SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for America’s
Roadside Heritage
Join us for our 2019 conference and tour through the “Wacky Wisconsin Dells”
Conference Details
Photo: Vintage Wisconsin Dells
SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for
America’s
Roadside Heritage
Join us for our 2019 conference and tour through the “Wacky Wisconsin Dells”
Conference Details
Photo: Vintage Wisconsin Dells
SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for
America’s
Roadside Heritage
Photo: Vintage Wisconsin Dells
Join us for our
2019 conference and tour
through the
“Wacky Wisconsin Dells”
Conference DetailsRegister
The SCA is the oldest national organization devoted to the signs, structures and experiences of the 20th-century American roadscape.
Join us and get all these benefits:
- Exclusive pop-up events
- SCA Journal and SCA Road Notes
- Free digital downloads
- Member-only web content
- Member pricing to our annual conference
See what we do, subscribe to our free email newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This fall, SCA members enjoyed an exclusive hard hat tour of Eero Saarinen’s 1962 masterpiece, the TWA terminal at JFK, soon to be the TWA Hotel. Where are we going next? See upcoming events.
The SCA is the oldest national organization devoted to the signs, structures and experiences of the 20th-century American roadscape.
Join us and get all these benefits:
- Exclusive access to our pop-up events
- Subscriptions to SCA Journal and SCA Road Notes
- Free digital downloads
- Member-only web content
- Member pricing to our annual conference
- All for just $45 annually ($35 for students)
See what we do, subscribe to our free email newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Articles
Shoppers World and the Regional Shopping Center in Greater Boston
FULL ARTICLE by Kathleen Kelly Broomer – This is the story of Shoppers World, one of the nation's first regional shopping centers. This is also the first article published in the first issue of the SCA Journal, Fall-Winter 1994-1995.
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Accommodations “For Colored”
By Lyell Henry – Into the 1960s, guides, like the now-famous “Green Book,” were indispensable aids for thousands of black travelers. In this “SCA Journal Classic,” retired Mount Mercy College political science professor Lyell Henry discusses the history of “motoring while black” in the pre-Civil Rights era.
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A Retro Magic Carpet Ride
FULL ARTICLE by Douglas Towne – For most of the 20th century, the Near East captivated Americans, its influence extending coast to coast. Countless owners of motels, restaurants and nightclubs bet their economic futures that naming their business after elements of this region would bring success.
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Thar’s Gold In Them Foothills!
FULL ARTICLE by Michelle Begay – After World War II, the motel evolved into something not seen before in American life – a self-contained roadside oasis. The Foothills Motel complex exemplified the major shift in the middle-class pursuit of recreation and leisure.
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DOWNLOAD/BUY
SCA Journal Back Issues | SCA Road Notes Back Issues
Upcoming Events
Albany 30th Anniversary Pop-Up Tour
May 18, 2019: Join the Society for Commercial Archeology for a free members-only pop-up event in Albany, New York on May 18, 2019, as we retrace (more or less) our 1989 tour. Using the original program as our guide, we will hop in our cars, connect via cell phone, and see what is still there, what has changed and what has disappeared.
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Wacky Wisconsin – SCA’s 42nd Annual Conference
Join us for “Wacky Wisconsin” – SCA’s 42nd Annual Conference. The event will bring together roadside enthusiasts, historic preservationists, and academic scholars interested in commercial roadside artifacts. Conference details.
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News
SCA Weekly News: Mar 24, 2019
Take a Sunday drive with Emily Taggert Schricker and Keith Schulle past Natick’s “Man on a Ladder,” the U.S.’s oldest continuously-operating Chinese restaurant, a new roadside museum dedicated to the African-American experience on Route 66, Surry’s digital time machine, and the Haines Shoe House, where we pay tribute to late owner Melanie Schmuck.
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SCA Weekly News: Mar 17, 2019
Five news items of interest brought to us this week by SCA VP Jeremy Ebersole.
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SCA Weekly News: Mar 10, 2019
We can always count on Raina Regan to curate a wonderfully quirky collection of roadside news items. And Keith Sculle adds a bonus.
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SCA Weekly News: Mar 3, 2019
Join Michael Hirsch on a tour down the eclectic highway, which thanks to the internet, crosses borders ... and oceans ... unimpeded.
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Free Download: SCA Journal Fall-Winter 94-95
To celebrate the start of the SCA Journal Scanning Project, for a limited time we are offing our first issue – Fall-Winter 1994-95 – as a FREE download.
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Road Trips
From the Black Hills to the Jersey Shore, with stops at every diner in between, our conferences, caravans and pop-ups are the stuff of legend! Join us on our next adventure.
Upcoming EventsJournal & Web
In addition to our conferences, caravans and pop-up events, SCA benefits include the prestigious SCA Journal, SCA Road Notes, and password access to member-only content on our website.
Join the SCAGet Published
The SCA offers quality publication opportunities for preservation professionals, academics, authors, independent scholars and enthusiasts. We can’t wait to publish you!
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