Throwback Thursday: Keswick & Glenside Gulf

If you’re wondering what happened to all the trolley lines, like the one that ran through Keswick Village, here’s your reason.

In the early days of the automobile, the oil companies coaxed people out of trains and trolleys and into private automobiles running on public roads with little architectural gems like this one. A great deal of thought and even more style went into gasoline retail stations that began to pop up just after the turn of the century and especially during the roaring twenties.

The original building was scraped from the lot and today you’ll find Glenside Lawn Garden Equipment seen below.

You won’t find too many pristine examples of these stations remaining, but the art deco marvel Dunkle’s Gulf Station out in Bedford, Pennsylvania stands out as a great working example.

Dunkle’s Gulf Station, Bedford, Pennsylvania.