BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Insurance provider Hagerty celebrated the 7th annual National Collector Car Appreciation Day in July by transforming one of the nation's most iconic gas stations, the Union 76 station in Beverly Hills, Calif., into a full-service station from the past.
The event welcomed collector car owners in the epicenter of America's car culture. Those who participated in the event received gas at vintage prices based on the year of their vehicle. For example, the owner of a 1960 vehicle filled its tank for 31 cents a gallon.
Owners also were treated to a full-service experience from a bygone era; attendants were clad in 1950s gas-station-service uniforms washing windows and checking fluids while hits from the 1950s and 1960s played on a jukebox.
"This day is about celebrating America's love affair with the automobile and more importantly encouraging people to get their cars out of the garage for a weekend of summer cruising," said McKeel Hagerty, executive publisher of Hagerty magazine. "This event transforms the owners back to the time their car was new and full-service gas stations were the norm."
The Union 76 gas station at the corner of Crescent Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills is an icon of mid-century modernism, recognized as one of the highest examples of Googie architecture in the world, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. It was designed by architect Gin Wong of Pereira and Associates and completed in 1965.
Based in Traverse City, Mich., Hagerty is an insurance provider for classic vehicles and host to a large network of classic car owners. Hagerty offers insurance for classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and motorcycle safety equipment, tractors, automotive tools, spare parts and "automobilia" (any historic or collectible item linked with motor vehicles). It also offers overseas shipping/touring insurance coverage, business coverage and club liability coverage. Hagerty also provides online valuation tools and publishes the Hagerty Price Guide for post-war collectible automobiles.
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