When "service station" meant what it said

Remember one of the early scenes in Back to the Future, where Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), walks into a gas station and is amazed to find that people are working there, pumping gas, checking oil and cleaning windshields? Yes, folks, it really was like that... back in the day... What we call "gas stations" today were called "service stations" then, and gas cost about 1/10th of what it does today.

Hard to believe, isn't it? But, through the good offices of Agent 6, we have pictorial evidence.

Now that's a "full service" station! Too bad we can't see the price per gallon, but click here to see large and lovely collection of similar pix, remarkable not just for the buildings and the "service" depicted, but the cars too! Hope this brings back happy memories of better times.