Gas Stations in the 1940s [Colorized Version]

[@JamZorro]

This is the America I remember... I grew up in the 50 / 60's (massachsetts) living next to a gas station like many in these photos. There was never a dull moment around there. My friend's father owned the station and they lived on the other side of the garage. A couple of pumps, a couple of bays and a whole lot of stuff always going on. My friend and I hung out there often and learned so much about mechanics from just watching. They even had a stock car that they would race on the weekends at a couple of the local tracks. Great memories... Thanks History lounge 👍

[@martitinkovich4489]

Yeah, you can learn alot watching a grease monkey scratching his balls and smoking non-filter Pall Malls, whilst spewing a steady stream of obscenities at every passing bulldyke he views through those bloodshot Pabst Blue Ribbon eyeballs of his! Good Ole' Days!

[@JamZorro]

@@martitinkovich4489 👍... Thanks Troll

[@martitinkovich4489]

@@JamZorro It's on the house.

[@florante4991]

Now, electric charging stations are not that much fun. Nobody around you except those sterile florescent lights.

[@jegarajramoo3873]

Those classic cars are simply lovely! Great background music accompanying a fantastic video. Well done!

[@timdaly5831]

When there were "Service Stations" instead of todays "Gas Stations". I love these old clips.

[@loyalopposition-us]

The photo at 3:45 of the pretty girl leaning against the car is so perfect. Her hair, the dress, the '39 Dodge. Not posing for the camera exactly; she's just patiently waiting for...? It's a simple moment of her day frozen forever in time. It's the kind of photo that makes you want to know more.

[@TheReitiNo1]

The picture has no more or less art in it than all the others. You are just too easy to impress by what you think is an attractive woman.

[@thrummer1953]

What do YOU think is an attractive Woman? @Jesse none

[@Papa-fv1rn]

@@TheReitiNo1 Someone's jealous that they don't look as good as the girl leaning against the car.............

[@miggans21012]

No tattoos on her or piercings all over her.

[@dmac3551]

I was thinking that if my future Dad met her …. I’d never have been born😮

[@jeetts59]

Wonderful photos. I’m not in America, but it’s nice to see what life was like in that part of the world.

[@Ezop1959]

This is the America I was looking up to, always. This is the "shining city upon a hill".

[@judithrausch4742]

Ohhhh yesss, Mike! I remember those days. The 40’s were wonderful. PapaBob lived the entire decade. Born in 40, I was right behind him. All those boys with bandages, on crutches, in casts. We’d see them pass our front porch and on the busses as we rode to our chores in Atlanta.

[@Aegelis]

Very nice! A lot of well paved, clean, good looking roads.

[@johnsheetz6639]

I imagine just after world war II would be one of the most optimistic times in the history of America. The streets were filled with American heroes.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Great point!

[@christophercook723]

United States.

[@oldschooldjernie]

now we have idiots who side with Hitler and the Confederacy

[@christophercook723]

Canada,the other English Speaking Country in the Continent was probably like that.

[@Zebra_3]

@@christophercook723 Canadian vets were told not to share the horrors of war w/ their family.

[@noneyabusiness4564]

I worked at a Union76 gas station in Akron, OH for a year about 1975. I was a Pump Jockey. That place was a family owned business. I also fixed and changed a lot of tires. I did a lot of oil changes. I learned a lot about cars and trucks from the mechanic that worked there. I think I was paid about $2.00 dollars per hour.

[@Davett53]

Greetings Akron!...I grew up in Cleveland, been living in Columbus, Ohio since 1977.

[@Wiseguy1408]

I worked at a Pure Oil station in Toledo, OH for about 6 mo. in 1959. I did pretty much the same as you and I was paid $1.00 an hour. I had a few customers that demanded full service, check oil. check tires & clean glass, even when it was pouring rain! We didn't have canopies over the pump islands.

[@michigandersea3485]

@@Wiseguy1408 $1.00 / hr in 1959 is equivalent to $10.27/hr in 2023.

[@michigandersea3485]

$2.00/hr in 1975 is equivalent to $11.44/hr in 2023.

[@banksterkid5930]

@@michigandersea3485 ITS not just inflation it's also purchasing power. Today you cant buy much with 11 bucks but back then you could buy a lot for 2

[@bryanparkhurst17]

That cutie in the last shot is probably about the same age as my grandmother today if she still alive. That was a great picture show, thank you.

[@ahoorakia]

she is at least 100 years old if alive

[@boogitybear2283]

I severely miss the World War 2 Generation. They were my favorite people to hang around. That’s why I miss my Grandparents and their Friends so much.

[@miggans21012]

Ditto.

[@dearbrad1996]

I severely miss world war ii

[@Voucher765]

Same here. This was the era when the US was in the zone

[@fluffy1931]

Holocaust enters the chat.

[@mikesantiago6101]

Wow nice and enjoyable for the eyes. The music was just right. Liked it alot.

[@tonysaldzna2226]

All the beautiful cars. I wish we were in those times

[@Dragon43ish]

yes Tony to day we have plastic cars that will ware out in 8 years.

[@johnbrattan9341]

@@Dragon43ish Only American made.

[@jim2376]

Non-whites might not share your wish. Particularly blacks in the South.

[@richsackett3423]

@@Dragon43ish Nonsense. Today's cars outlast that primitive stuff by about three times. They are more efficient, faster, safer and have more residual value. And it's "wear".

[@mikeoglen6848]

They looked beautiful but many of them were, literally, Death Traps...

[@2quintly]

When there were people with "class" in the United States. Great photos.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Agreed. Thanks, @2quintly.

[@suppylarue220]

the cream of the crop is gone. the bottom of the barrel has risen to the surface nowadays.

[@jamesrecknor6752]

Walmart Woman wants to know your location

[@keith3970]

When L G B T and Q were letters of the alphabet.

[@keithhyttinen8275]

Class? What does that mean? White Anglo Saxons? Like the Harrison's?

[@tsbrownie]

The teepee at 1:21 might be in Lawrence Kansas. It is on Highway 40 outside of town near what's now the interstate to KC. 39° 0'1.33"N 95°13'52.46"W You can see it on google earth. The front door used to be just like in the video but has been expanded, taking out the window next to it.

[@mikes5637]

Whoever came up with the name Frostproof for a town in Florida is a legend.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

😆👍

[@geoben1810]

@ mikes5637 Not really, hard freezes do occur in Florida. Particularly in northern Florida. I've lived there for a few years. ❄

[@thommysides4616]

There is another town not far away called, WinterHaven.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Would have been run out of town on a rail if he had come up with Hurricaneproof.

[@johnbrattan9341]

@@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time Or "DeSantisBizzaroland."

[@MokiGirl]

How wonderful ! My dad worked at his friends father's gas station in 1942 when he was ten years old. He even did oil changes ! I now can easily imagine what the service station would have looked like !

[@MikeB-in1nd]

What is so interesting is that most pumps had no canopy’s.. must have been a challenge in weather

[@melvinrichardson4501]

The only part of those days i dont miss is changing out the points and condensers and plugs every 10000 miles; Electronic ignition is great.

[@richardstewart429]

5 gallons of gasoline if you had $1.50.

[@JeffDeWitt]

@@richardstewart429 But you made $10 a day.

[@danielgriff2659]

those were cheap and very simple to change though

[@JeffDeWitt]

@@danielgriff2659 For someone that knew what they were doing and had the tools. (Screwdriver, distributor wrench, timing light). And that's ignoring that with electronic ignition the timing is consistent, it doesn't change as the rubbing block on the points wears. Plus the added advantage is chances are the electronic ignition is good for the life of the car.

[@kirkmooneyham]

I worked at a gas station back in the 80s for a little while. The owner liked keeping the forecourt clean, so that's what my brother and I were hired to do. That station was (almost) like a throwback to this video.

[@mtcowboy51]

The teepee shaped station at 1:21 is at Busby, Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Now abandoned and dilapidated.

[@justmemrb]

As a child, I remember seeing the round oil cans stacked up by the gas pumps, and by the door of the service stations. I think I still have one of the metal funnels you used to have to stick through the tops of the cans.

[@OcotilloTom]

Great photo at 2:22. That's a Simplex Service Cycle on back of that car. They were made in New Orleans and used by Western Union and other messenger and delivery businesses. I'm 77 years old and I'm from Northeastern Louisiana. I bought one of those bikes in 1962 for $15.00. El Mirage, Arizona

[@OLDMANTEA]

I hope you still have it..

[@hikerx9366]

A great look back to what real life used to look like and every time I look back everyone is always smiling. Gotta love that.Thanks and loved the music as well👍.

[@geoben1810]

@ Hiker X Not everyone was smiling. American born and raised Japanese were in internment camps and Black people were being persecuted for the color of their skin. In 20th century America. While people of those races were fighting in uniform against fascism and imperialism. So no, not everyone was smiling.

[@seanleith5312]

It's sad to look back. 80 years ago, that's close to a century, all the technologies were already there. The quality of the building. The style of the public buildings. 80 years later, not much have changed, except people look uglier, blue hair, tattoos. People are much freer then. It's sad.

[@bootlegapples]

@@geoben1810 You know every video I've seen from late 1800's to the 1950's,the ones shot in public real time I see nothing but happy energetic faces of all races.People were engaged w one another and suicide rates/mental health index's bare that out.I think this doom n gloom is leftist BS.Leftist accounts of life by say BLM or antifa are total garbage.Noise.

[@iseegoodandbad6758]

The artifical (cars for transport, hospital births, processed foods and suburban houses etc) was being rapidly embraced. No thanks!!!

[@gaim44]

@@seanleith5312 Wow I an so glad we live in a country with a constitution that gives us the right to dress how we want, have tattoos , blue hair and freedom of speech . FREEDOM BABY!!!! We are more free now than ever...you dont like how people conduct there right to be free to do what the fuck they want move to RUSSIA😁😁

[@merccadoosis8847]

Fabulous photos ~ the classic cars, the fashions, the environs. All so very awesome.

[@Observer111]

Damn! The moment I hear that horn and bass combo, it brings on that hypnotic feeling of nostalgia. Love it!

[@caroltenge5147]

3:20 A 1938 Chevy business coupe. The one with the ONE tail light and highway gear rear end. I owned one back in the 1960's. One of the best most dependable, economical, easy steering love to drive cars ever.... No pollution, or safety junk on it. When idleing you could stand a nickel on the motor and it would not fall off.... that smooth.

[@garylangley4502]

When I was a little boy, my Dad had a '37 Chevrolet. This was about 1956 or so. I think that it was a 2 door sedan. The timing gear broke on it in 1958, and he bought a new '58 Chevy station wagon. Some good memories. It seemed that the gear shift lever was about a yard long!

[@danielthoman7324]

Business coup For what kind of business?

[@buddyholmes6317]

@@danielthoman7324 Mostly sales, they had huge trunks.

[@gaim44]

Safety junk? What keep you from going thru the window in an accident ...oh thats right the steering wheel....lol

[@caroltenge5147]

@@gaim44 I never had any problem with the car. Im not a paranoid. It didn't have any seat belts, air bags, computers or other garbage on it. Had a steering wheel made of plastic covered steel. And a real steel dashboard that insured peace of mind. It had strong big finned brakes. No anti skid or whatever. Ran on good leaded gas too!

[@kilcar]

My Dad,can out of Work Engineer during the Depression, managed a Standard Oil Service Station on 21st & Burnside in Portland Oregon. The were required to have three changes of white clothing overalls, and had to check restrooms every hour. They worked six days a week. Commissions were given for offering needed automotive services. My dad helped form and was the first president of Western States Standard Oil Employees Union. He was christened by the Union Paper as " Forty Hour McFadden". All they wanted really was a forty hour week. They got it. When the rank and file wanted to join AFL- CIO, he advised against it. Stating:" I don't want Communists in our Union". All the staff went to serve in WW2. MY dad in the Pacific, as did all his coworkers.

[@deluxieeee]

A goodly number of the autos shown were not from the 1940s, rather from the early 50s. I know as I lived through the post WW2 cars. Indeed, as a 18 year old I owned a four door Mercury convertible. Fantastic--great summers on the beach in California.

[@stephenB49]

I thought the same at first. The Studebaker, Chevrolet, Ford, and Mercury models I saw, though, all began in 1949.

[@deluxieeee]

@@stephenB49 I submit, I was not aware of that at the time. The basis for my judgment, particularly with Ford, was that my family bought a 1950 cigarette-box formed Ford. Man, I thought that style was "super-modern", certainly was compared to the shape of our 1939 Chevy (a car in which I was driven all over So. Calif as a toddler) and used until the purchase of the Ford. I do remember that the 1950 and 1951 Ford had different grids--assuming that my memory has not gone astray. Thanks for the info. Just a note: We who experienced the function of the Jeep during WW2 had a sort soft heart for it, so we worried that it would be discontinued.What our hopes wanted was not, I believe, all too popular. Sentimentality for the "old" vehicles set in early, I guess.

[@kpaisan-m4h]

Great video! Thanks for posting this. Love the jazz tunes with the impressive cars and scenery. Well done!

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

EXCELLENT!! music was perfect as well!

[@avtarnagpalnagpal3057]

Thanks for taking us back to time

[@TheHistoryLounge]

You're very welcome - it does the same for me!

[@seancooney8799]

So funny story my maternal grand parents met a year after WW2 when my grandmothers car had a flat tire and went to the Gas station my grandfather was working at to get the tire fixed ... 7 kids, 11 grand kids and now 8 great great grand kids later that one moment started a family. Thought this was the perfect video to share that story.

[@leospring6264]

Love this channel! The photos are amazing!

[@wabitt11]

LOVE it! I remember in early '60s there was an Humble gas station in our neighborhood and they'd fill your tank for you, clean your windshield, check your motor oil and radiator all while with a whiskbroom in his back pocket because the last thing he did was sweep out your vehicle...all at .32 cents a gallon, and that was a lot higher than the stations on the freeway.

[@danielgriff2659]

there is such a demand for this today, its crazy that not ONE gas station chain has attempted a full-service station. People would PAY gladly for such services.

[@johnvrabec9747]

Gas was probably 29 cents a gallon, and they still made a killing. It was fun going to the fillin' station with Dad, plus, they used to give you stuff. That's how my Mom got her plates and dishes. Or, you'd get S&H Green Stamps and get stuff that way. Your car would roll over the black hose and ring the bell, the service man would come out, wipe your windows, fill your tank, check your fluids, and Dad would get his smokes.

[@Paul-lm5gv]

It was more like 20-cents a gallon. In 1967 as a college student in Kansas I paid 18-cents a gallon!

[@hubertwalters4300]

@@Paul-lm5gv Yes...i remember those days.

[@michigandersea3485]

@@Paul-lm5gv That would be like $1.62/gallon in 2023, adjusted for inflation.

[@hubertwalters4300]

@@cockyhemi True,our founders never wanted a central bank,said it would be the worst thing that could happen to the people of the US,a central bank was created back in the 1800's, but President Andrew Jackson refused to fund it so it went no where,if I remember my history correctly.

[@hemaohgod6098]

Wow !! What nostalgic memories. Life was somewhat at a low pace. If we can rendezvous that world at least for one single day. I am from SRI LANKA.

[@acousticshadow4032]

Nice job on both the video and the music!

[@normansilver905]

In my town the 2 gas stations had Glass Tube's at the top of the pump frames. The attendant pumped by a hand pump the gas up into the glass tube. AND then put the nozzle in the gas tank and squeezed the trigger and the gas gravity flowed down into the tank.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Interesting! I was wondering how those pumps worked. Now I understand. Thanks for sharing that!

[@1949LA-ARCH]

THE GREATEST GENERATION……..RESPECT !

[@TheHistoryLounge]

WITHOUT A DOUBT!!! Great comment - thanks for watching.

[@t.texastimmy1022]

and yet they elected LBJ and Richard Nixon,,, so .............. ? (yeah, there's that)

[@h8troodoh]

@t.texastimmy1022 even the greatest can make mistakes..

[@JonasPauloNegreiros]

Beautiful photos! A piece of history.

[@trentb8674]

Wish things would go back to these times great video

[@TheHistoryLounge]

It looks like a great time - Thanks!

[@classiclife7204]

No internet, no thanks

[@IndianOutlaw1870]

We didn't need the Internet in the 1970s to be happy. I'm sure they didn't need it in the 1940s either.

[@davediamond7228]

ww2..korea.. not so great ..

[@jaysmith179]

@@davediamond7228 Now we have Cina balloons.

[@scottydog62]

Well done visual! Makes me yearn for those times,not all of it was great but most of it was.

[@zackgeorge2575]

Great Video, Thank You!

[@greyflanel]

Superbe vidéo,dommage il est loin ce temps où nous avions toute la vie devant soi.Mais il est bon de voir ces images afin de nous souvenir qu’il y a eu des jours heureux même si cela n’est que l’instant d’un moment .Merci pour le partage

[@eatonjask]

The Philips 66 station at 0:50 appears to be in 1950, judging by the newly introduced bullet-nosed 1950 Studebaker at the pump.

[@donaldstewart8342]

A lot of those pictures are from the 50's

[@stephenB49]

Actually, that Studebaker model debuted in 1949.

[@L08Productions]

How is it that these photos look so good, yet modern cell phone cameras don't even take photos as good as these? Also I noticed that the roads look clean and not a single pothole in sight!

[@JayKarpwick]

The films are cleaned up and colorized using AI. And there was A LOT less traffic back then so less stress on the roads. E.g. freight moved by train instead of being put on tractor-trailers.

[@airfight10]

If it was really possible, I would like to go back to those years with a time machine and live there, the years when life was pure and clean.

[@MarinCipollina]

If you found yourself 80 years back in history, it would likely drive you insane. Good luck explaining your money with dates that haven't happened yet.. Your credit and debit cards wouldn't work. Nobody would believe anything you said.. People would think you're trying to pull of some sort of elaborate hoax. If you said you were from the future, you would be sent to a mental institution against your will. They did that back then.

[@Dan-oj4iq]

I don't need a time machine to go back there, because I was there in real life the whole time. I will say that the same background music wasn't ringing in my ears at the time, but we had other music to listen to.

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

An absolutely spellbinding collection of wonderful photographs! When I think of gas stations from that era Chuck Berry’s great lyrics come to mind: “Workin' in the fillin' station, too many tasks Wipe the windows, check the tires, check the oil… dollar gas”

[@ronaldmiller673]

Great video 😊 and great times..

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Thanks, Ronald!

[@calvinnapier9977]

Love these videos your doing 👍 But I wish you would slow down the changing of the pics just a few seconds so we can look at them a bit longer 😉

[@hansfriess]

you can adjust the play back speed by clicking on the ⚙️at the upper right hand corner of the screen at the bottom of the drop down list you will see where you can adjust the speed

[@timmcmullen5]

Great video. Loved the pics and the music !! Your channel reminds a lot of " Yesterday Today " another YT channel. One tiny critique. I think the pictures change too fast. Just my feeling from watching a lot of history channels using pictures just like yours. Your pictures spend the least amount of time on the screen before they disappear. Again, great pics and music. I look forward to checking out more of your videos !!!

[@tomherfel2916]

That's why God created the PAUSE button. 🙂

[@johnshields6852]

Talking about the old days when you'd get service, service station, oil checked, windshield washed, small talk, you looked forward to going to the station, then self serve, no local guy, things changed and not for the better. Thank you

[@thrummer1953]

Some stations would offer you a coke. Ice Cold and opend for You.

[@danielgriff2659]

same thing with grocery stores... i hate the self-serve model

[@zunjo69]

There is a guy in Piqua, Ohio that owns/runs Terry's BP and still looks like this today. Terry still wears the uniform and pumps the customers gas!

[@zx2781]

1950s cars in 1940s America...awesome

[@johnquigley5355]

A time for us ! The businesses and Shops that are just memories now . THANK YOU for a look back at a beautiful Country .

[@barryobrien7935]

Good music choice. I loved the bullet-nose Studebaker.

[@morpheus3190]

It was truly a better time. Less crime, people were generally happier. No social media or internet. So much nicer. People were actually considerate to each other.

[@billtribble2904]

Not a better time for ALL Americans. 🔎

[@SuperOldandSlow]

@@billtribble2904: ...and your point is...what?

[@h8troodoh]

@@SuperOldandSlow I don't think blacks had it very easy then,is what I'm surmising,that he's saying..

[@fluffy1931]

Yep! Strict race laws & Jim Crow and segregation along with Ku Klux Klan & lynching. Forced internment of American citizens based on their ethnicity.

[@seansabhaois]

Great collection of nostalgic photos 🙂👌 The colourising really makes them jump out and very life like. Petrol stations / forecourts in SA, 50's, 60's and even early 70's where I grew up, seemed very similar to the way petrol / fuel was bought and sold in rural America... Sometimes a bit rough & ready, but you pulled up in your Dad's or Grandad's latest Ford, Chevy, GM, Chrysler, Opel / Vauxhall wonder and out came the pump attendant, to 'fill 'er up' Check the oil & water, clean the screens, pump the tyres etc. With the fuel, dirt cheap then, came a can of STP and a couple of cold Cokes or Pepsi's from the red cooler and you were on your way again. The pause that refreshes. And yeah, toilet keys were chained to hubcaps or pieces of iron, just so you remembered to hand the key back. Down that long road from no where to who knows where? In the seventies great swathes of high ways were built, linking provinces and cities, often by passing these little 2 or 3 pump petrol stations, which withered & died, once the multinationals began building services, with 24/7 access.

[@abef.9085]

Ya,Sweet!...We had one that had a 10Cent Cold Drink Machine..lol..7oz Bottles.

[@tedlahm5740]

Every man wore a HAT at major league baseball games.

[@gaim44]

You can still wear a hat anywhere in America😁😁

[@nytom4info]

NO CELL PHONES! NO INTERNET! NO CABLE!!! Thank God!!!!!

[@catfish24]

This was a great time in America when people were kind and treated everyone with respect .

[@jandrew0639]

Immigration killed that.

[@simonworman7898]

Some years before,I know,but Al Capone,Bonnie and Clyde all of who were dependent on gasoline ,but I am not sure they were kind,but history is mostly myth,but very interesting to see a slice of our American cousin's social history, all so much more modern than our UK operations of the period

[@ClaudioAraya]

@@jandrew0639 😄 The USA is a land of immigrants! So not sure why you made that remark. I would say that The USA has been made great because of the immigrants efforts. Get your history straight.

[@timnewman1172]

@@jandrew0639 Really, care to elaborate?

[@timnewman1172]

As long as they were white... I grew up where all the adults I knew were from that era or before. They may not have been blatantly hostile or percieved as superior to people of color but make no mistake, white priviledge was at it's peak!

[@nomadyesmad4875]

At 1:31 is the concrete Tee Pee gas station I found in Lawrence Kansas about 5 years ago. It was a beer bar at that time. There is quite a bit of history about the concrete Tee Pees. Quite interesting.

[@jaex9617]

03:46 I need a time machine. 😍

[@EmilyTienne]

Great images, love the panning. Music is beautiful.

[@owensclock]

During the war years gasoline rationing was in effect. You had to have a sticker on your car windshield to buy gas. The car in the 1945 photo at 2:40 might have one.

[@miriambucholtz9315]

Those old black cars look familiar; I believe we had something like that back in the early 50s when I was a little girl. Dad could only afford an older, second-hand car, the type that broke down regularly and that he had to get out and fix. I also remember that the car had a standard transmission and that I knew by the key that the engine sound had reached when to shift the gears. My father thought that it was funny to keep driving as the sound rose in pitch and I yelled at him as if I expected something to blow up.

[@rais1953]

I was looking for the kind of petrol bowsers (pumps) we had in small rural towns in Australia. The bowser had a long lever on the side for manual pumping because electric pumps were only in the city. On top they had a glass tank, probably about 10-15 Imperial gallons, and the owner of the shop pumped the fuel up to the level required by the customer then let it run down by gravity into the car's fuel tank.

[@skeets6060]

I wish I had any of those old cars

[@hershellacey9405]

They're all turned into KIAs and Hyundais now.

[@jsusna1972]

Many people today are unfamiliar with that "ding-ding, ding-ding" sound as a car would drive over the cable to let an attendant know that a car pulled up. While your gas was being pumped, the attendant would clean your windshield, check your oil and show you the dip stick if you needed to be topped off, and check the pressure in your tires and pump them up to 32 psi, which is what most tires required back in the day.

[@tombeers5636]

Two more, I wish I had photos to offer. The Hat and Boots, in South Seattle. And the tea pot over near Yakima. Nice post

[@barbaraann2241]

outstanding idea...archival video...more to come!

[@misigis]

Nice video, thanks for posting, but clearly into the early '50s for some locations.

[@gerrynightingale9045]

*At **2:22**...who made that Motor-Bike?* ( *It looks factory made and definitely American...could it be a 'Whizzer' or a 'Topper?'* )

[@Fulltang65]

The girl in the dress, leaning against the car at the end, she wouldn’t think of coloring her hair unnatural clown colors, she wouldn’t dare think of getting a tattoo, and she knows that she’s a girl and not confused by it.She just looks normal and it’s very attractive.

[@EmilyTienne]

She would think of doing those things, but her grandkids did. Where did she go wrong?

[@classicmoviesvault]

I liked the girl putting air in the tire we don't get service like that anymore

[@christianmonreal9303]

These days you can't go to a gas station without hearing someone's music turned up too loud or obnoxiously loud exhaust

[@thezuguprojectANTHONYALBANESE]

That was wonderful!.....Thank you!

[@8176morgan]

Some great photos of old American cars. I really like the '41 Nash Ambassador seen at the gas pump at :25 and also the woman standing by her car at 3:45. I didn't know what it was at first but then I noticed the ram hood emblem and knew that it must be a Dodge. I believe that it is a 1939 Deluxe Dodge 4 door sedan. 😊

[@jourwalis-8875]

Fantastic photos! But I miss some moving pictures!

[@MH-fb5kr]

Most vehicles of that era had an average life expectancy of 35k to 50k miles… and required huge maintenance

[@connor_flanigan]

cars have improved a lot over the years. by the 70s, 80s and 90s, a GM product could sometimes go 90k before the engine and/or transmission went bad.

[@lancewalker1999]

Likely you're right the average guy could work on them. Not now.

[@roberthaworth8991]

@@Mickyfrench65 Modern cars routinely go 150,000-200,000 mi. without needing major work. Tires are changed after 30,000-40,000 mi., not 10,000 as in the old days. Batteries are 650-750 CCA, not the 150 CCA back then. The rate of highway fatalities per million miles driven is way, way, down.

[@gaim44]

@@lancewalker1999 Wow so everyone in USA then could fix everything on there cars...Wow..amazing!!! Its almost hard to believe😁😁

[@CatholicTraditional]

That’s why they were full-service stations back then. Another consideration is when people drove, it was only if they had to. If you lived in a city and had a downtown job, you took the bus or subway. Most men who drove to work had jobs within 5 miles of their homes. Unless you were a big shot, you didn’t drive an hour to work every day. These antique cars could only go up to 50 MPH tops.

[@theintruder77]

I well remember this type of service station into the early 1960s. I pumped gas in 1961-62 at my uncles ESSO. Got there on my Vespa.

[@jimarcher5255]

When a lady went downtown she was nicely dressed and wore a hat and gloves and stockings.

[@futuristica1710]

Let the ladies wear whatever they want, ok.

[@TileGuyJesse]

Not a 'Self Serve' sign in sight. I remember getting a job at Park's Texaco in Long Beach, CA right after I graduated in '76. The last of the 'Full Service' stations around. In college in Portland, OR all stations up there are full serve. Created jobs!

[@roberthaworth8991]

It became illegal to pump your own gas in NJ in 1949 after some idiot blew up a station by spilling gas onto his hot exhaust, IIRC.

[@michaeldethrow3873]

Nice production!!!

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Enjoyed!!! 👍👍

[@TheHistoryLounge]

I’m glad to hear it - thanks for watching!

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

@@TheHistoryLounge 🙂👍

[@nswelles1]

A few of the photos are from the '50s. There were '50s cars shown in them. One license plate is dated 1950.

[@dalecaldwell]

The J. b. Phillip station in Memphis was still around in the 1960's. I bought many a tank of gas there.

[@TexasVernon]

I worked as a gas station attendant from the mid-60s to the mid-70s. The early years were like what is shown in this video. Then the oil embargos hit in the 70's. Something called self-service came into being. No more checking the oil, battery and tires. No more cleaning windshields. At least not for others. It was a gradual transition, however. At first I still did everything except pump the gas. Over time, though, it shifted to what it is now in most states.

[@ammo8713]

WELL DONE....GOOD TIMES ! LIFE WAS SO SIMPLE THEN.

[@rodneycody8746]

Except for hiltler and the slant eyes

[@michigandersea3485]

Life is usually simpler when you're a kid. Millennials are always talking about how life was so much simpler in the 80s or 90s. Turns out we were kids with less responsibility and that's why we see it that way.

[@h8troodoh]

Was no overbearing government, not so many rules,laws, permits.. life was truly a freer society than now..

[@desertrat77]

Saw a couple of 1951 Chevys in there.

[@TheHistoryLounge]

Yep - a couple of photos outside the 40s got in.

[@LarsonFamilyFarm-LLC]

@3:53, I owned a gray 1947 Plymouth special deluxe as shown in the far background.

[@mikeburgess2485]

It used to be that way in Canada as well

[@questfortruth665]

I think I spotted Gomer Pyle and Barney Fife in one of those pictures! 😊

[@selah62]

coming in for a bottle of pop, then over to Thelmalou's.

[@connor_flanigan]

@@selah62 yep - ole Barn is gonna get sugared up and then go give ole Thelmer the mushroom tip

[@vankullstudio]

Your music is outstanding. BUT PLEASE GIVE THE MUSICIANS CREDIT! Who is the trumpet player

[@davidwhitney1171]

The man in the "Los Angeles 1945" photo is washing a 1942 Ford- someone was lucky enough to get this car brand new and to have it during the duration of the Second World War, just before the War resulted in cessation of production of civilian cars, until late 1945...

[@roberthaworth8991]

Note that the chrome is "blacked-out" (nickel-plated only -- no chromium, which was needed for shells in the war effort). Some such trim was actually left in mild steel and then painted.

[@lizzapaolia959]

Thanks for sharing this video 👌🙏

[@A._J_.]

Notice how nice all the people in this video look.

[@alcenofolchini6971]

Perfect

[@MCalvin1955]

Nice video. One thing I notice or didn’t notice is the price of gas posted anywhere. When did they start posting gas prices?

[@Davett53]

I wasn't born until 1953, however, I much preferred those older days, when people were more friendly at service stations. A younger man would pump your gas, clean your windshield and ask if you needed anything else. If you were a regular, the same people were always at your favorite station. You might get to know the owner, and his employees. Maybe the young workers lived in your area and went to school with your kids. You might know the station owner and he'd tell you things that were helpful, about your car. Or just make friendly small talk about neighborhood goings-on. For some reason gasoline with "lead" in it, smelled kind of nice, and it smelled like success and American pride. Back then people had friendships with their mail man, there diaper service delivery person, their milkman,...Not deeply personal relationships, but cordial and friendly, relationships. The delivery people might benefit from a gift of fresh baked cookies from their clients. People have forgotten about the Fuller Brush men,...Men who sold brushes and house hold cleaning agents, not available in stores. At your front door., where you looked forward to it, not like today where you'd be angered by them intruding. They also sometimes gave away "free" gifts, like letter openers and shoe horns, with the Fuller Brush logo on them. A stylized "male" figure, the iconic Fuller Brush man, in cast plastic....which in 2023, if you found one in an antique store, it would cost you $25.00, or more as they are quite collectible, presently.