Day: March 29, 2010

While we’re on the theme of demolished gas stations; the Cape Cod Times reports the National Seashore is about to demolish a dilapidated old filling station on  Route 6 in Truro. That got me to thinking about this painting by summer resident Edward Hopper. I had a copy hanging on my dorm room wall in the late 70s. It evoked something about the old Cape that I caught a glimpse of in the early sixties before the building boom of the 70s wiped away most of the peninsula’s character.

This building may not be the exact filling station. Another further to the north burned down in 2003 and also may have been the model for the painting.

“It was the kind of filling station you see in old movies.

“The owner, with a rag stuffed in his pocket, would come out to check your oil, wash your windshield and pump your gas. There was a big stock of candy bars inside — Mounds, Milky Ways and Old Nicks. Gas was 23 cents a gallon, and they gave away dishes to boot. There was the “flying red horse” sign for Socony Mobil brand gas.

“And at this particular station, Indian Filling Station on Route 6 in Wellfleet, it was often a chance to glimpse a famous city slicker or artist such as Edward Hopper”

via Seashore aims to raze iconic gas station | CapeCodOnline.com.