1930s Service Stations

Celebrating the Transportation Revolution!

The former American icon is now referred to as a gas station rather than a service station. Some of the service stations that were along Route 66 during the 1930s include Soulsby’s Shell Station, Bob Audetters’, Texaco, and Phillips 66. By 1930,due to Henry Ford’s revolution of the car industry there were over 100,000 stations in America. Not only did these stations provide gas, but automobile supplies and services as well – tires, batteries, oil, tire patching, and lube jobs.  

In chapter 13 John Steinbeck’s novel, Grapes of Wrath, you might recall the fat, condescending service station attendant who complains to the Joads about his trade. As he laments on the changes going around in his environment - "I don’ know what the country’s comin’ to." - we are reminded of the injustice these small business owners/farmers had to face. 

This exhibit is dedicated to the fat man and his dilapidated gas station.