Boat Shows

In the prosperous 1950's, Boat Shows stirred up the public's interest in boating. The many exhibits by boat-builders, outboard motor manufacturers, and accessory makers educated and inspired many folks to buy or upgrade their boat. Overseen by a swimsuit-clad "Queen" of the boat show, manufacturers and dealers would go all-out to offer an attractive display and solicit new orders for their boats and motors.

Similar to the General Motors Motorama, outboard motor makers brought concept boats and motors to drum up interest. Evinrude's line of futuristic concept boats inspired an extravagant era of boats incorporating space-age design elements. After its 1956 showing, 38 boat-builders requested and received plans of the 1956 Evinrude Lark concept boat which included tail-fins, fake exhaust ports, and conspicuous chrome trim (Chicago Tribune, Feb 8, 1957). On the show circuit the same year, Scott-Atwater showed concept designs for seven outboard motors, but no actual models.

For general information as well as a research aid, following are a calendar of major boat shows across the country. These listings were originally published in Boat Sport Magazine. (Research Tip- use the dates as a finding aid to search newspaper archives for boating advertisements and information on exhibitors, dealers, and new boat show offerings).

1956 Listing of Boat Shows from March 1956 Boat Sport Magazine

Jan. 13-22, National Motor Boat Show, Kingsbridge Armory, New York, N. Y.

Jan. 28-Feb. 5, Kansas City Sports, Boat, Travel & Trailer Show, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.

Feb. 2-5, Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Feb. 3-12, Chicago National Boat Show, International Amphitheater, Chicago, Ill.

Feb. 4-12, New England Sportsmen’s & Boat Show, Boston, Mass.

Feb. 17-22, Miami International Boat Show, Dinner Key Auditorium, Miami, Fla.

Feb. 17-26, Sports, Travel & Vacation Show, Kingsbridge Armory, New York, N. Y.

Feb. 18-26, Jersey Coast Boat Show, Convention Hail, Asbury Pork, N. J.

Feb. 21-26, Chesapeake Bay Boat Show, Fifth Regiment Armory. Baltimore, Md.

March 2-10, Philadelphia Motor Boat & Sportsmen’s Show, Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pa.

March 2-11, San Francisco National Sports & Boat Show, Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, Calif.

March 3-10, Southeast Sports, Boat & Vacation Show, Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Ga.

March 3-11, Omaha Sports, Vacation & Boat Show, New Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Neb.

March 3-11, Detroit Sports Boat & Travel Show, State Fair Grounds, Detroit, Mich.

March 9-17, Canadian National Sportsmen’s Show, Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

March 16-25, American & Canadian Sportsman’s Vacation & Boat Show, Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio.

March 17-24, Houston Sports, Boat & Travel Show, Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas.

March 17-25, Milwaukee Sentinel Sports & Vacation Show, Arena and Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisc.

March 30-April 8, Northwest Sports, Travel & Boat Show, Municipal Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minn.

March 31-April 8, Southwest Sports, Boat & Vacation Show, State Fair Grounds, Dallas, Texas.

April 2-5, West Michigan Sports & Boat Show, Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Mich.

April 12-22, Los Angeles Sportsmen’s Vocation, Boat & Trailer Show, Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, Calif.

April 13-18, Iowa Sports, Boat & Vacation Show, Downtown Auditorium, Des Moines, Iowa.

1958 Listing of Boat Shows from January 1958 issue of Boats Magazine

Jan. 17-26, National Motor Boat Show, Coliseum, New York, N.Y.

Jan. 23-28, Fort Wayne Sports, Vacation & Boat Show, Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Jan. 25-Feb. 2, Mid-America Boat Show, Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio.

Jan. 30-Feb. 2, Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Kansas City Boat, Sports, & Travel Show, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri.

Feb. 1-9, New England Sportsmen's & Boat Show, Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts.

Feb. 7-16, Chicago National Boat Show, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois.

Feb. 8-16, Marine Recreational Show of Long Island, Exhibition Building, Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

Feb. 14-23, Southern California Boat & Equipment Show, Great Western Exhibit Building, East Los Angeles, Calif.

Feb. 15-23, Jersey Coast Boat Show, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Feb. 19-23, Fort Worth Marine Trades Association Show, Will Rogers Annex, Fort Worth, Texas.

Feb. 21-26, Miami International Boat Show, Dinner Key Auditorium, Miami, Florida.

Feb. 21-26, Chesapeake Bay Boat Show, Fifth Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland.

Feb. 21-Mar. 2, Chicagoland Sports, Travel & Boat Show, Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois.

Feb. 22-Mar. 2, New England Boat Show, Commonwealth Armory, Boston, Massachusetts.

Feb. 22-Mar. 2, New York Outdoor Exposition, Coliseum, New York, N.Y.

Feb. 22-Mar. 2, Buffalo Boat, Travel & Sports Show, 147th Armory, Buffalo, New York.

Feb. 22-Mar. 10, Detroit News Boat Show, Artillery Armory, Detroit, Michigan.

Feb. 25-Mar. 2, Southwest Boat Show, Municipal Auditorium, Dallas, Texas.

Feb. 28-Mar. 7, Southeast Boat & Vacation Show, Municipal Building, Atlanta, Georgia.

Feb. 28-Mar. 8, Philadelphia Motor Boat & Sportsmen's Show, Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Feb. 28-Mar. 9, San Francisco National Sports & Boat Show, Cow Palace, San Francisco, California.

Mar. 4-9, San Antonio Sports & Boat Show, Bexar County Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas.

Mar. 6-9, Southeastern Boat Show, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida.

Mar. 7-12, North Jersey Boat & Sports Show, Armory, Teaneck, New Jersey.

Mar. 10-18, Long Island Boat & Sportsmen's Show, 104 Artillery Battalion Armory, Jamaica, Long Island, New York.

Mar. 14-23, American & Canadian Sportsmen's Vacation & Boat Show, Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio.

Mar. 14-23, Land-O-Lakes Boat, Marine & Tackle Show, Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mar. 15-22, Houston Boat & Vacation Show, Coliseum, Houston, Texas.

Mar. 15-25, Sportarama Outdoor Sports Show, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Mar. 15-Apr. 15, New Jersey Boat Show, Dale Yacht Basin, Bay Head, New Jersey.

Mar. 18-23, Virginia Motor Boat & Sportsman Show, Arena, Richmond, Virginia.

Mar. 20-23, Connecticut Boat Show, Arena, New Haven, Conn.

Mar. 22-30, Dispatch-Journal Sport, Vacation, Travel & Boat Show, Ohio State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Columbus, Ohio.

Mar. 22-30, Great Lakes Boat Show, Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mar. 24-29, West Michigan Sports & Boat Show, Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mar. 27-30, Hartford Boat Show, Armory, West Hartford, Connecticut.

Mar. 27-Apr. 1, Iowa Sports & Vacation Show, Auditorium, Des Moines, Iowa.

April 2-6, Sports-A-Rama Boat & Outdoor Sports Show, Montgomery, Alabama.

April 4-13, Northwest Boat, Sports & Travel Show, Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

April 5-13, Tennessee Valley Sports Show, Knoxville, Tennessee.

April 10-20, Los Angeles Sportsmen's Vacation, Boat & Travel Show, Los Angeles, California.

April 12-20, Southwest Sports, Boat & Vacation Show, Automobile Building, Dallas, Texas.

1959 Listing of Boat Shows from December 1958 issue of Outboard Magazine

Jan. 3-11, 1959, Cleveland, Ohio, Mid-America Boat Show, - Public Hall.

Jan. 9-18, 1959, Los Angeles, Calif., Southern California Marine Association Boat Show - Great Western Exhibition Buildings.

Jan. 16-24, 1959, St, Paul, Minn., Land-O-Lakes, Boat. Vacation and Travel Show - St, Paul Auditorium.

Jan. 16-25, 1959, New York, N.Y., National Motor Boat Show - Coliseum.

Jan. 23-Feb. 1, 1959, San Diego, Calif., San Diego Boat Show - Electric Building of Balboa Park.

Jan. 24-Feb. 1, 1959, Detroit, Mich., The 1959 Boat Show -New Light Guard Armory.

Jan. 30-Feb. 8, 1959, Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City Boat, Sports & Travel Show - Municipal Auditorium.

Feb. 6-15, 1959, Chicago, Ill., Chicago National Boat Show - International Amphitheater,

Feb. 10-15, 1959, Wichita, Kan., Kansas Sports Boat & Travel Show - Wichita Forum Building.

Feb. 11-15, 1959, Spokane, Wash., Spokane Boat Show- Interstate Fairgrounds Exhibition Building,

Feb. 18-24, 1959, Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth Boat Show - Will Rogers Exhibits Building.

Feb, 20-25, 1959, Miami, Fla., Miami International Boat Show - Dinner Key Auditorium.

Feb. 21-Mar. 1, 1959, Asbury Park, N. J,, Jersey Coast Boat Show - Convention Hall.

Feb. 21-Mar. 1, 1959, Portland, Ore., Portland Boat Show - Oregon Centennial Exposition Building.

Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 1959, Boston, Mass., New England Boat Show - Commonwealth Armory.

Mar. 1-8, 1959, Denver Colo., Colorado Sports Boat & Travel Show - Denver Coliseum,

Mar. 3-7, 1959, Dallas, Texas, Southwest Boat Show - Dallas Memorial Auditorium.

Mar. 3-8, 1959, San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio Sport & Boat Show - Bexar County Coliseum.

Mar. 7-15, 1959, Jamaica, N. Y., Long Island Boat & Sportsmen's Show - 104th Field Artillery Battalion Armory.

Mar. 10-15, 1959, Omaha, Neb., Omaha Sports, Vacation & Boat Show - Civic Auditorium.

Mar. 13-22, 1959, Cleveland, Ohio, American and Canadian Sportsmen's Vacation & Boat Show - Public Auditorium.

Mar. 14-22, 1959, Milwaukee, Wis., Great Lakes Boat Show and Milwaukee Sentinel Sports and Vacation Show - Arena and Auditorium.

Mar. 27-Apr. 7, Minneapolis, Minn., Northwest Boat, Sports & Travel Show - Minneapolis Auditorium.

Apr. 15-19, Green Bay, Wis., Northern Wisconsin Sports Show - Brown County Memorial Arena.

1960 Boat Show Listings from the April 1960 Issue of Boat & Motor Dealer

Mar. 28-April 3, Tennessee Valley Sports Show - Administration Bldg., Chilhowee Park, Tennessee.

Mar. 29-April 3, Fort Wayne Sports, Vacation and Boat Show - Memorial Colisuem, Fort Wayne, Ind. Producer: Trio Enterprises, Inc.

Mar. 31-April 10. Los Angeles Sportsmen's, Vacation, Boat & Trailer Show - Pan Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, Calif. Producer: Show Management.

April 1-10, Northwest Boat, Sports & Travel Show - Municipal Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minn. Producer: General Shows, Inc.

April 2-7, Northern Wisconsin Sports Show - Green Bay, Wis.

April 2-10, Southwest Sports, Boat & Vacation Show - Auto Bldg., Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. Sponsor: The Dallas Morning News.

April 7-10, Dayton Boat Show - Fairgrounds, Dayton, Ohio.

April 18-24, First Annual Recreation World's Fair - Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pa.

April 13-17, All-Wisconsin Resort & Travel Show - Hotel Sherman, Chicago, Ill.

April 22-24, LaPorte Boat Show - Armory, LaPorte, Ind.

Sept. 22-25, International Marine Industry Show - Will Rogers General Exhibits Bldg., Fort Worth, Texas. Sponsor: Boating Trades Association of Texas.

Sept. 25-28, Annual Boating Trade Show - Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois. Producer: American Shows, Inc.

Oct. 15-18, OBC Marine Trade Exhibit and Conference - International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Ill. Sponsor: Outboard Boating Club of America.

1957 Boat Show Advertisements