Night or day, a passing motorist would be hard pressed to miss the big signs that represented Billups. One of the catchier slogans we’ve come across, it advertised a chain of establishments that began as a single gas station – convenience store in Mississippi, founded by W. L. “Buddy” Billups in the 1950′s. This was a new concept for travelers at the time and was a harbinger of things to come. The idea proved to be very popular, and the franchise grew to include many locations from Florida to Texas, which in turn was bought out by the Signal Oil Company in 1966.

This particular one was in New Orleans, although we haven’t been able to come up with an exact street address. Check out the banner for the “Seat Cover Bar” (with free installation) visible in our first thumbnail (below). You also might be able to make out a sign for “Toyland” when you enlarge the last thumbnail, proving that “Uncle Buddy”, as he was known, didn’t miss a trick when it came to merchandising. You can see many more photos of interesting gasoline stations here on The Old Motor. Photos courtesy of the Charles L. Franck/Franck-Bertacci Collection at The Louisiana Library Network.