Gasoline Stations (or: petrol stations) changed their appearance more than any other type of architecture through their lifetime. At first this kind of chain supply appeared in the United States of America, nearly exactly 100 years ago. In Europe, the first stations were built in the 20ies, at first as gasoline pumps standing at or on the board walk, shortly later changing to real stations wheras pumps were banned from the sidewalk due to being a real nuisance to pedestrians. In Germany the first real gasoline station (with a roof) was built in Hamburg in 1923.

It seems every ten years appearance of gasoline stations changes a 100 per cent. In fact they grew larger with an illumination hardly to ignore. Today, when you approach them from the distance they do not look far from an unidentified flying object having just landed. The styling of the architecture changes so rapidly you are not able to find gasoline stations which had been a standard just 20 years ago!

Imagine you would approach a Minol-station which was a reality in the year 1990! Here are 4 pictures to remember:

 

                     


PICTURES & POSTCARDS: www.trafficstory.de