American Gas

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This is the Marathon gas station on US-24, across the street from the Village at Coventry shopping center on the west side of Fort Wayne. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, gigantic American flags were painted on the sides of most of the company's locations in the city. Some of them have since been painted over.

I made this photograph tonight as the sun set.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Chris, I can understand the patriotism that led to the painting on of the flags but what do you think has brought about the overpainting now? I think the example you show actually improves a plain white tiled wall that one sees too many of in public toilets.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The wall is actually not tile, its made of square concrete blocks, and was always painted white, even before the flag was added. I think they took some of them off because in the past Marathon advertised that all of their oil came from American oil wells, no imported oil. They went back to buying oil from worldwide sources several yrs ago, and they toned down their patriotic advertising when that happened. I think thats when some of the stations removed the flag paintings. Most gas stations in the USA are owned by local people who buy a franchise, so each one decides how they want their building to look, within limits set by the oil company whose products they sell.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The light was fading fast. Here's another view of it, made a few minutes after the first one.