Shell

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Discuss the Shell gas station chain here!

The ranch-style Shell gas station, the most common design for Shell gas stations in North America in the 1950s:

This one, located in Mississaga, Ontario, Canada, has been updated to a modern gas pump canopy design and color scheme, but still retains its garage bays, and chimney.

Shell's gas station design in the 1980s and 1990s:
Gas pumps/canopy:

Sign:


Shell's gas station design, early 2000s:


Shell's newest gas station design, introduced in 2009:

[Marc82]

There's not many around my area. The only one in Bristol is on the Bristol/Farmington line on the corner of US Route 6 and Camp Street. It's the last building in Bristol on Route 6.

There are 2 in Southington. Both on CT Route 10. One's on Queen Street next to Denny's which is right off the Exit 32 Off Ramp of Interstate 84. The other Southington Shell station is on the Corner of Main and oh man I'm way too tired to think of the street. But it's on the opposite corner of a Citgo station.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Fremont, California:




This has to be one of the coolest gas station designs for Shell!

[Marc82]

Fremont, California:




This has to be one of the coolest gas station designs for Shell!

I'll say. It already looks like it's earthquake damaged.  ;D

[BillyGr]

They should send that over to Wildwood NJ - it'd blend right in there with all the Do-Wop 50's/60's buildings

[nims57]

You might be interested in this page/site: http://www.gassigns.org/shell.htm

Also, this blog has Shell internal news, both good and bad (hilarious!): www.royaldutchshellplc.com

The second site is where I first saw Shell's newest design. No sign of it in my area though.

[videogamer75]

Fremont, California:




This has to be one of the coolest gas station designs for Shell!

Reminds me of the Gulf station in Atlantic City, NJ.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Madison, Wisconsin:


Los Angeles, California:

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

A few instances of a BP-to-Shell conversion:

Manteno, IL
February 2010:

May 2010:


Bradley, IL
February 2010:

May 2010:

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

More BP-to-Shell conversions:

Gardner, IL
February 2010:

May 2010:

May 2010 (new sign):

[ynkeesfn82]

The former Lukoil Station on Connecticut Route 229 in Bristol, CT next door to a Gulf station is now a Shell station. Though they remained operating the Lukoil sign had been covered up for over a year. I want to think this was a Shell station before it was Lukoil. Years ago there was a gas station there called Karl's Mobil and car repair. He retired and sold the property. It was ripped down and a Texaco station was built there. Then I believe it became a Shell station and then Lukoil, which I had never heard of until that gas station took on that branding.

[specialdad]

Interesting... I'm not really familiar with New England but the history of gas stations here in Greater Philly is very complicated. For example, a lot of Mobil stations became Lukoil, but a huge number of Mobil stations ended up converting to a third name or closing. In one case, Lukoil coincidentally happened to buy an existing gas station (I forget what brand it used to be) across from a closed Mobil that was later torn down for a Popeyes. The Mobil would have made a much better location for the Lukoil, but the Popeyes replaced an older Popeyes that was doing well but had to close because a nearby college bought the property for an expansion that they desperately needed. Also ironically, the original Popeyes was a former Gino's Hamburgers. Most Gino's (built in the 60's/70's) ended up as Roy Rogers in the 80's, then Hardee's, then Boston Market, but since then, a lot of the Boston Market restaurants have closed! The former Gino's in Clifton Heights PA near Philly is a Burger King now, and has been since the 80's. A Boston Market is across the street, and is one of the last left in our area. So I don't know if the Boston Market was open before the Gino's/Roy Rogers could have become a Boston Market or not. This Boston Market might have just coincidentally have been built from scratch around 1995, when the Acme behind it opened.

Also, the Mobil stations in Delaware didn't become Lukoil, but a few Getty stations in the state did. A lot of the Mobil stations ended up as Valero instead, along with ones in Maryland and Virginia. Also, I knew a Mobil in Newark DE (next to Wilmington) that became a Sunoco, as did Mobil stations in both Manheim PA and Alexandria VA.

And Shell had stations in the Philly area in the 60's and 70's, but sold them to Texaco in the 80's. Ironically, Texaco sold most of its stations in the Philly area to Shell in the early 2000s. But a lot of Texaco stations closed or became Gulf because Shell didn't want these older, smaller stations with service centers and no food marts. But I think most Texaco franchisees would have accepted the change to Shell without any trouble. Ironically there was a Mobil station built across from a Shell station in Norristown in the 60's, and if the Mobil had eventually accepted the Lukoil name instead of becoming a "Liberty" station, the Shell, which later was a Texaco, would probably be a Liberty now instead of being closed and abandoned. This property has been empty a long time but rumors are that Starbucks is opening on the site soon. It would have been funny if the Texaco had ended up as a Shell again because the garage portion of the station still was an obvious former Shell. And coincidentally, 90's Texaco sign poles and 90's Shell signs were the exact same height and shape.

Also in Norristown, there was a Texaco station that became a Shell, then a Gulf, then a CITGO... and it still has the sign frame first used by Texaco, which still has Shell signs saying "food mart" and "open 24 hours" on it!

And in Marlton NJ, an older Shell that was later a Texaco became a Liberty, as did the Mobil NEXT TO the former Shell/Texaco in Norristown. Meanwhile a Texaco (that likely never was Shell previously) at the other end of town became Shell.

In Clifton Heights, next to West Philly, a very big (for the time) Mobil station was built in the 70's, with a car wash which at that time was rare to see at a gas station. This Mobil later was a Coastal in the late 80's and 90's, but became a completely generic "Clifton" (named after the town) station around 2002, ironically around the same time as the remaining Mobil stations in the area became Lukoil. And anyway, rumors are that this station will be torn down for a Rite Aid, replacing a 70's one down the street. The 70's Kmart near the Mobil/Coastal/Clifton is also rumored to close and become a Home Depot sometime in the next year or two. At the other end of Clifton Heights (near the Gino's/Burger King and Boston Market), a small Texaco with a service center became an Exxon, in contrast to the modern Texaco in nearby Springfield becoming a Shell. But recently the Exxon closed. There used to be three gas stations all next to each other here. A Getty is the only one left, and a Sunoco between it and the Texaco/Exxon closed a few years back to be torn down for a "Swiss Farms" drive-thru convenience store. There also is another Getty in Clifton Heights close by, but it doesn't have a food mart like this one does.

Also, the older Shell in Aston PA ended up as a Getty, then very briefly was a Lukoil, but closed just a few months after converting. The property has been empty for almost five years now. Ironically, it was one of only one or two Getty stations "experimentally" converted to Lukoil. And the Mobil station down the street (which also had a "Pacific Pride" gas station for truckers attached to it) ended up as Shell instead of Lukoil. There were once not one, not two, but THREE Mobil stations all in Aston, but NONE became Lukoil! The second one is now a generic "Griffin" gas station, and the third one (which closed coincidentally a few years before Lukoil would have bought it) was torn down for a city veterans' memorial garden.

And there once were a lot of ARCO stations (part of a chain that survives in California, and is now owned by BP) in Greater Philly, most of which ended up as Sunoco. The ARCO in Media PA was briefly a Sunoco (from about 1988 to 1995), before a new, much bigger Sunoco opened down the street. Now a Manhattan Bagel is in the old ARCO/Sunoco garage building, which still has its unique "cupola" similar to a lot of old Howard Johnson's restaurants and A&P stores. And the ARCO stations in NJ became Shell instead of Sunoco, but a lot of them then became "Gas Stop" stations, then Gulf! Yet the NJ Texaco stations all ended up as Shell. And the former ARCO in Downingtown PA was a Texaco for a long time, and now a Shell. It may or may not have been a Sunoco at one point but I'm not sure, perhaps in the 80's. Also, the former ARCO in Villanova PA ended up as a Coastal station (after perhaps being a Sunoco), but now is Shell. The former Sunoco in Gladwyne PA not far from Villanova is a Shell now, and may have been an ARCO years ago. A Super Fresh in a very old A&P building is behind this station, which is really in the middle of nowhere.

The Mobil station in Chestnut Hill, a rich area of Philadelphia, is also a Shell now. And a number of Mobil stations in PA became Getty, but I think this was in the 90's and had nothing to do with Lukoil buying Mobil eventually. But these stations have stayed Getty instead of Lukoil likely because the individual station owners get a cheaper franchise fee for the Getty name compared to what they would pay for the rights to the Lukoil name. Plus a lot of Getty stations are very old and run down, too old to even have pay at the pump. So having the more modern Mobil/Getty stations makes the Getty brand look better.

And in Houston, around the same time as most Texaco stations became Shell, most Mobil stations became Texaco! I still know of an auto repair shop/car wash in Houston that never was a gas station, but it has a very tall Mobil street sign out front because it sells Mobil lubricants. Perhaps this sign fools people that a gas station is there, but the lack of a list of gas price signs probably makes people aware. And most people if they paid attention (but likely not people new to the area) would know now that Mobil is gone from the area. A very busy Mobil/Texaco coincidentally is very close to here, as are THREE Shell stations (that were always Shell, never Texaco) all at the same intersection!

In Kansas, I know of a Shell station with a Burger King inside that sits very close to a former Texaco, which now is a generic gas station that I forget the name of. I wonder if perhaps the Shell was (relatively briefly) a Texaco that replaced the older one. Or perhaps the owners of the old Texaco sold their station to someone else and was given money to build a more modern Shell station.

And this is shocking... there still is an Amoco station in Chestnut Hill, but it really is an Amoco in name only. While its signage still bears the Amoco name, all the advertising posters (and the pumps) are labeled BP. It was a shame that the older Amoco in Coatesville PA closed and never became BP, instead being torn down for a bank, because this was small Amoco with a small town feel, with very warm and friendly owners, despite being in a rough urban area. But a newer Amoco at the other end of Coatesville ended up as BP, and had a Dunkin Donuts added to it after converting to BP. Yet a third Amoco in Coatesville closed and never became BP, but was torn down for a Rite Aid.

There were two Amoco stations in Cheltenham PA, on the west edge of Northeast Philly. Ironically the larger one is a BP now, but the other one closed in 2002 while it was owned by BP and had advertising with the BP name in the windows, but still had the Amoco name. It was torn down for a Bruster's ice cream shop, but that closed soon after and became a pretzel shop. The current Amoco/BP in town is amazing because of how tiny the convenience store is. Actually there's not really a convenience store, but a TINY booth that an attendant sits in and sells food, drinks, and cigarettes from! Also, an Amoco in Upper Darby PA identical to the newer one in Coatesville was later a BP, then a generic gas station, but just became BP again! Right after it dropped the BP name the first time, it added a Dunkin Donuts (and just put a Dunkin Donuts sign where a generic name would be, above the gas prices on the street sign). Most of the Amoco stations put the BP star trademark on their canopy roofs over a year before the Amoco name was replaced by BP.

[store215]

There is still a Mobil station operating in Springfield, PA too...right down the road from the Springfield Mall. Not sure how this one operates, although I believe it may have been a Lukoil for some period, before becoming a Mobil again.

If you are ever in Chalfont, PA, there is this ancient, overpriced gas station on rt. 202, and it seems to be in the middle of a shopping center. Here is a pic of it: http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/phillyburbs.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/73/d73ee57a-56c0-5f4e-ba41-d871dc852c07/5130ea11990bd.image.jpg Notice the Sunoco (or maybe it was an Arco at one time) price boards. The pumps are from when it was a Mobil, which lasted way past the Lukoil buyout. It was then briefly a Valero (they never bothered to install real signs for it), but is now independent.

And something interesting, there are now two stations in the Philly area using the Union "76" branding on their stations...which is very odd as 76 has always been a West-coast brand. You can type in a Philly zip code here and search in a 50 mi. radius to see where they are: http://www.conoco.com/station-finder/

[ynkeesfn82]

The BP station on Route 69 (Wolcott Road) near the Wolcott-Waterbury line became a Shell station in 2014.

[Hudsons81]

A few instances of a BP-to-Shell conversion:

Exactly the opposite occurred with the station at Baldwin Road and I-75 kitty-corner from Great Lakes Crossing (Outlets) in Orion Township, MI, about a year or two ago.

[MikeRa]

Interesting... I'm not really familiar with New England but the history of gas stations here in Greater Philly is very complicated.

And Shell had stations in the Philly area in the 60's and 70's, but sold them to Texaco in the 80's. Ironically, Texaco sold most of its stations in the Philly area to Shell in the early 2000s. But a lot of Texaco stations closed or became Gulf because Shell didn't want these older, smaller stations with service centers and no food marts. But I think most Texaco franchisees would have accepted the change to Shell without any trouble. Ironically there was a Mobil station built across from a Shell station in Norristown in the 60's, and if the Mobil had eventually accepted the Lukoil name instead of becoming a "Liberty" station, the Shell, which later was a Texaco, would probably be a Liberty now instead of being closed and abandoned. This property has been empty a long time but rumors are that Starbucks is opening on the site soon. It would have been funny if the Texaco had ended up as a Shell again because the garage portion of the station still was an obvious former Shell. And coincidentally, 90's Texaco sign poles and 90's Shell signs were the exact same height and shape.

Of the 2 Shell/Texaco stations that were near me, 1 of them became a Gulf, the other was converted into a BBQ take out store.  The Mobil that was across the street from the Gulf is now a combo Dunkin' Donuts/Rita's Water Ice.

[ynkeesfn82]

There is a gas station on the corner of Cook Avenue and Hall Avenue in Meriden, Connecticut that I think was a Shell station that is going to be rebranded. The Shell sign is covered up, but the gas station is still operating. Can any of the other Connecticut people on this forum confirm if this was in fact a Shell station? Until today I hadn't been by the way in quite a while I had an appointment on Route 5 in Wallingford today and I take the back roads to get there.

[jamesway_95]

Shell's gas station design in the 1980s and 1990s:
Gas pumps/canopy:

Sign:

As late as 2009, there was a Shell in Lawnside, NJ that still had aspects of this look.

It has since been demolished, though I don't know exactly when it happened.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Last year, LEGO's long-standing contract with Royal Dutch Shell to sell LEGO-branded building toys in their gas stations broke down, because of protests by Greenpeace over Royal Dutch Shell drilling for oil in the Arctic. I love environmental protection, but I hate Greenpeace for the bullcrap they did there. I hate Greenpeace but I love the environment (I don't like what Shell's doing, but also hate Greenpeace for trying to stop it). These days, the only way to get LEGO-branded Shell sets is through eBay, various other used LEGO websites, or second-hand LEGO retailers like Bricks & Minifigs.