Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
Ephrata1966
Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: 29 Nov 2008 13:45

Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Ephrata1966 »

I just noticed something really weird: Shell price signs by the road have been shaped like Texaco signs for a long time, even before the two companies had an alliance. Perhaps this wasn't a coincidence? For example, the BP which was Shell at 309 and 663 in Quakertown PA has a sign which could easily be mistaken for a Texaco sign. Also, the Shell in Marlton NJ became Texaco many years ago, and not the other way around... now it's an independent "Liberty" station.
wnetmacman
Veteran
Posts: 378
Joined: 06 Nov 2005 23:48

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by wnetmacman »

Actually, several companies use this design:

Texaco
Shell
Gulf
Phillips 66
Conoco (post 66 merger)

It's purely coincidental, but convenient. If they rebrand the station, it's simply a matter of refacing the signs, in a similar manner that Shell did to the Texaco stations.

It became extremely evident during several rebrands that modular signage was the way to go. When Exxon rebranded from Esso/Enco/Humble, the signs had to be completely replaced above the post. When Chevron rebranded the portion of Gulf they kept in Texas and Louisiana, they had to almost completely rebuild some stations, but more importantly, replace all the signs from the ground up, except the large interstate signs, which they had to re-engineer.

I've also seen some pretty ugly rebrandings, like Chevron to Citgo. The Chevron is a tall rectangle, where Citgo is square. But the sign company made it 'work'. Also, I've seen a place where a Texaco replaced Citgo; the replacement kept the Citgo pole structure, but refaced signs. Wasn't horrible, but made for a small Texaco sign.
Scott Greer
Ephrata1966
Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: 29 Nov 2008 13:45

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Texaco stations in all these towns are now Gulf:

1. Chester, PA

2. Broomall, PA (this is the Gulf near the Wawa, not across from the old Two Guys/A&P center)

3. Jim Thorpe, PA

4. Hammonton, NJ

Also, the CITGO in Norristown PA became Shell around 2007, but has since become Gulf...

Perhaps all these companies had signs designed by the same people?

Also, the relationship between Shell and Texaco reminds me of the relationship between Safeway and Randalls (also Genuardi's). Shell had stations in the Philadelphia region in the 60's/70's/80's, but sold them off. Later Shell returned to the area through the Texaco purchase. Safeway had stores in the Houston area in the 60's/70's/80's, before spinning them off as AppleTree, but then bought Randalls in the area. And I think Safeway copied both Randalls and Genuardi's designs (seems like Shell copied Texaco designs too) before coming full circle.
jamcool
Veteran
Posts: 213
Joined: 07 Nov 2005 16:10

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by jamcool »

Most of the major gas sellers use standardized signage...a controlled background sign... and share architectural design
Chevron and Texaco (only difference is logo and colors)
Conoco/76/Phillips 66 (same colors)
Exxon/Mobil (red for Exxon/blue for Mobil)
BP and ARCO (ARCO uses BP designs with ARCO blue and the "spark" instead of the BP flower.)

The "jobber" brands tend to use the existing sign frames of the previous brands-examples are Valero and Sinclair...Valero picked up a bunch of former Exxon dealers and adjusted its signage to the former Exxon sign frames. In Vegas a number of former Mobil dealers switched to Sinclair...They used the ex-Mobil rectangular signs, with "Sinclair" in red lettering on a white background - no Dino shield.
Rob_L
Contributor
Posts: 29
Joined: 29 Dec 2006 12:38

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Rob_L »

Jamcool,
All of the brands you mentioned are jobber supplied as well. MOST of the Shell locations, as well as a majority of ExxonMobil locations are now jobber supplied, as well as ALL Texaco locations. There are some direct Valero, and Sinclairs out there as well...
Ephrata1966
Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: 29 Nov 2008 13:45

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Ephrata1966 »

A lot of the DE/MD/VA Mobil stations became either Valero or Sunoco. The Mobil in Essington PA also is a Valero now. And the Mobil in Farmers Branch TX is a Texaco now, and Texaco reused the Mobil sign! There also was a Mobil on 202 in Wilmington DE which was later Shell, but has since closed.
Rob_L
Contributor
Posts: 29
Joined: 29 Dec 2006 12:38

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Rob_L »

Sunoco had purchased the Va.(and possibly DC area) Mobil locations from ConocoPhillips a while back
Ephrata1966
Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: 29 Nov 2008 13:45

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Here's a really strange case: there's a big and busy Shell (with a Burger King in it no less!) in Junction City, Kansas which was less than 500 feet away from a Texaco. The Texaco is now an independent gas station, but I would have assumed the Shell was a former Texaco if I didn't know better. Could it be that the current Shell was actually built as a "replacement" for the Texaco, which maybe closed and was empty awhile until the independent moved in?
User avatar
Brian Lutz
Veteran
Posts: 227
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 00:19
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by Brian Lutz »

It's not unheard of to have multiple Texaco stations very close to each other. For quite a while at the corner of 148th and Main in Bellevue there were two Texacos right next to each other, and a Chevron directly across the street. Eventually as the Texaco brand started being phased out (although not completely) in the area, one of the two stations became a Shell (then eventually closed and has since been demolished, with a bank branch slated to take its place) and the other became a 76 (and remains as such.) The Chevron has gone through at least one change of ownership, but also remains a Chevron.

As noted, most Texaco stations have been rebranded these days (mostly to Shell stations that eventually got sold to Jacksons) but a few remain. For some reason, a lot of the remaining Texaco stations seem to be tied to full-service carwashes.
The Sledgehammer - Version 2.0 - Seattle Area Malls, Retail History, and other random things.
pseudo3d
Veteran
Posts: 394
Joined: 24 Sep 2012 00:04

Re: Similarities Between Texaco and Shell Signage

Post by pseudo3d »

A lot of Texacos in Texas (possibly Louisiana) got rebranded as Shell circa 2003 or so.

There's two Shells across the road in Bryan, Texas, with two Exxons a block away from each in the same area as well.
Post Reply