Architecture

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.

Washington Crossing is one of America’s most revered historic landmarks.

The crossing site is marked by the creation of two historic parks: Washington Crossing State Park, New Jersey, created in 1912, and Washington Crossing Historic Park, Pennsylvania, created in 1917. Washington Crossing illustrates how these two parks commemorate George Washington’s courage to lead his army across the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 to attack an isolated garrison of Hessians located at Trenton, which would turn the tide of the American Revolution. Filled with images from the collections of historian Peter Osborne, the Washington Crossing Foundation, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Trenton Free Public Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book includes an exposé of Emanuel Leutze’s famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware—a world-renowned symbol of freedom.

Robert W. Sands Jr. holds a master of arts in museum professions from Seton Hall University. He is the author of three previous Images of America books: Glassboro, Woodbury, and Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Patricia E. Millen holds a degree in American studies. An author of two books and numerous articles, she began her career at Washington Crossing State Park and is a founding board member of the Washington Crossing Park Association.

Oakwood Cemetery evolved from a final resting place for Confederate soldiers to a modern cemetery full of life, reflecting over 150 years of the remarkable history of Raleigh, North Carolina. Many of the men and women who lived that history and developed this Southern capital—from soldiers and politicians to educators and clergy, from merchants and craftsmen to social activists and laborers—now rest in Oakwood, memorialized in the monuments that grace this lovely garden cemetery. Their stories, illustrated by archival and modern photographs, are told within this volume.

Standing on the banks of the Black River, Mansfield Plantation is a living testament to antebellum rice plantations. In 1718, it started as a five-hundred-acre land grant near the upstart village of Georgetown. The main house was built around 1800, and the plantation soon grew to nearly one thousand acres. John and Sallie Middleton Parker returned the property to the Man-Taylor-Lance-Parker family, a line of ownership dating back 150 years. Ongoing preservation projects ensure that future generations can explore and appreciate one of the most well-preserved rice plantations in America. Plantation historian Christopher C. Boyle captures the spirit of Mansfield Plantation and unravels the many mysteries of its past.

People have called the land near the Ocmulgee River in present-day central Georgia home for a long time, perhaps as many as 17,000 years, and each successive group has left its mark on the landscape. Mississippian-era people erected the towering Great Temple Mound and other large earthworks around 1,000 years ago. In the late 17th century, Ocmulgee flourished as a center of trade between the Creek Indians and their English neighbors. In the 19th century, railroads did irreparable damage to the site in the name of progress and profit, slicing through it twice. Preservation efforts bore fruit in the 1930s, when Ocmulgee National Monument was created. Since then, people from all over the world have visited Ocmulgee. They come for many reasons, but they invariably leave with a reverence for the place and the people who built it hundreds of years ago and those who have maintained it in recent decades.

Like treasured family heirlooms, the historic churches and temples of Tampa are lovingly cared for by their devoted congregations. With more than 200 vintage images, Historic Tampa Churches shares stories of tragedy and triumph, from St. Peter Claver Church, whose congregation watched the first church burn to the ground 10 days after its dedication, to the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Benedict School, who found themselves jailed for teaching students in the African American community. Many of these churches, like Ybor City's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, West Tampa's St. Joseph Church, and downtown's Greater Bethel Baptist Church, are found at the center of Tampa's ethnically diverse communities. Passed down from generation to generation, these architectural gems serve as a reminder of the countless men and women who selflessly labored for the growth of their churches, leaving a lasting legacy of faith and good works.

A visual narrative of this groundbreaking New Urbanism development in the Florida Panhandle. Designed by planning pioneers Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Rosemary Beach is a decidedly different community. Renowned photographer Richard Sexton became an advocate of Rosemary Beach, finding it a positive example of how future communities can become better and more stimulating places. His admiration is palpable throughout this thoroughly descriptive and artful photo essay, which features a vicarious stroll through residential and civic buildings and public spaces, and details the prescribed house types that define the community. A secondary photo essay focuses on an intimate view of how residents live in Rosemary Beach. The final section provides a walking tour experience.

Located in the rural northeastern part of North Carolina, Somerset was cumulatively home to more than 800 enslaved blacks and four generations of a planter family.

When the institution of slavery ended in 1865, Somerset Place was the third largest plantation in North Carolina. During the 80 years that Somerset was an active plantation, hundreds of acres were farmed for rice, corn, oats, wheat, peas, beans, and flax. Today, Somerset Place is preserved as a state historic site offering a realistic view of what it was like for the slaves and freemen who once lived and worked on the plantation, once one of the Upper South's most prosperous enterprises.