That’s right, SCA has succombed! If you are a member of Facebook (and who isn’t?), please click here to join our group. And, if you’re not yet on, this should be all the incentive you need! See you there!
Events | Jun 27
The Society for Commercial Archeology Announces:
Falling by the Wayside: 10 Most Endangered Roadside Places, 2009
Call for Nominations
Standing along our nation’s highways, main streets and rural country roads is the physical evidence of our early road culture, the remnants of our collective travel experience throughout the twentieth. These physical elements include gas stations, diners, drive-ins, motor courts, retail strips, theatres, roadside parks and a variety of roadside curiosities, to name the obvious. They are places and structures that today capture the imagination and elicit feelings of nostalgia and curiosity. As time passes the recognition and preservation of such places is vital to their function as historical record and personal benchmark.
Places of roadside culture are those that we have all experienced, that we can all relate to and that we can all play a roll in protecting. How many times have you driven by a decaying roadside icon and wondered why no one seems to care that it appears ready to fall down? Are you concerned that an important local landmark of road or commercial culture is or could become threatened by development or neglect? The Society for Commercial Archeology is creating a way for you to take action and make your concerns known. We are announcing the creation of Falling by the Wayside: 10 Most Endangered Roadside Places; a list that will seek to compile the ten most threatened roadside places in the country each year. Your help is requested to make the list a comprehensive and diverse compilation of noteworthy places that deserve the attention and recognition of the preservation community and the public at large. We are currently accepting nominations for the 2009 list, see details below.
Through the creation of the list we hope to access the vast resources of SCA and translate them into a tangible resource that will draw attention to commercial and roadside places that are in danger of being lost or drastically altered. An endangered list is a viable and potentially powerful way of giving a voice to threatened places. We encourage your participation.
Falling by the Wayside Guidelines for Nomination:
Nomination: Anyone can nominate a resource to the list. We welcome and request nominations from SCA membership and the general public.
Criteria: Elements eligible for inclusion will be those that fall within the scope of SCA’s stated interests and mission: architectural elements and cultural landscapes that are related to roadways, highways and road culture, including, but not limited to diners, drive-ins, coffee houses, gas stations petroliana, motels, hotels, tourist cabins, motor courts, retail centers, theaters, roadside curiosities, and roadside sculpture.
Scope of inclusion: A date range will not be pre-established, however; regardless of age, nominations must clearly express the historical and community significance of the resource proposed for inclusion and fulfill all other required nomination criteria.
Nomination Process: To nominate a resource to the list please complete the nomination form posted below and submit it to the SCA by July 20, 2009. The nomination form requests information regarding the physical location and ownership of the resource along with descriptive information outlining history, significance and current threat. If you have questions regarding the nomination process please contact Joanna Dowling of the SCA Advocacy Committee at
Selection: Elements will be selected for inclusion on the list by the SCA advocacy committee based on the information provided through the nomination process, additional information will be requested as necessary.
Nomination Deadline: The nomination deadline for the 2009 list is July 20th.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NOMINATION FORM
Announcement: The completed list will be announced in the fall of 2009
We look forward to your submissions! Please help us make our first list an important one!
Events | Jun 26
Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wildwood and North Wildwood, New Jersey
SCA members are invited to join the Doo Wop Preservation League on April 24-26, 2009 in Wildwood and North Wildwood, NJ, for an island-wide celebration of the Wildwoods’ role in mid-century cultural history. Events include a dance hop, indoor and outdoor concerts, memorabilia show and sale, exhibit of pop-culture, Doo Wop Architecture tours, classic cars and more. Accommodation packages are available.
The weekend is a collaborative effort of the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, Greater Wildwood Tourism Improvement and Development Authority, the Doo Wop Preservation League, the Greater Wildwood Hotel and Motel Assocation, the City of Wildwood and the City of North Wildwood.
As part of the weekend’s events, Doo Wop bus tours are being offered on April 25. Riders will be able to relive the 1950’s and 1960’s in the Wildwoods and see the best of the Wildwoods’ Doo Wop commercial architecture while a knowledgeable guide describes the popular culture of the era. Bus tours are usually held once an hour from 1 to 5pm (times to be determined) and leave from the Convention Center. $12 for adults / $6 for children.
As a special for SCA members, SCA Board member Michael Hirsch will meet the bus after one of the afternoon tours (Time T.B.D.) on April 25 to lead a special visit to the Caribbean Motel. The owners will explain their experience with owning one of the first recent-past national landmarks. This visit is for SCA members and family/friends only and will be offered at no charge. [NOTE: Make your reservation by contacting Michael at migeulito@aol.com by April 17.]
For more information about the Sensational 60’s Weekend:
Phone: 609-727-4000 (Chamber of Commerce)
Event: www.fabfifties.com
Doo Wop Preservation League: www.doowopusa.org
Bus Tour: www.doowopusa.org/tours
For more information about the SCA visit to the Caribbean Motel:
Contact Michael (646-258-6512)
migeulito@aol.com
And see Caribbean Motel: http://www.caribbeanmotel.com
Events | Apr 1
Martin Garfinkel, of the Roadside Gallery of Americana in Carbondale, Colorado, has generously donated four of his works to the SCA for auction at the Southwest Detours conference in Albuquerque. His gallery presents a nostalgic look at the colorful Americana road signs and folk art quickly disappearing from America’s highways. A sneak preview is offered below. Come bid at the conference!
2008 Conference, Events | Sep 4
SCA member Brian Anderson recently gifted our organization with a very generous donation—two art works created by his late father, Warren Anderson. These two pieces will be part of a silent auction at the Albuquerque conference with proceeds going to the SCA. Warren was a Professor of Art at the University of Arizona for many years, the author of Vanishing Roadside America, and a long-time SCA member. He excelled in several artistic mediums, including prismatic pencil drawings of vintage roadside signs executed in the manner of the old, high-chrome, linen-textured, bordered postcards. Both of the donated works are in this style.
One of the silent auction works is “Delaware Auto Court,” a 9-by-15 inch rendering of the sign which long ago advertised the roadside lodge located at the junction of U.S. Route 13 and U.S. 40 in New Castle, Delaware. Included with this drawing is a separate, 10-by-8 inch collage featuring a historic postcard from the same auto court.
All Lincoln Highway and/or gas pump fans in particular will enjoy Anderson’s second donated piece, an image of which will appear in the summer issue of the SCA News. The second of the silent auction works is “Lincoln Highway Gas Pump,” a 15-by-9 inch prismatic pencil drawing executed in the manner of the old, high-chrome, linen-textured, bordered postcards.
Start planning your bidding strategies now!
2008 Conference, Events | Sep 4
ALBUQUERQUE - SEPTEMBER 10-13, 2008
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The Society for Commercial Archeology’s 2008 Conference will explore automobile tourism in the southwest, with tours of Routes 66 and 60 and engaging roadside topics presented by your colleagues. Enjoy the stunning Southwestern landscape and visit some of the nation’s most scenic and significant historic roads including Route 66. The SCA conference will include paper sessions and our legendary tours. |
REGISTER BY MAIL
Simply download the registration form and submit it with payment (check or money order to "SCA"):
SCA Conference c/o Carol Ingald
2042 Glendale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19152
REGISTER ONLINE
Please go directly to the registration page.
CONFERENCE DETAILS
Conference Schedule, Lodging, and Travel details
Conference Papers and Presenters
For more information about the conference, places to stay, or cool things to see along the way, contact the conference organizers at greg.smith@thc.state.tx.us.
2008 Conference | Jul 20
This just in…
In spite of its designation as a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board, the former Denny’s that stood at the corner of 15th Avenue NW and NW Market Street came down today, thanks the board’s recent reversal of its February decision.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008014363_webdennys24m.html
Photos of the sad affair:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2008014446.html
Uncategorized | Jun 24
Getting all fired up and ready to go to Albuquerque?
Here’s a little vintage inspiration for you to hit the road:
http://www.highwayhost.org/NewMexicoSCA/newmexicopostcards.htm
Uncategorized | May 6
Here’s a very interesting article about a restored retro motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico:
Retro revival taking place on Route 66 by Kevin Hamm
Kevin’s article is about the purchase and renovation of the Motel Safari in Tucumcari, NM by Richard Talley, president of Smalltown America
Click here to read Kevin Hamm’s entire article on denver.yourhub.com
Click here to visit Richard Talley’s "Smalltown America" web site
News | Apr 16
If you’re an active SCA member, click here to go to the Members Only area. The directory was recently updated and now includes an index for areas of interest!
News | Dec 9