Event Recordings

Recorded November 6, 2024: Since 1929, Secret Caverns in Schoharie County, New York, has played second fiddle to its far more famous show cave neighbor, Howe Caverns. Join us on a journey into the imaginings of the key artists responsible for the attraction’s fabled billboards – three small town kids

Join author/designer Kathy Kikkert as she brings us back to a wondrous time when a vibrant sea of neon signs illuminated the glamorous streets of Hollywood. Discover the Lost Signs of the Hollywood Hills, accompanied by rare photos, mesmerizing video, and fun stories! Watch Recording

Recorded Wednesday, August 24: Join Marshall Shore, AKA The Hip Historian, who specializes in finding and sharing the most interesting bits and curiosities from our past, and Kris J. Kraus, label owner, collector, philanthropist, and attorney, as they explore the stories and locations beyond the recordings. From RuPaul to Ray

Wednesday, September 4 at 8:00pm EDT: As the centennial anniversary of Route 66 approaches in 2026, learn more about how the National Trust for Historic Preservation is helping to preserve Route 66 sites and tell a fuller story along more than 2,400 miles of road between Chicago and Los Angeles

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

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

To mark the 25th anniversary of his book Palm Springs Weekend, join author Andrew Dasnish for a discussion on how his book helped transform the perception of the desert town from a backwater to the center of international modernism. Watch Video

Join author Steve Lech, Riverside County, California historian, for the fascinating story of the Pines-to-Palms Highway and the two men who led the amazing community effort to get it built during the Great Depression. Watch Video

Join CyndeLicious, lover of all things vintage, kitsch, and architectural, for Sexitecture, a tour of the world’s most seductive Mid-Century Modern architectural wonders and the women who made these fantasies into realities. Watch Video

Zoom Event: Wednesday, March 6, 8pm EST – You may have heard of the Green Book, a popular travel guide treasured by the Black community for its travel tips during Jim Crow. But have you heard of Black Eden? Or Idlewild? Or American Beach? These are some of the many

ZOOM EVENT: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 8:00pm EST - Join us for a fun and fabulous tour of cocktail culture in the Golden State. Whether you’re the type to visit roadside diners, chic hotels, hidden dives, fancy restaurants, tiki bars, or, ahem, the neighborhood exotic dancer’s nightclub, napkin collector

ZOOM RECORDING: Join Marisa Scheinfeld, author of The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland for an illustrated lecture with photographs of abandoned sites where resorts, hotels and bungalow colonies once boomed in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York. Recorded November 29, 2023.

Join Cara Rodway, Head of Research Development at the British Library as she delves into the motivations driving this rapid expansion and its implications for consumer behavior. We will explore why motels thrived during this era, shedding light on business strategies and shifts in consumer preferences. Recorded October 22, 2023.

Recorded Wednesday, September 20th: Come along for a ride down the Columbia River Highway, America’s First Highway. This route was constructed from 1913 to 1922 east of Portland, Oregon, along the south shore of the Columbia River. In nearly 80 miles, it offered motorists magnificent views of a wonderful collection

Recorded Wednesday, August 16, 2023: Wednesday, August 16 at 8:00pm EDT: Join journalist Mike Walker as he examines the mid-twentieth century American beachside hotel and motel architecture which brought forth a fusion of California Googie futurism, the exoticism of the South Pacific and other distant locales.

Recorded Wednesday, July 23, 2023: Join Andrea Vesentini, cultural historian residing in Venice, Italy as he discusses whether inclusion can really be provided by vehicles designed to privatize each driver's movement across urban space? Was Jim Crow really subverted by private transportation, or was it exacerbated by a mode of

Recorded Wednesday, May 17, 2023: Join architect and preservationist Daniel Vieyra and photographer Mark Havens as they present the rich midcentury modern motel architecture of Wildwood, New Jersey from two distinct viewpoints.

Recorded Wednesday, June 21, 2023: Join Thomas Zeller as he presents a talk based on his book, “Consuming Landscapes: What We See When We Drive and Why It Matters.” Zeller explains how what we see while driving reflects our view of societies and ourselves.

Recorded Wednesday, May 17, 2023: Join architect and preservationist Daniel Vieyra and photographer Mark Havens as they present the rich midcentury modern motel architecture of Wildwood, New Jersey from two distinct viewpoints.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023: Join author and photographer Susan Mara Bregman for an affectionate look at one of America’s quirkiest pastimes – candlepin bowling.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Join Joel Baker, founder in 2012 of American Giants, as he discusses the history of the roadside giants known as “Muffler Men,” and his teams efforts to restore these American Giants. Watch Video

Join Brian Butko, author of 4 books on the Lincoln Highway, as takes us on tour of the fabled highway from New York to San Francisco, past mountaintop lookouts, through the gumbo of Iowa, and stopping at vintage cafes and cabin courts. We’ll learn where the road went in 1913,

Join SCA board member, Bill Swislow, as we look at some of the country’s oddest roadside attractions, the ones so eccentric that calling them works of art is the only way to do them justice.

Members are invited to login and join architect and historian Alan Hess as he shares discoveries from his newest book (with Michael Murphy), Googie Modern: Architectural Drawings of Armet Davis Newlove.

Explore the mid-century time capsule that is Havana through the eyes of photographer Josh Silber via this SCA Event recording. During its heyday, Havana was a resort city rivaling Miami Beach or Las Vegas and an important commercial hub for the Americas.

Wednesday, October 19 at 8:00pm EDT. Photographer and cultural historian John Margolies called himself an “architectural undertaker,” traversing the country to make pristine photographic record of our gas stations, motels, diners, movie houses and more. Join two of Margolie’s journalist friends, Ellen Warren and Margaret Engel, as they share some

On Tuesday, September 13 Preservation Houston and author, architecture critic and professor Mark Lamster for an online program exploring the story of the House of the Century and how this unique building might be saved. A Q&A with Lamster followed the presentation.

SCA Secretary, Irene L., and Curator of the Alexander Architectural Archives, Beth D., discuss personal collections focused on documenting the American roadside. This presentation discusses proper care, the process of donating or selling collections, and what you can do to facilitate the process.

Join Gregory Smith, the National Register Coordinator for the Texas Historical Commission, as he talks about the SCA in Texas in general, and Houston in particular. He will also touch upon his National Register work at the Texas Historical Commission.

Join Erika Nelson on June 15, 2022 @ 8:00PM Eastern as she takes us on a journey of the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. See related story from NPR.

An SCA Zoom Event: Join archivist, photographer and writer Larry Cultrera on June 1, 2022 @ 7:00PM Eastern as he tells the illustrated story of the evolution of the American diner.

Historian Frank Brusca has researched Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and has assembled very detailed accountings of when and where the Beat writer journeyed. Join Frank as he provides a snippet of the project’s output, showing visually and graphically the places and people from the original book.

Join Jamee Fiore, architectural historian with the Kansas Historical Society, as she discusses the history of Roadside Architecture (with a focus on Kansas), Route 66, and the impact these famous places have left. Think drive-in diners, gas stations, motels, attractions, and more!

SCA members are invited to join Brian Butko, author of Klondike Bars, Roadside Giants, and Other SCA Fun, for a look back at stories and photos from his long association with the SCA.

Join authors of Neon: A Light History, Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein, for How Neon Signs Create Community.

NO LOGIN REQUIRED. Join SCA board member Bill Swislow for Weirdness by the Road: Ordinary Places, Oddball Names. Weirdness for sure, with the photos to prove it!

Members, log in and enjoy this recording of Brian Gallaugher’s fascinating and beautiful presentation on the technical, social and artistic aspects storefront entranceway apron art.

Join author Bryan Farr, founder of Historic Route 20, as he details the history of America’s Longest Highway, US Route 20.

September 8 @ 8:00pm EDT. Join San José State University professor Andrew F. Wood for a survey of temporary, obsolete, abandoned, and derelict spaces, the topic of his next book.

August 25, 2021 @ 8:00PM EDT: Register now to join writer, documentary photographer and Akron, Ohio native Jessica Anshutz for a photographic journey into the emptying (and empty) malls of America’s Rust Belt.

July 14, 2021 @ 8:00 pm EDT: Register now to join Stephanie Stuckey, 3rd generation CEO of Stuckey’s, as she shares her journey to bring back the iconic roadside retail chain founded by her grandfather, including never-before-published images of early stores and discussion of the evolution of the stores’ design

Join SCA board member Ron Ladouceur, an advertising agency veteran and professor of marketing at the University at Albany, as he shares his 5-year journey to find and document surviving ghost signs across the New York, New England, and Pennsylvania.

Join SCA board member and Milwaukee Preservation Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Ebersole as he dives into his Master’s thesis on neon sign preservation.

April 28, 2021: Join retrologist.com’s Rolando Pujol as he shares his lifelong love of big buckets, big arches, big hats, a little red-haired girl in pigtails and other relics of America’s fast-food roadside.

On Wednesday, MARCH 10, 2021, writer, photographer, and archivist Matt Dellinger presented photographs and stories from his travels researching his book “Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway.”

In this member exclusive Zoom event recored on February 10, 2021, Ralph Wilcox, National Register & Survey Coordinator at the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, presented a program on The Negro Motorist Green Book in Arkansas.

In this Zoom presentation recorded on January 3, 2021 at 8:00pm EST, Aaron Marcavitch, executive director of Connecticut Landmarks and formerly of Maryland Milestones, presented photographs and stories he found in researching his book, US Route 1: Baltimore to Washington, DC.

In this ZOOM presentation recorded November 11, 2020, Rick Kilby discussed Florida’s pre-Disney era, where places like Rainbow, Silver, and Weeki Wachee Springs evolved to try to separate these visitors from their wallets.

In this ZOOM presentation recorded September 9, 2020, Len Davidson, the author of Vintage Neon, took 60 fellow SCA members on a virtual tour of the Neon Museum of Philadelphia. Members are invited to log in and enjoy the show.

On August 19, 2020, SCA member Marge Jantz, chairwoman of the historic preservation commission in Casa Grande, AZ., joined us for a conversation and slide show about the award-winning Neon Sign Park in Casa Grande, AZ.

Did you miss the show? Want to see it again? Join SCA president Michael Hirsch and author Tim O’Brien for as he presents highlights from his latest book, “Tim O’Brien’s Roadside Pics & Picks.”

Did you miss the tour? Want to see it again? Join SCA president Michael Hirsch and New York Neon author Thomas E. Rinaldi for a ZOOM TOUR of vintage signs across New York City’s Upper East Side.