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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RUST BELT MALLWAKER
Join Ohio native Jessica Anshutz for a photographic journey into the emptying (and empty) malls of America’s Rust Belt.
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
RUST BELT MALLWALKER
Join Ohio native Jessica Anshutz for a photographic journey into the emptying (and empty) malls of America’s Rust Belt.
Upcoming Events
ZOOM EVENT – America’s Longest Highway: U.S. Route 20 with Bryan Farr
October 13 @ 8:00pm Eastern: We invite all SCA and Docomomo US members to join author Bryan Farr, founder of Historic Route 20, as he details the history of America’s Longest Highway, US Route 20.
Learn More / Register
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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
Zoom Recordings
News
Get Your Fresh Road Notes Here
SCA Members: a fresh SCA Road Notes for Fall 2021 is arriving in mailboxes! Can't wait? Remember, members can download Road Notes for free. And non-members can purchase a digital copy for $2 (or use this as their excuse to finally join!)
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SCA WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 12, 2021
History valued, plus neon and light and Big Bruce
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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
Ephemera: Harnessing Buffalo
The image-makers of Buffalo didn’t let natural history interfere with excellent branding potential, particularly for the Pan American Exposition of 1901.
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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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DOWNLOAD/BUY
SCA Journal Back Issues | SCA Road Notes Back Issues
Dr. Patrick’s
Postcard Roadside
DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Mammoth Cave vs. Great Onyx Cave
When Mammoth Cave National Park was established in 1941, Great Onyx Cave, three miles from the entrance to Mammoth Cave, was not included, its owners continuing to operate the show cave in competition with Mammoth.
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DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Colonial Modern Cabins
Cabins clustered around the home headhouse along the main road at the edge of town had become standardized by the time this 1940s postcard was produced to advertise Colonial "MODERN" Cabins just west of Richmond, Indiana.
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DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Greiner’s Bakery
The success of Andy Greiner's 1934 bakery in Parkersburg, West Virginia, allowed him to open this state-of-the-art Streamline Moderne bakery on Dudley Avenue in 1941.
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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