Timeline

1976
Idea of SCA organization is formulated.

1977
SCA incorporated in Vermont.

1978
NewsJournal first published in September; second annual meeting held at Columbia University's School of Architecture in November.

1979
"Commercial Archeology: Architecture, Advertising, and the Automobile," first such university course, taught by Chester Liebs at Boston University's American Vernacular Summer Institute; annual fall conference in Washington, D.C., includes tour of Route 1 between the nation's capital and Baltimore.

1978
All Night All-Night Diner Tour in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in April; annual fall conference in Philadelphia; SCA administrative archives is established.

1981
Society of Architectural Historians affinity group session, The Future of the Recent Past, held in conjunction with the National Trust for Historic Preservation annual meeting in New York; annual fall meeting and tour in Miami's Art Deco District.

1982
June meeting at Boston Architectural Center, followed by a field trip to Nantasket Beach amusement park in Hull, MA; annual fall gathering in Washington, D.C., includes a neon theme and "Diner Days" weekend; SCA has 120 members.

1983
First Wildwood, New Jersey, meeting in June results in a "Wildwood Workbook."

1984
Annual meeting in Washington, D.C., concludes with a visit to Glen Echo Amusement Park.

1985
Art Deco Commercial Architecture, 1920-1950, a symposium held in Washington, D.C.; first membership directory published.

1986
Tour of Route 1 from Boston to Maine, postponed from late 1985 due to Hurricane Gloria, is conducted.

1987
Happy 10th birthday party held at Museum of Transportation, Boston.

1988
"Americans and the Automobile" fall conference at the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Ml.

1989
"Its Only Yesterday: The Automobile-Related Environment of New York State" co-sponsored by SCA; Historic Preservation Planning Alumni of Cornell University, and Historic Albany Foundation in June.

1990
Papers from the 1988 conference published as Roadside America: The Automobile in Design and Culture, edited by Jan Jennings; fall "Highways to History" conference held in Pittsburgh to commemorate 20th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Turnpike; SCA has 600 members.

1991
Big "D" SCA conference Dallas, TX, Iowa State University's College of Design holds Lincoln Highway Corridor: Design to Construction of the Roadside Landscape conference, cosponsored by SCA.

1992
SCA board attends a tour of the Dixie Highway in Kentucky. Highlights included a visit to Harland Sanders' Cafe and Museum, and an overnight stop at Wigwam Village.

1993
Newly re-established Lincoln Highway Association awards SCA its first annual Meritorious Achievement Award at the former's charter conference in Bedford, PA; "Delaware Valley Diner Tour" held in June; premiere issue of quarterly SCA News.

1994
"Granite Faces and Concrete Critters: Automobile Tourism in the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota" SCA conference, in the fall.

1995
More than 800 attendees at multi-track, SCA co-sponsored Preserving the Recent Past international conference held in Chicago; second edition of SCA bibliography, Mike Jackson compiler, published in conjunction with conference.

1996
"Life in the Past Lane" SCA conference, Los Angeles, CA.

1997
20th anniversary of SCA celebrated at "Fins Family Fun & the Fabulous '50s" SCA conference in Wildwood, NJ.

1998
"Driving the Dixie: Automobile Tourism in the South" SCA conference, Chattanooga, TN.

1999
"Made in Ohio: Enameled Eateries, Durable Domiciles and Fast Food" SCA conference, Columbus, OH.

2000
"Cool Colorado: Automobile Culture in the Rocky Mountain West" SCA conference, Manitou Springs, CO.

2001
"Cars and Crossroads: Touring America's Heartland" SCA conference, Indianapolis, IN; establishment of SCA home office at the Department of Popular Culture, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.

2002
"Reno or Bust: Sin and the American Roadside" held In Reno, Nevada, September.

2003
No conference.

2004
"See You in Seattle: Roadside Culture in the Space Age" held in Seattle, Washington, August.