Architecture

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.

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.

As the first community to incorporate after Washington achieved statehood in 1890, the original city of Ballard has one of most storied histories in the state.

Bordered by Salmon Bay, the famous Ballard Locks, a bascule bridge, and the Salish Sea, the longtime joke was that one needed a passport to enter. The convergence of protected water and rich forests made Ballard's resources a seasonal draw for the Shilshole branch of the Duwamish tribe and then homesteaders. Dating back to the first claim of 820 acres in 1852, Ballard has weathered waves of development and rare times of bust. Once known as the Shingle Capital of the United States, Ballard saw many of its mills burn, its fishing fleet endure, and its local museum become a national treasure. Ballard always rises again, as did the iconic bell, which graced its city hall before annexation and now anchors the Ballard Avenue Landmark District, from its wildly popular Farmer's Market by day to destination nightlife. Preserving Ballard celebrates what has always kept the community's independent spirit alive.

Formed in 1988, the Ballard Historical Society is a nonprofit organization committed to the research, preservation, and public awareness of the Ballard community. The society maintains a growing interactive archive of photographs, media materials, and artifacts. Preserving Ballard showcases Ballard's spirit by providing historic knowledge and a deep sense of place to a district experiencing rapid change.

The Rose Bowl is best known for playing host to the "granddaddy of them all"--the much anticipated major college football game held every January 1. It has further secured its place in sports history by playing host to Super Bowls, BCS football championships, Olympic games, and World Cup finals. For the residents of Pasadena, the Rose Bowl is also an important community center. In addition to football games (and Caltech pranks), many Pasadenans remember graduating at the bowl. Over the years, the Rose Bowl has held numerous concerts, peace rallies, festivals, flea markets, and Fourth of July celebrations. And the structure itself, designed by architect Myron Hunt, is seen by many as a proud testament to Pasadena's commitment to architectural innovation. The photographs in this book, many from the archives of the Pasadena Museum of History, highlight the Rose Bowl's memorable sports moments as well as the stadium's unique role in Pasadena's cultural life.

Construction on the California State Capitol began during the Civil War using stone, brick, and iron, showing confidence in the future. The capitol building showed that California had come a long way from the days of its transient, chaotic roots, born of the Gold Rush. Once the capitol was located in Sacramento in 1854, there was still no guarantee that the city would remain its permanent home. When it was completed in 1873, it was the largest structure of its day west of the Mississippi River. Its presence has continued to not only dominate the Sacramento landscape for a century and a half but has also come to shape the very outlook and future of Sacramento and of California itself. The state capitol and its majestic dome have become the iconic symbol of the city.

Created in 1858, the Evergreen Cemetery provided a final resting place for a multitude of Santa Cruz’s adventurers, entrepreneurs and artists. The land was a gift from the Imus family, who’d narrowly escaped the fate of the Donner Party more than a decade earlier and had already buried two of their own. Alongside these pioneers, the community buried many other notables, including London Nelson, an emancipated slave turned farmer who left his land to the city schools, and journalist Belle Dormer, who covered a visit by President Benjamin Harrison and the women’s suffrage movement. Join Traci Bliss and Randall Brown as they bring to life the tragedies and triumphs of the diverse men and women interred at Evergreen Cemetery.

As Seattle grew in the mid-1800s, the increase in families settling in the area created a need for churches. Seattle First Church was established in 1853 and by 1901 Seattle had 112 churches; today, there are less than 20 of these churches still in existence. Seattle's Historic Houses of Worship explores many of these churches, examining how they have survived over 100 years, while still going strong today. Churches have guided the Seattle community through the great Seattle fire, world wars, internment camps, the assassination of a president, and the protests of the civil rights era.