Fill’er Up: Reed Brothers Full Service Gasoline Station
Do you remember full service gas stations? I sure do. As a baby boomer growing up in the 60s, I remember Reed Brothers Dodge as a full service gasoline station. The uniformed attendant would greet the customer by name, fill the car up with gas, wipe the windshield, check the tire pressures and check under the hood. Back then, getting a tank of gas could take up to 10-15 minutes per person. I used to love to hear the bell ding after every gallon pumped. Gulf had orange foam balls you could place on your car’s antenna and they also gave away things like pens, key chains, calendars and road maps.
Reed Brothers Dodge was the first Gulf gasoline dealer in the Washington, D.C. area. In 1915, they began selling gas at their original location in Old Rockville at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. Their first gas station consisted of a single pump. Later, in addition to gas, they carried a full line of Gulf lubricants, Goodyear tires, Willard batteries, complimentary road maps, free air and water, and many other well known brands of merchandise to meet their patrons needs. Reed Brothers discontinued offering this product line when they relocated to their new facility in November 1970.
Below are two previously unpublished photos of Reed Brothers full service Gulf gas station. Both photos were taken at its original location in Old Rockville at the triangle at Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike. (click on photos for larger images)
Reed Brothers Dodge canopied Gulf Gas Station circa 1936. A closer look reveals the price of gasoline as 15 cents. On the right attached to a telephone pole is a sign pointing the way to Olney. In addition to the Gulf signage there is a small, barely visible sign below that promotes, “Clean Rest Rooms”.
Below is a mid-1960’s photo of the Reed Brothers Dodge Gulf Gasoline station. The famous Gulf “ice box” design dates back to late 1930’s and there were probably more of these built than any single one of the later Gulf designs. A Coca Cola machine is visible in front of the white Dodge Dart parked in front of the service bay. The sign in the grass on the right reads, “We’re Making Deals on Gulf Tires”.
Reed Brothers Dodge Gulf Gas Station circa mid-1960
Flashback: Our First Website
In October 1999, Reed Brothers Dodge published their first website. It can be hard to recall what website’s used to look like back in the 90s, as they have changed incrementally over a long period of time, but you can find an archived copy of the Reed Brothers Dodge original website on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Take a walk down memory lane as we journey back in time and take a look at what our very first website used to be.
To give you some perspective, in 1996…
- Google.com did not exist yet
- In January 1996 there were only 100,000 websites, compared to more than 160 million in 2008
- The web browser of choice was Netscape Navigator, followed by Microsoft Internet Explorer as a distant second (Microsoft launched IE 3 in 1996)
- Most people used dial-up Internet connections with mighty speeds ranging from 28.8Kbps to 33.6Kbps
Reed Brothers Dodge site has been crawled 139 times going all the way back to October 4, 1999. (click on images to enlarge)
Reed Brothers First Website “Homepage”
Going back to October 4, 1999 – as shown below. Although some of the pages appear incomplete due to missing images, the essence is there. Note: Captions in blue were captured from hovering over the 6 menu headings on the homepage.
Reed Brothers Dodge first webpage “homepage”
New Car Inventory Search Page
Below was the New Car Inventory Search Page of Reed Brothers website. If for some reason you couldn’t find what you were looking for here, you could scroll to the bottom of the page to the pop-down menu. From there, you could navigate to the other sections of the website, including Incentives, Pre-Owned, Parts/Service, Specials, Maps/Directions, Request a Quote, Credit Application, Employment Opportunities, Contact Us and Homepage.
As you can see below, a few graphic car images are missing from our original site. In general, however, the range and completeness of the archive is remarkable.
Browse through the line-up of current Dodge vehicles. View our new vehicle inventory, check equipment & pricing, even make us an offer.
Inventory Search page
Used Car Inventory Search Page
Search through our entire inventory of used cars and trucks. View photos, prices and included equipment. Our easy-to-use interface will assist you to find the vehicle of your dreams.
Used Car Search Page
Service Department Page
Go here to see our Chrysler 5 Star Repair Facility. We offer early bird and night drop-off, ASE Certified Trained Technicians. Prompt and courteous service representatives.
Service Page
Body Shop Page
Body Shop Page
Parts/Service Information Page
Parts Department Page
Reed Brothers Dodge Credit Application
Reed Brothers Dodge Credit Application
New Car Incentives
Request a Quote Page
Come here to request a quote on your next vehicle. Fill in a few brief questions and one of our courteous Salespersons will assist you.
Request a Quote
Maintenance Menu & Coupon Specials Page
Check out our monthly specials here. Take advantage of the incredible savings we have to offer you. We have specials for all your service needs.
Specials Page
Service Coupon Specials
Four of the six coupons listed above were actually archived!
Coupon Specials
Maintenance Menu
Map/Directions Page
Directions Page
Happy 90th Birthday, Mom!
Today is a very special post in honor of my mother, Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner – 90 years young today! Not everyone lives long enough to celebrate their 90th birthday, so I’m thrilled to report that my mother is marking this momentous occasion today.
Mom, thank you for your wisdom and perseverance, and for the many years of love and support you have given me. I wish you many more years of health and happiness.
Happy Birthday, Mom … I love you!!!
Lewis Reed: Charter Member, Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department
Lewis Reed was a charter member and Past President (Feb.1933 – Feb 1937) of the Gaithersburg – Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department. The newspaper article below shows the first members of the GWGVFD standing in front of a 1928 Broadway fire truck. The picture was taken in 1929 in front of old Barnett Drug Store where Diamond Drugs in Olde Towne Gaithersburg now stands. (click image to enlarge)
The Gaithersburg – Washington Grove VFD is now a Fire Museum located at 13 E. Diamond Avenue in Olde Towne Gaithersburg.
Past Officers of the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department. Pictured left to right: name unknown, Ernest C. Gartner, Charles Fox, Clyde Thomas, Dr. Frank Broschart, Lewis Reed
The wall plaque below displays Past Presidents and Past Chiefs of the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department. Lewis Reed was President from Feb.1933 – Feb 1937. His name plate is 5th down on the left.
Final Chapter in Reed Brothers Dodge History
When Lewis Reed opened his car dealership in 1915, he never knew he was starting a family tradition that would be carried out for 97 years and three generations.
After almost a century of serving Rockville – and two and a half years after Chrysler terminated the Reed Brothers Dodge franchise – the dealership property went to settlement on August 30, 2012. The dealership site was sold to a developer whose future plans include constructing a $90M project to include a 6-story residential building with 417 multi-family units and a 517 space parking structure.
Lewis Reed’s legacy, however, lives on in the business ventures that his family grew and continues to grow. In Lewis Reed’s spirit of entrepreneurship, the family has formed RBI Properties, LLC, the private holding company of Reed Brothers, Inc – and the legacy continues.
Books
Related Resources
Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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