A Smattering of Fun Links and Resources
Roadside Attractions
Florida’s Lost Tourist Attractions: an incredible collection of information about defunct tourist attractions in Florida.
Route 40 Roadside Attractions: Chock full of Route 40 history and images from New Jersey to California.
Larger Than Life: a directory of giant things.
Roadside America: guide to offbeat tourist attractions. Great resource for planning your road trip.
Skating Rinks
Skating: guide to open rinks by city and state.
Roller Skaters Gazette: Includes some nice history on Mineola Roller Rink and Earl and Inez Van Horn.
National Museum of Roller Skating: free admission to the largest collection of historical roller skates in the world. Also on exhibit: patents, medals, trophies, photographs, artworks, films and videotapes, costumes, library and archival materials, and roller skating memorabilia.
Bowling Alleys
Bowling 2 U: a quick guide to open bowling alleys by city and state.
Online Archive of California: Incredible photo collection featuring Tower Bowl.
Motor Courts & Motels
Motel Americana: celebrates historic motels still in operation. Lists motels by states with commentary and photos.
Diners & Drive-Ins
Diner City: State by state guide to great diner food.
Diner Hotline: A wonderful source for all things diner. Current news, great history and a wonderful collection of diner memorabilia.
American Roadside: great articles and news updates on operating diners and preservation efforts.
RoadFood: Great forum on where to eat on any trip.
Roadside Architecture
Roadside Peek: one of the most interesting sites on the web. Content is updated frequently and photos are great.
Roadside Architecture: great collection of images across the U.S. featuring roadside giants, diners, motels, etc.
Society for Commercial Archaeology: Established in 1977, the SCA is the oldest national organization devoted to the buildings, artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the 20th-century commercial landscape.
Googie Architecture Online: wonderful web site illustrating all things Googie with a focus on California architecture.
John Margolies: The master of roadside architecture photography.
Preservation
Preservation Directory: organization promoting preservation of historic buildings, historic downtowns and neighborhoods, cultural resources and heritage tourism.
Recent Past Preservation Network: Preservation site dedicated to buildings constructed in the last 50 years. Highlights those in danger of demolition and how you can help. Includes motels, bowling alleys, and drive-ins.
National Trust for Historic Preservation:
A private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America's communities. Actively involved in the preservation of Route 66 motels and many other historic sites.
Los Angeles Conservancy: Active in preservation and revitalization of the architectural and cultural heritage of greater Los Angeles.
Other Great Sites
Rat Patrol Radio: internet radio station playing 1940s Big Band and Swing music along with authentic WWII radio shows and news excerpts.
Vintage Roadtrip: A blog maintained by Vintage Roadside covering our roadtrips. Includes narrative & photos along the way.
Vintage Roadside Photos: A collection of photographs taken by us during our travels. Roadside attractions, vintage neon signs, giant dinosaurs & more!
San Diego Historical Society: searchable online archive of the Journal of San Diego History, 1955 to the present.
Route 66 News: features great articles along with listings of Route 66 related events, restaurants, lodging, attractions, and campgrounds. Frequently updated, this is a great site to find what's happening along Route 66.
Lincoln Highway News: wonderful site featuring current news and informative history regarding one of the premiere coast-to-coast highways.
Font Diner: fun retro style fonts.
Route 20 Pulse: monthly newspaper covering the 120-mile stretch of New York’s U.S. Route 20, between Duanesburg and LaFayette. Recently picked up the coverage area west to Skaneateles and south to Hamilton.
PDX (Portland, Oregon) History: detailed history and wonderful images of Portland’s past attractions. Includes extensive history of Pixieland.
Roadtrip America: Great articles, useful links, and a friendly, active forum sharing recommendations for places to visit along with travel advice and tips for the road.
Books
Roadside Attractions
Chris Gethard. Weird New York (New York: Sterling Publishing, 2005)
Ken Breslauer. Roadside Paradise: The Golden Age of Florida Tourist Attractions, 1929–71 (St. Petersburg: RetroFlorida, 2000)
John Margolies. Fun Along The Road: American Tourist Attractions (Boston: Little Brown, 1998)
Tim Hollis. Florida’s Miracle Strip, (Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2004)
Brian Butko. Roadside Giants (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2005)
Skating Rinks
Lou Brooks. Skate Crazy (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2003)
Bowling Alleys
H. Thomas Steele. Bowl-O-Rama: The Visual Arts of Bowling (New York: Abbeville Press, 1986)
Gideon Bosker and Bianca Lencek-Bosker. Bowled Over: A Roll Down Memory Lane (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002)
Motor Courts & Motels
John Margolies. Home Away From Home (Boston: Little Brown, 1995)
John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle, and Jefferson S. Rogers. The Motel in America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996)
Diners & Drive-Ins
Jim Heimann. May I Take Your Order? American Menu Design, 1920 – 1960 (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998)
Witzel, Michael Karl. Drive-In Deluxe (Osceola: Motorbooks International, 1997)
John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age, (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999)
Other Great Books
Peter Genovese.The Great American Road Trip: US 1 Maine to Florida (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999)
Chester Liebs. Main Street to Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995)
Alan Hess. Googie Redux (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004)
Lynne Arany and Archie Hobson. Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (and Not So Small) American Showplaces (New York: Henry Holt, 1998)
John Margolies and Emily Gwathmey. Signs of Our Times (New York: Abbeville Press, 1993)
Susan Croce Kelly, Route 66: The Highway and Its People (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988)
Maggie Valentine. The Show Starts on the Sidewalk: An Architectural History of the Movie Theatre, Starring S. Charles Lee (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994)