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Grand Rapids, Michigan was the center for shopping in western Michigan with department stores, five-and-dimes and more, until the advent of the shopping mall.

For decades, downtown Grand Rapids enjoyed a long run in the limelight as the epicenter of shopping in western Michigan. The vibrant Monroe Avenue corridor included three homegrown department stores, several chain department stores, five-and-dime stores, and scores of clothing and specialty retailers. It weathered mother nature, wars, the Great Depression, the advent of neighborhood shopping centers, and civil disturbances--but the one change it could not overcome was the regional shopping mall.

The first comprehensive photographic record of Boston's most conspicuous immigrant group - the Irish.

A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis the fruit of years of tireless research by prize-winning author Dennis P. Ryan. Within these pages are rare and handsome images unearthed from innumerable local libraries, historical societies and museums, parish rectories and Catholic charitable institutions, the archives of religious congregations, major Boston and diocesan newspapers, private family collections, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Beginning with the horrifying famine of the 1840s in Ireland and concluding four generations later with the election of John F. Kennedy as president, A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis a sweeping, poignant portrait of the children of the Gael and the city they transformed politically, socially, and culturally.

Ryan takes us through the corridors and wards of hospitals and orphanages that were established by the Irish to care for their own. Powerful images supplied by the Mathew Brady Collection at the Library of Congress recount the exploits of the celebrated Massachusetts Ninth Irish Regiment during the American Civil War. Within these pages, we are also invited to discover the vibrant personalities of pugilist John L. Sullivan, William Henry Cardinal O'Connell, as well as the irrepressible Mayor James Michael Curley.

Selected from the photo collections of the Monterey Public Library, the photographs in this new volume, A Monterey Album: Life by the Bay, show the activities of everyday life. From festivals like the Santa Rosalia to family picnics, from artists to fishermen, from children's antics to civic club events, from beaches to hillside neighborhoods, and from weddings to fiestas, Monterey's residents tell their stories in work, play, and celebration. This collection of their cherished memories reveals not only customs, styles, and events, but reflects and illuminates the life of one of California's most historic places.

This is the history of the supermarket where America grew up shopping, from the Hartford family's legacy to the generations of shoppers who depended on A&P for fair prices and quality food.

In 1859, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, known everywhere as A&P, began as a mail-order business located at 31 Vesey Street in downtown Manhattan. In 1925, A&P operated more than thirteen thousand grocery stores nationwide, with more than forty thousand employees. By 1950, approximately ten cents out of every dollar spent on food in the United States passed over A&P counters. A&P: The Story of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company tells the story of how cofounder George Huntington Hartford and his sons John and George brought A&P to a popularity with consumers that few companies have ever achieved. This stunning collection of vintage photographs shows such nostalgic scenes as the elegant early stores, their gleaming window displays, and the red horse-drawn delivery wagons with the A&P logo emblazoned on their sides. Shoppers choose from rows of colorful merchandise and fresh produce; uniformed storekeepers make change from ornate registers; and the founder's son tastes A&P's Eight O'Clock coffee. A&P is still an industry leader, and A&P: The Story of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company shows why.

Through the lens of over 200 vintage images, uncover the history and contributions made at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Situated in southeastern Harford County and edged by the Chesapeake Bay and the Bush and Gunpowder Rivers, the U.S. Army bases known as Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Arsenal, and Fort Hoyle have been home to ordnance, chemical, technology, and artillery commands. The photographs in this volume include scenes of the fertile farmlands of Aberdeen, Edgewood, and Michaelsville, and their transformation, which began in 1917, into the military base known today as Aberdeen Proving Ground, or APG. Views of daily life on base include the ""Toonerville"" Trolley, a small-scale train that shuttled commuting personnel between the main gate and the buildings on post. The images document changes in the ways wars have been fought and changes in society as a result of war. Brave officers voluntarily tested the effects of mustard agent and other chemical weapons on protective clothing and gas masks. Local women sewed gas masks for troops and civilians. Women moved into key jobs on base during World War II, manufacturing and maintaining tanks and weapons systems as the need for great numbers of troops depleted the workforce of civilian males. APG scientists led the way into the computer age when they developed ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer.

Abington presents an illustrated portrait of what it was like to live and work in the town during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It presents vivid images of the townsfolk, the shoe factories, and the old roads through Abington. The book includes images of John L. Sullivan, heavyweight boxing champion, and of the Buffum automobile, built on Centre Avenue. With photographs from the Abington Historical Commission, the Dyer Memorial Library, the Historical Society of Old Abington, and personal collections, Abington is sure to evoke memories of a bygone era.

Abington, Jenkintown, and Rockledgepresents a portrait of the area that was originally the township of Abington, now a northern suburb of Philadelphia.

The towns and villages that comprise the Abington area are captured in this timeless photographic history.

From the days of the horse and buggy and the stagecoach, to the days of the grand estates, Abington, Jenkintown, and Rockledgeportrays the area as it developed over the years. Pictured are many familiar sites, as well as those that helped define the area but no longer remain. From the long and distinguished histories of such venerable institutions as the Abington Friends' Meetingand Abington Presbyterian Churchto the nationally knownWillow Grove Park.

Abington, Jenkintown, and Rockledgeis a celebration of the area's legacy. Glimpses of the past are brought into focus with many rare and previously unpublished photographs. The fire companies, businesses, schools, people, and institutions that define Abington, Jenkintown, and Rockledgeare included in this comprehensive photographic history.

For a small, suburban town like Acton, it may seem surprising that it has a long and exciting history.

While from the outside, Acton may present the image of an unassuming suburb of Boston, but people have inhabited this area for over 7000 years, and the town has been an integral player in nearly every aspect of American history, from colonization in the 17th century to the second industrial revolution in the middle half of the 20th century. Included in this pictorial history of Acton, capturing the town's history from 1835 to 1985, are rare, engaging photographs from the comprehensive collections of the Acton Historical Society, the Iron Work Farm, and private collections. Vintage views of the homes, churches, schools, agricultural fairs, as well as the resort that once existed at Lake Nagog, the Morocco factory, and the great fire of West Acton are just some of the images that make Actona book that will enlighten all who explore its pages.