Cesar Tirantino Showcase "Gas stations have evolved a lot from their humble roots"

October 28, 2019

Cesar Tirantino Showcase "Gas stations have evolved a lot from their humble roots"

Gas stations have evolved a lot from their humble roots

The first drive-in service station opened in Pennsylvania on this day in 1913. American motorists had been able to pump their own gas at filling stations since 1905, but those were little more than a pump at the curbside. Before that, motorists bought gasoline in cans from places like pharmacies and blacksmith shops and filled up themselves. With the opening of this service station at the corner of Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in Pittsburgh, a cultural institution was born.

Drive-in gas stations weren’t just about fuel: They helped create American driving culture.

Gas stations have evolved a lot from their humble roots

The increase in automobile ownership after Henry Ford started to sell automobiles that the middle class could afford resulted in an increased demand for filling stations. The world's first purpose-built gas station was constructed in St. Louis, Missouri in 1905 at 420 South Theresa Avenue. The second gas station was constructed in 1907 by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington, at what is now Pier 32. Reighard's Gas Station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, claims that it dates from 1909 and is the oldest existing gas station in the United States. Early on, they were known to motorists as "filling stations".

The first "drive-in" filling station, Gulf Refining Company, opened to the motoring public in Pittsburgh on December 1, 1913, at Baum Boulevard and St Clair's Street Before this, automobile drivers pulled into almost any general or hardware store, or even blacksmith shops to fill up their tanks. On its first day, the station sold 30 gallons of gasoline at 27 cents per gallon. This was also the first architect-designed station and the first to distribute free road maps. The first alternative fuel station was opened in San Diego, California, by Pearson Fuels in 2003.

Maryland officials said that on September 26, 2019, RS Automotive in Takoma Park, Maryland became the first filling station in the country to convert to an EV charging station. text by wiki

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Cesar Tirantino
A small showcase of my good friend Cesar Tirantino work, all the pieces of his artwork is built by hand from up-cycled materials, which then crafted into these fantastic scale miniature sets of art, inspired by the everyday life and memories of a nostalgic past of simpler living ,Cesar Tirantino work isn't just amazing model building but true works of art to be admired by all.

Cesar Tirantino