Whitehill-Gleason Motors

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Whitehill-Gleason Motors
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Location5815 Baum Boulevard (East Liberty), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Coordinates 40°27′35″N79°55′49″W / 40.45972°N 79.93028°W / 40.45972; -79.93028 Coordinates: 40°27′35″N79°55′49″W / 40.45972°N 79.93028°W / 40.45972; -79.93028
Builtcirca 1920s on the site of the first Drive-In Filling Station (1913)
Architect Maximilian Nirdlinger
Architectural styleEarly Commercial, Art Deco
NRHP reference No. 99000878 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 22, 1999 [1]
Designated PAHMDBJuly 11, 2000 [2]

Whitehill-Gleason Motors at 5815 Baum Boulevard in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built in the 1920s on the site of the first drive-in filling station in the United States (1913). [3] [4]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 1999, [1] and was granted a Pennsylvania Historical Marker on July 11, 2000. [5]

History

In December 1913, the Gulf Refining Company opened its first drive-in facility, where motorists could purchase gasoline and oil and lubricant maintenance services for their automobiles, as well as road maps. Located on Pittsburgh's Baum Boulevard in the same neighborhood where multiple automobile dealerships were located, the station also offered free air and water and became so successful that additional drive-in filling stations were opened by Gulf and other gasoline retail companies nationwide. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  3. "First Drive-In Filling Station Historical Marker." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, July 11, 2000.
  4. Grata, Joe. "Gas 'er up: Historical marker to denote birthplace of filling station." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 12, 2000, p. 19 (subscription required).
  5. "First Drive-In Filling Station Historical Marker," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  6. "First Drive-In Filling Station Historical Marker," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.