While the APCO Oil Corporation was well-known in the mid-twentieth century until its dissolution in the late 1970s due to both its omnipresence in the midwest states, and its performance as one of the biggest petroleum oil companies in the stockmarket, it was not until well after the company had dissolved that it attained a sort of immortality in American pop culture.

Oh, certainly the company signs remain a nostalgic piece of Americana, appearing in car collectors’ homes and in various museums, or as decorative pieces in stores or restaurants. But, that sort of vague, iconographic fame was perhaps not as widely known or recognized until the moment when millions of Americans saw the company sign in its context as a former fixture of life in the central United States.

This moment when the APCO name and logo shot up in visibility was when it appeared in one of the many scenes in the film, Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, in 1988.

In the film, the two characters are driving in a classic 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible across country, and they stop at a small country general store to place a call from the phonebooth outside. This was an APCO service station — the W.S. Kelly General Merchandise and gas station. When the duo comes upon the store, a very iconic “APCO Petroleum Products” sign is highly visible on the side of the highway, above the phone booth.

The “Kelley General Merchandise” sign above the porch of the building seems to be the original store name. In front of that and slightly obscuring it is another sign, which reads “LEHMAN GRO. & STA.”, which appears to be a later successor business — LEHMAN GROCERY & STATION. On either side of this Lehman sign, and in small below it, are two “COLVERT” logos. It’s not clear if “Colvert” is a brand of gas, or if it is referring to “Colvert’s” dairy products company.

The old, rusted signage and dilapidation of the building convey a sense of layers of time to the place, and give it an instantly nostalgic atmosphere of golden days of yesteryear, when local, independently-owned general stores were the norm, and times were simpler.

It is unclear in the film if the store and gas station are still in use, since there are no other signs of life beyond the two main characters, and the gas pumps shown were far-outdated by 1988. In fact, the APCO logo sign in the film is the one used by APCO Oil Corporation’s predecessor company, Anderson-Prichard Oil Corp., which probably used it only up until about 1960 when the company assets were sold off by the only remaining company co-founder and CEO, Lev H. Prichard, Sr. Following that sale, the new company was formally named “APCO Oil Corporation”, and the new sign used at gas stations was more streamlined and modernized, removing the “Petroleum Products” tagline and adding blue graphic elements.

So, the likelihood is that this was already a long-abandoned gas station by 1988 when Rain Man was filmed.

Interestingly, we also have seen no evidence that there was ever a payphone booth at that location. We suspect that may have been a movie prop added to the place for the purpose of filming the scene.

Subsequent to the film, the W.S. Kelly General Merchandise Store and APCO Gas Station have been artistically photographed many times over. We are unsure if the film is what drew people’s interest in the scene, or if it was simply the arresting beauty of the aged store, with its layers of signage and weathering of rust and flaking paint. It was likely some combination of both — people came to know of the store due to the film, and were further drawn to visit themselves by its archetypal look.

Where is the W.S. General Merchandise Store that is in the Rain Man movie?

Map of the location of the W.S. General Merchandise Store and APCO Gas Station film location in Oklahoma:

This iconic old APCO gas station is a little less than an hour’s drive west of Oklahoma City, near Minco, Oklahoma.

Let us know if you visit it, and send us your photos to share here!