SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for America’s
Roadside Heritage
SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for America’s
Roadside Heritage
SOCIETY for
COMMERCIAL
ARCHEOLOGY
Advocates for
America’s
Roadside Heritage
On the road since 1977
We invite you to join hundreds of neon lovers, diner fans, history buffs, and roadside explorers.
SCA memberships start at $55 a year or just $5 a month.
Society for Commercial Archeology
2026 Road Trip
Los Angeles
Friday, July 10 to
Monday, July 13
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Society for Commercial Archeology
2026 Road Trip
Los Angeles
Friday, July 10 to
Monday, July 13
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Not yet an SCA member?
We invite you to join hundreds of neon lovers, diner fans, history buffs, and roadside explorers.
SCA memberships start at $55 a year or just $5 a month.
Join UsWhat You Get
SCA EVENTS & MORE
ZOOM EVENT: Doug Kirby The Roadside America Project – A Taxonomy For Travel Mirth
Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Join us for a fascinating side trip on the borders of good taste, through the state of confusion — where giant statues spar for attention, tourist traps grip with spring-loaded merch jaws, and everyone sends “Wish You Were Here” postcards to their pals back home. Quirky, oddball, wacky, weird — the fever dream of a nation. More Info | Register
SOLD OUT: SCA 2026 Road Trip – Los Angeles!
No place in America has had more influence on the roadside architecture of the 20th century than Los Angeles. Thirty years after SCA first visited this mecca of neon and diners, we invite you to join us July 10-13, 2026, for a four-day event touring the architectural gems across Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Route 66, and beyond! A fun-packed 3 full days of touring (for the first time in SCA history!), plus an opening reception and special access tours to many venues with local experts. More Info | Join Waitlist
ZOOM RECORDING: Christine Henry & Pete Morelewicz – All Aboard for a Squishin’ Mission
Recorded Wednesday, February 10, 2026: Join Christine Henry and Pete Morelewicz, by day a historic preservation professor and a graphic artist, as they discuss the history of squished pennies, their collaborative art project the Squished Penny Museum (1997-2007), and the future of squishing. Spoiler alert – if you don’t already have a collection, you will want to start one by the end of this Zoom! Watch Video
ZOOM RECORDINGS
ROADSIDE NEWS
UPDATED! THE JIM SEELEN MOTEL IMAGES COLLECTION
20,000 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 20,000 (21,507 to be exact) motels that once operated in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
SCA ARTICLES
SCA EDITOR’S WORD: A Noble and Miraculous Endeavor: Creating Casa Grande’s Neon Sign Park
By Douglas Towne: Casa Grande’s downtown park is a gas — neon gas, specifically. Its elements flicker to life at dusk, creating a buzz that lasts until 11 p.m. Whether an evocative name like Hotel Sacaton or a more pedestrian moniker like Goddard Shoes, the neon signs glow in the Arizona darkness as if drawn with a magical luminous pen.
JOURNAL EXCERPT: Ruminating on the Ruins of Fort Dells
By Kevin Patrick: There is a romance to ruins that mirrors the arc of life from inception to the apogee of achievement, and then the inevitable fade to decay. The apogee of achievement for this nature-reclaimed wreckage was once a Dells anchor attraction that drew more than a quarter of a million visitors in its peak year of 1972.
JOURNAL SNEAK PEEK: Astral Fountains and Rocket Throwers
By Gloria R. Nash: The 1964–65 fair’s theme, “Peace Through Understanding,” focused on achieving world peace through global interdependence. Exhibits featured 80 nations, 24 states, and 45 corporations. After the fair closed, most pavilions were demolished. Some pavilions, such as those of the United States, DuPont, and Greyhound, waited for years to be repurposed but were eventually razed.
5 Faves: Grapevine, Texas
By Peter Glaser: I had never heard of Grapevine, Texas, until my wife asked if I wanted to tag along to a conference she attended there last year. A suburban city situated between Dallas and Fort Worth, Grapevine was a revelation.
GALLERY: SCA’s 48th Annual Conference in Niagara Falls
The SCA welcomed more than 80 guests to its first international conference in the roadside mecca of Niagara Falls. Featuring tours of both the American and Canadian roadside, we explored all kinds of crazy SCA attractions, took a drenching ride under Horseshoe Falls, hosted a fascinating paper symposium, and enjoyed great food and great company. It was a barrel of fun! See Photos
EDITOR’S WORD: The SCA Goes International to get Wet ’n Wild at Niagara Falls
By Douglas Towne: In the 1890s, Americans and Canadians had different development aspirations for their respective cities divided by the Niagara River. With its grander vistas of the three cascading waters, Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and American Falls, Canadians viewed it as a natural wonder and created a vacation destination. In contrast, Americans considered hydropower generation the most critical asset and focused more on harnessing these water sources to fuel industry.
DOWNLOAD/BUY
SCA Journal Back Issues | SCA Road Notes Back Issues
Dr. Patrick’s Postcard Roadside
Dr. Patrick’s Niagara Recap Part 2
Everybody, back on the bus! Part 2 of guide Kevin Patrick’s Niagara Conference recap covers the third day tour of the New York side of the falls. Read Recap
DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: The Blue and White Restaurant
Constantine Spiridon and his two brothers opened the Blue and White Restaurant at 211 Liberty Street in downtown Warren, PA, in 1925. It was one and a half blocks north of US 6, certainly the coast-to-coast reference on this postcard showing its 1937 Art Moderne remodel.
DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: New York City’s West Side Piers
A circa-1960 postcard shows New York City’s Transatlantic Steamship Terminal in the Hudson River between 44th and 54th streets ...
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The Society for Commercial Archeology is an all-volunteer road-tripping organization fueled entirely by your support.
Standard and donation-level memberships available