Nobody’s happy to be at a gas station — especially now, as prices at the pump have skyrocketed. But back in the day, as these vintage gas station photos show, gas stations were a nice, relaxing break. You could unwind, have somebody else pump your gas, enjoy a snack, and not spend half the money you have to your name.
Miss those days? Here are 22 vintage photos of gas stations from way back when.
Texaco Station in the ‘60s, When Gas Was Cheap
Cool old-school hose. I bet teenagers tried to spray each other with those things.
American Gas Station Owned by Pan-Gas in the 1920s, Before the Great Depression
Look at this official-looking guy right here. He’s pouring himself some motor oil like a cup of coffee.
Green Stamps and Gas Price Wars – ‘50s and ‘60s
15 cent gas! My, oh, my.
Gulf Station From the 1950s Checking Out a Studebaker
Gas station attendants used to wear suits and ties, which is pretty wild.
A Service Station on Stone Way in Seattle, Circa mid-‘50s
Color blast! The Safeway here has allegedly been converted to condos.
Trending on Cheapism
Gas Station in Toronto, 1980
Ladas, Russian-made cars, were clearly on blast here during the Cold War.
Gas Station on Highway 50, Winchester, Virginia, 1940
Texaco isn’t even advertising its own name as hard as it’s advertising “apple candy,” which are small cube-shaped candies made with apples, sugar, and gelatin. Those things must have been flying off the shelves in ‘50s Virginia. You can still buy apple candy from the family-owned Millcroft Farms, which bought the historic Shenandoah Candy Co. (advertised here) in 1997.
‘My Great Uncle and Great Great Grandfather at a Gas Station in Santa Barbara, California, 1954’
You can immediately hear “Mr. Sandman” playing in the head just like Marty McFly did!
Sign up for our newsletter
‘My Grandfather’s Service Station, September, 1955’
I am salivating over that 28 cent price tag here at Signal Gas.
Old Filling Station in Ann Arbor, 1938
If I were driving around Ann Arbor in 1938, I too would make sure that I only pulled up in a car that was the exact same color as the pumps.
Gas Station in New York, 1920s
It’s easy to comment on how cheap gas was here at 9 and a half cents per gallon, but tax is 4 cents? That’s almost 50 percent!
Gansett Sunoco, 1956
My father’s wife found this photo of him yesterday, at about 4 years old, helping his uncles at their gas station.
Pumping gas in the 1970s
There’s something satisfyingly symmetrical about pumping gas directly through the center of the car like this. Car fans deduced that this bad boy was ‘69-’71 Chevy Nova.
A Gas Station in Germany, 1958
This looks simultaneously extremely old, and also extremely futuristic. The car port looks like the underside of the dang ship from “Space Jam.”
‘My Grandfather, a Gas Station Mechanic During the Depression in 1934’
This guy is apparently a gas station attendant, but he looks more like somebody who’s been assigned to work on the atomic bomb. He’s got a fistful of miscellaneous electronics, and he’s staring down the barrel of the camera like he’s gonna die. This is not a happy fella.
‘Me Pumping Gas when Unleaded Was Just Becoming a Thing. Circa 1975-76’
Metal can: check. ‘80s hair: check. Faded and yellowed image: check. Vintage photo achieved.
The 1973 Gas Crisis
One time I had to wait about four extra minutes for gas and I nearly threw a fit. Good thing I didn’t have to live through the Gas Crisis of ‘73, which occurred when a huge petroleum company stopped exporting oil to America (and anybody else supporting Israel at the time of the Yom Kippur War), which made prices explode, and lines end up like this.
A Gulf Gas Station, 1981
Am I losing my mind or does this woman look like a cardboard cutout? Is this a real town? Or is this the Universal backlot?
‘Grandpa’s Gas Station, Late 1940s, Corner of Bay Blvd & E St, Chula Vista’
Do you know Chula Vista? Sleuths in the comments section of this one have deduced that the photo is facing north.
‘Grandpa’s First Filling Station, 1982’
If you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere on a dusty roadtrip, and you see a sign that says “Flats fixed” and “Ice,” then things are probably about to start looking up. Unless you’re in a horror movie. Then things are certainly not looking up.
Gas Station, 1970s
The more you look at this, the more it looks like both men on the right side of the photo are staring at the woman on the left side of the photo as she pumped gas. There are storylines everywhere, folks.
Gasoline Selling for 2 Cents a Gallon, 1920s
When tax for the gas cost more than the actual gas itself. I wonder if anybody is going to go to Chop Suey.
More From Cheapism
- 11 Historic Route 66 Gas Stations Worth a Pit Stop — From restored landmarks to museum-worthy stops, these nostalgic gas stations capture classic Americana and make any road trip along Route 66 feel like stepping back in time.
- Gas Prices by Year: What Fuel Cost When You Were Born — A look back at decades of gas prices reveals how dramatically costs have shifted over time, shaped by everything from inflation to global events.
- Where Gas Prices Are Rising the Fastest — and the Slowest— Fuel costs are climbing across the U.S., but some states are experiencing sharper spikes than others, highlighting just how uneven and unpredictable gas prices can be.
