Remember the Coin-Op gas station on Palm and Shields? Now there is a Tune Up place there but was once the home of one of Fresno's first automated gas stations. You put your bills in the feeder and got special coins that you then fed in like a slot machine. Of course that was in the days before Debit Cards and the those point of pay machines (hey, we're talking late 60's here). In the photo below you can still see where the pumps were once located. That place was a life saver when all the other gas stations were closed and you wanted to take your date on a drive up to Lost Lake.
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First Coin-Op Gas Station
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Re: First Coin-Op Gas Station
In '72, super was 23.9 cents a gallon. Put in 50 cents, get 2 gallons.
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Re: First Coin-Op Gas Station
i had no idea that was there.
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Re: First Coin-Op Gas Station
I grew up around that area and I cant remember what gas station was there? Was it a major retailer like a Chevron or something else?
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Re: First Coin-Op Gas Station
This may have been the first, but the second was a huge station next to Arthur's Toy Sore on Blackstone. It was called "Coin-Op" I think. I found pictures of the actual coins used to operate the pumps. I always got my gas there and the set-up was like this. A pretty female with a large bag attached to her waist roamed between the pumps. You pulled up and she would ask you how much gas you wanted. If you needed 5 bucks worth (that would fill your tank) then she would take your money and give you 5 one dollar coins. You then dropped them into the pump much like a slot machine, except you got gas. I was a really quick set-up which is another thing I liked about the station, but the best part is that it as really cheap compared to regular gas stations.
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