Arcadia Publishing

The breathtaking Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, has captured the fascination of people everywhere for over 100 years.

Created in the 1890s by George Washington Vanderbilt, a member of one of America's wealthiest families, the estate combined a 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau with 125,000 acres of gardens, forests, and working farms. Biltmore House served as Vanderbilt's primary residence for almost 20 years. After Mr. Vanderbilt's death in 1914, life at Biltmore continued for his wife Edith and daughter Cornelia. In 1930, Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil and her husband, Hon. John Francis Amherst Cecil, opened Biltmore House - the largest private home in the United States - to the public, firmly establishing the Asheville area as a major tourist destination.

Denver is the Mile High City, the Queen City of the Plains, and the Gateway to the West. Today, the city attracts thousands of new residents each year, including the LGBTQ people from the rural West and digital nomads from around the nations seeking a welcoming community where they can thrive. In LGBTQ Denver, Phil Nash showcases how the city evolved from its pre-1970s history of rebuking gay people to a magnet for LGBTQ residents and the capital of the first state to elect and reelect the nation’s first openly gay governor.

A well-known destination for family fun and amusement, Hersheypark has entertained and engaged visitors for more than 100 years.

The park was an important part of Milton S. Hershey's plans for his new model industrial town, built for the workers of the Hershey Chocolate factory. In 1903, even before the factory was completed, he set aside land to be used as a park for picnics and family outings. While originally established as a community park, it soon developed into an amusement park as thousands of people flocked to Hershey each year to visit the chocolate factory and model town. This book portrays the origin of Hershey Park, its development as a trolley park, and its successful transition to Hersheypark, a themed amusement park, at a time when many traditional parks faltered and failed. Through period photographs and engaging narrative, Hersheypark explores the growth and development of the park; the vision of its founder, Milton S. Hershey; its successes and challenges; and how the park endured and transformed itself to become one of the East Coast's leading entertainment destinations.

Pittsburgh: 1758-2008 surveys the city's evolution from strategic fort in the wilderness to bustling industrial workshop to high-tech center for universities and health care.

A boatbuilding center and gateway to the West at the beginning of the 19th century, Pittsburgh later produced iron and steel used to construct bridges and buildings around the country and provided the cannons, shot, and ships that helped win wars around the world. In the process, Pittsburgh became a magnet for successive waves of immigrants - workers and entrepreneurs who shaped the culture and character of the city with their customs, churches, clubs, food, and an impressive collection of museums. With a roster of notable historical figures and as the birthplace of a slew of world-changing innovations, Pittsburgh is a city that left its mark on the history books.

Founded in 1903, Ford Motor Company has enormously impacted the history and development of America, and the world, in the 20th century.

What began as a small operation in a converted Detroit wagon factory has become the second largest industrial manufacturing corporation in the world, with active operations on six continents. Unlike other automotive corporations, the Ford company has remained under the control and active management of its founding family for 100 years. Like the Kennedys, Vanderbilts, and Roosevelts, the Ford family has made an irreversible impact on American history and society. Through a collection of over 200 images, Ford Dynasty tells the story of one extraordinary American family, their company, and its accomplishments over the course of a century.

Unlike many American towns, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a city so well-preserved that many of the archival photos show buildings that still exist today.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, sits in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountainsat the confluence of two rivers, the Potomacand Shenandoah.

Without the influence of John Brown and his raiders, Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clarkfame, and Thomas Jefferson, Harpers Ferry might have remained a sleepy little village. Instead, it became a frequently contested location for troops during the Civil Warand changed hands eight times. Many of the current shops and restaurants are housed in the restored original buildings, built in the 1800s.

A visit to Harpers Ferry is like stepping back in time to the year 1859, because the town has been restored to that period. It has been designated a National Historical Park, with many buildings owned and maintained by the National Park Service.

David D. Morrison, retired Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) branch line manager and railroad historian, has compiled rare photographs to showcase the shops that power the LIRR, the busiest railroad in North America.

The LIRR provides passenger rail service from Midtown Manhattan to to the far ends of Long Island at Greenport and Montauk. A vast operation such as this requires a huge fleet of locomotives and cars. The reliability of the fleet rests mainly upon the shop maintenance facility. The Morris Park Shops, opened in 1889 and closed in the early 2000s, provided over a century of maintenance and repair service, allowing the LIRR to develop and expand through the years. The complexity of the shop facility, from the days of steam locomotives to multiple-unit electric cars and diesel locomotives, is a fascinating chapter in LIRR history.

New York State was a center of industry during World War II. New York aviation companies designed many of the greatest combat aircraft of the era, and bustling armies of women and men helped quickly churn them out by the thousands. More than one fourth of all US warplanes came from New York drawing boards during the war. These planes saw combat service everywhere, holding the line in the deserts of North Africa and flying from aircraft carriers plying the vast Pacific Ocean. Others operated over the frozen tundra of Alaska and Siberia. New York aircraft flew tons of fuel, ammunition, and supplies over the treacherous Himalayan Mountains into China, relentlessly hounded enemy submarines and ships, and battered Axis strongholds all the way to victory.

But Speedway is more than a town that surrounds the most famous automobile racing track in the world. The city is proud of its quality schools, and residents have prospered from the businesses in the area. Civic pride runs strong through this community where generations of families have remained in the same neighborhoods, and sometimes in the same house.

Located approximately 50 miles north of Disney World, the small community of Mount Dora, Florida, has become a peaceful oasis in the bustling region

It offers a respite to the weary traveler and a refreshing connection to an earlier time. The town rests on the shores of the beautiful Lake Dora, named for early settler Dora Drawdy by government surveyors in the 1840s. Looking at the quaint city streets, placid lake, and turn-of-the-century homes, it's easy to imagine life long ago in Mount Dora as inordinately idyllic, but like all communities, Mount Dora has faced challenges to its growth and prosperity. The collapse of the real estate boom in the mid-1920s was quickly followed by the Great Depression, ruining lives and fortunes in Mount Dora and around the state. But from the beginning, one of Mount Dora's strongest assets has been its inviting lake, an advantage that has helped a thriving tourism industry to develop in this small town. Visitors flock to Mount Dora, not only for the tranquil setting, but also for the community's old-fashioned charm, antique district, and architectural distinctiveness.

Opened in 1913, Grand Central Terminal is a world-famous landmark building with a magnificent 48-foot-high, 1,500-ton statuary group on top of the main facade.

Designed by sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, a 13-foot-wide Tiffany clock serves as the centerpiece.The figure above the clock is Mercury, with Hercules to the left and Minerva to the right.In the late 1990s, a historic restoration was performed on the terminal after which two cast-iron eagle statues were placed over entrances at Lexington Avenue and Forty-Second Street/Vanderbilt Avenue.These eagles were from the 1898 Grand Central Station building that was demolished in 1910 to make room for the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal structure.Penn Station, which opened in 1910, covered two full city blocks and had statuary groups, designed by sculptor Adolph Weinman, on all four sides of the building.After Penn Station was demolished in the mid-1960s, the statuary was dispersed throughout various locations, mainly in the Northeast.

Kaufmann's Department Store was a force in Pittsburgh retail from its humble beginnings in 1871 until its merger with Federated Department Stores in 2006.

The Big Store downtown was a landmark shopping emporium with 12 floors of everything from cosmetics and groceries to wedding gowns and lawn mowers. Under the leadership of Edgar J. Kaufmann and his wife, Liliane, the store became a forum for exhibitions of art, cutting-edge technology, and Parisian haute couture. Generations of Pittsburghers hold fond memories of meeting friends and family under the famous Kaufmann's clock to lunch at the Tic Toc Restaurant, pick up cookies at the Arcade Bakery, or peer into the store's enchanting Christmas window displays each December.

See how New Orleans became a place where several cultures met and blended to create a city and lifestyle unlike any in the United States.

Few cities boast a heritage as rich and a local color as dynamic as that of New Orleans, which is known around the world for its unique architecture, exquisite cuisine, flamboyant celebrations, and exotic peoples. Founded in 1718 as a backwater outpost of France, New Orleans was the catalyst for the greatest land deal in the history of the world, the Louisiana Purchase. Discover in these pages what made one city so appealing that one-third of the continental United States was purchased in order to obtain it. Images of the old city streets and such well-known districts as the French Quarter reveal the charm and mystery of New Orleans, and are complimented by informative and historical captions. A virtual tour of the city, New Orleans provides readers with a glimpse into the past and preserves the images of landmarks that have vanished. A scrapbook of memories for longtime residents of the city, this unique pictorial history will also be embraced by the millions of visitors who are captivated by the Crescent City.

Rollins Pass holds 12,000 years of history; Paleoindians utilized the pass 65 centuries before the invention of the wheel.

Later, wagon and rail magnates saw the pass as a “Great Gate” across the Continental Divide. Today, the area is listed as one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places.

B. Travis Wright, MPS, is a 2022 Colorado Preservation Inc. State Honor Award recipient for his advocacy of Rollins Pass. As historians and photographers, B. Travis Wright and Kate Wright, MBA, document the timeless landscapes atop Rollins Pass.

The United States is considered the world's foremost refuge for foreigners, and no place in the nation symbolizes this better than Ellis Island.

Through Ellis Island's halls and corridors more than twelve million immigrants-of nearly every nationality and race-entered the country on their way to new experiences in North America. With an astonishing array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographs, Ellis Island leads the reader through the fascinating history of this small island in New York harbor from its pre-immigration days as one of the harbor's oyster islands to its spectacular years as the flagship station of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration to its current incarnation as the National Park Service's largest museum.

Las Vegas is truly a city unlike any other. Beginning as a railroad stop in the desert and growing to become one of the top tourist destinations in the nation, the city continues to grow and redefine itself.

Maggie Bukowski Gaspar has lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and is the curator of Manuscripts, Photographs, and Library at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas. All historic images in this book come from the museum’s collection. 

Beginning in 1932, Linwood W. Moody (1905–1983) documented in photographs and collected artifacts of Maine’s two-footer railroads. A pioneer of railroad photography, his work led to articles in numerous publications such as Railroad Magazine and later culminated in Linwood’s 1959 publication The Maine Two-Footers. Among his personal effects at the time of his death in 1983 were hundreds of photographs of three of the Maine two-footers—the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway; the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad; and the Monson Railroad. The state of Maine was unique in regards to its narrow-gauge railroads. Most railroads in the United States have a width of four feet, eight and one half inches between the rails, known as standard gauge. Due to the efforts of George Mansfield, a railroad promoter of the late 1800s, a very narrow gauge of two feet between the rails was successfully developed in the state of Maine. 

Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, located on Los Angeles’s trendy west side, has been the leading choice for celebrity burials since Marilyn Monroe was interred here in 1962. The cemetery houses the remains of a plethora of household names, including Patty Andrews, Eve Arden, Lew Ayres, Jim Backus, Richard Basehart, Peter Bogdanovich, Ray Bradbury, Fanny Brice, Les Brown, Truman Capote, John Cassavetes, James Coburn, Jackie Collins, Richard Conte, Tim Conway, Bob Crane, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Dawson, Kirk Douglas, Peter Falk, Farrah Fawcett, June Foray, Stan Freberg, Eva Gabor, Merv Griffin, Jonathan Harris, Hugh Hefner, Florence Henderson, Brian Keith, Stan Kenton, Jack Klugman, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peggy Lee, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Rod McKuen, David Nelson, Lloyd Nolan, Carroll O’Connor, Heather O’Rourke, Bettie Page, Wolfgang Petersen, Gregor Piatigorsky, Donna Reed, Buddy Rich, Minnie Riperton, Doris Roberts, Wayne Rogers, George C. Scott, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Stack, Dorothy Stratten, Alvin Toffler, Mel Tormé, Josef von Sternberg, Harry Warren, Cornel Wilde, Billy Wilder, Carl Wilson, Natalie Wood, Darryl F. Zanuck, Frank Zappa, and hundreds more.

n Legends of Westwood Village Cemetery, Hollywood film historians husband-and-wife team E.J. and Kim Stephens and Phil Lantis take readers on a fascinating tour of this unique Los Angeles burial ground.

Pictorial history of the grand estates, lush landscapes, and lavish lifestyles of wealthy families like the Vanderbilts, Rogerses, Roosevelts, Dinsmores, and Millses, who made Hyde Park famous.

Hyde Park was established in 1821 as a simple and small town on the Hudson River. Its claim to fame, however, and what attracts people still to this day, are the grand estates, lush landscapes, and lavish lifestyles of some of those who lived there. Wealthy families like the Vanderbilts, Rogerses, Roosevelts, Dinsmores, and Millses built homes to match their place in society. Hyde Park was a perfect location because of its easy access to New York City, where culture and society could be found, while providing country living along the Hudson for the many outdoor pleasures the wealthy enjoyed. One part of this collection by former town historian Carney Rhinevault and current historian Shannon Butler shows the wealthy river families, whose houses were built by prominent architects and filled with treasures from abroad while others show the families who worked as coachmen, gardeners, and parlor maids who made the lifestyles of the rich possible.

In 1913, the Michigan Central Station opened its majestic entrances to the people of Detroit.

Designed by Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stern, the firms also noted as the architects of the Grand Central Station in New York City, the depot was a marvel of grandeur and comfort for the traveler lucky enough to utilize its facilities. Soldiers went to war, families both separated and rejoined, and folks looking for an honest living in the Motor City all walked the Michigan Central's elegant corridors. Since the last train pulled away from the station in 1988, the structure has fallen prey to rapidly paced deterioration. Detroit's Michigan Central Station captures the glory of the Michigan Central and its environs. Using photographs from the Burton Historical Collection, as well as private collections, the book illustrates the use of the Michigan Central Station by a city whose story dramatically parallels that of this magnificent structure. The book also includes imagined futures of the station from some of the many people who have been inspired by the magic this grand building continues to exude.

Falling in between the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II, the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair offered a refreshing prediction for the World of Tomorrow.

There were exciting demonstrations of robot servants, computerized highways, color photography, and a new invention called television. Visitors could tour the latest in model homes, enjoy the marvel of air-conditioning, and watch the newest streamlined steam locomotive in action. America's largest corporations joined forces with nations from around the world to showcase the wonders of a future that was sure to come. There were also displays of past technical marvels, international culture and cuisine, and plenty of the innovative architecture that is a large part of these international expositions. Vintage photographs, most never published before, showcase what has been lauded as the most memorable world's fair of all time.

Idora Park opened on May 30, 1899, as Terminal Park, a picnic area at the final trolley stop on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio. The name was changed to Idora Park on November 25, 1899.

Initial features and attractions included a Dentzel carousel with stationary animals, a casino stage, a bandstand, swings, picnic tables, drinking fountains, and toilet facilities. People flocked to the new park, jamming streetcars to capacity. On August 27, 1899, twenty thousand people crowded into the park. The trolley tracks had to be doubled in number, and many more streetcars were added. On Independence Day, 1901, thirty thousand people came to see the fireworks display. Idora Park needed to expand in order to accommodate these huge crowds. And expand it did. By 1915, the park had doubled in size. On April 26, 1984, it all came crashing down. Fire destroyed the two premier rides and half of one midway. Idora Park did not recover, and 1984 was its final year.

Between 1920 and 1964, the Bronx Bombers dominated the game of baseball. In this striking and nostalgic volume featuring many rarely seen photographs, we meet the heroes that were the New York Yankees.

It was a time when baseball players enjoyed an elevated status as national icons, a time when men wearing baggy, flannel uniforms and sporting pancake gloves played for little more than the love of the game. The Yankees won 29 American League pennants and 20 World Series during this golden era, their diamond exploits thrilling generations of fans and their statistical achievements becoming familiar numbers in the lore of the game: Babe Ruth's 714 home runs; Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games played; Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak; Casey Stengel's 5 straight world championships; Mickey Mantle's 565-foot home run; and Roger Maris's 61 round-trippers. The tradition of excellence began in the 1920s with the Murderers' Row teams, named for their killer batting lineups, and continued through the early 1960s, by which time the Bronx Bombers had established themselves as the most successful franchise in sports history.

Go inside the people, places, forests and machines that made Maine the logging and lumber giant it is today.

Known as the Pine Tree State, Maine once led the world in lumber production. It was the first great lumber-producing region, with Bangor at its center. Today, the state has nearly 18 million acres of timberland, and forest products still make up a major industry. The state's lumber industry went through several historical periods, beginning with the vast pine and spruce harvests, the organization of major corporate interests, the change from sawlogs to pulpwood, and then to sustained yields, intensive management, and mechanized harvesting.

At the beginning, much of the region was inaccessible except by water, so harvesting activities were concentrated on the coast and along the principal rivers. Gradually, as the railroads expanded and roads were constructed into the woods, operations expanded with them and the river systems became vitally important for the transportation of timber out of the woods to the markets downstate. Logging and Lumbering in Maine traces these developments in the industry and examines the history from its earliest roots in 1630 to the present, providing a pictorial record of land use and activity in Maine.

A town with a significant place in American history as the Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb, this pictorial history takes a visual journey pre-war and post.

Nestled in the foothills of East Tennessee, 25 miles west of Knoxville, is a small town bordered on three sides by the Clinch River. The land first existed under other names - Elza, Robertsville, Scarboro, and Wheat - but in 1942, 59,000 acres of this unassuming rural land were transformed in a matter of weeks into a secret city that became known as the mysterious Manhattan District. As a direct result of the letter written by Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the Manhattan District was created to develop new atomic weapons. Finally named Oak Ridge in 1943 and now thriving with a population of over 27,000, the town continues to be a significant center for the advancement of science and technology used throughout the world. In this pictorial history, photographs and personal descriptions guide readers on a visual journey of the construction of a city and the creation of the atomic bomb, to the post-war transformation of Oak Ridge into a major scientific community in the South.

As one of America's most notorious prisons, Alcatraz has been a significant part of California's history for over 155 years.

The small, lonely rock, known in sea charts by its Spanish name Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of Pelicans, lay essentially dormant until the 1850s, when the military converted the island into a fortress to protect the booming San Francisco region. Alcatraz served as a pivotal military position until the early 20th century and in 1934 was converted into a federal penitentiary to house some of America's most incorrigible prisoners. The penitentiary closed in 1963, and Alcatraz joined the National Park Service system in 1972. Since then, it has remained a popular attraction as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Experience the complex and dark history of San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island in 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Travel back in time through the heyday of the old Erie Canal and see how it unleashed the growth of the United States.

The building of the Erie Canal was spearheaded by the vision of Gov. Dewitt Clinton, New York State to build the engineering marvel that opened the West to settlement and made New York City the center of finance and commerce. Opened in 1825, the canal proved so commercially viable that construction of an enlarged Erie Canal began just 11 years later. The success of the canal spawned the growth of cities, towns, businesses, and industries along its route in upstate New York.

Erie Canal takes you on a journey where you can swim with the Volunteer Life Saving Corps as they sharpen their skills, view images of mule-drawn boats wending their way through scenic countryside, and marvel at the engineering of the bridges, aqueducts, and locks that facilitated the functioning of the canal. In addition, Erie Canal travels a step back in time and illuminates the people whose lives were shaped by the canal.

The legendary Blue Comet train no longer streaks through the pines of New Jersey. However, its memory still lives on through timeless images and the sustained efforts of historical societies and preservation organizations.

The Garden State's Blue Comet passenger train service operated from 1929 to 1941, on a route from the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City. Despite the backdrop of the Great Depression and stiff competition from other railroads, it survived and established an enduring legacy in the annals of New Jersey rails. This book contains memorable images, many from private archival photograph collections, showing the remarkable history of this classic train and of the many hardworking, dedicated people who made it all possible.

Key West's free-spirited ambiance and magnificent coral reefs help to create a unique and historic legacy and much more than a vacation destination.

For centuries, explorers and adventurers, immigrants and entrepreneurs, artists and wanderers have come to the island oasis known as Key West. And today, this Florida city is like no other and home to them all. Through hurricanes, fires, labor strikes, and the tourism boom, the community of Key West has sustained a unique way of life and attracted a wide variety of people to its shores, including such famous figures as writers Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, President Harry Truman, and musician Jimmy Buffett. Whether strolling through the downtown historic district, searching eclectic shops for one-of-a-kind treasures, enjoying a piece of key lime pie, or participating in the look-alike contest during Hemingway Days, Key West offers endless opportunities for pleasure. The landmarks, the people, and the continuing story of Key West are the entertaining subject of this new photographic tribute.

In 1984, the city of New Orleans hosted the last world's fair held in the United States.

Conceived as part of an ambitious effort to revitalize a dilapidated section of the city and establish New Orleans as a year-round tourist destination, it took more than 12 years of political intrigue and design changes before the gates finally opened. Stretching 84 acres along the Mississippi River, the fair entertained more than seven million guests with a colorful collection of pavilions, rides, and restaurants during its six-month run. While most world's fairs lose money, the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair had the dubious distinction of going bankrupt and almost closing early. However, the $350-million investment did succeed in bringing new life to the area, which is now home to the city's convention center and a bustling arts district.

Lebanon, located on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, is the center of the largest micropolitan area in the United States and the only city in New Hampshire’s Grafton County, but its history has long been overshadowed by its cultural neighbors: Dartmouth College to the north, the Enfield Shaker community to the east, and the Cornish Colony to the south. Here, Lebanon’s history takes center stage, starting from its beginnings as valuable territory for the Indigenous Western Abenaki and the first European colonists on the banks of the Connecticut and Mascoma Rivers. Lebanon follows the city through its development as a railroad hub, its growth as a powerhouse of mill production, and its modern role as a center of healthcare and scientific innovation. This book showcases photographs from the collection of the Lebanon Historical Society—a one-of-a-kind archive of the area’s history. Generations of amateur historians and collectors have produced a resource of thousands of original images supplemented and informed by a vast trove of historical documents and artifacts. 

The State of Georgia chartered the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1836. The railroad aided in the development and growth of many communities between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In constructing the railroad, workers created a winding route that cut its way across the North Georgia landscape. During the Civil War, both armies used this vital artery, and it was the setting for one of the war's most iconic events, the Great Locomotive Chase. The state still owns the Western & Atlantic and has leased it since 1870. The line remains an essential part of North Georgia and is a backbone of the region's industry. As Atlanta ponders its transportation future, it is important to remember that without the Western & Atlantic, Atlanta would not be the city it is today.

Todd DeFeo has studied railroads since growing up alongside the Northeast Corridor line in New Jersey. He is editor of Railfanning.org and founder of The DeFeo Groupe. Today, he lives near the historic Western & Atlantic. The images that help make up the visual history in this book come from the many libraries and museums dedicated to preserving the Western & Atlantic’s history, the archives of Railfanning.org, and the author’s collection.

In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took over Pennsylvania's Main Line of Public Works, a state-owned railroad and canal system built in the 1830s. Most are gone, but fortunately some still stand and are in use today.

Costly to build and maintain, and never attracting the traffic needed to sustain it, the state was eager to let it go. Keeping the rail portion and combining it with its own lines, the PRR ultimately developed a well-built and well-run rail line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh all while keeping the main line moniker. The eastern section between Philadelphia and Harrisburg was especially successful, particularly after the railroad built new communities along the line that were at first summer destinations and later year-round homes for daily commuters. Other towns and cities along the main line had a strong industrial or agricultural base needing rail access, and many of these communities had attractive train stations. Images of America: Pennsylvania Main Line Railroad Stations: Philadelphia to Harrisburg documents many of these passenger stations through vintage photographs and other images.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is a monument to the nation’s 16th president, a commemoration of the country’s post–Civil War reunification, and a setting for national events and quiet visits.

Demands for a national memorial to Abraham Lincoln began shortly after his 1865 assassination but produced nothing substantial until the early 20th century. Elevation of Lincoln to legendary status and an extended debate over location and design finally led Congress in 1913 to approve a memorial at the west end of the National Mall. Construction took another eight years. Since its dedication in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has hosted civil rights demonstrations, presidential events, national celebrations, and day and night visits by millions of people who come to reflect upon one of the most consequential leaders in American history.

Kevin S. Schindler is a historian at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has written six books about science and history. Brian Anderson is a Washington, DC, lawyer and Ford’s Theatre Society trustee who previously wrote a book about the history of Ford’s Theatre. Drawing upon Washington-area museums and research libraries, Schindler and Anderson have assembled a rich collection of historical images to tell the fascinating story of this American landmark.

Since 1950, Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort has been celebrated as a family-run, family-loved destination. It is the closest snow to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley. Many generations have learned to ski and snowboard on these slopes. There are multiple runs for all levels within the ski area and breathtaking views to enjoy with each turn. Ski legends have been and still are instructors here. An Olympian was raised here. Many people have called Dodge Ridge their happy place and a second home. It is a unique resort that is mighty in the hearts of outdoor enthusiasts. Now it is a year-round destination that includes mountain biking, hiking, and disc golf as the owners continue to expand family fun and fond memories. Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort operates in the Stanislaus National Forest under a special use permit from the US Forest Service.

Tricia O’Brien is also the author of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, San Francisco’s Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights, San Francisco Giants, and Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Through photographs and stories from locals, O’Brien shows the resort’s evolution from raw forest land to a year-round recreation playground.

Longtime Midwest City resident and author Malana Bracht joins efforts with key historical leaders of Midwest City and institutions such as the Midwest City High School History Center, Rose State College Foundation, and Atkinson Heritage Center to deliver this city’s rich story to the new generation of Midwest City residents looking to understand the heart behind the model city and its founders.

In the early 1940s, a visionary developer named W.P. “Bill” Atkinson set out to find the perfect location for an incoming air depot to be built in Oklahoma by the US War Department. With a hunch and a wink, he purchased a large plot of land and later incorporated Midwest City in 1943 with the purpose of attracting and supporting Midwestern families and businesses relocating to work at the new plant. The plant later became the iconic Tinker Air Force Base. Awarded as the “Model City of the Midwest,” Midwest City became a city of hope for families looking to have a better life while supporting the nation’s military efforts. Using creative marketing strategies such as selling ponies with homes, intentional city planning for family living, and cultivating Norman Rockwellian culture, Midwest City grew and positioned itself as an innovative leader in the region. 

Having many familial ties to Midwest City and Tinker Air Force Base, Bracht tells the story of Midwest City from its founding, continuing its legacy for generations to come.

Discover what made Whalom Park a beloved institution for generations through historic photographs.

Whalom Park’s name is derived from adjoining Lake Whalom. Native Americans originally called the lake Unketchewhalom, meaning “the lake of the magician,” based on a legend. They also considered it to be magical since there is no inlet. The Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway acquired the land in 1892 and installed trolley lines and amusements, opening the park the following year. A deer park, an open-air theater, and an inn were followed in subsequent years by food concessions, a variety of games of skill, and amusement rides. A succession of natural disasters, fires, modernization, and expansion shaped the park into an iconic memory for so many area citizens and visitors. At the time of its closing in 2000, Whalom—at 108 years of age—held the distinction of being the oldest amusement park in America.

Authors C. William Lakso, William E. Tyler, and Edwin G. Ollikkala thoroughly researched the history of the park and utilized donated photographs to augment those at the Lunenburg Historical Society. Their goal was to prepare a volume that would enable readers to quickly recall and visualize many pleasant memories and the happy times spent with their families at Whalom Park.

Round Top’s African American pioneers came into Texas in 1825 when Stephen F. Austin brought in 300 Anglo-Americans, and the people they enslaved, for the purpose of colonizing the area. Soon afterward, more slaves were bought in from other slaveholding states. After the Civil War ended, the descendants of these original Round Top pioneers began building their own community. Many earned money by toiling away in the cotton fields for the very men who had once enslaved them. Others earned money working as cowboys, washerwomen, barbers, or blacksmiths. In 1867, the group founded the Concord Missionary Baptist Church as a communal space for them to come together and pool their resources to buy their own land, build their own homes, and hire teachers, which led to the creation of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church Colored School. For generations, this school successfully educated freedmen, their children, and their descendants before finally closing its doors due to desegregation. Despite many challenges, they overcame obstacles that grew into a prosperous community. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has some of the highest, oldest, and most picturesque mountain peaks and ridges in the United States. Discover its history.

Its mountains, rivers, and scenic gorges constitute a formidable barrier between Tennessee and North Carolina. The struggle to acquire the land for the park from 10 large lumber companies and hundreds of small landholders started in 1923 and lasted more than 15 years. More than half of the 500,000 acres acquired for the park had been logged before the park's dedication in 1940, but thousands of acres of old growth forest still survive. One of the most biologically diverse regions in North America-with thousands of species of plant and animal life, including 125 species of native trees-the park was designated an International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 1976 and a World Heritage Site in 1983.

Pan American World Airways could be considered a corporate Cinderella--a rags-to-riches-and-back-again phenomenon.

From its founding in 1927 and its relatively obscure inauguration as a mail carrier on a 90-mile mail run from Florida's Key West to Cuba, Pan Am's route system grew to span the globe. The company that would eventually become famous for its blue-and-white-world logo grew into a conglomerate of hotels, airlines, business jets, real estate, a helicopter service, and even a guided missiles range division. But financial problems plagued Pan Am in its last two decades, and in 1991, Pan American World Airways ceased flying after 64 years of service. The story of Pan Am is as much the story of president Juan T. Trippe as it is an account of airplanes, pilots, flight attendants, and glamorous destinations. As the company moved throughout the world building airfields from jungles, crossing oceans, and forcing the development of new airplanes, it was Trippe's airline and his vision. A global pioneer, Pan Am was the first airline to use radio communications, to employ cabin attendants and serve meals aloft, and to complete an around-the-world flight. The company's achievements were legendary, but its failures, tragedies, and disasters were also part of a complex corporate life.

It's a conveinent-store giant in the Mid-Atlantic region today, but Wawa's history dates back to its days as an iron manufactuer over 200 years ago.

Founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865, Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Using the resources and surplus water power from the iron business, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton piece goods, including Red Star diapers. The first Wawa milk plant opened in 1902 and by the late 1950s, the Wawa Dairy had expanded its home delivery business to include over 145 routes. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964. Today, the company is familiar to many as a chain of 545 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that offers a wide selection of fresh foods, coffee, and gasoline. Wawa contains vintage images documenting the evolution of the company as it adapted to changing economic and social conditions. From the early days of iron manufacture to the opening of the first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa brings to life the many facets of one of America's top privately owned companies.

Through stories of people, music, and dreams, King Records of Cincinnati tells the history of a recording company which launched countless musical careers.

Starting with a few songs and a dream in 1943, King Records--a leading American independent--launched musical careers from a shabby brick factory on Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati's Evanston neighborhood. Founder Sydney Nathan recorded country singers Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Wayne Raney, and others and later added black acts such as James Brown and the Famous Flames, Bull Moose Jackson, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Lonnie Johnson, and Freddy King. Meanwhile, King also explored polka, jazz, bluegrass, comedy, gospel, pop, and instrumental music--anything that Nathan could sell. Although King's Cincinnati factory closed in 1971, the company's diverse catalog of roots music had already become a phenomenon. Its legacy lives on in hundreds of classic recordings that are prized by collectors and musicians.

The General Motors Corporation opened over a century ago with humble beginnings to grow into the company that became the global business powerhouse it is today.

Established in 1908 by William C. Durant, General Motors was the end-product of combining the Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland companies. From the 1920s onwards, GM grew from a company that accounted for about 10% of new auto sales in the U.S. to becoming the largest producer of cars and trucks in the world. By the 1960s, due to a series of federal safety regulations and competetive challenges, General Motors' business would never be the same. Though they've suffered their fair share of setbacks, GM is still one of the biggest motor companies in the world, even today. General Motors: A Photographic History explores the growth of the company in a series of 200+ black-and-white images, from the first assembly line to post-WWII recovery, and takes the reader on an intriguing visual tour of a tremendously important piece of the industrialization of the U.S.

See how the Pennsylvania Turnpike proved the doubters wrong and came to be known as the World's Greatest Highway.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the best-known highways in the United States. Most Pennsylvania Turnpike travelers are unaware that its construction was inspired by the route of the never-completed South Pennsylvania Railroad. In the 1930s, men of great vision conceived, planned, and built the nation's first long-distance superhighway using the abandoned railroad's partially finished tunnels as its foundation.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike draws from the extensive photograph collection in the Pennsylvania State Archives. Many were taken by photographers hired by both the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and its contractors, and most have never been published previously. Originally predicted to be a financial failure, the project wound up being a tremendous success and, eventually was expanded and improved, laying the groundwork for the nation's Interstate Highway System.

Powerful: this single word aptly describes a naval vessel known as a battleship. The USS Alabama (BB-60) was the last of four South Dakota-class battleships built for World War II.

She is well armored and designed to survive an attack while continuing to fight. Her main battery, known as Big Guns, consisted of nine 16-inch guns; each could launch a projectile weighing as much as a small car that could hit a target 21 miles away. Her crew numbered 2,332 men, none of whom were lost to enemy fire, earning her the nickname Lucky A. She served as more than just a battleship: she carried troops, supplies, and seaplanes and served in the Pacific and Atlantic; her doctors treated patients from other ships; she was the wartime home for a major-league ballplayer; the movie setting for Hollywood films; and she traveled home to the state of Alabama with the help of schoolchildren.

Author Michael W.R. Davis journeys through the more-than 100 year history of Chevrolet automobiles, from its earliest days to the present.

The Chevrolet car and truck business traces its roots back to Michigan's lumber industry in the middle of the 19th century. Lumber mills gave way to carriage and wagon manufacturing and the claim, before motorcars burst on the scene, that Flint was the vehicle capital of the world.

This is the story of how those wagon makers quickly converted to producing automobiles, overtaking automotive pioneer and archrival Ford in sales, and building the Chevrolet brand into the global powerhouse entity it is today. This volume traces the first half (1911–1960) of Chevrolet's 100-year history in photographic detail and provides an unparalleled spotter guide for long-forgotten (or never-known) Chevrolet cars and trucks. From its beginnings under entrepreneur Billy Durant, through the Knudson years, Unionization, and World War II, Chevrolet weathered many highs and lows, successes and challenges.

Author Michael W.R. Davis is a veteran automotive journalist and historian and served as the executive director of the Detroit Historical Society for five years. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians and a trustee of the National Automotive History Collection at the Detroit Public Library.

The history of Grand Central Terminal, from construction to world-famous landmark, and its influence on the New York City community surrounding it.

Built in the heart of the Empire City is the world's greatest and most iconic railway terminal. A colossal Beaux-Arts style transport nexus, Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913 from the legacy of the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The terminal quickly became vital to travel and today accommodates 750,000 people daily. This book documents the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the former Grand Central Depot (1871) and Grand Central Station (1900), and illuminates the incredible story of the terminal that revolutionized transport, developed Midtown Manhattan, and opened railroad access to suburban areas.

When the world comes to Tennessee, the world is going to have a good time.

Once referred to as the scruffy little city by the Tennessee River, Knoxville hosted the world’s fair from May 1 through October 31, 1982, and provided one big party for people to visit from all over to witness the live entertainment, parades, displays, exhibits, musical and sporting events, food, costumes, rides, games, and arcades. Based on the theme “Energy Turns the World,” Expo ’82 was the first world’s fair to be held in the southeastern United States in 97 years, hosting 22 countries and more than 11 million people. The news reports of the day declared the World Came to Knoxville as it hosted the official international exposition, fully licensed and sanctioned by the Bureau des Expositions Internationales in Paris, France.