That Good Gulf Gasoline

In 1918, the Gulf Refining Co. adopted a brick and tile roof station with canopy supported by four brick columns covering two front driveways. “That Good Gulf” was one of the Company’s marketing slogans for a number of years during the twenties and thirties.

Below are architectural changes in the Reed Brothers Dodge front that can be seen in the photos below taken in the late 1920s. A second story was added to the showroom with a glazed front looking out onto Rockville Pike on the right. A modern drive-through canopy was also added along with new gasoline pumps and Dodge Car and Truck signage.  (click on images to enlarge)

New showroom, canopy and gasoline pumps added in the late 1920s. The Alemite sign in front indicates that Reed Brothers also sold and used the Alemite lubricating system.

A close-up view can be seen of the new gasoline pump-island with four pumping units along with the motor oil dispensers used at that time. The old pump island can be seen to the left along with a new “That Good Gulf Gasoline” sign. In the background is the old St Mary’s Church and Cemetery in Rockville.

That Good Gulf Gasoline drive-through filling station. Note the unpaved dirt road on Rockville Pike and trolley tracks.

Dodge Brothers Motor Car and Graham Brothers Truck signage. Note the onlookers and firetruck on the right by the trolley track.

According to the Gulf Oil Company, the early history of the company from 1909-19 is as follows. “When Gulf was born in 1901 with an oil discovery in Spindletop, Texas, the primary commercial fuel was coal. By 1903, the age of mechanization had arrived and it was now up to the petroleum industry to keep pace, for the age could not proceed without it. Gasoline development, into which Gulf invested millions of dollars, responded to advances in automotive technology. Within a dozen years of Spindletop, Gulf scored notable firsts with the world’s first service station, complimentary Gulf road maps and over water drilling at Ferry Lake. In 1917, the Gulfstream went into World War I service, along with the rest of Gulf’s tanker fleet.”