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
Join us – online and on the road – as we explore the 20th-century landscape of drive-ins, diners, neon signs and roadside attractions.
An SCA membership buys a world of adventure. Tours, conferences and online presentations, subscriptions to our semi-annual journal and quarterly newsletter (including free digital back issues), and more!
Memberships start at: $55 a year or just $5 a month.
Lost Photos / Found Memories
AMUSEMENT
PARKS
The latest from Edward Engle’s evocative collection.
Lost Photos / Found Memories
AMUSEMENT
PARKS
The latest from Edward Engle’s evocative collection.
On the Road Since 1977
Join us as we explore the 20th-century landscape of drive-ins, diners, neon signs and roadside attractions.
An SCA membership buys a world of adventure.
Memberships start at: $55 a year or just $5 a month.
Join NowBenefits
Lost Photos / Found Memories
AMUSEMENT
PARKS
The latest from Edward Engle’s evocative collection.
SCA EVENTS
ZOOM EVENT: A Highway of History – Route 1 from Maine to Massachusetts
Wednesday, July 24, 2024: Join author and photographer Susan Mara Bregman on a trip along Route 1 – from Fort Kent, Maine to Attleboro, Massachusetts – as she traces a story of historic gravity, exuberant entertainment, unexpected juxtapositions and wonderfully kitschy roadside attractions. Learn More | Register
ZOOM RECORDING: John O’Leary IV – James Melton Autorama
Join John J. O’Leary IV on his quest to visually re-create the Melton Museum (1948-1953) and the James Melton Autorama (1953-1961) from old photos and other items from people who visited the Autorama decades ago. Watch Video
2024 ROAD TRIP: : A Walk Through Nashville’s Neon Canyon
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT! Get ready for a great time! Announcing the SCA 2024 Road Trip: A Walk Through Nashville’s Neon Canyon. September 20-22, 2024. An amazing 3 days of neon, music, food, fun and history. More Info | Details and waiting list at Eventbrite
RECAP: SCA’s 46th Annual Conference and Tour – Amused in the Alleghenies
Whether you were on the bus or not, join tour guide extraordinaire, Kevin Patrick, as he retraces our whacky and wonderful journey along historic U.S. Route 6.
EVENT RECORDINGS
ROADSIDE 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.
SCA ARTICLES
Five Seven Faves: Nashville’s Neon Canyon
Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs. Like most hip and creative U.S. communities, Nashville, aka Music City, has an almost embarrassing treasure of colorful and imaginative signage of all ilk and sizes.
Lost Photos Found Memories: Amusement Parks
Here are some of the amusement or theme park photos I’ve collected over the last ten years. Unidentified locations may be smaller venues such as carnivals or fairs. For those unknown images, email edwardengel@yahoo.com with any clues to identification.
Brownie Camera Beginnings: The Roadside Art of Mary Anne Erickson
Hudson Valley resident Mary Anne Erickson combines her passion for color, beauty, design, and fine taste in documenting the demise of the American roadside culture of “Mom and Pop” establishments.
Gas, Food & Lodging: Fuel for Bertrand Goldberg’s Futuristic Architecture
A common criticism of roadside buildings is that, from an architectural perspective, they’re not impressive creations. That statement, however, is not always valid. Bertrand “Bud” Goldberg is a fascinating example of a famed architect who initially displayed considerable design talents in small-scale commercial structures.
Manning’s: The First Coffee Empire to Emerge from Seattle
FULL ARTICLE by Tracey Pemberton and Mike Elmore – In 1908, an elaborate advertisement rose above the others at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Protruding outward from the top of the stall and looming over the heads of shoppers, the Manning brothers promised “Coffee Served Hot,” with small cups of coffee that cost just 2¢ and large cups priced at 4¢. An empire was born.
Literary Pilgrimage – How Anne of Green Gables Transformed an Island Community
Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908 and achieved instant acclaim. Much of the appeal was the creation of Anne Shirley — a spunky, independent, and intelligent heroine with a fertile imagination. No fictional character has ever contributed so dominantly to a province’s tourism as red-haired, pig-tailed Anne.
DOWNLOAD/BUY
SCA Journal Back Issues | SCA Road Notes Back Issues
Dr. Patrick’s Postcard Roadside
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 ...
DR. PATRICK’S POSTCARD ROADSIDE: Cedar Tourist Court
Westward across the plains of Kansas, US 40 originally split at Manhattan with the south branch following the Victory Highway through Salina (current US 40), and the north branch following the Midland Trail through Clay Center.
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