Retro Service Stations: Lakeview Husky

It just might hold title as Calgary’s oldest gas/service station still in operation and original in form. Here, tucked away in a corner of Calgary’s Lakeview Community, set back from all the hustle and bustle of the big city and perhaps a bit lost in time, is Lakeview Husky. It’s a humble little “neighbourhood” station, a throwback to when things were done different and has all the old school elements. It’s full service, it has repair bays and stuff like that. Things you don’t see much any more.

The structure is pretty much as built and dates all the way back to 1963. Oh, that architecture of the era…so very retro and so different from any other time. We don’t think there’s a single service station in Calgary going back that far beside this, left operating in 2018. In fact, we were hard pressed to even find ones from the 80s or earlier, and we scoured the records. If you know of one, do speak up. What a contrast to the huge convenience store/gas bars of today, which outside being a place to top up your tank, differ in near every way from Lakeview Service.

Calgary’s Lakeview community dates from the early 1960s. Located on the south side of the Glenmore Reservoir, busy Glenmore Trail on its south periphery sort of cuts it off from the rest of the city. It’s a neighbourhood alone and by itself and if not for popular Glenmore Park, there would be few reasons for those not living here to pass through or visit. The vibe is small town.

We’ve seen old photos from the early days showing the gas station and it appears pretty much as it does today. Originally a Texaco, for the last while it’s been a Husky. Records, however, hint it may have been an Esso for a short time in between (Esso having bought out Texaco in the ’80s). In the past, there was other service stations nearby but this one is now the last in the community. There is, incidentally, a Shell Station in another Calgary neighbourhood housed in a near identical building (only it’s newer), but it’s been upgraded over the year and doesn’t retain all the retro charm of this one. It’s self serve, has many pumps under canopy, has a snack store, for example. It’s not clear if the service bays are still in use.

So what makes Lakeview the most retro in our opinion?

Well let’s see…it’s the oldest in town that we could find. The next oldest found is near a decade newer. It’s full service too and outside Co-op stations today, in this part of the world anyway, when was the last time you didn’t fill yourself up? We bet it’s been a while. It has open islands, with no roof or cover to protect one from the elements, with only a couple pumps. Very humble. Many gas bars today can accommodate dozens of vehicles at a time and usually under a protective canopy. You sure appreciate that when it’s pouring out.

There’s no attached convenience store, practically unheard of today, although they do sell a bit of pop and chips and stuff like that. The mega convenience stores at most gas bars in 2018 are junk food heaven, with aisle after aisle of stuff that’ll clog your arteries and make you heart specialist cringe. Cold, cold Frosties, Double-Gulps, two litres of sugary liquid goodness, and “formed” meat products made from odd and left over cuts (best you don’t know what), along with a boat load of salt all glued together into a yummy tube. And there’s piping hot coffee, supersized bags of sour gummies, glazed doughnuts and those cheesie-puff things that leave your hands and lips covered in an orange sticky glue. Nothing healthy to be seen in these places…ever! You want an apple? Off to the organic store you hippy!

Lakeview Husky has service bays. Back when, this was the norm, and the real income stream for a service station (now it’s Slim-Jims and smokes) but ones like it now are few and far between. Of the hundreds and hundred of gas stations in the city, we found only a small handful, say a dozen or so at most that do car repair. Interestingly many of those are Huskies, but at stations newer than this.

And Lakeview is not 24hrs. Yup, a regular nine to five, or what ever it is. We visited at 7-8pm-ish and no one was around. Anyway, this neighbourhood rolls up the sidewalks after dark so there’s not much business to be had.

In the 1960s, even into the 1970s, this is how a gas station was. It’s from another era. From what we can see business is pretty good, so there might no reason for change in the future. Seems they making it work, even if they’re one of the last doing it this way. The pumps out front are a fairly new addition, however, the only modern element seen. Streetview images from a few years back show different, older ones, Gilbarco “Legacy” pumps that every station in the 1980s had.

Didn’t see if they had one of those ding-ding-ding air pumps. But if they don’t today, I bet they used to. All service stations did.

Husky Energy dated back to the 1930s. They originally operated out of the US, but today are mostly as a Canadian company. Of the all the larger players in the industry, in this country, seems they have the smallest presence in terms of number of stations. A number of Husky stations used to be branded Mohawk.

Gas prices on our visit were about $1.38 per litre. As of the publishing of this article they’re down about forty cents and seem to be hovering at just under a buck. The market has been volatile lately.

Seen out front the first time we dropped by, and we did so twice, a most beautiful 1940s Oldsmobile. Now that’s a ride! That colour…it gorgeous! That shine! That giant chromed grill! We’re not sure if it’s 60x, 70x or 90x series (the first two models are more common), all of which seem to share the same body and to us non-experts look pretty much the same. Guess they differ mostly inside and under the hood. As usual, we didn’t look on the car itself, having been caught up in the moment while shooting and forgetting to do so. Silly us! We really should up our game when it comes to car IDing.

This body style was produced from 1941-1948 (varying slightly depending on the model) and by the numbers this one’s probably a ’46, ’47 or maybe a ’48 when production was at the highest. Oldmobiles in Canada from that era, based on our own observations, were not the most common. We’ve only seen a couple.

If you own this fine old car, message us. We’d love to take a closer look. Pretty please! Seems this one’s from Northern Alberta based on the club plate on front. McLeod Valley Classics Auto Club, Peers Alberta. But we’re up that way from time to time anyway.

And lastly…Shasta! Nope, doesn’t have anywhere close to the same ring as “Boler!” This brand of trailer is rather iconic even if some models, like the one seen, don’t stand out much when compared to others this firm once made. So no signature retro styling or those “wings”. A plain old slab-side box-on-wheels trailer, the lowest of the low to us refined small trailer aficionados. Haha!

More gasssss…
Canda88.com – in a 60s era service station.
Queenstown Garage – in a small town.
Turner Valley gave us gas! – where it was made.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: October & November, 2018.
Location: Calgary, Lakeview.
Article references and thanks: City of Calgary Records, Husky Energy.

At Lakeview Husky, Calgary.

Let’s go cruising…

Shasta!

The price has dropped some forty cents since.

This is perhaps the most “retro” gas station in town.

Full serve, no convenience store, repair bays = old school.