot I did not need) but they wouldnt allow residential zoning (even with houses all around it). Build 1945, streamline moderne "box".
Still there. Back then it had already been modernized and its showroom facade but kept the curves. Tower long gone when I first saw it.
In decades since I was sniffing at it, its been subdivided (land now has a outparcel with building on it, and building itself @ 30K sq. ft. and now has maybe 8-10 different businesses in it.)
Built 1937, Bailey @ Route 33, overpass, Buffalo. Still there but only recogizable by its shape. Been enlarged in rack and to the right over the years.
When I first got my "retiree home garage" idea was there back in 1998. I finally got something way out in the sticks that was big enough for the fleet yet affordable, but the zoning officials denied residential variances three times. So I just kept my house in the suburbs (Clarence).
Detroit is like this in many areas . An industrial, urban powerhouse city, on a water way, with LOTS of suitable, ex-factories/dealerships IN the city limits and among residences.
However, the neighborhoods, even if residential variances were granted, are many times a little "rough". Same exists in the "suburbs" .. not tough at all, but $,$$$,$$$ and NO chance for variances on industrial buildings. Too rich for my piggy bank in either city.
sources: The car dealers of 1950's Buffalo - Buffalo Stories Archives & Blog, 1212 Abbott Rd, Buffalo, NY 14218 | LoopNet
Maxon Cadiilac - Pontiac, before that built 1927 as a Pierce-Arrow dealer, Main @Jewett, Buffalo. Art-deco beauty still there.
I kinda tried (big enough building, but way too much land) to buy this one in 1999. Abbott Street in Lackawanna (a little east of downtown Buffalo).
Back then a bit pricey (had a huge parking lot I did not need) but they wouldnt allow residential zoning (even with houses all around it). Build 1945, streamline moderne "box".
Still there. Back then it had already been modernized and its showroom facade but kept the curves. Tower long gone when I first saw it.
In decades since I was sniffing at it, its been subdivided (land now has a outparcel with building on it, and building itself @ 30K sq. ft. and now has maybe 8-10 different businesses in it.)
Built 1937, Bailey @ Route 33, overpass, Buffalo. Still there but only recogizable by its shape. Been enlarged in rack and to the right over the years.
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Portland, Oregon
67newport
Old Man with a Hat
The 1948 photo of a vintage Sunoco in #567.
Still there (as of 2020, but Google says "permanently closed") , was a restaurant. 1625 Stratford Ave., Stratford Connecticut.
source: Our Story — PizzaCo
Still there (as of 2020, but Google says "permanently closed") , was a restaurant. 1625 Stratford Ave., Stratford Connecticut.
source: Our Story — PizzaCo
the former Glenn Thamas Dodge, 240 Long Beach Blvd (formerly American Boulevard), Long Beach California.
This streamline modern (late stage "art deco") facade was added in 1933 after an earttquake. Building was there well into the 21st Century. Thomas Dodge might still be in business in another location as well.
A little bigger than I would like for the retiree hobby house, but was really cool old dealership building.
Alas, the building is now gone ..BUT they kept the 1933 facade it seems
source: Art & Inspiration - vintage car dealership photo thread
circa: 1930's
Later Years when its last usage was a book store.
Right now, bookstore gone, facade retained.
This streamline modern (late stage "art deco") facade was added in 1933 after an earttquake. Building was there well into the 21st Century. Thomas Dodge might still be in business in another location as well.
A little bigger than I would like for the retiree hobby house, but was really cool old dealership building.
Alas, the building is now gone ..BUT they kept the 1933 facade it seems
source: Art & Inspiration - vintage car dealership photo thread
circa: 1930's
Later Years when its last usage was a book store.
Right now, bookstore gone, facade retained.
How did they work?
photos here: Pigeon Hole Parking for Automobiles in Portland, 1955
short vid here: Clip D34_71_058, from Dissolve
Former Aero Gas Station, Fifth at Grand, Laramie Wyoming. Thousands of these designs all over USA, small and large cities, out in the country, etc.
Just gas and oil (i.e., a "filling" station) .. no ancillary services (so no service bays for chassis lubes, washes, light repair) that started to dominate in the 1930's in the "porcelain iceboxes".
Like this one, it likely was a repair shop/gas station later at some point.
circa: 1924
Google Maps 2022: Still there nearly 100 years later. Filling station days LONG behind it. Added to over the years, canopy support colums revised, etc.
Just gas and oil (i.e., a "filling" station) .. no ancillary services (so no service bays for chassis lubes, washes, light repair) that started to dominate in the 1930's in the "porcelain iceboxes".
Like this one, it likely was a repair shop/gas station later at some point.
circa: 1924
Google Maps 2022: Still there nearly 100 years later. Filling station days LONG behind it. Added to over the years, canopy support colums revised, etc.
hey @ayilar
If I was gonna buy something for a "hobby home", this one fits several parameters. Not a buyer for THIS property, but something like it.
1,500 sq. ft but LAND behind (green box, to build on for whatever is left of the fleet) and adjacent (yellow box, real estate investment). Decent price, located in Alabama, between Birmingham and Atlanta, so right climate. Probably could get the right zoning too.
local info says current use is NOT a gas station but rather has gas station memorabilia apparently stored in it (pumps out front are not operational). still may be a business in it but local real estate records doesnt show any sales transactions for decades.
If I was gonna buy something for a "hobby home", this one fits several parameters. Not a buyer for THIS property, but something like it.
1,500 sq. ft but LAND behind (green box, to build on for whatever is left of the fleet) and adjacent (yellow box, real estate investment). Decent price, located in Alabama, between Birmingham and Atlanta, so right climate. Probably could get the right zoning too.
local info says current use is NOT a gas station but rather has gas station memorabilia apparently stored in it (pumps out front are not operational). still may be a business in it but local real estate records doesnt show any sales transactions for decades.
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Fairly non-descript Atlantic station on Salina St. in Syracuse, NY about 1950. This was interesting to me because my friend Dave had this as his shop in the 80/90's. I have a lot of stories about hanging out in this place!
Torn down to build a laundromat. The place was sold out from under him, and timing was really bad for him to open another shop, so that was that.
Torn down to build a laundromat. The place was sold out from under him, and timing was really bad for him to open another shop, so that was that.
This became part of a "Mother Goose House" Historic Perry County ‘Mother Goose’ house honking again, to open in October as bed and breakfast | NKyTribune
Watertown, NY
It's gone now, one building behind it still stands, but a lot of other changes.
Similar modern station in Cooperstown, NY
EDIT: I got to looking for more about these gas stations and they are two locations. When I first found the top pic, I did read "Watertown Tire Co." and wondered if it was in Watertown. More searching and I came up with this: 1920's Colonial Beacon Lighthouse Gas Station - memoryln.net
It's gone now, one building behind it still stands, but a lot of other changes.
Similar modern station in Cooperstown, NY
EDIT: I got to looking for more about these gas stations and they are two locations. When I first found the top pic, I did read "Watertown Tire Co." and wondered if it was in Watertown. More searching and I came up with this: 1920's Colonial Beacon Lighthouse Gas Station - memoryln.net
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Where is the "A" frame Phillips 66 station located?
Ex gas station, 300 1st Street (US 287), Claude, Texas (30 miles east of Amarillo). So Pan Handle, lots of farms around Claude it seems.
Stumbled across a link that had city and state. I drove "Mr. Pegman" down the main street (US 287) and found it.
I'd guess a 1920's build (its got zinc roofing tiles -- probably needs a roof, electrical and HVAC upgrades, etc) , looks like somebody already made it into a "hobby business/house".
Building condition, however, rather dilapidated. Entire property could stand for some sprucing up,
Old station is about 1,000 sq. ft,, attached to a garage of about 4,000 sq. ft.
I am NOT a buyer of THIS property (dunno its status), but it has features on my list. Selling prices of things around it? Purdy reasonable.
sources: Metal-Shingled Gasoline Station, Claude, Texas (Texas Panhandle no. 1), 15 Frames: Abandoned Gas Station in Claude, Texas — Fujifilm X-E4 + Fujicolor Natura 1600 Recipe
2017
Google 2022
ASIDE .. there's a "baby" Grand Canyon just south of Amarillo. Just learned that today .. and again I am OLD.
Stumbled across a link that had city and state. I drove "Mr. Pegman" down the main street (US 287) and found it.
I'd guess a 1920's build (its got zinc roofing tiles -- probably needs a roof, electrical and HVAC upgrades, etc) , looks like somebody already made it into a "hobby business/house".
Building condition, however, rather dilapidated. Entire property could stand for some sprucing up,
Old station is about 1,000 sq. ft,, attached to a garage of about 4,000 sq. ft.
I am NOT a buyer of THIS property (dunno its status), but it has features on my list. Selling prices of things around it? Purdy reasonable.
sources: Metal-Shingled Gasoline Station, Claude, Texas (Texas Panhandle no. 1), 15 Frames: Abandoned Gas Station in Claude, Texas — Fujifilm X-E4 + Fujicolor Natura 1600 Recipe
2017
Google 2022
ASIDE .. there's a "baby" Grand Canyon just south of Amarillo. Just learned that today .. and again I am OLD.
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Another Syracuse gas station with a story. Citgo station that was to be torn down became an art project.
DeWitt plans to tear down vacant gas station at East Colvin Street and Nottingham Road
World Reclamation Art Project
It was finally torn down in 2013. It's an empty lot now.
DeWitt plans to tear down vacant gas station at East Colvin Street and Nottingham Road
World Reclamation Art Project
It was finally torn down in 2013. It's an empty lot now.
My future investigations. Couple architectural designs I most remember first hand. Look if you can in your city .. you'll see them/former ones all the time
I do NOT know where these exact stations were. I do know there thousands built in Canada and US. Sorta driven by the growth of the suburbs, but in city centers as well sometimes.
Things that "fit in" better, than "gullwings" and "porcelain iceboxes", etc., with the surrounding houses (e.g., brick and wood exteriors, gable roofs, etc). Usually less than 2K sq. ft, two or three bays. usually on a corner lot.
DO NOT tend to have land around them. DO NOT tend to allow residential zoning usages. Good for 'hobby" business, but not "hobby home/garage" use.
source: Landscape Change Program, Humphrey's Amoco gas station
The Shell "ranch house" design template (the so-called "Brady Bunch" designs).
the Sunoco "Colonial Revival" template Sunoco and others used. The green arrow is a new word I learned. Those things are called "cupolas"
Amoco template .. gable roofs and .. ta da ... "cupolas"
I do NOT know where these exact stations were. I do know there thousands built in Canada and US. Sorta driven by the growth of the suburbs, but in city centers as well sometimes.
Things that "fit in" better, than "gullwings" and "porcelain iceboxes", etc., with the surrounding houses (e.g., brick and wood exteriors, gable roofs, etc). Usually less than 2K sq. ft, two or three bays. usually on a corner lot.
DO NOT tend to have land around them. DO NOT tend to allow residential zoning usages. Good for 'hobby" business, but not "hobby home/garage" use.
source: Landscape Change Program, Humphrey's Amoco gas station
The Shell "ranch house" design template (the so-called "Brady Bunch" designs).
the Sunoco "Colonial Revival" template Sunoco and others used. The green arrow is a new word I learned. Those things are called "cupolas"
Amoco template .. gable roofs and .. ta da ... "cupolas"
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