Blue And White Photos
Photos and comments from Walt Wimer:
This is the old BLUE and WHITE station chain in Indianapolis. I believe the chain
dated back to the 1930s, but now appears to be out of business, although
I can't be sure of that. I know I first saw their stations in 1959 as my
old records show two from my trip through Indiana in late summer that year.
Here are three shots of their long time site on Lafayette Road in Indianapolis:
| TOP--July 1, 1975 |  |
| MIDDLE--August 3, 1989 | |
| BOTTOM--1994 (Photo by Bob Scism) |
Lafayette Road was once a major business street as US 52 heading north to
Lafayette and Chicago. But now US 52 runs with I-65 and Lafayette Road
is a dying area!!! I have no idea when the station closed except that
it was between my 1989 photo and Bob's 1994 which shows it boarded up and
probably without pumps. The station was as much, or more, a tire store
than a gas station. In the 1975 photo you can see a MICHELIN sign and a
big GILLETTE tire neon on the canopy. By 1989 they had changed to
BRIDGESTONE and GOOD YEAR. On the roof of all three photos is a neon sign
reading "BLUE and WHITE SERVICE" The two ID signs, one porcelain plugged
for neon, and the other plastic, are shown in all three photos. They still
stand in 2003, although the building has been torn down!! --Walt
Another set of photos with comments from Walt Wimer. Here are the BLUE and WHITE station ID signs at the old Lafayette Road site in Indianapolis 28 years after I first took a photo of the station. Same two signs, but the building has been torn down and the signs just show what was once there. The top one is the older sign, porcelain, plugged for neon. The neon is gone now, but appeared to be lit (red) in the 1975 photo above. |  |
The bottom sign is the plastic, which has also been around at least 28 years and is showing it's age a bit with a big hole which takes out the "I". But at least the sign is still there!!! (Both taken Sept. 16, 2003) |
More from Walt Wimer. Here are my last BLUE and WHITE signs, two more at another closed site. This location was off I-70 on Indiana route 39 at exit 59, some 15-20 miles west of Indy depending where you start counting. This was a going truck stop when I passed it on I-70 in 1994, but my wife was driving, so not much chance of a photo then!!! The site is looking quite weathered now, so I expect it has been closed for a number of years. TOP--This is a regular size sign facing route 39 and much like the one at Lafayette Road except for it doesn't have the powder blue background. |  |
BOTTOM--This is the high "Interstate" sign visible from I-70. A bit different as it uses a red controlled background and "&" instead of "and" in the logo. Also note it reads "Since 1932", so I assume that is when the company was founded. As far as I can tell the company is out of business, although I can't be 100% sure on that. I did see one other sign in Indianapolis on Southeastern Ave. at a closed station that may have been being used as an auto repair. Other than the truck stop west of Indy, I have never seen any stations out of the metro area, although such may have existed. (Photos taken Sept 16, 2003) |
With the exception of the signs shown, I know of no collectibles from this brand.
No maps, globes, oil cans, matchbooks, stamp books, etc.
If anyone knows different I would like to know about it!!!
--Walt Wimer
Note: All above photos and text are from Walt Wimer, except the one photo noted as from Bob Scism.
