Painting, "The first gas station in the world, Seattle, 1907," by Robert Addison, ca. 1950s
This painting, a copy made from an illustration, claims to feature the first gas station ever established and it was built in 1907 at the corner of East Marginal Way and Holgate Street in Seattle, Washington. This is highly debatable as it is more widely known that St. Louis, Missouri, holds that title dating back to 1905. The story goes that John L. Mclean, local manager for Standard Oil (now Chevron), witnessed impatient motorists waiting to buy 5-gallon cans of gasoline. He was inspired to figure out a better way to dispense the fuel using a piece of garden hose attached to a 30-gallon tank, and sticking the hose into the car's tank to fill it up. The claim of first gas station is a lofty one, but not true, and the cross street where this gas station was located no longer exists. The artist, Robert Addison (1924-1988) was born in Idaho and was a Chicago-based artist. He was known for painting nostalgic scenes and portraits.
