Brandon, Vermont.
A few links from around the web for your enjoyment.
Today’s post is a guest post from Raina Regan (also a repost from her blog). Raina is on the board of the Society for Commercial Archeology and often finds herself answering the question: “What is Commercial Archeology?” Short answer: it’s not just archeology! Read on, and Raina will answer all of your questions and share how she got involved with the SCA.
Starlite Drive-in Theater, Bloomington, IN. Photo by Raina Regan.
by Raina Regan
When I mention I’m currently on the board of directors for the Society for Commercial Archeology, I often get a lot of blank stares or questioning glances. “What exactly is Commercial Archeology?” they might ask.
A formal definition from the Dictionary of Building Preservation (1996) defines commercial archaeology as:
The study of artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the American commercial process; includes both mass-produced and vernacular forms of the machine age: transportation facilities, such as highways and bus stations; roadside development, such as diners, strip retail, and neon signs; business district buildings, such as movie theaters and department stores; and recreation facilities, such as amusement parks.
What do I define as commercial archeology? In short, structures and objects of the commercial landscape. We traditionally look at items starting in the 20th century, including neon signs, diners, theaters, and more.
Oasis Diner, Plainfield, IN. Photo by Raina Regan.
I’m not really sure how my passion for commercial archeology developed. I’ve always thought I should’ve lived during the 1950s because of my love of diners, seeing movies at drive-in theaters, and ranch houses. Since high school, architecture and history from the 20th century appealed to me the most and my interest in commercial archeology is a natural outreach of this.
My real beginnings with commercial archeology in my preservation career started in 2008. When I attended the National Preservation Conference in Tulsa, OK, I participated in a day-long field session on Route 66. We traveled a section of the historic road, with drive bys of former filling stations and repair shops. We stopped at several icons along the way, but two structures specifically inspired me as a preservationist and historian of commercial archeology.
The Rock Cafe, Stroud, OK, undergoing rehabilitation following the fire. Photo by Raina Regan.
The Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK was recovering from a devastating fire at the time of our visit. But meeting with the cafe’s owner, Dawn Welch, was particularly inspiring. She told us stories about the Cafe and her passion for the road was evident. She was the basis for the animated character Sally Carrera in Cars, one of my favorite preservation-related movies. I know they reopened in 2009 and would love to go back for a visit.
Bridge 18, Rock Creek, Sapulpa, OK. Photo by Raina Regan.
One of our first stops was at Bridge #18 at Rock Creek, Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Constructed in 1924 on the original Route 66 alignment, it is a Parker through truss and is still open to traffic on the historic Route 66. Seeing the original brick road was inspiring as a historian, allowing me to connect with all the travelers that had once traversed this bridge.
Wishing Well Motel, Franklin, IN, off US 31. Photo by Raina Regan.
What makes commercial archeology special? From a preservation point of view, I see commercial archeology as accessible to everyone. The nostalgia factor of commercial archeology means everyone can connect to these resources in some way. These are places in our every day life that we grow to love, and as they age and gain historic significance, they become a cultural icon. Many spots are located on highways or other roads, which means they become well-known and idolized within our communities.
Ski-Hi Drive-in, Muncie, IN. Photo by Raina Regan.
Structures such as diners, motels, gas stations, and theaters are ideal for continued use or adaptive reuse. However, commercial archeology mainstays including drive-in theaters, amusement parks, and neon signs may present more difficult challenges for preservation. For example, the Ski-Hi Drive In outside Muncie, Indiana is slated for demolition. Although the 1952 drive-in theater is a local icon and has strong local support for its preservation, it is located at the crossroads of IN-3 and SR 28 in rural Delaware County. Raising the money needed to return the site back to a drive-in is difficult, while there are not many adaptive use options for such a site. I attribute the strong local support for its preservation because of nostalgia and strong personal connection many have to the site.
As a board member of the Society for Commercial Archeology, I try to advocate for the preservation of these resources whenever possible. As preservationists, we should use these resources as ways to connect preservation to a broader audience.
Call me a preservation dork, but it seems like this number deserves a match.
Route 66 in Foyil, Oklahoma in all of its pink concrete glory. Photo taken May 2006 by Kaitlin O'Shea.
Happy (almost) Halloween PiP readers! Here are some fun links for your enjoyment:
Route 66 News has some great ghost stories to share: top ghost sites on Route 66 & The Ghost of the Painted Desert Inn. (Awesome posts, Ron!)
Old House Web‘s ghost stories from readers: The Haunted Old Schoolhouse, The Haunted House in Dubuque, Iowa, The Mysterious Rocking Cradle, The House on Haunted North Hill, & A Fright at Winchester.
This sounds terrifying: Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho. Aaaahhh!! (But it’s actually records, not vinyl siding. Phew. Got me there.)
Check out these British asylums.
In Burlington this weekend? Take a walking tour of Elmwood Cemetery with Preservation Burlington. Find them on Facebook, too.
In Southern Vermont? Check out the VINS Hoots & Howls event on Saturday October 30. Sure to be a good time for the whole family. Preservation – conservation – wildlife – all connected.
Or you could take a Ghost Walk of the Queen City (Burlington). Here are more Vermont Halloween events.
Or head to Mary Washington’s Ghost Walk in downtown Fredericksburg, VA.
Have fun!
Autumn on the UVM campus.
The Brooklyn Bridge Forest project brings yet another link to preservation + sustainability. The general idea? Growing and responsibly maintaining a tropical hardwood forest to replace the 11,000 planks of tropical hardwood on the Brooklyn Bridge when necessary, rather than using uncharacteristic synthetic wood.
Love Route 66? Scott Piotrowski has picked up his blogging again (hooray!) about Historic Roads in Los Angeles County, CA. He plans to uncover the final 66 miles of Route 66 in 66 different blog entries leading up to 2012 Route 66 Festival in Santa Monica. That sounds like quite the task – and interesting one at that! Leave a comment on his blog with suggestions & encouragement.
Speaking of Route 66, who wants to buy the NR listed Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico? It’s for sale!
And, if you’re a fan of the movie Cars you may know that Disneyland is opening “Cars Land” in summer 2012. Scroll down for a bit info and some pictures.
Anyone attending the Society for Industrial Archaeology’s Fall Tour in Vermont this September? I’ll be there, helping out with the Saturday Burlington tour.
Looking for a job? Many have been appearing on PreserveNet lately, many more than earlier in the summer.
Is anyone taking the Ivy Tech (Madison, IN) online course: Introduction to Historic Preservation? I’d be interested to hear about your experiences.
Any starting your undergrad major or graduate degree in preservation? Please share!
Happy weekend; hope the last one of August treats you well! Get out and about while it’s still warm and sunny!
Fun travel related Friday links for all:
A nice overview of Route 66 history and present study, as seen on Preservation Nation. Speaking of studying Route 66, can you say dream job? How can I get in on this?
A beautiful mansion outside Philadelphia in desperate need of some love and a new life: Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, PA. (Thanks to Jen G for this one.)
You are allowed to take pictures in public places. Architectural surveyors, rest easy and read on (though it gets somewhat complicated). (Thanks to Maria for this one.)
The 50 greatest attractions of Roadside America. However, a few of us have already had a discussion and find many to be missing: The Corn Palace, the Big Duck… what else? Add it! (Thanks to Maria for sending the entertainment.)
Have a great weekend everyone!
Taken on Route 66 in August 2006. I post this picture because it’s one of those that I forgot to label and can no longer remember where it was or anything else about the surroundings (I think it started to rain so I stopped taking pictures). According to the order of my pictures we had passed through Carthage, MO and then Avilla, Halltown, and after that I can’t decipher. Any Route 66 buffs have an idea? Thanks!
Fortunately, many people begin with small, personal efforts to record and save structures, buildings, and landscapes. The efforts begin small and spread as other find their shared interests. Thank goodness for individual interests. After all, HABS, HAER, and HALS can only reach so many properties scattered across the vast country in cities and down country dirt roads. One such example of an effort is the website, Historic Bridges of the United States, which is a database of currently 29,164 bridges across the USA. Civil engineers, preservationists, historians – all sorts of people contribute to this site. James Baughn started the site , is the acting webmaster, and continues to add bridges. Everyone is encouraged to send information and photographs. [Read the background of the site and effort here.]
Viewers can search the database by specific geographic locations, designs of bridges, status, waterways, cities, years, roads, or builders. Or viewers may browse randomly. The site also posts news relating to the bridges. Even better, existing HAER reports on these bridges are listed on the website. Each database entry includes a photograph (if available), a map with the bridge’s location, any known history, UTM coordinates, and its status. It’s a great website and fun to browse, if you’re interested in bridges.
The photographs below are from my Route 66 road trip in 2006.
A rainbow curve bridge on Old Route 66 in Kansas.
Sign at the end of the bridge. (Excuse the camera lens).
Sign at the other end of the rainbow bridge.
It’s Wednesday, which means all of you readers probably need something fun to see. Here are two photographs from Route 66* – a travel day for you, on my favorite road. The drive-in theater is just outside of Carthage, Missouri, still in operation and quite the sight.
Route 66 drive-in theater
Note that this is one of the very few remaining drive-in theaters in operation on Route 66 today. See a list of all open and closed 66 drive-ins. Go see one while you can! The (literal) road sign was taken in on “Old Route 66” that leads drivers through the tiny section from Missouri to Kansas.
Road Sign
For more Route 66 information, check out Route 66 News. It is an incredible site (and listed under Resources, for future reference.) Anyone else traveled Route 66?
*Photographs taken by Vinny & me on my 2006 Route 66 trip.
Preservation in Pink 