Low-Profile
After WWII, automobiles were lowered, and it was difficult for drivers to view the meters on the old tall pumps. As a result, new, shorter gasoline pumps were designed. These fixtures were called low-profile pumps. Although designs varied, the 1940s and early 1950s pumps generally featured rounded edges, stainless steel trim, large meter faces, and simpler details than the Art Deco designs of the 1930s.
The pumps in the images below illustrate designs of the mid-to-late 1940s, which still retain the influence of the 1930s designs. They are more slender than designs of the 1950s, have smaller meter faces, and a more rounded form.
Low-Profile Pumps: Image courtesy of Jack Sim, An Illustrated Guide to Gas Pumps, 2002.
The images below illustrate 1950s pumps with large meter faces, stainless steel trim, rounded corners, and wider form.
Low-Profile Pumps: Image courtesy of Jack Sim.
The images below illustrate 1950s pumps with more squared edges and corners. They are evolving into the designs of the late 1950s and 1960s, which abandon the rounded designs of the previous decades.
Low-Profile Pumps: Image courtesy of Jack Sim.
