2017 SBCS Convention Dates
Tag: sbcs
Take Advantage of the SBCS Website
The SOUVENIR BUILDING COLLECTORS SOCIETY website has lots of useful features. It is divided into a PUBLIC section (anyone can visit and view) and a MEMBERS ONLY section (for members of the SBCS).
The PUBLIC section TABS include:
- HOME: The home page is SBCS’ face to the public. Here is where updates on activities, interesting programs, articles, stories from members are posted intermittently. If you want to stay current with SBCS programs, over to the right is a spot where you can register to receive an email when a new post goes up. Good way to stay abreast of convention plans. In that same right column there is a search field for the public areas of the website, as well as a listing of recent posts and a listing of categories. All of these can make a search a little easier.
History, Conventions, Media 
- ABOUT SBCS: A HISTORY of the organization which begins in 1995; IN THE MEDIA – listings with links to articles and videos in local and national publications about Souvenir Buildings and their collectors; PAST CONVENTIONS – summary of locales and the commemorative souvenir.
- 2017 CONVENTION: Updates on the upcoming annual Convention.
- MEMBERSHIP: List of SBCS membership benefits and link to membership application and payment.
- SALES: There are two links under this tab, one for COMMERCIAL sales by sellers who are members of SBCS – link to the member’s commercial site can be provided, the second is for INDIVIDUAL members who would like to offer some of their collection publicly. In both instances the transaction is between the buyer and seller – SBCS only provides the means of contact. Take a look and see if you would like to take advantage of this member benefit. In the past there have been a couple of offers in the individual section.
- CONTACT US: This tab allows you to send an email message to the site, which is reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate person. It also is a conduit for questions about souvenir buildings.
- LINKS: There are number of links to other sites that can be used for networking, browsing, and research. You can link to the Souvenir Building Collectors’ Facebook page (a closed group – but open to accepting new friends – SBCS membership not required), The Building Collector blog, National Building Museum, Canadian Centre for Architecture, The Still Bank Collectors, etc.
The MEMBERS ONLY section (TAB) includes access to:
- BANTHRICO BUILDINGS THEN & NOW (downloadable pdf) by Lance Oldham
- Building Exchange / Sales: member to member, also has a Wanted page
- Convention Photos taken by members over a number of years
- SBCS Newletter: Listing of back issues with links to each (downloadable pdf); Updated Indexes of Articles & Features, Authors, and Topics.
- Officers: Listing of present Society Officers.
Here’s a photo of a vintage Navy Pier souvenir building as A REMINDER THAT WE MEET IN THE FALL OF 2017 IN CHICAGO!
TIME for Renewal!
MSIG Headquarters, Tokyo
Unidentified Souvenir Building with Clock
Georgia Railroad Bank Building, Clock & Inkwell. Property of Martin Gutierrez. 7” hight, base 5”x7”, Lead, possibly Art Metal Works.
Unidentified Souvenir Building with Clock
There are lots of reasons to renew (or start) your Souvenir Building Collectors Society membership.
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Sharing your passion for small edifices with others of like mind.
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Receiving the Souvenir Building Collector, The Journal of the Souvenir Building Collectors Society, 3 times per year.
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Access to the Members Only Section of the SBCSociety website with its collection of reference materials that include Volumes 1 to 23 of the SBCS Journal and Lance Oldham’s Banthrico Buildings Then & Now.
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Access to the Members Only Section of the SBCSociety website pages with buildings for exchange or sale and a wanted list.
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THE ANNUAL CONVENTION! Three days of exceptional tours, friendships, and trading!
Individual Memberships are USD $35.00 ($40.00 Foreign). Family/Household Memberships are USD $70.00 ($80.00 Foreign). Click here to reach the Membership Page.
SBCS 2016 Los Angeles Convention Memories
2016 SBCS Convention Commemorative. Hollyhock House. Mfg. InFocus Tech.
Hollyhock House. SBCS 2016 Convention Commemorative by InFocus Tech.
Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park. View through Courtyard to Living Room. Note the Hollyhocks in the garden.
The 2016 Souvenir Building Collectors Society Convention in Los Angeles is history. Yet no one who attended will forget the camaraderie, the tours, the member exhibits, the swaps, sales, raffle and auction action. The 2016 Convention Commemorative, made by InFocus Tech, of Hollyhock House will keep the memories bright.
Besides the Commemorative Souvenir Building of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, a handout listing souvenir buildings and monuments in the LA area was distributed. Click here to download a pdf of the listings.
The 2017 Convention will be held in Chicago in October. Planning is underway and updates will be posted on this website on the 2017 Convention page. Keep watching.
SBCS Convention Dreaming: Los Angeles June 10-12, 2016
The annual SBCS convention gives everyone a chance to share some of their favorite Souvenir Buildings with others who collect. Here are some buildings and monuments you are likely to see at the 2016 Los Angeles gathering, June 10 -12.
This year at the Friday “Meet and Greet” everyone is asked to wear a Hawaiian Shirt and a Hat, in honor of Bob Kneisel, who always appeared dressed and ready for a vacation in the 50th State. In 20 years, Bob never missed a Convention. We will miss him.
A reminder of the SBCS Convention Schedule:
June 10, Friday:
Hollyhock House Tour (afternoon)
Meet and Greet (evening)
June 11, Saturday:
Business Meeting and Swap Meet (morning)
Tour to L.A. Downtown Art Deco District (afternoon)
Dinner / Raffle / Auction (evening)
June 12, Sunday
Rose Bowl Flea Market followed by a visit to a local collector.
If you haven’t yet registered for the convention there is still time. Click here for the details.
ARE YOU READY? CAN YOU DIG IT? – SBCS Convention June 10 – 12
The 2016 SBCS Convention is almost here!
- Locals are readying their collections for your inspection.
- Swap Meet Masters are checking their inventories for those pieces they hope to make a deal with.
SBCS 2014 SWAP MEET
- The FREE-4-ALL at the FREEBEES table where a selection of buildings from upgrading (or downsizing) or just generally generous members are giving everyone else a chance at those duplicates, or triplicates, etc. etc. etc.
Buzzing about the FREEBEES Table
The original Freebees table started by Bob Kneisel at the SBCS 2009 convention
- Clever Collectors are planning their assault on the “Paper Bag Raffle” – Strings of Raffle Tickets decorate the landscape at the Saturday Evening Festivities.
All those Choices!
Want to Win one of those treasures!
- Who knows what will be up for Auction at the end of the evening? Some past goodies have included the Travelers Insurance Co. Hartford, CT; The Peoples United States Bank, St. Louis; and a Mike Merwine re-cast of The Gotham Bank Building.
What souvenir or monument find are you bringing to share with the group?
If you haven’t yet registered for the convention there is still time. Click here for the details.
Coveted Souvenir: The SBCS Convention Commemoratives
SBCS Convention Commemoratives are limited. They are distributed at the annual convention and are a coveted addition to everyone’s collection. There is still time to register for the 2016 Convention in Los Angeles, June 10-11-12. Here are some photos of earlier commemoratives:
2015 – Orlando City Hall
2014 – Parthenon, Nashville, TN
2005 – Masonic Temple
2009 – Pasadena City Hall
2010 – Citibank
1997 – Octagon Building
Click here to view a larger list of commemoratives and the locales of past SBCS conventions.
Yes! Bette, There is a Downtown in Los Angeles!
Los Angeles Conservancy’s Art Deco Tour conducted by Souvenir Building Collectors Society’s own Chris Spry! Saturday, June 11. One of the many highlights of this year’s SBCS Convention.
Conventional wisdom is that there is no “there” in Downtown Los Angeles. Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica have often eclipsed the original city core in imagery of Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles, now often referred to as DTLA, has always been an important center in Southern California and grew exponentially during certain periods. One era when DTLA experienced growth was post World War I through the 1920’s and into the 1930’s. Many examples of urban buildings during that era currently exist in DTLA, though many were threatened by commercial and governmental growth in the late Twentieth Century.
Join us for a walking tour of several of the prime examples of the Art Deco genre of commercial and government buildings that have endured, clustered around the Pershing Square hub in the downtown area. The Los Angeles Conservancy has arranged this two-hour tour and was directly involved in facilitating preservation of many of the buildings through innovative reuse and rehabilitation strategies.
We will take a chartered coach from our Convention Hotel, the Embassy Suites LAX North to Pershing Square and return after the tour. The cost is $30 per person. Chris Spry will be leading the tour. He has recently become a certified Los Angeles Conservancy docent for this tour.
Extra! Extra!
As this post was being prepared, TIMEOUT Los Angeles posted an excellent capsule of influential buildings shaping the Los Angeles architectural landscape. The post includes references to buildings we will see on our two tours, the Eastern Columbia Building and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House. They also mention father and son architects, John and Robert Parkinson, who also have buildings represented on the Art Deco Tour! Take a look by clicking here: TIMEOUT Los Angeles
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE 2016 SBCS CONVENTION THIS JUNE IN LOS ANGELES
Check It Off Your Bucket List! The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market
The 2016 Souvenir Building Collectors Society Convention weekend coincides with the monthly BIG-ONE, The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market! Join fellow Souvenir Building enthusiasts as they scour the stalls for the smallest, oldest, rarest, biggest, most interesting souvenir building, monument, statue, landmark. Who knows, maybe you’ll find one of these replicas of the Rose Bowl.
The 2016 SBCS Convention is June 10 to 12. The Convention Hotel is the Embassy Suites LAX North, a convenient location next to the Airport. Click here for a link to the 2016 Convention Page.
California, Here We Come! June 10 – 12, 2016
Take advantage of Early Bird Registration for SBCS’ Annual Convention! Register before May 10, 2016 and save. Click here for the Registration Form and Instructions.
Special SBCS Convention Hotel Rates at the EMBASSY SUITES LAX North are available until May 19. The special hotel rates are extendable for 2 nights before and after the Convention. Such a deal! Click here for the full information on the available rates.
CONVENTION SCHEDULE:
June 10, Friday:
Early Bird Optional: Hollyhock House Tour (afternoon)
Meet & Greet / Show & Tell (evening)
June 11, Saturday:
Business Meeting and Swap Meet (morning)
Optional Tour to L.A. Downtown Art Deco District (afternoon)
Dinner / Raffle / Auction (evening)
June 12, Sunday:
Rose Bowl Flea Market followed by a visit to a local collector.
SBCS 