Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Question: The world’s first purpose-built drive-in gas station opened in 1913 in which Pennsylvania city, along a stretch nicknamed “Automobile Row”?

Answer: Pittsburgh. On Dec. 1, 1913, the Gulf Refining Company opened the world’s first purpose-built drive-in gas station at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. It sold just 30 gallons at 27 cents each on opening day, but the model caught on fast, and Gulf also pioneered the free foldout road map there.