ICI - Promenade, Leven, Scotland circa 1971
I really don't know a lot about this photo in terms of where it was. It's taken from a print so big I could not scan it and the only info that came with it was that it was taken by Talbot Studios in Station Road, Leven. So I have assumed it was likely the premises would use a local photography studio to take the shot and have suggested this place was in Leven. I have to guess the date too - around 1971 seems likely but certainly no earlier than 1969. It's a superb image though and really caught my eye when I first spotted it. At that time I had assumed it was a Shell garage due to the more prominent oil cabinet - the Escort obscuring most of the details of the pumps. However when it arrived I realised it was actually an ICI outlet and the pumps had those super big clunky ICI globes on them which we are afforded a reasonable view of here even if the main body of the pumps are hidden. It's such a period image too - this was the era of cute girls in short skirts pumping the fuel, cleaning the windscreens and mostly acting as eye candy to draw the mainly male customers in. How times have changed.
Talbot Studios had been in existence since 1855 which seems incredible that a photography studio could go that far back and three generations of the same family apparently worked there.
www.edinphoto.org.uk/4/4_eps_exhibitors_diston_studios.htm
Finding anything much out about the garage was and remains tricky! It looks like it might have actually been a Shell garage before the switch to ICI - the lettering for lubrication on the front of the building looks rather Shell like and more so looks like it used to read Shellubrication and the Shel has been removed. I was hoping maybe someone would have a list of Toyota dealers from this era and that might offer a clue - a Toyota dealership in 1970 seems very early so it must have been one of the first. So there's no Streetview to link to with this one but any help in identifying the location gratefully received!
Edit update:- Thanks to Deeelux Deeelux below identified as Promenade, Leven where there is now a Kwik Fit occupying some of the original site.
www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.1939704,-2.9938089,3a,75y,293.0...
ICI - Promenade, Leven, Scotland circa 1971
I really don't know a lot about this photo in terms of where it was. It's taken from a print so big I could not scan it and the only info that came with it was that it was taken by Talbot Studios in Station Road, Leven. So I have assumed it was likely the premises would use a local photography studio to take the shot and have suggested this place was in Leven. I have to guess the date too - around 1971 seems likely but certainly no earlier than 1969. It's a superb image though and really caught my eye when I first spotted it. At that time I had assumed it was a Shell garage due to the more prominent oil cabinet - the Escort obscuring most of the details of the pumps. However when it arrived I realised it was actually an ICI outlet and the pumps had those super big clunky ICI globes on them which we are afforded a reasonable view of here even if the main body of the pumps are hidden. It's such a period image too - this was the era of cute girls in short skirts pumping the fuel, cleaning the windscreens and mostly acting as eye candy to draw the mainly male customers in. How times have changed.
Talbot Studios had been in existence since 1855 which seems incredible that a photography studio could go that far back and three generations of the same family apparently worked there.
www.edinphoto.org.uk/4/4_eps_exhibitors_diston_studios.htm
Finding anything much out about the garage was and remains tricky! It looks like it might have actually been a Shell garage before the switch to ICI - the lettering for lubrication on the front of the building looks rather Shell like and more so looks like it used to read Shellubrication and the Shel has been removed. I was hoping maybe someone would have a list of Toyota dealers from this era and that might offer a clue - a Toyota dealership in 1970 seems very early so it must have been one of the first. So there's no Streetview to link to with this one but any help in identifying the location gratefully received!
Edit update:- Thanks to Deeelux Deeelux below identified as Promenade, Leven where there is now a Kwik Fit occupying some of the original site.
www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.1939704,-2.9938089,3a,75y,293.0...