The American Gasoline Station, 1920 to 1970

Gasoline Station Morphology on Virginia's Eastern Shore

“…Note that the vast majority of active and inactive gasoline stations are located along U.S. Route 13, the primary roadway-a four-lane divided highway for most of its length-running down the spine of Virginia's Eastern Shore. In order to discern (changing) spatial patterns, we utilized digital photographs of all gasoline stations (active and inactive) to categorize each gasoline station by decade built based on their architectural style as defined in the works of Jakle (1978), Vieyra (1979), Margolies (1993), and Jakle and Sculle (1994) (Table 1). While architectural styles do not neatly conform to time categories entirely, decades nonetheless offer a generalized but effective method for categorizing gasoline station buildings as defined in the literature.…”

“…As automobiles became more pervasive, gasoline service stations opened along roads and intersections with high traffic volumes, including those servicing residential neighborhoods. During this early stage of gasoline station development in the 1920s, gasoline station buildings were often built to look like houses in order to blend in with their surrounding neighborhoods (Jakle 1978). With the process of suburbanization and road networks becoming even more devel-oped, drive-in gasoline service stations largely drew away from urban centers and gravitated to high volume roadways and intersections and near long-distance highspeed freeway exit ramps (Norris 1987;Jake and Sculle 1994, p 201-224).…”

“…For example, as gasoline sales declined during the Depression in the 1930s, gasoline station retailers altered architectural designs in order to increase space for the sale of automobile accessories and to increase space for vehicle maintenance, which meant larger offices and garages. Gone, however, were hip and gable roofs, roof tiles, and house-style architectures in favor of oblong boxes with flat roofs (Jakle 1978;Jakle and Sculle 1994, p 143-144).…”

“…The paper draws primarily on two separate bodies of literature. Utilizing the authoritative works of geographer John Jakle (Jakle 1978;Jakle and Wilson 1992;Jakle and Sculle 1994), the paper explores gas- oline stations as part of a cultural vernacular roadside landscape that was at one time uniquely American. Here, various gasoline station architectures and their economic and cultural functions are explored.…”

The commercial and regional imagery of big things: Establishing a foundation for the study of oversized roadside landmarks

“…The general literature on roadside advertising, tourism, and post-war material culture does incorporate some mention of Big Things (both architectural and sculptural/statuesque forms), though it too fails to settle on a clear label. Works such as Main Street to Miracle Mile (Liebs, 1985), Fill'er Up: An Architectural History of American Gas Stations (Vieyra, 1979), Fun Along the Road (Margolies, 1998), and publications by Jakle and Sculle (e.g., Jakle, 1978;Jakle and Sculle, 2004), are typical of the academic study of roadside history and material culture, though they are primarily focused on the US. These works are concerned with the documentation of specific types of roadside businesses such as motels, fast-food restaurants and diners, and gas stations, and as such, their inclusion of Big Things is tangential.…”