"All things human change" as Alfred (Lord) Tennyson once said, and this is certainly true of styles in service stations.  The World's First Drive-In Station (1) which was built by Gulf in 1913, served admirably in it's day, but it was only the beginning of a never-ending endeavor to develop even better facilities - better not only for serving the motoring public, but also for attracting customers and introducing them to use such facilities.
Though the first drive-in stations met with ready acceptance, Gulf architects sought ways to improve their utility, attractiveness, and identity value.  Experimentation led to the development of this typical brick tapestry station. (2) Stations of this series were representative of Gulf for many years until their limited service facilities were no longer adequate.
As time passed, a number of variations of the tapestry brick station design were developed. 

A canopy extending out over the driveway and pumps was often added (3) to provide shelter from the hot sun or rain when customers stopped in.  In an effort to improve appearances, particularly at night, lighter colored brick was sometimes used.

In the very early 1930's, a new trend was started; this was when Gulf began enclosing the service station facilities by adding to existing stations, also by including the extra space as an integral part of the building design. (4)  Remember the outside lubrication racks?  The station shown here was an early example of a white brick station with three built - in service bays.

The company's continued interest in finding a light-colored, attractive, and economical building material led to experiments with stucco.  First started in the South, the acceptance was so enthusiastic that it was soon decided to standardize on stucco for exterior finish throughout Gulf's entire marketing territory.  A typical stucco, with three service bays is shown here. (5)

Experience soon showed that stucco did not retain its bright, immaculate appearance in smokey city atmosphere.  As a result, the terra cotta building was developed.  It was thought that this material would be easy to keep clean, and also would help maintain Gulf's reputation for having the finest appearing stations in the country. (6)  This station was more or less, typical of the terra cotta series of buildings.

Terra cotta, too, had it's shortcomings, and its popularity soon waned.  Gulf architects next tried structural glass.  Glass, however, proved to be difficult to use in many instances, and it was not an especially durable material to use around service stations.  Consequently, only a very few structural glass buildings were erected.  An outstanding example, however, was this station (7) which was built in Elmherst NY, in 1939.

In many cases Gulf deviated from its current standardized station designs to erect buildings more in keeping with the architectural traditions of the area.  For example, this desire to comply with local conditions led to the development of Gulf's colonial-type stations which were used extensively throughout the New England states.  Perhaps the most famous example of this type is the station (8) built in 1940, next to Harvard University in Cambridge MA.

The rapid development of structural porcelain enamel, in the late 1930's, resulted in a big swing to this material for service station exteriors.  Because of its relatively low first cost, ease of maintenance, and attractive appearance, the majority of Gulf's Company-built and lessor-built stations erected since the early 1940's have utilized porcelain