In 2018, SCA members and guests traveled to the Philadelphia area for a terrifyingly terrific tour! We joined the crowd at Blobfest, an annual festival that celebrates the original 1958 camp classic, THE BLOB. We then headed west along the historic Lincoln Highway through Amish Country to the quirky Haines Shoe House.
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In October of 2017, members and friends of the SCA were welcomed to Cincinnati and its environs for our 40th Anniversary event. We still have a few t-shirts left in our store! Queen City Crusade – Paper Sessions Recap On Friday, October 6th, during the Queen City Crusade, the Society for Commercial Archeology’s 40th Anniversary conference
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Our 2015 mini-tour involved a fantastic tour of famous northern New Jersey Diners followed by a day at New York's Coney Island as well as Flushing Meadows, site of the 1939 and 1964 World's fairs. We were also excited to host our first ever Affiliate Session at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's PastForward Conference in
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The Society for Commercial Archeology’s 2014 conference was held in St. Petersburg, Florida, April 9-12. From the beginning the growth of St. Petersburg depended on selling the city as a destination. In relying on natural and recreational amenities, the city boomed first in the 1920s and then again after World War II. In that second mid-century
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Our doo wop wonderful 2012 event was presented with generous support from the Doo Wop Preservation League, the Morey Organization, and the Shalimar Resort and Conference Center. We toured The Wildwoods, New Jersey— including Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and North Wildwood! The Conference celebrated the organization’s 35th anniversary at the site of the largest concentration of mid-century
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Diner fans from around the country convened in southern New Jersey on September 17, for a dawn-to-dusk bus tour of nearly 20 diners and other roadside attractions in the region. The tour started with a hearty breakfast at the Elgin Diner in Camden, NJ, a pristine Kullman from 1958. Participants later threw back coffee at the Club Diner in Bellmawr, enjoyed
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Our 2010 tour took us to Arkansas, “The Natural State.”  The conference gave attendees the opportunity to explore how the area’s natural environment has affected tourism and the roadside’s built environment throughout the late 19th and 20th Centuries. The conference was headquartered in Fayetteville, a vibrant college town that is home to the University of Arkansas
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In search of vintage motels, diners, curio shops, neon signs, and other roadside artifacts, members of the Society for Commercial Archeology came together in Albuquerque Sept. 10-13 for four days of exploring, touring, learning, and just plain fun. The theme of this year’s conference was “Southwest Detours: Roadside Culture of New Mexico.” “New Mexico holds special
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