Hospitality and entertainment await you next spring at the Society for Commercial Archeology’s upcoming conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. “Fun in the Sunshine City” will explore the fascinating roadside resources of Florida’s Gulf coast April 9- 12, 2014.

Booming first in the 1920s and then again after World War II, St. Petersburg’s main industry was always the tourist trade. Conference attendees will experience the region’s recreational resources at the opening reception at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club and then on two motorcoach tours. The first tour will travel across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to Sarasota and will explore the mid-century resources of Treasure Island, the Sarasota School of Architecture, and Sarasota Jungle Gardens, a surviving vintage roadside attraction. The second bus tour will visit the former Kapok Tree Restaurant in Clearwater, the Sponge Docks at Tarpon Springs, and iconic Weeki Wachee Springs, home of mermaids, before concluding with dinner at the famed Columbia Restaurant in Tampa’s Ybor City.

In addition to experiencing these treasures from Florida’s 20 conference will include a papers session, a day of visual presentations about subjects related to commercial archeology. Perhaps most importantly, the conference is an opportunity to connect with fellow roadside aficionados from the SCA.

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Click here to view our full schedule of paper sessions!