U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for December 1: First Drive-In Gas Station

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

FIRST DRIVE-IN GAS STATION

Profile America — Thursday, December 1st. On this date in 1913, what is today the Gulf Oil Company opened the nation's first drive-in gas station. Located at the intersection of Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in Pittsburgh, the filling station was a simple but pleasing structure, with a cantilevered pagoda-style roof to shelter the pumps, cars and station attendants. Supporting the roof was a storage room and a restroom for staff only. Before this innovation, gasoline was dispensed from sometimes awkwardly located pumps at such places as grocery and hardware stores, and even some pharmacies. Yet in the ensuing 103 years, some of this earlier practice has come full circle. Across the U.S. today, there are around 112,000 gas stations. The vast majority—over 96,000—are combined with convenience or food mart stores. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2499
First station and prior sales/accessed 10/29/2015: https://www.gulfoil.com/AboutGulf/100Years.aspx 
Gas stations/NAICS 447: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~447 
Gas stations with convenience stores/NAICS 447110:
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~447110

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links

http://www.census.gov

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