The Grease Spot

The Grease Spot was a drive-in auto lubrication service station located at 167 Liberty Street in Salem, notable for its distinctive yellow and black facade. The establishment was under the proprietorship of Max and Ray C. Abst, a father and son partnership. Max, who held a position as a jeweler with Pomeroy and Keene, contributed the financial backing for the venture. Ray, leveraging his recent experience as a machinist at the naval aviation station in San Diego, provided the requisite technical expertise and customer service. The duo aimed to leverage the growing trend of automobile ownership for their enterprise. Upon their opening, the business was one of only six service stations in Salem offering gasoline and oil services.

Location of the Grease Spot, 167 Liberty St. Salem, OR. Digital Sanborn Map Collection, Multnomah County Library.

A year after opening, father Max filed a complaint in circuit court against his son which resulted in the sale of the business, lease on the property, building, equipment and supplies. The business passed through several owners over the next few years. In 1926, large portions of the block along Liberty St. were purchased for redevelopment. Curtiss Cross purchased the north section which would become the First National Bank Building and George Will the south section which included the location of the Grease Spot. His intention was to build a $12,000 concrete structure two stories high. As a result, the Grease Spot was forced to close in 1929. The current owner moved to 223 S. Liberty, south of the armory and added additional repair services, but the business closed permanently by 1930.

Description of Lubrication Process

How many people realize that on the average motor car there are forty-three places that require hard oil or cup grease, thirty-seven places to put soft oil, besides the transmission, differential, springs and the crankcase.

Now, when you drive your car onto one of the racks at “The Grease Spot” and ask that your car be greased, no matter what system of greasing or oiling is installed on that car, it is going to be gone over from ‘stem to stern’ and that is not all you get with a greasing job. The whole car as it is gone over is watched for loose, broken or worn parts that need replacing and these are reported when you call for your car, if you are not on hand when the work is being done. Such things as loose nuts or studs are tightened and you probably do not know it has been done. In greasing the chasses of the car all the places requiring soft oil are attended to at the same time, this includes all places requiring oiling under the hood as well as under the car and the wheel bearings if externally oiled or greased are taken care of.

Another important fact is the differential and transmission must have proper lubrication and when the old lubricant is worn out the cases must be drained, flushed and filled with new lubricant. Anyone who has tried cleaning a differential or transmission while lying under a car will tell you it is a long and tiresome job, but at “The Grease Spot” it is scarcely any job at all.

Text transcribed from an article published in the Oregon Statesman newspaper on 27 Feb 1924.

THEN: The Grease Spot

Grease Spot drive-in service station located at 167 Liberty St. in Salem; photo taken in 1924. WHC Collections

NOW: Alleyway

Former site of Grease Spot station at 167 Liberty St. now an alleyway between Liberty Square parkade and a bank drive-thru which is attached to the Capitol Tower building. Image is taken from Google Earth, November 2023.

Timeline
1924	Newspaper Ad – services offered include auto laundry and filling grease cups, weekly or monthly rates offered [1]
	Distribution point for free highway maps and greasing charts – The greasing charts are made of aluminum, about the size of a calling card, with spaces to record the date of when the car is serviced as well as a speedometer reading. Also noted, the tags are ornamental and attached in such a manner as to be of permanent value. [2]
	Photo – Photo of Grease Spot [3]
	City Directory Ad and Listing – business section, listed under Greasing, Oiling, and Lubricating [4]
1924 Feb	Newspaper Article – A place known to every resident in or near Salem especially those who have automobiles, is the little yellow and black building at 167 South Liberty Street known as “The Grease Spot.”[5] Owner: Mr. Ray C. Abst, who has conducted the business at The Grease Spot for practically as long as it has been in existence, has had a number of years’ experience in the automobile industry besides being in the aviation division of the United States Navy during the late war. His connections with the automobile and gas engine industry have well fitted him as a lubricant specialist… Assistant: Mr. Paul Thompson. Lubrication expert in many factories where both electricity and steam were used. Description of process and importance of lubrication Pick-up and delivery service of cars also offered…within city limits.
1925 June	Newspaper – Max Abst has filed complaint in circuit court against Ray C. Abst to foreclose on a $3800 mortgage on the Grease Spot on south Liberty [6]
1925 Sep	Newspaper – judgement on court case, sale of property including lease on the land, building on it, and all paraphernalia connected to it including greases and oils [7]
1925 Oct	Grease Spot Changes Hands – local private service station on Liberty, between State and Ferry, was taken over Wednesday by Guy Young, who has been with the Union Oil company here for two years. He took over the place from C.G. Nichols [8]
1926 Jun	Newspaper Ad – The Grease Spot – open and doing business under its former management. M. Abst and R. C. Abst (former owners return) [9]
1926 Dec	Newspaper Ad – Changed Hands! The Grease Spot formerly owned by Mr. M. Abst has been purchased by Ray A. Frasier. [10]
1927 Apr	$60,000 Sales to Result in New Buildings – Two more Liberty street property sales aggregating about $60,000 and embracing building development plans which will run between $200,000 and $300,000 were concluded this morning in the purchase of Curtiss Cross of the U.G. Shipley lot on N. Liberty between Court and Chemeketa and the sale by Cross to Geo. Will of the lot upon which the Grease Spot auto service station stands between State and Ferry. Both deals were handled by W.H. Grabenhorst and company, realtors. … Mr. Will also announces that he contemplates development of the lot he purchased, for an approximate consideration of $20,000, as soon as the lease of the present tenants expires on January 1 of next year, or sooner if the tenants desire to move. His building plans will be governed by demands, and he plans to construct whatever kind of a structure prospective tenants may desire. The lot has a frontage of 37 feet on Liberty and extends back 165 feet to the alley. This new property makes the second purchase on Liberty street for Mr. Will in the past 18 months, he having acquired the lot at the northwest corner of Ferry and Liberty from T.B. Kay. Plans for the development of this property, which is separated from his new purchase by only one lot are being held in abeyance, Mr. Will said. [11]
1927 May	Sales Forecast More Buildings – real estate transactions closed by W.H. Grabenhorst & Co. Properties included in the deal were the U.G. Shipley lot on Liberty between Court and Chemeketa streets sold to Curtis Cross for a reported consideration of $40,000 and the lot on South Liberty street, occupied by the Grease Spot, sold to George C. Will for $20,000. [12]
1928 Feb	George Will to Construct New Building – George C. Will announced today that about the first of March he contemplates starting construction on a two story building on the west side of South Liberty street on the property now occupied by the Grease Spot service station…[13]
1928 Mar	Will to Start New Building – Construction will start Monday, weather permitting, on the Will building on South Liberty street where the Grease Spot service station is now located. A permit for the building was taken out today, showing a $12,000 concrete structure two stories high. [14]
1928 Mar	George C. Will Plans to Build – Two story structure on South Liberty. Construction will begin within a few days on the two story building which George C. Will is planning to erect on the west side of South Liberty street, the location of the “Grease Spot” service station at present. … The “Grease Spot,” which has occupied this location for a number of years, is going out of business in about a week, due to losing this central location. [15]
1928 Mar	Liquidation Sale – in order to dispose of our stock at once we are offering the best grade of eastern oil at $1 per gallon, western oil at 70c per gallon. Special prices on five, ten and fifteen gallon lots. Change your oil now while you can get these prices. We also offer all our equipment for sale or trade. A real bargain for someone who can use this equipment. [16]
1929 Jan	Newspaper Ad, New Location, New Owners – Liberty Street, near Ferry, South of the Armory – owners Tom [T.P. Leatherwood] and Lyle [Lyle Shepard] [17]
1929 Mar	Newspaper Ad, New Location – 223 S. Liberty (additional service, grind and repair of lawn mowers [18]
1930	No listing in City Directory, past owners have gone on to other occupations

References:

[1] Ad, Oregon Statesman, 6 Jun 1924, p. 2

[2] “Interesting Map at Grease Spot,” [photo] Oregon Statesman, 13 Apr 1924, p. 23

[3] Photo, Oregon Statesman, 13 Apr 1924, p. 22

[4] 1924 Salem City Directory, p. 9, 467

[5] “The Grease Spot is Fully Prepared to do all that Name Implies for Automobile Owner,” Oregon Statesman, 27 Feb 1924, p. 12

[6] Circuit court complaint Abst. Vs. Abst, Capital Journal, 12 June 1925, p. 7

[7] Court settlement, sale of property, Capital Journal, 15 Sep 1925, p. 7

[8] “Grease Spot Changes Hands,” Oregon Statesman, 15 Oct 1925, p. 3

[9] Ad, former owners (Abst) return, Capital Journal, 2 Jun 1926, p. 7

[10] Ad, ownership changed hands, Capital Journal, 4 Dec 1926, p. 2

[11] “$60,000 Sales to Result in New Buildings,” Capital Journal, 30 Apr 1927, p. 1

[12] “Sales Forecast More Buildings,” Oregon Statesman, 1 May 1927, p. 1

[13] “George Will to Construct New Building,” Capital Journal, 22 Feb 1928, p. 1

[14] “Will to Start New Building,” Capital Journal, 17 Mar 1928, p. 1

[15] “George C. Will Plans to Build,” Oregon Statesman, 6 Mar 1928, p. 1

[16] “We Must Move,” Oregon Statesman, 6 Mar 1928, p. 7

[17] Ad, new location, new owners, Capital Journal, 7 Jan 1929, p. 14

[18] Ad, new location 223 S Liberty, Oregon Statesman, 15 Mar 1929, p. 7

Abst Family References:

Enlists in Navy, Raymond Abst, Oregon Statesman, 30 Sep 1919, p. 5
Wedding, Raymond Abst – Irene Frye, Oregon Statesman, 10 Oct 1920, p. 16
Obituary, Max Abst [father of Ray C.], Oregon Statesman, 20 July 1932, p. 5
Obituary, Marie M. Abst [mother of Ray C.], Oregon Statesman, 20 Feb 1953, p. 2
Obituary, Raymond C. Abst, Capital Journal, 7 Aug 1972, p. 15