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©2012 Roadside Relic
All Rights Reserved.
You've passed it a million times.
At least twice each day between work and
home. Or maybe it's just something that caught your eye once when you
took the "road less traveled" on the way to a friend's or while you were
making a personal pilgrimage.
A Roadside Relic. A forgotten sign, an abandoned gas station, remnants of an old schoolhouse… maybe the lone, winding path from a long-forgotten railroad track. Now's your chance - share your secret treasure with the world. Capture it before it disappears forever. And who knows… you could find a few relics here that might just inspire a spontaneous road trip, too.
Get started!
Browse our categories of relics; or, help us preserve pieces of historic roadside Americana. Sign up for an account and share your roadside finds with other enthusiasts.
March 9, 2008
For immediate release
Contact: info@roadsiderelic.com
RoadsideRelic.com, a photo-sharing website for enthusiasts of roadside Americana, officially launched March 1, 2008. The site allows users to create free accounts and share their photos of “roadside relics,” including railroads, highways, bridges, signs, traffic lights, gas stations, drive-inns, diners and more.
The website was designed by Steve Salcedo, a web designer based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed by Marc Holm, a system administrator based in Aurora, Illinois. The idea for the website came from Salcedo´s drives along U.S. 30, one of the first coast-to-coast highways in the United States.
“I travel U.S. 30 frequently through Indiana, and there are so many neat relics along the way - gas stations, motels and old signs that have been around since before the interstate highways were built,” Salcedo said. “One truck stop tore down their neon sign, which probably dated back to the 1940s, and I never got a chance to get a photo of it. Roadside Relic will help to preserve those old icons along the highway before they´re removed.”
Salcedo has always had an interest in transportation-related nostalgia. His personal collection of street signs and traffic lights is showcased online at mycrazyhobby.com.
“At least signs and signals are somewhat manageable in size,” Salcedo said. “But I could never fit a vintage gas station or an old iron bridge in my garage. That´s why we built Roadside Relic.”
Holm, who enjoys photography, was also inspired by relics along U.S. 30.
“Both Steve and I grew up in Merrillville, Indiana where Route 30 goes right through the middle of town. I now live off of Route 30 in Aurora. There was so much inspiration from Route 30 that we were originally going to build the site as a tribute to the pictures and history of relics along that highway, then we expanded the site to catalog all relics, regardless of location.”
The layout of RoadsideRelic.com was inspired by old gas station maps from the 1940s and 1950s. The site allows users to upload and organize photos, tag them with keywords and a description, and rate and comment on other user´s photos. The site launched with about 500 photos in the collection.
“The site´s technology makes searching fast and easy and the capacity of the system allows for an unlimited number of relics to be uploaded,” Holm added. “We have the right technology with an innovative design and features that ensures we have an accurate record of relics before they are altered or removed from our roadsides.”
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