SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for America’s
Roadside Heritage
SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for America’s
Roadside Heritage
Celebrating the signs, structures and experiences of the 20th-century American roadscape.
The SCA is a member-supported organization. Join now and gain exclusive access to a full calendar of in-person and online events, recordings, subscriptions to the SCA Journal and Road Notes, full-text access to our website, free downloads and more!
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Ripped from the pages of the SCA Journal!
“The Road to Ruin!” Eric Schaefer’s exploration of exploitation films and roadside culture.
Celebrating the signs, structures and experiences of the 20th-century American roadscape.
Join now and gain exclusive access to live and virtual events, the SCA Journal and Road Notes, and lots more.
Join Now
Ripped from the pages of the SCA Journal!
“The Road to Ruin!” Eric Schaefer’s exploration of exploitation films and roadside culture.
Upcoming Events
May 19 Zoom Event: Jeremy Ebersole: A Sight to Dwell Upon and Never Forget: Illuminating Strategies for Saving Neon Signs
May 19, 2021: We invite you to register to join SCA board member and Milwaukee Preservation Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Ebersole as he dives into his Master’s thesis on neon sign preservation.
Learn More / Register
Learn More / Register
RESCHEDULED: Summer Tour
PLEASE NOTE: Our marvelous mid-century weekend in Queens, New York, sponsored by the Society for Commercial Archeology and co-host Retro Roadmap, has been postponed to 2022 (at the earliest) due the COVID-19 crisis. Please see details.
Learn More / Register
Learn More / Register
News
NEW! THE JIM SEELEN MOTEL IMAGES COLLECTION
14,000 MOTELS
SCA member Jim “Motel King” Seelen’s motel images collection is now part of our library. This database contains more than 23,000 images with details on more than 14,000 motels that once operated in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
NEW! THE JIM SEELEN MOTEL IMAGES COLLECTION
14,000 MOTELS
SCA member Jim “Motel King” Seelen’s motel images collection is part of our library. This database contains more than 23,000 images with details on more than 14,000 motels that once operated in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Articles
The Road to Ruin
By Eric Schaefer. More than any other form of motion picture, exploitation movies developed a symbiotic relationship with American road culture over some five decades in the mid-20th century.
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5 Faves: Tim O’Brien’s Roadside Pic(k)s
In his latest book, Tim O’Brien pays homage to the real stars of the roadside: the creators of public art and commercial display whose visions were fulfilled without the baggage of cultural influence.
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Teal Roofs and Pecan Logs
By Lisa Raflo and Jeffrey Durbin. Though it now mostly follows current corporate trends, Stuckey's was once a daring innovator whose Pecan Shoppes were the precursors of the convenience store.
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Book Review: Traces of J.B. Jackson
By Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, reviewed by Philip Langdon: If commercial archeology had a patron saint, it would doubtless be John Brinckerhoff Jackson.
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C-Span: Lectures in History –20th-Century Roadside Attractions
In this C-SPAN presentation, University of Mary Washington Professor (and SCA member) Christine Henry talks about the history of roadside attractions and her own experience traveling to a freshwater pond in Ohio called the Blue Hole.
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5 Faves: Fredricksburg, Texas
By Mike Carsten – Historic preservation is vital to residents of Fredericksburg, Texas. Although there are many memorable places for commercial archeologists, here are my five faves.
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DOWNLOAD/BUY
SCA Journal Back Issues | SCA Road Notes Back Issues
Dr. Patrick’s
Postcard Roadside
DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Kalamazoo Mall
Two blocks of Burdick Street were closed and reconstructed with mall-like street furniture, water features, flower beds, trees and grass in an effort to reinvigorate a retail district actively being siphoned off to the suburbs.
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DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Streamline Hotel
The Streamline opened in 1941 as if a Miami Beach-Moderne hotel was dropped 260 miles north in Daytona.
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DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Good-Bye Pennsylvania 6-5000
When New York City’s Hotel Pennsylvania opened in 1919 it was the largest hotel in the world, with 2,200 rooms each with its own private bathroom, then an unprecedented amenity for a hotel of this scale.
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No ads. Which is kind of ironic, given what we’re into.
The Society for Commercial Archeology is an all-volunteer road-tripping organization fueled entirely by your support.
Standard and donation-level memberships available