Name: Lake Tahoe's West Shore
Brand: Ms. Carol A. Jensen
SKU: 9780738588919
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Lake Tahoe's West Shore

9780738588919

$24.99

First sighted by John C. Fremont and Charles Preuss in 1844, the Lake of the Sky beckons to pioneers and adventurers today as it has through history. Author Mark Twain, popular lecturer George Wharton James, industrialist Duane Bliss, and film star Elizabeth
Taylor all found inspiration in its secluded sylvan beaches. Washoe tribal members held Dá'o' a ga (Edge of the Lake) as their paradise until lumber demands for the Comstock Lode all but stripped the dense forests. Gradually, lakefront property became private retreats and hostelries catering to tourists happily arriving from around the world for winter skiing, summer boating, and holidays.

Cover image for Lake Tahoe's West Shore, isbn: 9780738588919

Bishop

9780738581835

$24.99

Located in the stark landscape of Eastern California's Owens Valley, Bishop is situated between two of the highest mountain ranges of the contiguous United States. Native Americans had been in the region since antiquity, and white settlers began to filter in after many battles with the Paiutes and Shoshones. Bishop was named after Sam Bishop, who drove cattle into the area and settled along Bishop Creek. Many more farmers and ranchers followed. To the south, Los Angeles was growing too, tapping the Owens River for a gravity-fed aqueduct for its residents; thus began the Los Angeles–Owens Valley Water Conflict.

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Eureka and Humboldt County

9780738518725

$24.99

The cry amongst the redwoods-Eureka!-was the shout heard from early pioneers in 1850 as they came to settle in Humboldt County. Discovery of gold permanently changed the area's history, and eventually lead to the extraction of Humboldt's other natural resource: the red gold of its forests. Captured here in over 200 vintage photographs is the pictorial history of this bountiful county and its residents.

As the gold fever faded in the late 1800s, Humboldt County's primary source of industry became the lumbering of its vast redwoods. Pictured here are the men and machines that felled, transported, and milled the lumber, as well as photographs of the elegant Victorian mansions of the industry's lumber barons, such as William Carson. Weaving the history of Humboldt County together are the stories of its earliest residents, including the Native American tribes, fevered Gold Rushers, the early Chinese community, railroad workers, shipyard sailors, and industrious farming families, all of whom created the foundation it prospers on today.

Cover image for Eureka and Humboldt County, isbn: 9780738518725

Venice, California

9780738520995

$24.99

Venice, California, was unlike any other American city. A miniature railway, an amusement pier, gondolas, elephants, fire divers, Mardi Gras, beauty contests, stunt pilots, and 6 miles of canals overlooking the Pacific Ocean all made Abbot Kinney's Venice-of-America the most popular California resort town of its early century era.

This pictorial retrospective illustrates Venice's history from its beginnings in 1880 through the Great Fire and Consolidation, to the advent of the rollerskaters and carnival-like ambience that characterize the Venice that we know today. A favorite site for Hollywood filming, the city has seen many famous (and infamous) visitors and residents over the years, and is a well-known resort town. It has played host to vacationers from all over the world.

Cover image for Venice, California, isbn: 9780738520995

Donner Summit

9780738574776

$24.99

The pass over Donner Peak in Northern California is known as Donner Summit and has been a critical route across the Sierra Nevada Mountains for centuries. First it was used by Native Americans, then early settlers, and then emigrant wagon trains such as those used by the ill-fated Donner Party, in whose honor the region is named. The first transcontinental railroad in the United States and the first transcontinental highway in America both made use of the Donner Summit route to gain access to California; even early aviators used a beacon at the Summit for guidance across the Sierras. Most of the communities and points of interest along the railroad and highway route up and over Donner Summit are covered in this book.

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Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven

9780738593012

$24.99

Bungalow Heaven, Pasadena's first and largest landmark district, contains the nation's finest collection of middle-class homes of the American Arts and Crafts period. Saved from the wrecking ball in the late 1980s by a grassroots movement that would regenerate the city, it was listed in 2008 on the California Register and in the National Register of Historic Places. The next year, the American Planning Association deemed this heavenly place, with its human-scaled houses, welcoming front porches, and walkable tree-lined streets, as a Great Neighborhood in its Great Places in America program. Bungalow Heaven became a model for civic engagement and a lovingly restored reminder of a simpler, healthier way of life.

Cover image for Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven, isbn: 9780738593012

Camp Pendleton

9780738529820

$24.99

Camp Pendleton was established in 1942 by the Navy Department as the West Coast training facility for the United States Marine Corps. Located in rugged northwest San Diego County, Camp Pendleton quickly became one of the largest training centers for infantry, aviation, and amphibious units and has long been the threshold for Marines embarking to participate in armed conflicts in the Far East and around the globe. From World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Camp Pendleton has served as the backdrop and staging ground for troops, artillery, tanks, and infantry. Named for Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton, who pioneered Marine activity in San Diego, Camp Pendleton is situated on approximately 250,000 acres on the California coast and its access to land, sea, and air has been instrumental in cross-training Marines. Thousands of Marines have called CamPen home since its inception, including the oldest and most decorated Marine unit, the 1st Marine Division.

Cover image for Camp Pendleton, isbn: 9780738529820

Napa State Hospital

9781467131995

$24.99

Napa, because of its natural beauty and optimal conditions for moral treatment, was chosen as the second site for a state hospital to ease overcrowding in Stockton Asylum. When the fully self-sustaining Napa Asylum opened in 1875, it quickly filled to capacity and became home to many people suffering from mental illness, alcoholism, grief, and depression. In 1924, Napa Asylum was renamed Napa State Hospital to reflect changes in the medical model and treatments for psychiatric patients. Covering the first 100 years of the hospital's history, this unique book tells the story of the institution and the people for whom it served as employer. Known locally as Imola, this beautiful site became an integral part of the community.

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Orinda

9781467108652

$23.99

In 1835, cousins Joaquin Moraga and Juan Bernal were granted 13,326 acres in present-day Lamorinda, California, in grateful thanks to their ancestor, Lt. José Joaquin Moraga, second in command during Mexico’s 1776 Anza Expedition. By 1850, California had become America’s 31st state, and squatters were overrunning the property. Within 34 years of receiving its land grant, the family had lost everything. But the house that Moraga built still remains—the oldest surviving adobe in the county. Over the years, land was bought and sold, fortunes made and lost, and a railroad, intended to go all the way from Emeryville to Utah, ran out of steam when it reached Orinda. Families, long gone now, gave their names to familiar landmarks, but it was not until the 1920s, when E.I. de Laveaga laid down the blueprint for this jewel in the East Bay’s crown, that Orinda truly began to take shape. One hundred years later, Orinda, home to over 20,000 people within 13 square miles, has become the 299th largest city in California.

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Red Light Women of Death Valley

9781467117517

$24.99

From the 1870s to the turn of the century, while countless men gambled their fortunes in Death Valley's mines, many bold women capitalized on the boom-and-bust lifestyle and established saloons and brothels. These lively ladies were clever entrepreneurs and fearless adventurers but also mothers, wives and respected members of their communities. Madam Lola Travis was one of the wealthiest single women in Inyo County in the 1870s. Known as Diamond Tooth Lil, Evelyn Hildegard was a poor immigrant girl who became a western legend. Local author and historian Robin Flinchum chronicles the lives of these women and many others who were unafraid to live outside the bounds of polite society and risk everything for a better future in the forbidding Death Valley desert.

Cover image for Red Light Women of Death Valley, isbn: 9781467117517

Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch

9781467103909

$24.99

At the southernmost end of California’s Central Valley lie Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch. Although each is distinct, their histories are intertwined. The Yokuts were in the area for thousands of years, followed by Spanish, Mexican, and US settlers. The first seeds of Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch were planted in the late 1800s. Over the years, agriculture became a central part of the economy and attracted people from all walks of life. The Dust Bowl and Mexican migrations left an impact on the area that is visible to this day. The Dust Bowl Festival immerses attendees in nostalgic memories of a life that was, and businesses and social, religious, and educational centers celebrate the vibrant Latino cultures that thrive in these communities.

Cover image for Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch, isbn: 9781467103909

Miracle Mile in Los Angeles

9781609495930

$21.99

The world-famous Miracle Mile in Los Angeles was shaped into a great commercial and cultural district by the city's tremendous urban expansion in the early twentieth century. Its origins along Wilshire Boulevard are directly related to the twin LA booms in auto travel and real estate ventures. Once the home of such famous stores as the May Company, Silverwood's, Coulter's and Desmond's, as well as Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture, Miracle Mile has boasted the La Brea Tar Pits and Farmer's Market, Gilmore Field and CBS Television City, as well as Pan Pacific Park and Museum Row. Join author Ruth Wallach, head of the University of Southern California's Architecture and Fine Arts Library, for this tour through the most emblematic neighborhood of twentieth-century Los Angeles development.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Pitchers

9781609497125

$21.99

The Los Angeles Dodgers have always fielded one of the best pitching staffs in the Major Leagues. With Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser and closers Mike Marshall and Eric Gagne, it's hard to imagine a more sterling roster. After their 1958 arrival from Brooklyn, the Dodgers won five World Series, competed in nine and made the playoffs in eleven other seasons--by leaning on their pitchers. The Dodgers have nine Cy Young Awards, more than any other franchise. In their fifty-three years in LA, the Dodgers have led the National League in team earned run average a staggering twenty times. Join author Don Lechman, a Los Angeles newspaperman for forty years, as he recounts the history of the team's aces.

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Lindsay

9781467115728

$24.99

A picturesque town nestled among the wildflower-covered foothills of the Sierras, Lindsay is the epitome of the ideal California life—one of health, wealth and sunshine. Lindsay became the heart of the state's second gold rush, when large-scale farming became popular, by hitting the mother lode with oranges. With over 16 citrus packinghouses, people initially came to Lindsay to seek their fortune. The success of the citrus groves attracted not only many skilled Japanese farmers but also many immigrants who were new to the trade. By the 1920s, Lindsay's most famous crop became Lindsay Ripe Olives. Lindsay is a town of surprising inventions and innovations that revolutionized agriculture, citrus farming, irrigation, and especially the olive industry.

Cover image for Lindsay, isbn: 9781467115728

Morro Bay

9780738530864

$24.99

Morro Bay, on California's Central Coast, is famous for the massive rock formation that guards the mouth of its natural harbor. A remnant of an ancient volcanic plug, Morro Rock—in Spanish, el Moro, the sentinel—was spotted by explorer Juan Cabrillo as early as 1542. Once sacred to Native Americans, it is now a sanctuary for peregrine falcons and other birds, near secluded dunes, a 2,300-acre national estuary known as the back bay, and eucalyptus groves that are visited each winter by monarch butterflies. With the railroad hundreds of miles away, the small fishing town with sandy streets, surrounded by cattle and dairy ranches, once depended on the sea for transportation. Now a thriving commercial district serves both residents and tourists, and its waterfront is packed with busy seafood restaurants. Kayaks, canoes, and commercial fishing boats mingle in the sparkling waters of the bay.

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RMS Queen Mary

9780738580975

$7.99

The Queen Mary boasts a rich history.

Cover image for RMS Queen Mary, isbn: 9780738580975

Moffett Field

9780738531328

$24.99

The looming immensity of Moffett Field's Hangar One, built in 1933 to house the world's largest--and last--rigid-frame dirigible, is an unforgettable South Bay landmark. The lighter-than-air Macon cost 2.5 million Depression-era dollars and could hold 100 men and five Sparrowhawk biplanes, yet its silvery bulk hovered silently or sailed up to 80 miles an hour. It drew crowds as it darkened the skies around Mountain View until it broke up in a storm two years later. Other blimp squadrons, equipped with carrier pigeons instead of biplanes, succeeded the Macon. Moffett Field has at various times served the navy, army, and the air force. Now home to the world's largest wind tunnel, the NASA Ames Research Center also supports research that blazes the frontiers of supercomputing, robotics, space sciences, astrobiology, and nanotechnology.

Cover image for Moffett Field, isbn: 9780738531328

Chinatown in Los Angeles

9780738569567

$24.99

The history of Chinatown in Los Angeles is as vibrant as the city itself. In 1850, the U.S. Census recorded only two Chinese men in Los Angeles who worked as domestic servants. During the second half of the 19th century, a Chinese settlement developed around the present-day El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. Chinese Americans persevered against violence, racism, housing discrimination, exclusion laws, unfair taxation, and physical displacement to create better lives for future generations. When Old Chinatown was demolished to make way for Union Station, community leader Peter SooHoo Sr. and other Chinese Americans spearheaded the effort to build New Chinatown with the open-air Central Plaza. Unlike other Chinese enclaves in the United States, New Chinatown was owned and planned from its inception by Chinese Americans. New Chinatown celebrated its grand opening with dignitaries, celebrities, community members, and a dedication by California governor Frank Merriam on June 25, 1938.

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Theatres in Los Angeles

9780738555799

$24.99

Los Angeles and the movies grew up together, and a natural extension of the picture business was the premium presentation of the product—the biggest, best, and brightest theatres imaginable. The magnificent movie palaces along Broadway in downtown Los Angeles still represent the highest concentration of vintage theatres in the world. With Hollywood and the movies practically synonymous, the theatres in the studios' neighborhood were state-of-the-art for showbiz, whether they were designed for film, vaudeville, or stage productions. From the elegant Orpheum and the exotic Grauman's Chinese to the modest El Rey, this volume celebrates the architecture and social history of Los Angeles's unique collection of historic theatres past and present. The common threads that connect them all, from the grandest movie palace to the smallest neighborhood theatre, are stories and the ghosts of audiences past waiting in the dark for the show to begin.

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Caltrain and the Peninsula Commute Service

9780738576220

$24.99

The rail line now called Caltrain was started in the 1860s to create a faster alternative to stagecoaches and ships between the key cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Operated by Southern Pacific for many years, the Peninsula Commute Service is the oldest continuously operating passenger railroad in the West and boasts seven depots in the National Register of Historic Places. This indomitable iron horse has filled a vital transportation role, from evacuating San Franciscans during the 1906 earthquake to getting commuters to work. With the dawn of the 21st century, Caltrain reinvented itself yet again with its innovative Baby Bullet express trains.

Cover image for Caltrain and the Peninsula Commute Service, isbn: 9780738576220

Palm Springs

9780738559827

$24.99

Nestled beneath the San Jacinto Mountains in an oasis of palm trees is a mineral hot springs. For thousands of years, this was the winter home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the original inhabitants of this harsh desert region. A U.S. government survey party discovered the spring in 1853 and identified the area located at the base of "two bunches of palms." In 1884, Judge John McCallum of San Francisco purchased land near the springs for $800 and built the first adobe structure, which still stands today. Stage lines and railroads provided transportation through the area, bringing in visitors year-round. Dr. Welwood Murray built the first Palm Springs Hotel, and in 1909, Nellie Coffman built The Desert Inn, which would become famous as a tourist attraction. This was the beginning of the area's major industry. Today Palm Springs is still a destination for visitors throughout the year and home to a growing population of permanent residents.

Cover image for Palm Springs, isbn: 9780738559827

San Francisco's Japantown

9780738530598

$24.99

Many people driving by elegant Japantown appreciate the graceful architecture of the pagodas and fountains but do not know much about the Japanese community that has long been a vibrant part of San Francisco. Japantown—one of only three left in this country—began as Nihonjinmachi, or Japanese People's Town, after the first Japanese arrived here in 1869. As their numbers increased, institutions arose to serve them, including churches, schools, and various civic and social organizations. The population drifted through various parts of the city and finally settled in the Western Addition after the 1906 earthquake.

Cover image for San Francisco's Japantown, isbn: 9780738530598

West Hollywood

9780738528502

$24.99

West Hollywood, which began as Sherman, a rail yard town, played an integral role in creating the Hollywood film industry while it grew up alongside the fashionable Beverly Hills to house the service industries needed by these wealthy neighbors. During Prohibition, the still unincorporated area was the site of the entertainment industry's watering holes and gambling parlors, and nicknames such as the Sinful Drag, The Adult Playground, and Hollywood's Soul were bestowed upon West Hollywood's world-famous Sunset Strip, where today's visitors can still dance in the footsteps of legends like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. As time marched on, the predominantly renter, Jewish, gay, and senior citizen residents of the progressive-minded area determined to step out of the shadows of nearby communities and create a city of their own, an effort that caused some controversy but resulted in the incorporation of West Hollywood in 1984. Since incorporation West Hollywood has been a beacon of hope, drawing refugees from Russia and around the world to its tolerant streets.

Cover image for West Hollywood, isbn: 9780738528502

Modesto

9780738571508

$24.99

Settled in 1870 by the Central Pacific Railroad, Modesto is located in California's agriculturally rich Central Valley. The new town was to be named after the prominent California banker W. C. Ralston, but, as city lore and legend tell it, his modest refusal led to the name Modesto. Originally a wheat-producing region, the city blossomed with the arrival of irrigation, and fruit orchards and vineyards soon grew in abundance. The county seat of Stanislaus County, Modesto became an agricultural hub, with the motto Water Wealth Contentment Health emblazoned on an iconic arch at the town's entrance. California's original junior college is located here along with E. & J. Gallo Winery, the world's largest privately held winery, family run since 1933. Twice named an All American City, Modesto inspired native son George Lucas when he made his classic American Graffiti in 1973.

Cover image for Modesto, isbn: 9780738571508

Filipinos in San Francisco

9780738581316

$21.99

Tens of thousands of Filipinos who have lived, worked, and raised families for over five generations in this unique city stake their rightful claim to more than a century of shared history in San Francisco. The photographs herein attest to the early arrivals, who came as merchant mariners, businesspeople, scholars, and musicians, as well as agricultural and domestic workers. But their story has often been ignored, told incompletely by others, and edited too selectively by many. The Filipino American experience both epitomizes and defies the traditional immigrant storyline, and these pictures honestly and respectfully document the fruits of their labors, the products of their perseverance, and, at times, their resistance to social exclusion and economic suppression.

Cover image for Filipinos in San Francisco, isbn: 9780738581316

Anaheim

9780738547435

$24.99

After the developments that the World War II era brought to the small agricultural community of Anaheim, the major transformation arrived in 1955. Anaheim changed forever from a sleepy and proud little town into the center for entertainment and tourism in Southern California with the arrival of Disneyland. Other national and regional businesses and franchises arrived in and around this Orange County anchor city—including the California Angels baseball club, the Anaheim Convention Center, and such aerospace giants as Boeing and Rockwell International—and Anaheim grew exponentially. This collection of more than 200 vintage and contemporary images depict the results of Anaheim's far-sighted elected and business leaders, who nurtured the city from its agrarian roots and made it into one of the nation's fastest growing cities in the 1960s.

Cover image for Anaheim, isbn: 9780738547435

The Owens Valley

9780738595931

$24.99

The Owens Valley is a bold and beautiful land where rugged alpine peaks tower over the deep trough of high desert that John Muir called a country of wonderful contrasts. Inhabiting a rich and complex past are native people, miners, cattlemen, farmers, and city builders who laid claim, often violently, to its resources. By 1913, Owens River water was flowing south through the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and from the long and bitter conflicts that followed emerged an Owens Valley future far removed from the agrarian Eden envisioned by 19th-century pioneers. Today, unparalleled recreational opportunities draw millions of visitors annually to this long brown land even as reminders of a quintessential Western past linger in its open vistas, epic landscape, and enduring traditions.

Cover image for The Owens Valley, isbn: 9780738595931

University of California, Davis

9780738596990

$24.99

More than a century ago, the University of California established the University Farm at Davis to showcase the achievements of its thriving College of Agriculture and to train students in the practical arts of farming. Since enrolling its first students in 1908, UC Davis has evolved into a world-class university offering a full spectrum of studies. UC Davis research over the decades has had far-reaching impacts, including innovations in viticulture and enology that have improved winemaking around the world. Colorful traditions like Picnic Day celebrate the depth and breadth of this historic institution and show off its handsome campus. Most pictures in this book come from the university archives, with some images from the McCurry and Eastman collections and others taken by the distinguished photographer Ansel Adams.

Cover image for University of California, Davis, isbn: 9780738596990

Vallejo

9780738529097

$24.99

Founded as California's state capital in 1850 and named for one of the state's pre-eminent native sons, General Mariano Vallejo, the city of Vallejo has a favored location on the eastern interior of San Francisco Bay. Protected from wind, fog, and possible invasion by sea, Mare Island, just off Vallejo's shoreline, was the United States Navy's first base in the Pacific in 1854. Mare Island Navy Yard grew to meet the challenge of every major conflict in the country, reaching its apex during World War II and ending its military life producing nuclear submarines. The sunny sloping streets of Vallejo lengthened and became more populous in tandem with the Yard, expanding in bursts and nearly tripling its population in the 1940s. In recent years the city and its institutions have survived a wrenching urban and economic redevelopment process, now building on the creative strengths of its historic downtown and colorfully diverse population to forge a Vallejo for the new millennium.

Cover image for Vallejo, isbn: 9780738529097

Sacramento

9781467103466

$24.99

Going back to its Native American origins, Sacramento has withstood flood, fire, and plague to honestly earn the moniker Urbs Indomita or Indomitable City. Such grit—enhanced by an unmatched embrace of diversity and the strength that comes with it—has powered the Sacramento area's role as gold rush epicenter, railroading Goliath, purveyor of hydroelectric power, world war and Cold War arsenal, agricultural hub, and policy center for one of the nation's most innovative states. Truly, the impact of the Capital City extends so much farther than the Central Valley. It is through exploring the pages within that the reader will truly understand why, as stated by Sacramento historian and developer Gregg Lukenbill, America may have been born in Philadelphia, but the American West was born in Sacramento.

Cover image for Sacramento, isbn: 9781467103466

Westwood

9780738569109

$24.99

Don Maximo Alanes was awarded a land grant from the king of Spain in 1843 known as El Rancho San Jose de Buenos Aires, stretching east-west from what is now Sawtelle Boulevard to Beverly Hills, and from Sunset to Pico Boulevards. Preserved into the 20th century under state senator John Wolfskill's ownership, the rancho was sold to Broadway Department Store founder Arthur Letts for $100 an acre in 1920 for estates he called Holmby Hills after his British birthplace. His son-in-law Harold Janss developed Westwood Hills in the southern tracts. Letts, a former trustee of the Los Angeles State Normal School, which became UCLA, agreed in 1925 to deed 375 acres of the hilly ranch land north of Wilshire Boulevard to the college. Janss developed a university town-style commercial village of 26 Spanish Revival buildings, some with towers and neon signs that remain icons of today's Westwood Village.

Cover image for Westwood, isbn: 9780738569109

Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway

9780738559599

$24.99

With a schedule regulated by the tides and the needs of chickens, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway operated for 81 years as a delightfully quirky egg-hauling enterprise. Modern electric railroad technology paired with ancient low-tech steamboats made possible the overnight shipping of fresh produce to a voracious San Francisco market. The railroad helped Petaluma earn the moniker "the egg basket of the world." Incorporated in 1903, the railroad provided efficient train service to this fertile farm region. The famous botanist Luther Burbank located his experimental farm near Sebastopol and proclaimed it is nature's "chosen spot of all the earth." The railroad survived the devastating 1906 earthquake, opposition from three larger railroads, the Great Depression, and fierce auto-truck competition. The corporation was, mercifully, abandoned in 1984, and most of the rails were removed by 1988. Happily, recent plans call for a tourist trolley to operate over a portion of surviving Petaluma tracks.

Cover image for Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, isbn: 9780738559599

Groveland and Big Oak Flat

9781467105286

$24.99

Big Oak Flat and Groveland provide a window into hundreds of years of California history. For millennia, the Me-Wuk people lived in harmony with the environment, tapping nature for their food and shelter. Then, in 1848, James Savage found gold, and the 49er Gold Rush brought a placer mining boom. The two towns developed almost overnight. However, the easy ore was soon depleted, and a devastating fire in 1863 contributed to a severe decline in population and prosperity. In the 1880s, improved technology led to a new “hard rock” mining boom, but in 30 years, it also turned to bust. From 1915 to 1935, Groveland was the headquarters for the giant Hetch Hetchy project, which dammed the Tuolumne River and sent its water to San Francisco. In the 1960s and 1970s, Pine Mountain Lake was developed into a successful vacation and retirement community. Over the years, local residents have contributed to the development and support of Yosemite National Park tourism, making it the “Gateway to Yosemite.”

Cover image for Groveland and Big Oak Flat, isbn: 9781467105286

Newhall’s Walk of Western Stars

9781467106214

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Since 1981, the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall, California, has commemorated beloved performers from Western film, television, radio, and music. Over the years, nearly 100 honorees have been memorialized in the sidewalks of Old Town Newhall with bronze saddles and terrazzo tiles. Each April, new inductees are added to the walk during the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival. Santa Clarita, which includes Newhall, has a century-long history of Western film and television production that continues to this day. Newhall is the site of William S. Hart Park, where silent cowboy superstar William S. "Two Gun Bill" Hart, the first Walk of Western Stars inductee, had his retirement home. It is also the home of such Western gems as Melody Ranch, a film ranch once owned by Gene Autry that is still in operation. Melody is where Matt Dillon first stared down the bad guys in Gunsmoke, where Al Swearengen ruled over Deadwood, and where the hosts first became sentient in television's Westworld.

Cover image for Newhall’s Walk of Western Stars, isbn: 9781467106214

Dodgers in the Hall of Fame

9781467109949

$23.99

Among the most successful franchises in the long and glorious history of baseball, the Dodgers have captured 25 pennants and have been crowned world champions seven times; only five teams in history have claimed more World Series titles. The Dodgers are baseball’s most transformative franchise. In 1947, Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball and America. They built Dodgertown in 1948; became the first major-league team to own a plane; and spurred the move west in 1958, where Sandy Koufax redefined pitching dominance. Herein lies the story of the men who have worn Dodger blue on their way to becoming baseball immortals, forever enshrined in Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Ventura County

9781467106955

$24.99

Ventura County has its roots in the founding of Mission San Buenaventura during the Spanish era (1769–1821). During the Mexican era (1822–1846), expansive mission lands were divided and granted out as ranchos for individual landownership to those with political influence and to former soldiers for loyal service during the war. When California became a state in 1850, settlers, prospectors, and developers began to purchase rancho lands. Ventura County became one of the most productive agricultural and oil-rich lands in the state and country. Farmland dominated much of the county’s landscape in the early years—oranges were its most popular fruit, and sugar beets were its prized commodity. Although the county still has an agricultural landscape in many of its cities and towns, the county is a patchwork of farms, islands, high-tech businesses, and military defense installations. It is as diverse as its people.

Cover image for Ventura County, isbn: 9781467106955

Lake Merritt

9781467109536

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Lake Merritt, located in the heart of Oakland, California, is the pride of the city. An estuary connected to San Francisco Bay, mixing sea and fresh waters, the lake formed about 4,000 years ago when the sea level rose to fill the mouths of two streams as glaciers collapsed worldwide. For at least the past 3,500 years, the Ohlone people lived by the estuary and its mud flats, building mounds nearby. Lake Merritt, known by other names prior to 1869, served as a waste dump until Samuel Merritt dammed the channel to the lake, thus preventing high-tide water from leaving the lake at low tide. As Oakland grew from a small town, the lake attracted the attention of well-to-do citizens of Oakland, who built mansions around it. In 1870, California designated it as a wildlife refuge, the first in America, protecting all organisms in and around the lake. Growing in importance to the residents of Oakland, the lake has undergone modifications to integrate it into the city as the welcoming and enjoyable place it is today.

Cover image for Lake Merritt, isbn: 9781467109536

The Marines at Twentynine Palms

9780738547725

$24.99

The largest Marine Corps base in history, the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Center at Twentynine Palms is located on 930 square miles of harsh terrain, nearly the size of Rhode Island, in southern San Bernardino County. An army base for training glider pilots at the outset of World War II, the former navy facility was taken over by the corps in 1952 during the Korean War and the advent of the cold war. The base provided adequate space and ranges to test new artillery and missile technology and was ideal for the largescale training of ground forces. In the 21st century, every U.S. Marine does a stint at Twentynine Palms because the climate, terrain, and remote location simulate many international hot spots of world strife. The marines have continually upgraded and expanded the Twentynine Palms facilities as daily maneuvers involve transports, tanks, artillery, and aircraft, particularly at the Expeditionary Air Field.

Cover image for The Marines at Twentynine Palms, isbn: 9780738547725

The Sea Ranch

9780738559902

$24.99

The Sea Ranch, translated from the Spanish "Del Mar Ranch," occupies the northwest corner of Sonoma County and is renowned for its architecture and environmental sensitivity. The development of a second-home community in 1965 was just one more chapter in a long history that began in 1846. The Sea Ranch is part of the German Rancho, the most northern coastal Mexican land grant, which was confirmed by the United States following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. It was home to German cattlemen, loggers, and an early-20th-century Russian Baptist colony. Over the years, shepherds, World War II soldiers, and bootleggers have called it home. Early maps and photographs tell the history of the area, and contemporary photographs reveal remnants of historic buildings and sites on the current Sea Ranch landscape.

Cover image for The Sea Ranch, isbn: 9780738559902

Los Angeles's Little Tokyo

9780738581460

$21.99

In 1884, a Japanese sailor named Hamanosuke Shigeta made his way to the eastern section of downtown Los Angeles and opened Little Tokyo's first business, an American-style café. By the early 20th century, this neighborhood on the banks of the Los Angeles River had developed into a vibrant community serving the burgeoning Japanese American population of Southern California. When Japanese Americans were forcibly removed to internment camps in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entrance into World War II, Little Tokyo was rechristened "Bronzeville" as a newly established African American enclave popular for its jazz clubs and churches. Despite the War Relocation Authority's opposition to re-establishing Little Tokyo following the war, Japanese Americans gradually restored the strong ties evident today in 21st-century Little Tokyo--a multicultural, multigenerational community that is the largest Nihonmachi (Japantown) in the United States.

Cover image for Los Angeles's Little Tokyo, isbn: 9780738581460

Haunted Heart of Los Angeles

9781467157797

$21.99

Beneath the teeming streets of California’s largest city lies a dark history of serial killers, riots and strange encounters.

Spirits are said to mingle with the tourists on Olvera Street, and there are rumors that a curse placed on Griffith Park still causes deaths to this day. Do the victims of a massacre at Union Station still haunt the halls there, and does Dodger Stadium host the shades of the residents it displaced during its construction? Even the old Los Angeles Zoo is said to be a hotspot of animal apparitions reluctant to move on.

Author and paranormal historian Brian Clune explores the spooky side of Los Angeles.

Cover image for Haunted Heart of Los Angeles, isbn: 9781467157797

San Francisco's Market Street Railway

9780738569598

$7.99

San Francisco's Market Street Railway boasts a rich history.

Cover image for San Francisco's Market Street Railway, isbn: 9780738569598

Candlestick Park

9780738581590

$24.99

Opened in 1960 as the home of the San Francisco Giants, Candlestick Park is among America's most iconic sports facilities. It is a striking example of modernism and was the first reinforced-concrete stadium. The Giants' home for 40 years, it played host to two World Series, including in 1989, when it was infamously delayed by the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Renovated to a dual-purpose stadium in 1970, it became home to the San Francisco 49ers. In 1982, The Catch, one of the most famous plays in NFL history, heralded the beginning of five Super Bowl Championships. Candlestick Park was also home to the early Oakland Raiders, was visited by Pope John Paul II, and saw the last Beatles concert.

Cover image for Candlestick Park, isbn: 9780738581590

Latinos in Pasadena

9780738569550

$24.99

Histories of Pasadena are rich in details about important citizens, time-honored traditions, and storied enclaves such as Millionaires Row and Lamanda Park. But the legacies of Mexican Americans and other Latino men and women who often worked for Pasadena's rich and famous have been sparsely preserved through the generations—even though these citizens often made remarkable community contributions and lived in close proximity to their employers. A fuller story of the Pasadena area can be provided from these vintage images and the accompanying information culled from anecdotes, master's theses, newspaper articles, formal and informal oral histories, and the Ethnic History Research Project compiled for the City of Pasadena in 1995. Among the stories told is that of Antonio F. Coronel, a one-time Mexican Army officer who served as California state treasurer from 1866 to 1870 and whose image graced the 1904 Tournament of Roses program.

Cover image for Latinos in Pasadena, isbn: 9780738569550

Cardiff-by-the-Sea

9780738569512

$24.99

Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a beautiful Southern California coastal town nestled between the San Elijo Lagoon to the south and rolling hills to the east. Known simply by locals as Cardiff, it was named by Esther M. Cullen, who arrived from Boston in 1910 with her husband, J. Frank Cullen, a man determined to transform the swampy expanse of fertile farmland into a coastal playground and town. During the 1920s, the town evolved quickly into a bustling community with a school district, post office, train station, and water irrigation district. The independent character of today's residents can be gleaned throughout the history of the area, from Cullen's determination to build a town in a region thought to be unsuitable for inhabitation, to the citizens' battle in the 1980s to retain autonomy as the town was incorporated into a larger city. Today Cardiff-by-the-Sea is one of five communities comprising the city of Encinitas and is proud of the small-town atmosphere first cultivated by the pioneering spirit of its early settlers.

Cover image for Cardiff-by-the-Sea, isbn: 9780738569512

The Cajon Pass

9780738570754

$24.99

California bloomed when modern men conquered Cajon Pass. California's two transverse (east to west) mountain ranges, the San Gabriel and San Bernardino, prevented commerce east between two-thirds of Southern California and the rest of the state. Cajon Pass, the low point between the two ranges, was first opened to business by roads that generally followed old Native American trails. When railroads pierced the divide in 1885, Northern and Southern California and states to the east benefitted. Utility trunks followed: first electrical power in about 1912, followed by telephone, and finally natural-gas pipelines. Courageous, tireless, independent pioneers settled Cajon Pass while looking for gold, mining lime, and nursing water from the ground to satisfy needs of livestock and crops. Even today, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroads run their busiest freight transport tracks through Cajon Pass, and Highway 15 competes successfully with its more western counterpart, Highway 5, for record numbers of vehicles per day moving north and south through California.

Cover image for The Cajon Pass, isbn: 9780738570754

Los Angeles's Historic Ballparks

9780738580326

$24.99

Baseball's long and storied history in Los Angeles has been played at venues including the turn-of-the-century Chutes Park, which was part of an amusement park, as well as Gilmore Field, where the Hollywood Stars played, and Wrigley Field, where many movies and television shows were filmed. The 1923-vintage Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum became the Dodgers' first home in California in 1958, when they moved from Brooklyn. Greater Los Angeles also featured professional baseball at Olive Memorial Stadium in Burbank, Brookside Park in Pasadena, on Catalina Island, plus at numerous diamonds throughout Orange and Riverside Counties, where legends including Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Connie Mack appeared. Most fans know Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium, but many other historic ballparks existed in Southern California. Their images are collected together here for the first time.

Cover image for Los Angeles's Historic Ballparks, isbn: 9780738580326

Kaiser Steel, Fontana

9780738546506

$24.99

In the first half of the 20th century, Fontana Farms Company operated a hog ranch on the site where Kaiser Company Incorporated later erected one of the nation's largest steel mills. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States was forced into an unprecedented escalation in the production of ships, planes, and armaments. Soon the sensational announcement came to San Bernardino County that Fontana, a railroad convergence located a safe distance from possible coastal bombardment, would become home to thousands of sweathogs in the war effort. A gold rush of sorts ensued, and all property south of Valencia Street to the railroad was sold in a week. This book pays tribute to the fact that, for two generations, Kaiser Steel Corporation at Fontana was among California's and the nation's industrial giants.

Cover image for Kaiser Steel, Fontana, isbn: 9780738546506

Marinship

9781467129770

$24.99

Marinship was a World War II shipyard built by the W.A. Bechtel Company to fulfill an urgent need for cargo ships to support soldiers all over the world. Sausalito was selected as the site for its unused railroad capacity and access to a deepwater channel and the Golden Gate Bridge. In March 1942, the shipyard was built on the site of the railroad maintenance yard and adjacent vacant mudflats, with the first ship being launched in September. At the time of its peak operation, there were as many as 20,000 workers. Workers were recruited from local resources at first but eventually a more widespread recruitment brought people from the Midwest and the South. These new workers, including minorities and women, enabled Marinship to become a leader in the integrated workforce phenomenon. As the war in Europe was won, fewer ships were needed. The Marinship labor force was reduced by about half until the victory in Japan, when ships were no longer needed. Marinship was soon taken over by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which disposed of what it did not need for its operations and currently maintains several buildings to facilitate its regional operations.

Cover image for Marinship, isbn: 9781467129770

Clovis

9780738576138

$24.99

In the late 1800s, Clovis M. Cole purchased large tracts of land in California's San Joaquin Valley with the intent to farm wheat. Marcus Pollasky, a businessman from the East with a keen eye for a profit, proposed building a railroad that would bring more people and gains to the area. The two struck a deal. Cole sold key landholdings to Pollasky, and the town was given Cole's first name. Businesses grew along Front Street, and families purchased nearby 20-acre parcels where they built homes and grew abundant crops. Living in Clovis became a way of life as dedication to family, friends, and community defined the area.

Cover image for Clovis, isbn: 9780738576138

Eagle Rock

9780738582160

$24.99

Eagle Rock has grown from an open farming community, populated by a few hundred souls, into a busy and diverse neighborhood of Los Angeles. The incorporation of Eagle Rock City in 1911 began the political process necessary to sustain and service this expanding community. The Eagle Rock City that was annexed by Los Angeles in 1923 was much smaller than the area included by the City of Los Angeles in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council in 2002. The town grew through the century by attracting the loyalty of people living in then-outlying areas. Eagle Rock: 1911-2011 continues the exploration begun in the Images of America volume Eagle Rock, detailing this expansion and the community's everyday life and interaction with the city and the world.

Cover image for Eagle Rock, isbn: 9780738582160

Pacifica

9780738520681

$24.99

Predominantly built as a "bedroom" community for the San Francisco Bay Area, Pacifica's rich and diverse heritage stretches back to the Spanish explorers of the 17th century. Captured here in over 200 vintage images is a tribute to this coastal community and the settlers and pioneers who made it what it is today. From the early 1900s story of the Ocean Shore Railroad to the recent battles over the California red-legged frog, Pacifica has often been shaped by outside forces. Like few other cities, it is primarily the result of a mixture of people and location; blue-collar families from the 1950s discovered Pacifica's oceanside charm, and helped create it. In the 21st century, the wealthy from the Peninsula and Silicon Valley are rediscovering the same charms, choosing Pacifica over the hustle and bustle of the rest of the Bay Area. This book of photographs, culled from the collection of the Pacifica Historical Society, the files of the Pacifica Tribune, and contributions of local residents, offers a glimpse of the history of one of California's "best kept secrets."

Cover image for Pacifica, isbn: 9780738520681

Ventura County Motor Sports

9781467115292

$24.99

Ventura County has a long tradition in motor sports, and area racing enthusiasts have done it all, whether on four wheels or two, on the road or off, in a straight line or a circle, or even on the water. Ventura County Motor Sports takes you back to the vintage years of the Central Coast car and racing culture with a new set of classic photographs. Visit the forgotten racetrack known as Oxnard Speedway, check out the hot-rodding scene in Ojai during the 1950s and 1960s, and meet some of the personalities from Ventura County that made their mark in the automotive and racing world, plus get a special look at local custom cars and some great motorcycle, off-road, and drag boat action from the golden years.

Cover image for Ventura County Motor Sports, isbn: 9781467115292

Haunted Hotels of the California Gold Country

9781626194380

$21.99

Step across the threshold of a haunted hotel in California's renowned Gold Country and encounter phantom figures of yesteryear. Wispy apparitions of gentleman guests in Victorian coats and ladies in fashionable flapper gowns glide through the walls, while unexplained sobs and choking gasps disturb the night. There's Stan, the Cary House's eternal desk clerk, and bachelor ghost Lyle, who tidies the Groveland Hotel. Flo tosses pots and pans in the National's kitchen, while the once-scorned spirit of Isabella ties the Sierra Nevada House's curtains in knots. From suicidal gamblers to murdered miners, the Mother Lode's one-time boomtowns are crowded with characters of centuries past. Book your stay with author Nancy Williams as she explores the history and haunts of the Gold Country's iconic hotels.

Cover image for Haunted Hotels of the California Gold Country, isbn: 9781626194380

Point Reyes Peninsula

9780738558486

$24.99

The Point Reyes Peninsula has a rich history encompassing thriving Native American settlements, visits by Francis Drake and Spanish explorers, dramatic shipwrecks, Mexican rancheros, famous dairy farms, railroads, and one of the country's most spectacular lighthouses. These historical facets spawned the three small towns of Olema, Point Reyes Station, and Inverness; each is unique with its own distinctive foundations. Most of the land is now within Point Reyes National Seashore, a refuge created during the Kennedy administration and now one of the more popular destinations on the California coast. The unique geography of the forest, bay, and ocean environments and the abundant wildlife in Point Reyes offers fine scenery, diverse recreational opportunities, and good food and lodging, while the towns retain their old-time character.

Cover image for Point Reyes Peninsula, isbn: 9780738558486

Pismo Beach

9781467130233

$24.99

Pismo Beach was home to some of America's earliest people. They thrived in the mild climate and were sustained by abundant natural resources, including the now famous Pismo clam. European settlers developed Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Rancho Pismo. With the breakup of the rancho, a small town grew at the beach. The spectacular wide, sandy beach, stretching away from hills and a rugged shoreline, has drawn many photographers to the town, its people, and its progress. An early aerial photograph of Pismo Beach was taken not from an airplane but from kites.

Cover image for Pismo Beach, isbn: 9781467130233

Lake Tahoe

9780738530314

$24.99

The Washoe Indians called it Tah-ve, an unfathomable liquid sapphire set in a 500 square-mile watershed of alpine snow and ice. Too deep and vast to freeze, Lake Tahoe's waters have, over time, reflected pristine forests, barren hillsides littered with slash and sawdust, managed restoration, and the glow of neon casino marquees. Its spectacular natural landscape, shared by both California and Nevada, is more designed than people realize. Humans transformed most of the old trees into mine shafts and cities. When the railroad, and later the automobile, domesticated the lake, putting it within recreational reach of the middle class, much of Lake Tahoe's shore became a managed wilderness. Its location along a political border created a unique merger of naturalist and gaming economies.

Cover image for Lake Tahoe, isbn: 9780738530314

San Francisco Art Deco

9780738547343

$24.99

The famed period of architecture, design, and style known as Art Deco began in the mid1920s and lasted for a good 20 years. The movement left an indelible stamp all around the Bay Area but nowhere more so than in styleconscious San Francisco. The city's 1925 Diamond Jubilee, coinciding with the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in France, ushered in the Art Deco age to the city by the bay. The Roaring Twenties created a need for thousands of new commercial and residential buildings, and many of these, such as Timothy Pflueger's Pacific Telephone and Telegraph building, were Art Deco masterpieces that embodied the new moderne styling sweeping the country. Using a variety of building materials, including terracotta, Vitrolux, and neon, many of the city's graceful and dramatic buildings turned heads 70 years ago just as they do today.

Cover image for San Francisco Art Deco, isbn: 9780738547343

Growing Up in Fairfield, California

9781467149105

$21.99

A magic nostalgia ride awaits.

Life in Fairfield in the decades after World War II was an unparalleled experience. From cruising down Texas Street on weekends to catching a carnival in the Wonder World parking lot, fond memories of long-lost times haven't been forgotten. People flocked to vintage eateries like Joe's Buffet and Smorga Bob's, and played on the rocket ship slide at Allan Witt Park. Roller Rinks like the M&M Skateway hosted not just skaters, but dances featuring Fats Domino and Roy Orbison. Commuters hopped aboard the FART bus to save on gas, and frequenting Dave's Giant Hamburgers was a rite of passage.

Longtime Daily Republic journalist and accidental historian Tony Wade takes a deep dive into the Fairfield of yesteryear.

Cover image for Growing Up in Fairfield, California, isbn: 9781467149105

Carmel-by-the-Sea

9781467108980

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Carmel-by-the-Sea is called “a village in the forest by the sea”—a one-square-mile California town with quaint charm and European-inspired architecture. Since this beautiful coastal town was established in 1902, residents have resisted change and battled to keep it unique and distinctive. Today, Carmel is defined by many of its historic buildings from the 1920s and 1930s, which contribute to the area’s sense of place.

Cover image for Carmel-by-the-Sea, isbn: 9781467108980

Silicon Valley

9780738570938

$24.99

Nestled at the south end of San Francisco Bay, there lies a fertile valley. Cradled by the ancient Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain ranges, the region spans much of the Santa Clara Valley, curling north from Menlo Park into Palo Alto. At its eastern gateway lies Milpitas and in the south is the Evergreen area, in the shadow of Mount Hamilton. The heart of the valley is San Jose. For many years, each spring, fruit trees produced flower blossoms as far as the eye could see. After World War II, veterans returned home, attended local engineering schools, and quickly became engaged in electronics and aeronautics development. The discovery of semiconductors and computer and Internet technologies radically altered the area, sped its momentum, and earned it its title—the Silicon Valley—now arguably the world's preeminent center for technological advances. Like the seismic waves that created the region, the valley's economic peaks and plunges have shaped the lives of its residents, but they continue to look to the future, developing new technologies to advance mankind.

Cover image for Silicon Valley, isbn: 9780738570938

Orange County:

9780738569086

$24.99

Relatively small in size among California's counties at 789 square miles, Orange County supports one of the nation's largest county populations: three million. Yet this county is surprisingly rich in its diversity of natural elements. Bounded all around by a spectacular seacoast and rambling hills, it contains a portion of Cleveland National Forest, including two mile-high mountain peaks. Orange County has numerous canyons, dramatic in looks and legend, as well as the Santa Ana River with its seasonal branching tributaries. Yet extensive acreage within this forward-looking county is being permanently preserved as wilderness parks, preserves, and conservancies as governmental and private agencies respond to the ecological challenges of the future.

Cover image for Orange County:, isbn: 9780738569086

Sacramento's Southern Pacific Shops

9780738580524

$24.99

In 1862, the Central Pacific Railroad was founded and began building eastward from Sacramento as part of the transcontinental railroad. This required a shop capable of keeping the railroad's equipment in running order. So in 1867, in the swamps just north of town, the Sacramento shops were born. For well more than a century, this massive complex kept the Central Pacific and its corporate successor, the Southern Pacific, operating smoothly. For many decades, the shops were the largest employer in the Sacramento area, employing carpenters, painters, draftsmen, boilermakers, electricians, clerks, upholsterers, and others. The shops' forces designed, built, and maintained locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and other railroading equipment. The complex closed in 1999. Most of the area, popularly known as the Railyards, is set for redevelopment. The California State Railroad Museum handles maintenance and restoration of its collection in two of the shops buildings and plans to develop a Railroad Technology Museum on the site.

Cover image for Sacramento's Southern Pacific Shops, isbn: 9780738580524

Temecula

9780738530956

$24.99

In the far southwest corner of Riverside County, a center of commerce grew in the 19th century near the junction of the Temecula and Murrieta Creeks. A stop along the Southern Emigrant Trail and Butterfield Stage route brought a few travelers to Temecula who liked the place and stayed. A cattle baron grazed his stock in the rich pastureland and dominated the economy until the mid-1960s, when an investor bought the land to build a planned community. Today Temecula is the home of over 90,000 people. Old Town Temecula celebrates its frontier past, and the Temecula Wine Country entices visitors to take a taste. The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians operates a casino and resort near Rancho del Paisano, the former home of the author who created Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner.

Cover image for Temecula, isbn: 9780738530956

Calico

9780738589053

$24.99

Calico was established in 1881 during one of the largest silver strikes ever recorded in California. At its peak (1887–1896), the town's population was about 1,200, and Main Street bustled with saloons, hotels, a post office, and a one-room schoolhouse that doubled as a church on Sundays. Historians generally agree that Calico was dead by 1904, but the town always had a small population that simply refused to give up. Authentically restored by Walter Knott in the 1950s, Calico survives as one of the few living ghost towns from the Old West era. The images in this book cover 130 years in Calico's life. Although presented in black-and-white, the stories they tell are as colorful as the surrounding hills that gave Calico its name.

Cover image for Calico, isbn: 9780738589053

Early Escondido

9780738555959

$24.99

Louis A. Havens was a Southern California pioneer businessman, storyteller, and artist who brought the community of Escondido together via his camera. He was the first successful photographer in the thriving north San Diego County agricultural city, incorporated in 1888. Prior to his arrival, the occasional photographer might seasonally visit Escondido or attempt to set up shop, realizing little success. Havens's timing in his arrival, combined with his skillful eye, ensured his success from 1911 to 1944. His collection documents Escondido's early residents, architecture, events, and landscapes, and it now persists as a historic record of past events, culture, and development of the fourth largest city in San Diego County.

Cover image for Early Escondido, isbn: 9780738555959

Historic Signs over California's Roadways

9781467107617

$23.99

Appearing in this book are images featuring over 200 signs erected over roadways in California. Dating from the Civil War era into the 21st century, these signs were made of wood, metal, and stucco, and many of them were electrified. They were put up by communities across the state to highlight and unmistakably point out their specific towns.

Cover image for Historic Signs over California's Roadways, isbn: 9781467107617

Arroyo Grande

9780738569444

$21.99

Located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Arroyo Grande Valley was founded during the period of the Mexican land grants. In 1837, the San Manuela Rancho was granted to Francis and Manuela Branch. The rich soils and mild coastal climate created a wonderful location to build a home, grow crops, and raise livestock. While livestock production has diminished, it has been replaced by a growing wine industry and field crops continue to flourish. Arroyo Grande remains one of the most pleasant and safest environments to live and work and maintains much of its historic village commercial area with little change over the past 100 years.

Cover image for Arroyo Grande, isbn: 9780738569444

Pirates & Rogues of Monterey Bay

9781467143639

$23.99

The age of pirates spanned nearly two hundred years and was considered a plague on the high seas. Even the far reaches of what was then Alta California weren’t safe, and a surprising number of unexpected visitors sailed into Monterey Bay. Argentinian Hippolyte Bouchard, spurred by revolutionary fervor, attacked Monterey, the then Spanish capital of Alta California, using pirating tactics that left their mark centuries later, and privateers like Sir Francis Drake prowled the Pacific, leaving possible traces of their journey on the beaches of California. The foggy coastline of Monterey even inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write his famous Treasure Island. Join author Todd Cook as he explores the Monterey Peninsula’s eclectic pirating history.

Cover image for Pirates & Rogues of Monterey Bay, isbn: 9781467143639

Railroads of Placer County

9781467127646

$24.99

Though small in geographic size, Placer County is large in its rich history of railroading in California. This book covers 14 different railroads that did or still do exist in some association with Placer County. There were narrow-gauge and standard-gauge, long transcontinental, and short point-to-point railroads. Some railroads were fully contained within the county, and others just touched the county. Some railroads were short-lived operations, while others operated for decades. One railroad still functions today, undiminished after 150 years in service. This book is more than just a collection of photographs of locomotives; it provides the reader with a visual history of various aspects of the many railroads operating in Placer County over the years.

Cover image for Railroads of Placer County, isbn: 9781467127646

Crescent City and Del Norte County

9780738530758

$24.99

The rugged coastline and wild rivers of Del Norte County were once home to the Yurok and Tolowa Indians, who built their dwellings with planks cut from virgin redwood. The Klamath River was an early supply route to the gold mines, but its treacherous waters were soon abandoned in favor of the ocean port at Crescent City. Although its lighthouse guided many heavily laden ships to safe harbor, famous shipwrecks still lie off Del Norte's rocky coast. Pack mule teams streamed east, bound for mining camps, and ranches in the Smith River and Elk Valleys developed to supply them. River salmon became a major industry, and later the ocean's bounty supported fishermen. Redwood groves fed a thriving timber industry for over a century. Never lacking in drama, Del Norte's history includes a U.S. oil tanker sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1941 and, in 1964, a tsunami that swept through Crescent City, destroying almost all of its downtown.

Cover image for Crescent City and Del Norte County, isbn: 9780738530758

San Luis Obispo County Architecture

9781467160049

$24.99

California is rare among states and nations in having two cultural capitals—Los Angeles and San Francisco—and San Luis Obispo is smack in the middle. In the middle of nowhere or equidistant from everywhere, its architecture is a riot of variety: samples of practically every 19th- and 20th-century form; experiments by local builders; and one-offs by nationally known architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Julia Morgan, Richard Neutra, Edla Muir, and Warren Leopold (“Not A Licensed Architect” engraved on his tombstone), all without anxiety of influence from the outside. Where Santa Barbara, rebuilt after an earthquake during the City Beautiful movement, celebrates Spanish, Mission, and Moorish Revival, and Palm Springs embodies Mid-Century Modern, San Luis Obispo is California’s capital of the eclectic. Wright’s one Usonian office; Morgan’s biggest and smallest commissions: Hearst Castle and her cab driver’s daughters’ playhouse; the world’s only Greek Revival Streamline Moderne movie theater across from the Roman Revival PWA Moderne County Courthouse, like Ginger and Fred; the world’s first industrial desalinization plant in a power plant modeled after an Egyptian Temple and sheathed in aluminum; Art Beal’s bricolage Nitt Witt Ridge: all have an extraordinary story.

Author James Papp is an architectural historian and writer of walking tours as well as a principal with Historicities, a cultural resources consultancy in San Luis Obispo. He is a member of the Oceano Economic Development Council Advisory Board, the Education Committee of the California Preservation Foundation, and the City of San Luis Obispo Cultural Heritage Committee.

Cover image for San Luis Obispo County Architecture, isbn: 9781467160049

The University of California Museum of Paleontology

9781467108089

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

The University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) had a long and rich history even before California became a state.

Formally established in 1921, UCMP was built with collections accumulated over 150 years. This treasure trove comes from all continents and ages; it is a major source for research, outreach, and teaching in paleontology—extinctions, radiations, asteroids, climate change, paleoceanography, and the animals, plants, and microbes themselves. Now the collections, built by the California Geological Survey (1864–1874), faculty, staff, students, and donors, are among the largest in America. Recently, UCMP members studied the biology of T. rex, the killer asteroid, human ancestors, reef paleobiology, flowering plants, and life on Mars and Europa. UCMP continues to make discoveries, interpretations, and outreach that inspire people.

Prof. Jere H. Lipps, faculty curator and past director of UCMP, studies paleontology, geology, marine biology, and astrobiology, publishing over 520 contributions. Elected fellow of six science organizations and president (1997) of the Paleontological Society, Lipps has also received various awards, including an island in Antarctica named for him (1979). He taught thousands of students in oceanography, paleobiology, and field courses at the University of California, Berkeley. Here, Lipps reviews the major events and people that have built UCMP.

Cover image for The University of California Museum of Paleontology, isbn: 9781467108089

San Diego's North Park

9781467132251

$24.99

Hip and historic, North Park fascinates with its commercial energy and Craftsman charm. The community has always embodied an enterprising spirit. In the 1870s, cronies of Alonzo Horton mapped neighborhoods north of Balboa Park in a patchwork of individual subdivisions. Four decades later, John Spreckels's streetcars finally brought investors, residents, and shopkeepers, creating San Diego's slice of Bungalow Heaven. Baseball great Ted Williams played on North Park's fields, and tennis star Maureen Connolly trained on its courts. The local shops served as a regional commercial center after World War II, and the Toyland Parade attracted 300,000 spectators. Although decades of decline followed the exciting 1950s, North Park is flourishing again in a renaissance initiated by the restoration of the elegant North Park Theatre in 2005. This pictorial history tells the classic story of a boom, bust, and boom.

Cover image for San Diego's North Park, isbn: 9781467132251

Missions of San Diego

9780738596839

$24.99

California's first settlement began on a trail called El Camino Real, or The Royal Road, that was traveled by missionary pathfinders, soldiers, and conquistadors on a dramatic journey into a mysterious land. Monterey was discovered in 1603, leading to the quest. Explorers Don Gaspar de Portolá and Juan Bautista de Anza, along with ambitious Franciscan missionaries, founded 21 monumental Spanish missions and several asistencias and chapels for native neophytes, travelers, and visitors to Alta California. Following the initial landing in 1769 at San Diego's seaport, Fr. Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá, California's first landmark, at the original presidio site. The mission stands today exactly where it was moved, rebuilt, and completed in 1813. The native populations of California witnessed years of change from a sleepy province to the status of US statehood. The Spanish missions forged the powerful underpinnings of the Golden State's earliest settlements 80 years prior to the world's largest migration to California, the 1849 Gold Rush.

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The Ghostly Tales of Alcatraz

9781467197328

$12.99 $6.50 Save 50%

Ghost stories from America’s most infamous prison have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky island of Alcatraz!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know a ghost nurse wanders the halls in search of prisoners to heal? Or that nobody has ever escaped from Alcatraz…and lived to tell the tale? Can you believe Cell 14D is haunted by a mysterious, red-eyed monster?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Alcatraz and have you sleeping with the light on!

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Russell City

9780738570044

$24.99

Between 1853 and 1964, on the western shore of what is now the city of Hayward, there existed a small rural community. This pictorial history traces the role that this region, which became known as Russell City, played in the development of the East Bay. Named for Joel Russell, a New England teacher who came to California during the Gold Rush and found success as a judge, political activist, and businessman, Russell City later became a destination point for diverse migrant and immigrant groups including Spaniards, Danes, Germans, Italians, African Americans, and Mexicans. While the economic means of the residents were never great, social riches abounded in the cultural and religious traditions that were practiced. A plan to create an industrial park on Russell City land emerged during the 1950s, and by 1964 the residents and businesses were entirely removed through eminent domain. An annual reunion picnic, begun in 1978, serves as a reminder of the community once built and then tossed to the winds. In the words of the former residents, The city may be gone, but the memories live on.

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Camarillo State Hospital

9781467103329

$24.99

Camarillo State Hospital, affectionately known as Cam, officially opened its doors in 1936, during a time when the California State Commission in Lunacy oversaw the treatment and care of those deemed mentally ill. A pioneering research institution in autism and schizophrenia, Cam achieved notoriety as one of two state institutions that accommodated children and as the first state hospital to receive certification for treatment of the developmentally disabled. Although it was an independent body, retaining its own dairy, farm, residences, and even a bowling alley, Cam also developed creative relationships with volunteers, educators, and businesspeople for the betterment of its patients. Enhancing Innovation Through Independence became Cam's final ambition and, in the end, its ultimate achievement.

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Ranchos of San Diego County

9780738559650

$21.99

The Mexican ranchos of San Diego County were a colorful and vital part of early California history. Ranchos covered the most fertile lands in San Diego and produced grain, vegetables, and fruits and grazed thousands of head of cattle, sheep, and horses. The dons and doñas who owned the ranchos were wealthy in land and cattle and built large adobe ranch-house complexes. The Kumeyaay, Luiseño, and Cupeño were the backbone of the ranchos, providing the labor needed to run a successful ranch. Daily life of the dons, doñas, and their families included the Californio traditions of family and religion, dancing and fiestas, roundups and rodeos, and generous hospitality. Many of the ranchos no longer exist. Those that are preserved provide a window into California's past.

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Mount Shasta

9780738555720

$24.99

For thousands of years, native inhabitants revered this snowcapped volcano, its craggy peaks, thick forests, crystal waters, and abundant wildlife. Lonely as god and white as a winter moon, Mount Shasta starts up sudden and solitary from the heart of the great black forests of Northern California, Joaquin Miller so eloquently wrote. In the late 1820s, trappers first encountered the mountain, followed later by other explorers and travelers. By the 1870s, early settler Justin Sisson had developed a resort with guided tours to Mount Shasta's summit. In 1887, after the railroad was completed, the town of Sisson was established at the base of the mountain, where hotels and saloons catered to tourists and lumbermen from nearby mills. South of the mountain, travelers on Southern Pacific's Shasta Route filled the resorts along the Sacramento River. The new century brought a new mode of travel, the automobile, and a new name for Sisson. Mount Shasta City was chosen to reflect the town's special connection to the mountain.

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Catholics of San Francisco

9780738559483

$24.99

Catholicism has greatly influenced the character of San Francisco, beginning with its origins in California in the mission system, which brought Franciscan friars, Spanish soldiers, and new settlers to these shores. Catholics have been witness to history-making events that have included the 1848 Gold Rush, the 1906 earthquake and fire, and the 1918 influenza pandemic. Parishes, schools, hospitals, and charities took shape after the archdiocese's establishment in 1853. The guidance of archbishops, dedication of religious orders, and support of the lay community has made the city named for St. Francis of Assisi into a uniquely Catholic place. The leadership of Catholics in the larger community continues today, enriched by new cultures and traditions.

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Life On Route 66

9781609496227

$21.99

Winding through the rugged heartland of the American West, Route 66 has resonated for generations in hardscrabble stories of hopeful seekers of new homes and lives. The Mother Road has inspired books and shows by the dozens, exploring the mythology and anticipation of freedom road. But here is something new. Coauthors Alan and Claudia Heller, longtime residents of Duarte, California, along Route 66, hitched their trailer to a retirement dream and traveled the road again, in their home state and back to Chicago. They collected stories of the iconic highway, and what it means to the people who live along its way, for a series in the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. Retrace their journey with this collection and find the people and places that make Route 66 truly historic.

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The Pullman Porters and West Oakland

9780738547893

$24.99

A hub of transportation and industry since the mid-19th century, West Oakland is today a vital commercial conduit and an inimitably distinct and diverse community within the Greater Oakland
metropolitan area. The catalyst that transformed this neighborhood from a transcontinental rail terminal into a true settlement was the arrival of the railroad porters, employed by the Pullman Palace Car Company as early as 1867. After years of struggling in labor battles and negotiations, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Union became the first African American–led union to sign a contract with a large American company. The union's West Coast headquarters were established at Fifth and Wood Streets in West Oakland. Soon families,
benevolent societies, and churches followed, and a true community came into being.

Cover image for The Pullman Porters and West Oakland, isbn: 9780738547893

Truckee

9780738574950

$24.99

At 5,980 feet, Truckee enchants visitors with a quaintness that belies the mountain town's rugged past. The very environment in which Truckee exists--high elevation, cold, deep snows--forced its founding fathers, residents, immigrants, and transient workers to make tough decisions while attempting to keep peace in a wildly remote area. In just over 150 years, Truckee has morphed from a collection of lawless rough-and-tumble settlements to a close-knit community with a sense of adventure at its core. The Truckee area was also at the cornerstone of many 19th-century technological innovations. From logging that kept trains stoked and fed Nevada mines to an ice-harvesting industry that transformed refrigerated transportation and the largest paper mill west of the Mississippi, Truckee proved its engineering mettle.

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Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop

9781467159272

$24.99

Hosting icons and legends of folk, blues, bluegrass, jazz, spoken word and world music since 1969.

A decade after Gerald McCabe opened up a guitar repair shop in Santa Monica, California, legendary folk musicians Elizabeth Cotten and Mike Seeger came looking for a way to earn money to get back home. Their inaugural performance kickstarted a concert series that has featured some of the world’s finest musicians—including Doc Watson, Jackson Browne, Bill Monroe and Linda Ronstadt—in one of the most intimate performance spaces on the West Coast.

Against a backdrop of guitars in a room often packed to the rafters, music rang out to fill every corner. But audiences weren’t the only ones who left with cherished memories. Enjoy behind the scenes stories from artists like Rosanne Cash, Taj Mahal, Lucinda Williams, Arlo Guthrie and many more as they look back on their experiences at McCabe’s. From picking up a new hobby to serendipitous meetings of future bandmates, there was never a dull moment in the shop.

This is your backstage pass to the untold stories of one of California’s most celebrated music venues and those who performed live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop.

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Behind the Scenes in Los Angeles

9781467159210

$24.99

Los Angeles’s dizzying array of attractions can easily overwhelm visitors and locals alike, but now there’s a better way to explore the city.

Enjoy a glimpse of the history behind the most prestigious museums and discover sites better known for their part in international scandals. Peek into California’s colonial past, visit sites from the golden age of film or explore the urban legends surrounding the Black Dahlia. With tips from the best times to visit to where to park, experience the best of Los Angeles like a local.

Join author Adam Papagan, experienced tour guide and true California character, for a tour of Los Angeles you’ll never forget.

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Sequoia National Park

9780738525457

$7.99

Sequoia National Park boasts a rich history. Home to the world's largest trees and the highest peak in the continental United States, this second-oldest
national park in the country boasts a human history as inspiring as its natural splendor.

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Houseboats of Sausalito

9780738525204

$7.99

Sausalito boasts a rich history of life afloat.

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Missions of Southern California

9780738525150

$7.99

Beginning in 1769, the Spanish built a system of missions along the coastal El Camino Real, or Royal Road. These colonial outposts brought irreversible changes to the area's Native Americans. Many remain today as monuments to a vanished way of life.

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Levi Strauss and Co.

9780738569345

$7.99

Levi Strauss & Co. boasts a rich history.

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Sacramento Southern Railroad

9780738569864

$24.99

The Sacramento Southern Railroad was born into a famous railroad family and a busy railroad town in July 1903. The mighty Southern Pacific, which controlled the new line from the outset, built south from Sacramento along the eastern bank of the Sacramento River into the delta's rich farmland area. At its zenith, the line was about 31 miles long, serving the communities of Freeport, Hood, Locke, Walnut Grove, and Isleton. Trains on what became known as the Walnut Grove Branch hauled pears, sugar beets, asparagus and other products from the agricultural region's packing sheds and canneries. Competition from trucking and damage from flooding took a severe toll on the railroad, and the Southern Pacific largely abandoned it by 1978, but a portion lives on as a labor of love.

Cover image for Sacramento Southern Railroad, isbn: 9780738569864

Bay Area Radio

9780738589107

$24.99

The San Francisco Bay Area was a key national radio-broadcasting center during the first three decades of commercial radio. In 1909, it was home to the very beginnings of the art and science of broadcasting, when Charles Doc Herrold began sending out weekly voice and music programs from his radio school in San Jose. Dozens of other radio pioneers soon followed. In 1926, big broadcasting came to San Francisco when the newly formed National Broadcasting Company (NBC) established its West Coast headquarters on Sutter Street. Other national and regional networks soon set up their own broadcast production centers, and for the next 20 years, thousands of actors, musicians, announcers, and engineers were creating important programs that were heard on the West Coast as well as nationwide. During World War II, San Francisco became the key collection center for Pacific war news, and bulletins received in San Francisco were quickly relayed to an anxious nation. Conversely, powerful shortwave stations broadcast war news and propaganda back to the Pacific and entertained American troops overseas.

Cover image for Bay Area Radio, isbn: 9780738589107

Highland Park

9780738555706

$24.99

Founded during the 1886 land boom in Southern California midway between the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, the original Highland Park Tract was part of the Rancho San Rafael. Highland Park was the first town to be annexed by Los Angeles, but it nonetheless retains a strong sense of its own identity and has taken a fiercely independent path. The community prides itself on its unique history, architecture, and diversity, and it has always been the home of artists and writers. One such resident was Charles Fletcher Lummis, who helped to preserve the history and culture of the land he dubbed the Southwest.

Cover image for Highland Park, isbn: 9780738555706

Native Americans of San Diego County

9780738559841

$24.99

Archeological findings verify the occupation of San Diego County by Native Americans going back over 10,000 years, though little is recorded of their history before 1542, when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay and claimed the local territory for Spain. The native population at that time is estimated to have been 20,000, just as it is today. There are 18 reservations in the San Diego County area (17 of which are currently functioning), more than in any other county in the United States. The four primary tribal groups making up the Native Americans of the San Diego County area are the Kumeyaay (also known as Diegueño), Luiseño, Cupeño, and Cahuilla. Each of these groups has faced many hardships and setbacks while attempting to rebuild their nations to the proud peoples they once were, still are, and always shall be.

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San Francisco Zoo

9780738569154

$24.99

In 1922, philanthropist and president of the San Francisco Parks Commission, Herbert Fleishhacker, purchased a 60-acre site in southwestern San Francisco. Fleishhacker Pool was built in 1925 and an adjoining zoo added in 1929. Originally called Fleishhacker Zoo, it featured a variety of exotic wildlife. Major exhibits were built in the 1930s Depression era as part of the Work Progress Administration (WPA). This book celebrates the San Francisco Zoo's 80-year history as it revisits cherished animals and structures like Monkey Island, Storyland, and Dentzel Carousel. The zoo holds a special place in the hearts of many, as it is a great San Francisco treasure along the foggy shores of Ocean Beach.

Cover image for San Francisco Zoo, isbn: 9780738569154

San Mateo County Coast

9780738530611

$24.99

From Pacifica to Pescadero and south to the Santa Cruz County line, San Mateo County has 75 miles of stunning, rugged coastline. Development has been minimal, but a detailed history lurks among these rocky coves, sandy
beaches, and barking sea lions. After European contact, Portuguese fishermen set up shop here, establishing themselves throughout the coast and pulling in a remarkable catch from the waters. Others soon joined and built the larger cities of Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, along with smaller communities like Montara, El Granada, and San Gregorio. Fishing and agriculture have coexisted
here for decades, along with government operations such as Coast Guard light stations, defense artillery bunkers, and the Air Force station at Pillar Point.

Cover image for San Mateo County Coast, isbn: 9780738530611

Joshua Tree National Park

9781467132817

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Human use of Joshua Tree National Park may extend as far back in time as 10,000 years. From the early Pinto Culture to modern tribes, native peoples have lived and hunted here for centuries. Indian trails helped guide Spanish, Mexican, and American explorers who gradually revealed the desert's secrets, leading to an influx of cattlemen, miners, and homesteaders between 1860 and 1930. As rugged as the desert itself, the area's pioneer history featured cattle rustlers, claim jumpers, and occasional gunfights. Grit, determination, and a fierce independence marked the lives of these early settlers, and the mines, ranches, and cabins they left behind hold many unforgettable stories. During the 1920s, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt found a unique beauty in the desert's sweeping vistas, and she worked tirelessly for the Joshua Tree area's preservation within the National Park System. Success came in 1936 when Pres. Franklin Roosevelt created Joshua Tree National Monument. With the Desert Protection Act, Joshua Tree was designated a national park in 1994.

Cover image for Joshua Tree National Park, isbn: 9781467132817

Orange

9780738559056

$24.99

Located in the heart of Orange County, the City of Orange has a rich history in the citrus industry and beyond. Founded in 1871 as an agricultural community, the town flourished with the growth of orange and lemon trees in the early 1900s. Downtown Orange grew up around the iconic plaza, with its distinctive circular park and classic fountain. The surrounding neighborhoods filled with homes that reflected architectural styles from the 1880s to the 1940s. As late as 1950, Orange was still just a little town of 10,000 people. Despite the enormous postwar residential growth throughout the county and a tenfold population explosion in the city itself, the community has retained much of the small-town feel of yesteryear.

Cover image for Orange, isbn: 9780738559056

Pacific Beach

9780738520827

$24.99

Pacific Beach, California, was founded in 1887 by land speculators after the establishment of the railroad to San Diego, which resulted in the formation of many ocean-side communities. A "land boom" ensued, yet was short-lived due to the Great Depression of the 1890s. World War II brought a torrent of people to Pacific Beach--workers, sailors, and Marines, as well as their families--increasing its population five-fold. After the war, many residents remained, thus ensuring the growth of the community and the number of businesses, schools, and local services.
A photographic history, Pacific Beach includes images that illustrate the community's birth, hardships, and prosperity since its incorporation, as well as the people, places, and attractions that today make the area a well-known destination for visitors from around the
world. Featuring images of some of Pacific Beach's most historic landmarks, including the Crystal Pier and the Brown Military Academy, as well as local businesses, architecture, and churches, this pictorial tribute celebrates the history of this San Diego suburb from its
earliest days.

Cover image for Pacific Beach, isbn: 9780738520827

San Francisco Fire Department

9780738520841

$24.99

In San Francisco, history is as close as the sound of the fire engines and trucks racing by, sirens wailing. The San Francisco Fire Department took shape, as did the city, from the ashes and embers of the Great Fire of 1906. In the tumultuous seaport full of those seeking California's newly found gold, volunteer fire companies had to adapt to a teeming city full of canvas tents, wood shacks, kerosene lanterns, ocean breezes, and hilly winding streets. From a force that initially pulled hand-operated pumps and competed to be the first at a fire, traveling in horse-drawn equipment, the department has grown from a volunteer contingent of a few hundred to a company 1,800 strong and equipped to protect a city of 49 square miles, surrounded on three sides by salt water. The historic photographs of this volume document the establishment of the volunteer department on Christmas Eve 1849 and the inception of the paid force in 1866, as well as such colorful characters as Lily Hitchcock Coit, a belle who battled many a blaze with the volunteers and a portion of whose estate went to build the 210-foot Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. Striking images, many never before published, illustrate how the fire department was affected not only by the well-known inferno of 1906 but by the six blazes that leveled the waterfront in the 1850s and a number of other fires throughout the city's history.