The Old Gulf Station

So I'm migrating stuff from my website to this blog. One of the first items is the bit on the old Gulf station....

For those of you who are interested, here is some information on the Gulf station we bought in 2005. The earliest documentation shows that Gulf Oil Corporation bought land on the corner of Locust and McKinney in 1923. As shown below, the original building was 20 by 14 feet:

Gas stations evolved from the 1920's to 1930's from being "filling" stations to being "service" stations. Accordingly, in April 1939 the station was updated by Gulf Oil Corp with bathrooms and service bays. This allowed the station operator to generate revenue in ways other than simply selling gas, oil, etc. Here is a picture of the station taken in the 1940's:

By the 1950's, oil company began standardizing stations in the "modern" style. In August 1955, Gulf Oil updated this station, covering the exterior with porcelain enamel tiles. The porcelain remains today:

In October 1971, the station was sold to long-time operators Barringer & Owens (B&O). B&O ran the gas station from the 1950's to the late 1980's. Today the station remains in its 1950's configuration. It is used as private storage. Actually, I tell people that its my "tree house." When you're 10 years old, you have a tree house in which to hang out. . . .but when you're 46, you get an old gas station! Maybe someday the station will be a bar or restaurant, but for now, it holds my junk....