Gulf Gas (Gone)
Fort Lee, NJ Photo courtesy Rick Ibsen
This Gulf sign is located on the roof of a still operating station on US 46 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, about a mile south of the George Washington bridge. Many thanks to Rick Ibsen for info. 03-08
Heading down Route 46 through Fort Lee, here’s a Gulf sign you didn’t have to look very hard to find. Instead of standing on the usual pole out by the highway, the big round Gulf Gas sign was planted right on top of the station roof.
This was a busy stretch of road for a gas station, sitting about a mile from the George Washington Bridge and all that traffic heading toward New York. With cars rushing along Route 46, putting the Gulf sign up high probably wasn’t such a bad idea. You could spot that familiar orange and blue circle well before reaching the pumps.
Gulf Gas
Fort Lee, NJ Photo courtesy Rick Ibsen
There’s something fun about seeing an ordinary Gulf sign mounted this way. Most stations put their biggest sign beside the road, but this one wore its Gulf sign almost like a hat. It certainly gave an otherwise everyday neighborhood gas station a little more roadside personality.
Just another gas station perhaps, but when you’re cruising old highways looking for signs, sometimes one unusual detail is enough to hit the brakes.
UPDATE: The rooftop Gulf sign has since been removed. The exact fate of the original station building is uncertain. 08-26
Petro-Canada Gas Station
Grimsby, Ontario Canada Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
The sun is dropping behind the Petro-Canada Gas Station in Grimsby, giving this otherwise everyday highway stop a little extra roadside color. Sitting along the service road beside the busy QEW, it’s the kind of place you might normally pull into for gas and never give a second thought. Catch it at the right time of day, though, and even a modern gas station can be worth a photo. 03-07
Petro-Canada’s red and white canopy and maple leaf sign are unmistakably Canadian, especially when you’ve been spending the day driving around Ontario. With the QEW running alongside, there’s certainly no shortage of travelers passing this way between Toronto and Niagara.
UPDATE: The Petro-Canada station remains open along the South Service Road in Grimsby, although the property and signage have been updated over the years. The QEW is still rushing by just beyond the pumps. 08-26
Phillips 66 Gas (Closed)
Burlington, VT Photo courtesy Rick Ibsen
Now this is the way a gas station should look. With that wild canopy swooping out toward Shelburne Road, the Phillips 66 Gas Station in Burlington is a great reminder of when even filling up the tank came with a little mid-century style. 04-09
The V-shaped canopy was part of the Phillips 66 look during the 1950s and ’60s, reaching toward the road like it was trying to flag down passing motorists. There were once several similar Phillips stations around Burlington, but most have disappeared or changed beyond recognition.
The pumps and Phillips 66 signs are gone, but fortunately that great canopy survived.
UPDATE: The former gas station is now The Spot, a surf-themed restaurant. The swooping canopy is still there, making it pretty easy to figure out what this place used to be. 08-26
Sunoco
Boston, MA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out this old Sunoco sign sitting just off the highway in Boston. With that familiar blue diamond and bright red arrow pointing the way, there wasn’t much doubt where to pull off for a tank of gas. 08-08
Sunoco signs like this were once a common sight along highways throughout the Northeast. Nothing fancy here, just a big roadside sign doing exactly what it was supposed to do, catching your eye as the traffic rolled by. Sometimes you don’t need an old gas station or rusty pumps to make the stop. The sign alone is worth a second look.
UPDATE: The exact location of this Boston Sunoco has been difficult to pin down, and it is unknown whether the original sign still survives. 08-26
Gulf Gas (Gone)
Gulf Gas
Petro-Canada Gas Station
Phillips 66 Gas (Closed)
Sunoco
