Located within the Des Plaines River valley in Illinois, Lemont became a village in 1873. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened transportation opportunities and led to the discovery of dolomite limestone (known locally as Athens marble). Quarrying limestone became Lemont's leading industry, and it was used for buildings throughout the region, including Chicago's famous Water Tower. Canal workers made Lemont a capital of vice in the 1890s with bars and brothels located in the area known as Smokey Row. Downtown Lemont boasts well-preserved commercial buildings from this period. Historic homes and church steeples are nestled into the valley bluff, reflecting the community's devotion to faith, civic pride, and traditions such as the Keepataw Parade. Today, the area's industrial past is being rediscovered and repurposed for recreational uses in its quarries and along miles of trails that connect Lemont to the rest of the region.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood began to transform from the post-industrial morass it had been suffering for the last few decades. Artists began to rent empty apartments, what were once shot-and-a-beer bars became hip dive bars and entrepreneurs found inexpensive real estate to follow their visions. It was in this landscape that the Beehive Coffeehouse began to attract a new 90s alternative crowd.

East Carson Street was soon home to not just coffeehouses but Slacker, Dee's Cafe, Culture Shop, Club Laga and the Lava Lounge. Across a bridge, in the university community of Oakland, The Upstage, Electric Banana and another Beehive catered to the new youth culture. Cappuccinos, thrift shop culture, grunge music, local alternative bands, artists, writers and creative denizens of all stripes would soon enter the city's collective conscious. The South Side Beehive though was where the night often began, and weekends ended.

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.

Syracuse, a small, nostalgic farm community located about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City and bordering the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake, was officially settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s. Before that time, it was open land occupied by Native Americans and frequented by mountain men. At the turn of the 20th century, Syracuse became a small farming community with dedicated, hardworking people. Many notable pioneer families settled strong roots that made Syracuse what it is today. After World War II, Syracuse slowly developed into an urban sprawl. While the 21st century has transitioned Syracuse from a farming community to a fast-growing city, the people and land continue to exemplify industrious values.

An Iowa Tradition Like No Other

In the 1970s, there were around 450 local meat lockers throughout the state of Iowa. Today, there are little more than 100 left. History is finally back on their side with a wave of consumers wanting to support small businesses, shop small and buy local. Consumers now also have an increased urge to take more day trips and explore regions they don't see much in the headlines and bring these meats home for their own culinary creations. This is the story of heritage from the old country being passed down by generations of Iowans, and the future of an industry that has endured through decades of decline. Jay Goodvin details the history of Iowa Meat Lockers and their future.

The postwar era led to a threefold population increase in Salt Lake County between 1940 and 1980 and brought with it a building boom largely concentrated in Salt Lake City. Office towers reached farther toward the sky, college campuses grew outward to accommodate the influx of students on the GI Bill, religious facilities were built for a diversifying population, and arenas and theaters were constructed for people enjoying their newly discovered leisure time. This building boom was anchored in Modernism, an architectural movement defined by rationalism and functionalism. Modernism first caught hold in large American cities then proliferated to the rest of the country in more provincial cities like Salt Lake. This book explores the lasting impression of Modernism on Salt Lake's built environment and highlights projects by both homegrown architects as well as architects from farther afield practicing in the burgeoning city. Landmark structures such as the First Security Bank building and the Salt Palace highlight the city's Modern architecture and, along with more mundane examples, bring it to light at a moment when it is increasingly targeted for demolition.