Name: Victorville
Brand: Dylan M. Almendral
SKU: 9781467129985
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Victorville

9781467129985

$24.99

Victorville, California, was inhabited by settlers in 1858. It was not founded formally until 1895, when the town was named Victor in honor of California's Southern Railroad general manager Jacob Nash Victor. In 1901, the name was changed to Victorville to end much confusion with the town of Victor, Colorado. Victorville is many things: a historic crossing for the mass migrations and expeditions to the West, a historic railroad depot, a ranch town, a hideaway for the glamorous of Hollywood during the Golden Era, and a stop on the Mother Road of Grapes of Wrath fame. Several Native American sites are located in Victorville and along the Mojave River, which spans its northernmost borders. Petroglyphs and pictographs, prehistoric symbols etched or drawn by the first High Desert occupants, can still be seen along the rock walls of the Narrows where the river sliced into slabs of solid granite over thousands of years.

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Theatres of the San Francisco Peninsula

9780738575780

$24.99

The San Francisco Peninsula serves as a geographic and transportation link between the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and all points north and south. As commerce increased along its highways and railroad lines from the late 19th century onward, cities and towns flourished along that corridor. Wherever commerce went, entertainment followed. Beginning with early playhouses and storefront nickelodeons, continuing through the movie palace period, the golden age of the drive-in theatre, and into the days of the multiplex, this volume of vintage photographs captures the various eras as they applied to the peninsula.

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Lincoln

9781467132053

$24.99

Charles Lincoln Wilson was the founder of Lincoln. His enthusiasm brought the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Folsom as far as the Auburn Ravine. The citizens of Western Placer now had a rail terminal. The new town was given Charles Lincoln Wilson's middle name. After the goldfields played out, copper deposits were discovered. By April 1863, large pieces of copper were being exhibited from the Gardner Claim. There were large copper mines at the J.D. Saunders ranch and at Whiskey Diggins, later Kilaga Springs. In 1874, clay deposits were also found while mining for coal. Charles Gladding, Peter McBean, and George Chambers, all from Chicago, had read about the superior, widespread clay deposits in Lincoln, and they started the California Clay Manufacturing Company in May 1875. The name soon became Gladding, McBean & Company.

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Folsom, California

9780738502014

$24.99

With the nearby discovery of gold in 1848, Folsom, which began as a remote camp for trappers and traders, quickly
became a prosperous mining town in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. When the railroad arrived, Folsom boomed, serving as a transportation hub and gateway to the gold country. Downtown's Sutter Street became a busy center for merchants, hotels, and commerce, as well as the terminus for the Pony Express. Encompassing 135 years, this book celebrates Folsom's diverse heritage from its beginnings as Granite City to the recent growth attributed to the influx of high-tech corporations. Over two hundred images illustrate its history, including personal glimpses of family and home life, churches, schools, holiday celebrations, local culture, politics, and social organizations, to photographs of well-known landmarks and institutions such as the Cohn House, Sutter Street, the Folsom Powerhouse, the railroad, and of course, the infamous Folsom Prison.

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San Clemente

9780738580517

$24.99

In the 1920s, San Clemente founder Ole Hanson envisioned a "Spanish Village" on the Pacific coast halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. His city would have streets that followed the natural contours of the land. Sunny beaches and perfect climate enticed many to settle in this charming community. Known for its hospitality and neighborly atmosphere, the city became host and home to dignitaries such as Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Pres. Richard M. Nixon. Today, professional surfers, skateboarders, and small businesses call San Clemente home--the perfect place for work and leisure.

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Filipinos in Stockton

9780738556246

$24.99

The first Filipino settlers arrived in Stockton, California, around 1898, and through most of the 20th century, this city was home to the largest community of Filipinos outside the Philippines. Because countless Filipinos worked in, passed through, and settled here, it became the crossroads of Filipino America. Yet immigrants were greeted with signs that read Positively No Filipinos Allowed and were segregated to a four-block area centered on Lafayette and El Dorado Streets, which they called Little Manila. In the 1970s, redevelopment and the Crosstown Freeway decimated the Little Manila neighborhood. Despite these barriers, Filipino Americans have created a vibrant ethnic community and a rich cultural legacy. Filipino immigrants and their descendants have shaped the history, culture, and economy of the San Joaquin Delta area.

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San Diego Lowriders

9781467137805

$21.99

San Diego's unique lowrider culture and community has a long history of low and slow. Cruising the streets from 1950 to 1985, twenty-eight lowrider car clubs made their marks in the San Diego neighborhoods of Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, National City, Old Town, San Ysidro and the adjoining border community of Tijuana, Mexico. Foundational clubs, including the Latin Lowriders, Brown Image and Chicano Brothers, helped transform marginalized youth into lowriders who modified their cars into elegant, stylized lowered vehicles with a strong Chicano influence. Despite being targeted by the police in the 1980s, club members defended their passion and succeeded in building a thriving scene of competitions and shows with a tradition of customization, close community and Chicano pride. Authors Alberto López Pulido and Rigoberto Rigo Reyes follow the birth of lowrider culture to the present day.

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Humboldt Redwoods State Park

9780738595139

$24.99

The Eel River in Northern California is the third largest river in the state. Along its banks stand the largest remaining redwood groves in the world. They are preserved within Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Created in 1921 with the purchase of Bolling Grove near Myers Flat by the Save the Redwoods League, the park currently preserves 53,000 acres of forestland. Within the park are structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and a monolithic four-fireplace structure designed by Julia Morgan. The park also encompasses many small towns. The settlement of these towns is included in this pictorial history of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Additionally, steps taken to preserve the redwoods are documented. Finally, floods along the river that have shaped the environment and influenced the growth of the park are also featured.

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Petaluma

9780738518992

$24.99

The river comes in and the river goes back out-this was the central fact that dictated the ebb and flow of life in early Petaluma. This river provided a natural link with San Francisco, and Petaluma became a ready-made market and eventually a prosperous trading hub. Captured here in over 200 vintage images is the story of this once fledgling creek-side village, and its evolution into one of northern California's thriving commercial centers. As waves of American settlers besieged the area following the Gold Rush, the early cabins and shanties gave way to warehouses and storefronts. Pictured here are the elements that made Petaluma prosperous: the banks, parks, bustling hotels, lively businesses, and stately Victorian homes. From the first steamer Gold plowing its way with the region's wares down to San Pablo Bay, to the nation's first pioneering commercial hatchery, Images of America: Petaluma captures the spirit and ingenuity of this riverside town and its residents.

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Ciro's

9781467133791

$24.99

Many entertainers launched their careers at Ciro's Nightclub, often referred as The Nightclub of the Stars. Ciro's was patronized by both famous and non-famous guests who enjoyed dancing, dining, and comedy routines featuring top-name entertainers such as Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Sophie Tucker, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Liberace, Nat King Cole, Joe E. Lewis, and Sammy Davis Jr.—just to name a few. The nightclub's house band was led by Dick Stabile, although bandleader Xavier Cugat, best known for popularizing the rumba in the United States, was a regular headliner at the club. The elite Hollywood regulars at Ciro's included some of the most popular names in entertainment at the time, such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and many more.

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Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village

9781467125697

$29.99

Once upon a time, the Conejo Valley was primarily home to the Chumash Indians, oak trees, and animals. Eventually, ranches took over, cowboys made the valley their home, and the area served as a country retreat for the adventurous people of Los Angeles. The producers of numerous movies and television shows took advantage of the natural beauty that could not be duplicated on a soundstage. Hollywood stars found privacy. Soon, word spread about the tranquility and wonderful opportunities of the Conejo Valley, and the growth began. Thousand Oaks received a name and boundaries and became a city, Lake Sherwood expanded, Hidden Valley was no longer so hidden, and the birth of Westlake Village brought the city to the country.

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King City

9781467108041

$23.99

The town of King City came into existence in 1886, when the railroad arrived north of San Lorenzo Creek in the Salinas Valley of Central California. Named after Charles H. King, owner of this portion of the San Lorenzo Land Grant, King City has grown into a hub for the magnificent agricultural fields that surround it and support its economy. US Highway 101 and the Salinas River are unique features of the town, and Mesa Del Rey Airport was instrumental in the training of pilots during World War II. Author John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden is set near King City.

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Costa Mesa

9781467115766

$24.99

Perhaps no one could have foreseen the amazing transformation of Costa Mesa from a sleepy rancho to today's bustling City of the Arts. Along with other Orange County cities, Costa Mesa experienced explosive growth, redevelopment, county bankruptcy, traffic, and environmental issues. While navigating these events, Costa Mesa emerged with its own brand of Southern California cityhood. World War II brought the Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB) to town, along with 125,000 cadets. Postwar SAAAB conversion established the Orange County Fairgrounds, colleges, and housing. After incorporation in 1953, the race was on to achieve critical mass while surrounded by older, established cities. The Segerstrom family led the way to world-class facilities, such as South Coast Plaza and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. These venues shifted the city center from the traditional downtown to north Costa Mesa. Located at the confluence of three freeways and adjacent to John Wayne–Orange County Airport, Costa Mesa faces the future as the center of the South Coast Metro complex.

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Hollywood Studios

9780738547084

$24.99

Just after the turn of the 20th century, the motion picture industry moved to the West Coast, and the largest land of make-believe was created in Hollywood, California. From the silent-era beginnings of primitive, open-air stages to the fabled back lots of the studios' heyday, Hollywood Studios presents a bygone era of magical moviemaking in rare postcards. Assembled from the author's private collection, these images from the Chaplin Studios to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer depict an insider's look back at the dream factories known as the Hollywood studios.

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Quincy

9780738528557

$24.99

Situated among the forests and lakes of northeastern California where the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges meet, the town of Quincy is both picturesque and steeped in local history-from the Maidu Native Americans who first lived in the American Valley now called Quincy to the flood of people who came in the mid-1800s searching for gold. Quincy was born when Hugh J. Bradley, who helped organized Plumas County in 1854, laid out the town and named it after his home city in Illinois. Now the county's seat of government, Quincy boasts many attractive downtown buildings that have become the focus of the community's historic preservation and restoration efforts.

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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.

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Early Pasadena

9780738558370

$24.99

The name Pasadena evokes images of a sunny paradise filled with the wafting scent of orange blossoms and roses. The world looks to Pasadena every January 1, when the world-famous Tournament of Roses carries on a century-long tradition and the Rose Bowl game reigns as college football's "granddaddy of them all." Many of the city's other cultural and architectural icons also trace their roots to Pasadena's early days. From citrus groves to resort hotels, a bicycle highway and a commuter blimp, presidential visits, and summer snowstorms, the rich and varied history of early Pasadena can be seen in this volume's many unique photographs. Many of these images, taken from the archives at the Pasadena Museum of History, have never before been published. They reflect the colorful origins of a city that remains to this day a popular tourist destination, California cultural center, and a beloved home to thousands.

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Hollywood 1900-1950 in Vintage Postcards

9780738520735

$24.99

With the advent of new, inexpensive photographic technology emerging in the United States during the mid-19th century, communication by postcard became a very popular way to exchange travel stories, news, and gossip over the decades. Drawing on a private collection of vintage postcards, this new book features a history of Hollywood, spanning half a century. Exploring Hollywood before and after it became the entertainment capital of the world, these images offer readers a glimpse of some of the city's most interesting places during its Golden Years. Long before motion pictures arrived, when the area was a residential neighborhood of beautiful homes and lemon groves, Hollywood was just another suburb of Los Angeles striving to become a community. From the familiar sights of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and the Chinese Theater, to the horse-and-buggy driven dirt roads and pineapple fields at the turn of the century, Hollywood in Vintage Postcards will guide the curious through the city's progress in the first half of the 20th century.

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San Pedro

9780738581996

$24.99

San Pedro was incorporated into the City of Los Angeles in 1909, and grew into one of the world's strategic international ports. The dredging and backfilling of berths and canals have been mirrored in town through the decades as landmarks were demolished, streets altered, and some structures steadfastly maintained.

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Early Long Beach

9780738575773

$24.99

Few other cities can boast of the natural assets, the people, and the events that shaped the first 50 years of their history, as can the city of Long Beach, California. First inhabited by the Tongva people, the land was taken away by the Spanish, then granted to "friends of the King," who in turn sold parcels to real estate speculators working with the railroads. It was called many names before Belle Lowe suggested in 1884 that the townsite be known for its eight miles of long beaches. Its oceanfront provided a resort area, a landing strip for early aviators, a fishing industry, a port for shipbuilding and trade, and a location for the US Navy to anchor its "battle fleet" in 1919. However, discovery of oil in 1921 transformed the city, bringing incredible wealth and an explosive growth in population. By 1938, the city's population was 200,000 and would be a major factor in the Southern California war effort.

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Location Filming in Los Angeles

9780738581323

$24.99

Los Angeles has reigned for more than a century as the world capital of the film industry, a unique and ever-changing city that has been molded and recast thousands of times through the artistic visions and cinematic dreams of Hollywood's elite. As early as 1907, filmmakers migrated west to avoid lengthy eastern winters. In Los Angeles, they discovered an ideal world of abundant and diverse locales blessed with a mild and sunny climate ideal for filming. Location Filming in Los Angeles provides a historic view of the diversity of locations that provided the backdrop for Hollywood's greatest films, from the silent era to the modern age.

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North Sacramento

9780738580036

$24.99

In 1910, the North Sacramento Land Company purchased 3,339 acres to establish the city of North Sacramento. Three years later, Del Paso and Company set up power and water operations, along with rail transport. A police and fire department and school sealed the deal, and the city incorporated on June 18, 1924. In this idyllic hometown, parents allowed their kids to walk "the Boulevard" unattended, skate at Iceland, and cool off in Woodlake Pool, after they stopped in at Li'l Joe's or Sammy's for a bite or a donut at Hoyt's. The city thrived with characters like Mama Marks, Mayor Olga Roth, and entrepreneur Betty "Boop" Bryan. Pugilist Max Baer sparred in the open-air theater before the screen came down to the sawdust floor for a Tom Mix movie.

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Castro Valley

9780738530673

$24.99

An officer in the Mexican army bequeathed his name to the crescent-shaped basin once known as Castro's Valley. Driven to ruin by squatters, drought, and gambling debts, he sold a portion of his cattle ranch to Methodist minister Zachariah Hughes, who built a church and school in what is now Crow Canyon. The one-room, redwood school Hughes christened Eden Vale educated about 50 children until a group from the burgeoning town to the south, Hayward's, stole it by wagon in the dead of night. Undaunted, Castro Valley, delineated from its now friendly neighbors by hills, Lake Chabot, and an independent spirit, built and fully supported its own Redwood School. It has now developed into one of the most populous unincorporated areas in the United States.

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San Francisco's Twin Peaks

9780738599915

$24.99

Twin Peaks is located in the geographic center of San Francisco. These distinctive hills are not only recognizable landmarks with spectacular views, they also play a major role in the safety and security of San Franciscans. Towers on Christmas Tree Point provide communication support to the police and fire departments. Firmly constructed into the bedrock of Twin Peaks are three massive municipal reservoirs that supply gravity-pulled drinking water and water for fire fighting. Roads and a tunnel were built on, around, and through the peaks with the purpose of gaining easier access to the western parts of the city. Farms and homes appeared along Corbett Road, and new neighborhoods sprang up on the slopes of Twin Peaks: Midtown Terrace, the Crown, Graystone, Villa Terraces, and Clarendon Heights, on which stands the Sutro Tower.

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Riverside

9780738547169

$24.99

The thousands of acres of navel orange groves that once blanketed Riverside, California, were one of the most recognizable icons of the state's early citrus industry and also the origin for California's nickname, The Golden State. Founded as a utopian colony in the wake of the Civil War, Riverside soon began to lure wealthy foreign and eastern investors who turned their sights towards Riverside where the perfect combination of sun, soil, and water turned the opportunity of citrus growing into a multimillion-dollar industry. Twenty-five years after Riverside's founding, millions of dollars of investments had transformed the small agricultural outpost into the wealthiest city per capita in the nation. The city's Orange Barons invested their money by building stately Victorian mansions and imposing brick commercial buildings. Others lured additional investors by creating parks with tropical plant gardens, formal avenues landscaped with rare and beautiful trees, and a carefully designed downtown area with beautiful churches, hotels, and civic buildings.

Cover image for Riverside, isbn: 9780738547169

Rancho Palos Verdes

9780738569208

$24.99

Long before Rancho Palos Verdes became the newest city on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, it was part of Rancho de los Palos Verdes, a seemingly worthless patch of oceanfront hill covered in brush fit only for shore whalers, smugglers, and cattle. Through forfeiture and foreclosure, the Bixby family from Maine acquired the peninsula and made the land profitable by diversifying-ranching, sharecropping with American field farmers, and renting land to Japanese flower and vegetable growers. New York financier Frank Vanderlip realized in 1912 the real estate potential of the hill's dramatic vistas and rugged cliffs and canyons. Over the years, three cities were created as tree-covered havens for horses and wildlife-islands of calm. But danger to this lifestyle lay in overdevelopment from the Los Angeles County-owned land encircling them. This, then, is the story of the fourth city, Rancho Palos Verdes, created in 1973 from county land and dedicated to keeping the peninsula green and underdeveloped, as Vanderlip envisioned.

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Italians of the Bay Area

9780738546643

$24.99

These images are part of the life work of Italian immigrant Gino Sbrana, who started his American life in San Francisco as a vegetable peddler. By 1911, he had launched a large photographic studio, Pisa Foto, at Columbus and Broadway in San Francisco. Later Gino founded a studio in Oakland and, in 1919, settled in San Jose. Not content to confine his artistry to the formally posed studio portrait, he traveled over the Bay Area countryside with his large wooden field camera, using soft light on the shady side of barns or under large oaks to capture his fellow countrymen. Gino posed them in the coastal mist with machetes poised to harvest cauliflower, perched atop their brandnew motorcycles, assembled by trucks loaded with produce from the fields, sleeves rolled up and holding their vino.

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Suisun City and Valley

9780738595177

$24.99

Suisun, a Patwin word for where the west wind blows, was the name given to the city and valley that flourished as a port between the vast regions of Sacramento and San Francisco. For over a thousand years, the Suisun region was inhabited by Native Americans, who thrived in the lush, temperate climate until the Mission Period brought forth devastation from conquest and epidemics. Suisun Valley served as the last vestige of the Mission Period with the establishment of Santa Eulalia, an asistencia for Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma. Following statehood, Suisun City and Valley became a cultural hub from the influx of pioneers, such as founder Capt. Josiah Wing, who saw potential for industry, agriculture, and trade.

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True Tales of the Sacramento Delta

9781626196056

$21.99

May 13, 1817, marked the first recorded exploration of the Sacramento River. The expedition changed the Delta region forever. A flood of explorers from all over the world poured into the Lower Sacramento River Delta, and soon towns were settled on the banks of the river. As settlement flourished, each new community gave birth to stories of early pioneers, shipwrecks, murder, robbery, vigilante justice, bootleggers and more. Here for the first time in this remarkable collection, local historian and author Philip Pezzaglia reveals the true stories behind some of the tales that have passed through generations, becoming legends of the Delta.

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Rails Around McCloud

9780738555645

$24.99

California's northeastern corner is dominated by the 14,162-foot-tall presence of Mount Shasta. On the southeastern flank of the great mountain lies the picturesque town of McCloud. The McCloud River Railroad established its operational headquarters in the town in 1897. The next seven decades saw the railroad and the affiliated McCloud River Lumber Company carve hundreds of miles of railroad into the pine forests and lava beds east of McCloud, eventually reaching as far as Lookout to the east and the Burney Basin to the south. The McCloud River Railroad eked out a living hauling lumber, diatomaceous earth, and occasional tourists until 1992, when the new McCloud Railway Company purchased the property. In 1996, the new owners launched the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train to supplement the declining freight business. Economic conditions forced the railroad to abandon the entire railway east of McCloud in 2006, but the dinner train has kept rolling, keeping the rails west of McCloud shiny.

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Chula Vista

9780738556161

$24.99

In 1868, Frank Kimball and his brothers purchased a 26,000-acre Mexican land grant rancho in the San Diego area. The area comprised the present-day communities of National City, Bonita, and the western half of Chula Vista. Kimball developed National City first and secured a branch of the Santa Fe Railway. The railroad company financed the building of nearby Sweetwater Dam, thus allowing the development of Chula Vista in 1888 as a planned agricultural community. Chula Vista remained as planned until World War II when the arrival of Rohr Aircraft Corporation caused a population boom that would continue even after the war, creating the desirable "bedroom community" that Chula Vista is today.

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Missions of San Francisco Bay

9780738596846

$24.99

Legendary explorer Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza completed a 1,000-mile journey from Sonora, Mexico, crossing the Mojave Desert with the first settlers, to San Francisco's pristine harbor. Fr. Francisco Palóu celebrated the dedication of Mission San Francisco de Asís on June 29, 1776. First established to protect Spain's interests in Alta California from foreign ships, California's landmark buildings are featured here with newly discovered photography depicting a romantic era of colorful Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan padres, and mission Indian neophytes from 1769 to 1823. Explore the heritage of California pioneers' first communities and the 21 California Spanish missions of adobe, stone, and tile that are considered architectural wonders that have captured the imagination of visitors and historians over centuries.

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California's Citrus Heritage

9781467107679

$23.99

Since the first appearance of oranges at the Franciscan missions in the early 19th century, citrus agriculture has been an inextricable part of California's heritage. From the 1870s to the 1960s, oranges and lemons were dominant features of the Southern California landscape. The Washington navel orange, introduced by homesteader Eliza Tibbets at Riverside in the 1870s, precipitated the rise of a citrus belt stretching from Pasadena (in the San Gabriel Valley) to Redlands (in San Bernardino County). Valencia oranges dominated Orange County south of Los Angeles, while lemons thrived in coastal settlements such as Santa Paula. With the arrival of transcontinental railroads in the citrus heartland by the 1880s, Californians had access to markets across the United States. This was followed by the subsequent establishment of an impressive central organization in the form of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, and oranges became the state's most lucrative crop. Observers did not exaggerate when they dubbed the southern portion of the Golden State an orange empire.

Cover image for California's Citrus Heritage, isbn: 9781467107679

Carpinteria

9780738547589

$24.99

A small jewel on the map along the coast of southern Santa Barbara County, Carpinteria—or Carp—has an enduring and endearing idiosyncratic character that suits locals, welcomes visitors, and resists
reinvention. Charlie Chaplin was married in Carpinteria, and Charles Lindbergh was an occasional fly-in visitor. The world's fastest human once hailed from Carpinteria, the same place where a single grape arbor consistently delivered 10 tons of grapes annually. Unspoken traditions included upstanding teachers by day using aliases at night to drive in rough-and-tumble jalopy races. The infectious small-town sensibility remains so intact that most Carpinterians don't vacation elsewhere.
Many of the vintage photographs in Carpinteria, which were collected from local families and institutions, including the Carpinteria Valley
Museum of History, prove that the city's visuals are as spectacular as its history is intriguing.

Cover image for Carpinteria, isbn: 9780738547589

Lighthouses of the Bay Area

9780738525525

$7.99

The San Francisco Bay's first light, on Alcatraz Island, began construction in 1852. Light stations soon followed at Fort Point, Point Bonita, and the Farallon Islands. An additional 15 lights later served the bay, and a lightship was stationed outside the Golden Gate.

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Los Angeles's The Palms Neighborhood

9780738569932

$24.99

The Westside neighborhood of Palms is the oldest suburb of Los Angeles. Founded in 1886 halfway between L.A. and the beach on a steam railroad line, Palms attracted wealthy Angelinos escaping the summer's downtown heat as well as Easterners seeking a new life in the natural home of the fig, olive, lemon, lime, apricot, and that class of fruit that brings the largest profit in the local market. Rancho Park and Mar Vista had yet to make it onto maps—it was all The Palms. The school district stretched from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north toward Redondo Beach on the south. A lively social and business life sprang up, but gradually the metropolis enfolded Palms, which was annexed into Los Angeles in 1915. After World War II, subdivisions brought young families, the flatlands became a huge swath of apartments, and the barren hill area became the tree-shrouded Westside Village.

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Surfing in Huntington Beach

9781467102773

$24.99

Officially known as Surf City USA®, Huntington Beach is a surf town like no other. Ever since Hawaiian transplant George Freeth walked on water beside the famous Huntington Beach Pier in 1914, the city has had a storied relationship with surf culture that endures to this day. Combining a rough-and-tumble working-class spirit leftover from the city's epic oil boom with its role as a popular beach resort destination, Huntington Beach has produced some of surfing's most memorable personalities and moments. From legendary surfing heroes to long-standing competitions and titans of industry, these vintage photographs trace the evolution of this once small seaside settlement into a West Coast surf mecca, where surfing truly is a way of life.

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Laguna Beach

9780738569970

$24.99

As one of the West Coast's most unique and beautiful resort cities, Laguna Beach has thrived as an enduring enclave of art culture, a destination of hidden beaches, and a coastline rich in natural wonders, which its officials and residents strive to maintain. Settlers arrived in the 1870s, and by the summer of 1918 Laguna's first art gallery opened, featuring works by a growing collective of local artists. Hundreds of visitors came on opening day and, in the next month, 2,000 more visited the small art gallery. In 1932, Laguna started what would become a world-renowned event called the Festival of the Arts and later added the equally famous Pageant of the Masters. Since its simple beginnings as a small village situated where Laguna Canyon opens onto the Pacific shoreline to the reason there are traffic jams on Coast Highway during hot-month weekends, this southern Orange County jewel has continued to be a great draw for beachgoers, painters, and nature lovers the world over.

Cover image for Laguna Beach, isbn: 9780738569970

Farallon Islands

9781467103978

$24.99

The Farallon Islands lie almost 30 miles outside the entrance to San Francisco Bay and are comprised of over 20 islands, islets, sea stacks, and rocks, which span a seven-mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean.

Nineteenth-century sailors called them “the Devil’s Teeth,” in reference to their extreme hazard to navigation, and hundreds of shipwrecks, disasters, drownings, and deaths have occurred here.The sixth lighthouse on the West Coast was lit on Southeast Farallon Island in 1855. Only Southeast Farallon supports historic structures, several of which are maintained for management purposes.Southeast Farallon once served as home to keepers from the Bureau of Lighthouses (1853–1939), the US Coast Guard (1939–1972), and at various times the US Navy. Today, the islands are home to millions of seabirds and five species of pinnipeds.Because of their biological importance, the islands are not open to the public. They are managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with Point Blue Conservation Science. Visitors can explore the islands by boat, at speeds of five miles per hour and from a distance the length of a football field for excellent viewing of globally significant wildlife populations.

Cultural anthropologist and author Marla Daily, of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, has spent her career researching the histories of the California islands. The California Historical Society bestowed upon Daily its Distinguished Service Award for her extraordinary service and dedicated efforts in preserving California islands history.

Cover image for Farallon Islands, isbn: 9781467103978

Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Bernardino County

9781626190122

$21.99

Weather, darkness and twists of fate have contributed to more than three hundred airplane crashes in San Bernardino County, California. Many of these accidents occurred in the vast Mojave Desert, others on the cloud-shrouded, snow-capped mountains of the largest county in the lower forty-eight states. Searches often were labored yet fruitless, even for the privileged: Frank Sinatra's mother perished here in a downed plane. The quest for an aircraft containing $5,000 in cash has become the stuff of legend. Tales of survival in uninhabited, rugged landscapes have been especially harrowing. Join renowned aircraft-crash search specialist G. Pat Macha for dozens of sorrowful, triumphant, touching and surprising true stories of those who lived through the ordeals of plane crashes--and others who didn't.

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Concord

9781467161701

$24.99

This book vividly traces the captivating evolution of Concord, California, from its humble beginnings to its vibrant present. Delve into the city’s rich history through a blend of archival and contemporary photographs and narratives.

Local history author and longtime Concord resident Joel A. Harris captures the essence of Concord’s resilience, showcasing how it has grown into a dynamic hub while preserving the echoes of its remembered past through images provided by the Concord Historical Society, the City of Concord, and local citizens.

Cover image for Concord, isbn: 9781467161701

Los Angeles's La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park

9780738589152

$7.99

A collection of vintage-photograph postcards by Cathy McNassor.

Cover image for Los Angeles's La Brea Tar Pits and Hancock Park, isbn: 9780738589152

San Francisco Zoo

9780738569161

$7.99

The San Francisco Zoo boasts a rich history.

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Unforgettable San Jose Earthquakes, The

9781467156196

$24.99

When the San Jose Earthquakes first started playing soccer in 1974, no one imagined how their efforts would reverberate fifty years later. The Quakes and their fans have overcome a multitude of issues in the last five decades, including leagues collapsing, attempted rebrandings, local apathy, political indifference and even a franchise relocation, yet they never gave up. While players like Johnny Moore, Chris Wondolowski and Landon Donovan have come and gone—along with coaches, general managers and owners—the multigenerational family this San Jose team created over the last half century stands as strong as ever. Join author Gary Singh, a native and lifelong fan, as he celebrates the legendary history of the Quakes.

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Brentwood

9781467160544

$24.99

The beautiful Brentwood area of Contra Costa County is the oldest continuously populated community in California inland from the great coastal centers. Californios eschewed this challenging portion of the Central Valley, so pioneering physician John Marsh established a permanent settlement here in 1837 at his Rancho Los Meganos. Soon, the burgeoning viniculture, wheat, orchard, and cattle operations attracted many Gold Rush miners back to their original agricultural callings, now in the California Delta. The 1860s arrival of British agribusiness concern Balfour Guthrie Investment Company soon established the largest grain-export and fruit-packing venture in the West. Brentwood Township, established in 1878 and named for Marsh’s ancestral home in England, includes some of the state’s most bountiful land. The region fostered the greatest wheat production west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century.

Carol A. Jensen, author of Arcadia Publishing’s Byron Hot Springs, The California Delta, and East Contra Costa County, presents here in vintage photography the best of Brentwood, culled from local archives and collections. Combined with Jensen’s prose, these images showcase Brentwood’s progression from rural beginnings as an agricultural stronghold to the modern city of houses, shops, schools, and places of worship we know today.

Cover image for Brentwood, isbn: 9781467160544

Sutter Creek

9780738546865

$24.99

Between 1848 and 1849, whispers of gold in California became a roar. The gold rush was on, and thousands established rough camps in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Among these camps, nestled in a small valley, was Sutter Creek. The town is named for the famous John Sutter, whose discovery of gold at Coloma started the rush. And though many gold-mining tent cities died out over time, Sutter Creek transitioned to a solid community with wide streets, two-story businesses, and beautiful homes. Blacksmiths, foundries, and other industries provided services to the ever-deepening mines, among the world's richest. Settlers used the ideal soil and climate to produce crops and livestock, gradually replacing head frames and hoist works, as the last mine finally closed in the 1950s. Thousands still journey to Sutter Creek, some for gold, but most are attracted by the rich heritage still visible along historic Main Street.

Cover image for Sutter Creek, isbn: 9780738546865

Haunted Heart of San Diego

9781467149891

$21.99

San Diego is known for its sunshine and beautiful beaches, but a dark history lurks beneath the surface. Shades of gamblers, thieves and gunfighters wander the streets, and the spirit of a young woman who died mysteriously haunts the halls of the Del. On the oldest sailing vessel in San Diego Harbor, the ghost of a small child stowaway plays with guests, and the Old Town Saloon occasionally hosts an eerie visitor seeking libations. Wyatt Earp haunts the very room he stayed in at the Horton Grand Hotel, and the former crewmembers of the USS Midway steadfastly man their posts, even after death. Join authors Brian Clune and Bob Davis as they recount the eerie tales of what may be California's most haunted city.

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Los Osos/Baywood Park

9781467124096

$24.99

Los Osos and Baywood Park, on the south end of Morro Bay, were two independent areas that developed separately during different periods. Over time, they grew together. In 1974, the US Post Office eliminated the Baywood branch and declared the area as Los Osos. Residents, passionate about their neighborhoods, specifically refer to Cuesta-by-the-Sea, Baywood, or the 12 other housing areas, while nonresidents ascribe to the Los Osos name. This area, including the beautiful Los Osos Valley, has been home to artisans, fishermen, and hunters for centuries, and more recently, cattle ranchers and farmers. The town grew haphazardly in fits and starts. Quirky, rebellious, off the beaten path—all apply. People here are happy to be a bit undiscovered and prefer that it stays that way.

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Rails of California's Central Coast

9780738555911

$24.99

Diversity is the prime characteristic of the California Central Coast's many rail operations. Readers will be attracted by the varying scope of Central Coast—Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties—rail systems. They range from local horsecar services and the narrow-gauge electrified plant railroad that served the Santa Cruz Cement Company at Davenport to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Line and its engineering marvel Cuesta Grade, highlighted by the world-famous horseshoe curve. Local streetcar systems and long-ceased regional railroads are part of the area's rail legacy. Rare historic images blended with contemporary photography chronicle the region's railways from times past to the present.

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San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach

9780738559971

$24.99

Named after the famous European explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is a recreational complex established in 1927 and located at the foot of one of the world's largest breakwaters protecting the Port of Los Angeles. A regional destination for beachgoers, the wave-swept Cabrillo attracts beachcombers to the tide pools in the adjacent rocky shores of the rugged Palos Verdes Peninsula. During spring and summer, onlookers watch the grunion mate and lay their eggs in the outer beach's wet sand. The protected beach has long been popular with young families who enjoy the calm harbor waters. A public boat launch allows easy access, and the breakwater's boulders have traditionally attracted fishermen and pelicans. Many of the million annual beach visitors enjoy exploring local marine life at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Los Angeles's regional clearinghouse for ocean issues, which began in 1935 as the Cabrillo Marine Museum in the Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse.

Cover image for San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach, isbn: 9780738559971

Railways of San Francisco

9780738528878

$24.99

It may be hard to believe now, but San Francisco was once dominated by railways. Before private cars crowded this hemmed-in city, rail was the only way to get around the challenging terrain, and the rail industry rose to the task with many innovative systems. Some of these were herculean, with massive bores through rocky hills, or elaborate cable and counterweight systems to handle steep inclines. Others were simpler, horse-drawn affairs that took passengers from the downtown and waterfront areas to outlying districts. The distinct flavor of San Francisco's neighborhoods owes much to the early rails, as these cars enabled residents to form their own enclaves and still interact with the commercial heart of the city. Some rail systems presaged today's commuter lifestyle-one even ran all the way down Mission Street to far-off San Mateo. Only a few of the many rail systems that once served this city remain.

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Winters

9780738569147

$24.99

Nestled along the banks of Putah Creek, just below a gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Winters is known for its old railroad bridge, opera house, Buckhorn Restaurant, and historic downtown, as well as its access to Lake Berryessa. Once part of a Mexican land grant called Rancho Rio de Los Putos, the town of Winters was born in 1875 when the Vaca Valley Railroad extended a line through the area. It became a thriving agricultural community, and from an era of booming local businesses with hotels, warehouses, and department stores once known as Apricot City, it has evolved into the town known today as "the Gateway to Lake Berryessa."

Cover image for Winters, isbn: 9780738569147

The Palace Hotel

9780738559698

$24.99

When it opened in 1875, the Palace Hotel was the largest and most luxurious hotel in the world, a perfect symbol of one of the most remarkable eras in San Francisco history. Built at a time when Nevada's fabulously rich silver mines were pouring millions of dollars each month into San Francisco, it typified the color and grandiose extravagances of the whole bonanza period. After the original hotel was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire, a successor Palace Hotel took its place and remains one of the most prestigious hotels in San Francisco today.

Cover image for The Palace Hotel, isbn: 9780738559698

San Diego's Fishing Industry

9780738559926

$24.99

San Diego has always attracted a rich diversity of immigrant groups. Between the 1880s and 1970s, many of these groups helped to create a strong and dynamic fishing industry that became a key component of the city's identity. Waves of varied immigrants continually refreshed the industry, adapting their traditional skills and technologies to San Diegan conditions. Innovations in boat design, nets, and baiting techniques reshaped the fleets that harvested tuna and sardines from the teeming waters. On shore, canning factories sprang up, seafood markets bustled with activity, and fish restaurants filled with hungry diners. The vivid stories and fascinating photographs in this volume recapture the energy and variety that were the hallmarks of San Diego's fishing industry--an industry that has left a deep multicultural imprint on today's city.

Cover image for San Diego's Fishing Industry, isbn: 9780738559926

Early Santa Monica

9780738531441

$24.99

As west as metropolitan Los Angeles's trendy Westside gets, Santa Monica has enjoyed a colorful history as both a resort community and a bedrock hometown on the Southern California coast. As a playground and ready-made set for Hollywood, traditional hotbed of progressive politics, and amorphous fun zone for a greater century of visitors, the city of Santa Monica has remained at the forefront of the evolution of California culture. Prior to World War II, Santa Monica was a collection of distinct neighborhoods—Santa Monica Canyon and Ocean Park among them—and its pier, built in 1909 beneath the bluffs of Palisades Park, became a regional draw, especially after the nation's largest dance emporium, La Monica Ballroom, was built on it. The vintage photographs in this tour through Santa Monica's beginnings and its growth through the early 20th century were selected from the archives of the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum.

Cover image for Early Santa Monica, isbn: 9780738531441

San Leandro

9780738559377

$24.99

Cherry festivals, Holy Ghost festas, oyster pirates, tractors, squatters, Portuguese--the many threads of San Leandro's past have woven a rich historical tapestry underlying the modern city of San Leandro. These 15 square miles between San Francisco Bay and the East Bay hills have been an Ohlone village, a Spanish rancho, a small farm town, the Portuguese capital of the West, an industrial center, and a major metropolitan suburb as a succession of new people has transformed the area.

Cover image for San Leandro, isbn: 9780738559377

Joshua Tree National Park

9781467132817

$24.99

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

Sonora

9780738547831

$24.99

When California's gold fever of the 1850s subsided, Sonora was a town well established as The Queen of the Southern Mines, a community with a solid foundation. Transients working the goldfields were gone, and the mining camps' early lawlessness and impermanency were replaced by an organized township. Established as the Tuolumne County seat in 1851, Sonora soon boasted schools, churches, civic and fraternal organizations, a vast array of commercial enterprises and support services, and a diverse population. Served by early railway lines, the town quickly became a commercial hub for logging and ranching. In modern times, Sonora's surrounding natural wonders and proximity to Yosemite make it a favored destination for such outdoor activities as fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, boating, and even Western moviemaking. With many of its early buildings and stately homes still standing, Sonora has a welcoming historic downtown and residential district.

Cover image for Sonora, isbn: 9780738547831

Sebastopol's Gravenstein Apple Industry

9780738581736

$24.99

The Gravenstein apple has been etched into the identity of Sebastopol, California, which is one of the few places on earth to have extensively grown this elusive apple. The Gravenstein is an early apple whose only failing is perishability, but it is celebrated for its superior flavor. Yet Luther Burbank attempted to improve on the Gravenstein, producing the Winterstein and the Bonita for home gardeners. During the last 127 years, the Gravenstein has added millions of dollars to the local economy. It has provided a reason for celebrations, from the 1910 Apple Show to today's Apple Blossom Festival and Gravenstein Apple Fair. This is the Gravenstein's story, from its European roots to small-town homage, and the part this special apple has played in one community—and the reason the current decline in apple acreage is mourned.

Cover image for Sebastopol's Gravenstein Apple Industry, isbn: 9780738581736

Santa Cruz Wharf

9781467133937

$24.99

For a century now, the Santa Cruz Wharf has shone as one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Coast, and today it serves as a gateway to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. What began as a shipping pier quickly morphed into the home of the colorful and fabled Santa Cruz Italian fishing colony. In its most recent iteration, the wharf serves as the primary destination for upward of four million annual visitors to Santa Cruz County. Since the time of the California Gold Rush in the late 1840s, there have been six wharves, or wooden piers, along the Santa Cruz waterfront, providing critical links for the local community to regional and global markets. The Santa Cruz Wharf, and all the 4,528 wooden piles that compose it, provides both external and internal vistas not found anywhere on land and is a place for contemplation, reflection, and quietude.

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Old Town Temecula

9780738595900

$24.99

The original inhabitants called Temecula the place of origins, the place of sand and sun. From the beginnings of the Native American village to the introduction of the railroad that made it into a Western town in 1882, Old Town Temecula captivates visitors and residents with its rustic charm. Cattlemen and cowboys frequented the saloons, and Hollywood's elite found liquor flowing during Prohibition in Old Town establishments where legendary stories of high times and crimes are retold today. After World War II, Old Town was at a crossroads, and residents and travelers dined in roadside cafés along historic Highway 395. In 1977, after nearly losing its Old West flair, several visionary businessmen decided to promote Old Town Temecula's historic past by recreating an 1890s Western architectural motif for Old Town. Now a tourist destination for antiquing, dining, and viewing vintage cars, Old Town has something of interest for everyone.

Cover image for Old Town Temecula, isbn: 9780738595900

Port Chicago

9780738555515

$24.99

Port Chicago was an all-American town and naval facility. Forged at the beginning of the 20th century on Suisun Bay in Contra Costa County, the navy town met its end during the Vietnam War, when it was sacrificed to preserve national security. Port Chicago was a place where no one locked their doors. It was a place of family, education, and religion—and of parades and patriotism. When the town was built, nearly everyone who lived there was from somewhere else. But between 1908 and 1968, the residents created a close-knit community, which, despite the dissolution of the town through eminent-domain proceedings, still survives today. Starting with the port's early days, continuing through the disastrous and mysterious explosion and subsequent mutinies in 1944, and ending with rumors of nuclear weapons and the controversial 1960s, this book traces the singular journey of a port town through the best and worst times of the 20th century.

Cover image for Port Chicago, isbn: 9780738555515

Santa Barbara in Vintage Postcards

9780738508764

$24.99

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this golden age can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating history of Santa Barbara, California, showcases more than 200 of the best vintage postcards available.

Cover image for Santa Barbara in Vintage Postcards, isbn: 9780738508764

Fallbrook

9780738547473

$24.99

Pioneers trickled into the areas of Rainbow, Fallbrook, and DeLuz in the mid-1800s, attracted by the mild climate and the promising soil, which rewarded their efforts with bountiful harvests of honey, olives, and fruit. Railways transported new settlers and commerce to the quiet countryside and shipped produce out, bringing prosperity to the Friendly Village and to the surrounding areas. Each of the towns, hidden by mountains and just far enough away from main roads, stayed small for a long time. The eventual construction of schools and post offices testified to the permanence of the settlements and to the growing community spirit. DeLuz, once the largest of the towns, declined after floods destroyed the rail connection to San Diego and Colton. The railway between Fallbrook and Oceanside brought growth to Fallbrook, while in Rainbow time stood still. Today nursery plants from Rainbow, avocados from Fallbrook, and DeLuz gourds find their way to Hawaii and across America, and the towns remain quiet and friendly places to live.

Cover image for Fallbrook, isbn: 9780738547473

Towns of the Sacramento River Delta

9780738596266

$24.99

What can be considered the first major exploration of the Sacramento River, from its mouth northward, began on May 13, 1817, when Padres Duran and Abella and 20 other men under the command of Lt. Louis Antonio Argullo sailed in two launches up the river. They continued north until May 20, 1817, when they turned back. The group recorded their point of farthest exploration by carving a cross into an oak tree; some believe this point is near the present-day town of Freeport. Three decades later, Clarksburg was established, followed by Walnut Grove, Paintersville, Rio Vista, Onsibo, Freeport, Courtland, Emmaton, Isleton, Vorden, Ryde, Hood, and Locke. Each one of the settlements has its own exciting tale about its founders and the origins of the name that it was given.

Cover image for Towns of the Sacramento River Delta, isbn: 9780738596266

San Francisco Bay Area Aviation

9780738547237

$24.99

From hot-air balloons to jets, no other location has a more diverse aviation history than the San Francisco Bay Area. Aside from private and commercial airline operations, the area has housed the NACA/NASA Research Center, the prestigious Boeing School of Aeronautics, and the dirigible USS Macon. It is currently the center for antique aircraft in Northern California and has been the site of numerous flight records, including the Dole Race and Amelia Earhart's circumnavigation attempts. San Francisco was also home to the pioneer Pan American Airways flying boat, which opened the Pacific Ocean to air travel.

Cover image for San Francisco Bay Area Aviation, isbn: 9780738547237

Yosemite's Historic Hotels and Camps

9780738599977

$24.99

Yosemite National Park is a place of extraordinary natural beauty with renowned waterfalls, spectacular granite rock formations, and serene meadows. Although indigenous peoples already inhabited Yosemite, settlers of European descent found their way there beginning in 1851. To serve the steady growth of tourists and visitors, lodging and accommodations have always been central to the park's history. The popularity of postcards starting in the early 1900s and lasting several decades coincided with the growth of the park's hotels and camps, transportation, and entertainment. This book of vintage postcards illustrates and chronicles those places and events. It provides visitors with an understanding and appreciation for the unique and diverse places made available to tourists throughout Yosemite's history.

Cover image for Yosemite's Historic Hotels and Camps, isbn: 9780738599977

La Quinta

9781467105903

$24.99

La Quinta lies nestled in the beautiful Santa Rosa mountain range of Southern California. Unique landforms and Cahuilla cultural heritage, combined with early agricultural and commercial endeavors and the iconic La Quinta Hotel, would shape and develop this extraordinary area from ancient times through the 1980s. Building on these historic and strategic foundations, local residents and leaders worked tirelessly toward incorporating La Quinta, with their sustained efforts leading to fruition on May 1, 1982. La Quinta, known as the "Gem of the Desert," continues to grow rapidly and flourish, welcoming all to its friendly locale as in days past.

Cover image for La Quinta, isbn: 9781467105903

Gay and Lesbian San Francisco

9780738531380

$24.99

In recent years, San Francisco has been synonymous with gay and lesbian pride, and the various achievements of the gay and lesbian community are personified in the city by the bay. The tumultuous and ongoing struggles for this community's civil rights from the 1950s to the present are well documented, but queer culture itself goes back much further than that, in fact all the way back to the California gold rush.

Cover image for Gay and Lesbian San Francisco, isbn: 9780738531380

Hawthorne

9780738529714

$24.99

A semi-rural alternative to bustling Los Angeles early in the 20th century, Hawthorne grew through the World War I years, welcoming oil wells and eventually airplane factories. The city became home to the chart-topping Beach Boys, athlete Jim Thorpe, and the greatest glamour blondes of their times, Marilyn Monroe and Mattel's Barbie. Bisected by Hawthorne Boulevard, the main north-south thoroughfare through the South Bay region, Hawthorne's notable events ran the gamut, from the annual Kiwanis Parade—second in California prestige only to Pasadena's Tournament of Roses
Parade—to a furious 1971 police gun-battle with the desperate Charles Manson gang. Today, the city is a support community to Los Angeles International Airport and the aerospace industry.

Cover image for Hawthorne, isbn: 9780738529714

Beverly Hills

9780738546599

$24.99

Nowhere on Earth are sequels and the success that fosters them more apparent than in Hollywood's bejeweled bedroom, Beverly Hills.

This continuation of the history begun in Images of America: Early Beverly Hills presents a compendium of vintage photographs depicting America's one community that's most synonymous with wealth. However, the Great Depression hit here, too, and the book depicts that as well as the subsequent recovery and boom years, homes of the stars, influence of the close proximity to Hollywood, and the chic shops and restaurants that keep the tourists coming. From the Brown Derby to the Beverly Theatre, from the Harold Lloyd Estate to Jack Warner's digs, from the Beverly Hills Hotel's changes to those that created a new Beverly Hills Civic Center, these are the Beverly Hills facts that have been the bases for all of those Hollywood fictions.

Cover image for Beverly Hills, isbn: 9780738546599

Ventura

9780738546735

$24.99

Franciscan monk Fr. Junipero Serra, founder of the Spanish mission system in California, raised a cross on the beach on March 31, 1782, at a spot that became a general wayfarer's midpoint between Los Angeles and Point Conception.

This was the dedication of Mission San Buenaventura. Bordered by rivers out of the foothills, this coastal area had originally been home to many Chumash Indian villages, dating back to 1000 A.D. The small mission outpost quickly flourished and eventually grew into a town complete with dirt streets, wooden sidewalks, saloons, churches, and various adventures and calamities.

On March 10, 1866, the City of Good Fortune incorporated and received one of the first charters from the then 16-year-old, 31st state in the union. Today the city of Ventura bustles with more than 110,000 residents and is known as the Gateway to the Channel Islands.

Cover image for Ventura, isbn: 9780738546735

Los Gatos

9780738529035

$24.99

Nestled in the heart of a dramatic natural amphitheater formed by the Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos serves as the gateway from the Santa Clara Valley to the Pacific Ocean. This happy accident of location allowed historic Los Gatos to witness a colorful parade of swashbuckling explorers, Franciscan padres, and hearty American pioneers, many of whom came to harvest virgin redwood forests from the mountains and grow fruit in exceptionally fertile soil. Los Gatos grew up around the 1850s flour mill established by Scotsman James Alexander Forbes. In 1878 the railroad arrived and was a powerful influence for more than 80 years. Named for the mountain lions that still inhabit the area, Los Gatos has reflected the expansive richness of the California Dream for 150 years.

Cover image for Los Gatos, isbn: 9780738529035

Mills of Humboldt County

9781467134736

$24.99

Humboldt County was at the forefront of the massive redwood logging industry. The impressive size of the trees necessitated drastic technological advances. Many innovations were invented by Humboldt mill owners like John Dolbeer, whose steam donkey engine mechanized and revolutionized logging all along the West Coast. In 1896, there were 13 mills devoted to sawing redwood lumber and 26 mills making redwood shingles operating in Humboldt County. Other related industries, such as shipbuilding, boiler works, tanbark, and split products, further shaped the economic vitality of the county. Most of these industries no longer exist, and the logging industry is now a shadow of its former self. However, many remnants of the loggers' heyday can still be found. This book explores the sites of Humboldt County's historic lumber industry and the day-to-day realities of life in the mills and the woods.

Cover image for Mills of Humboldt County, isbn: 9781467134736

Palmdale

9780738581224

$21.99

One of the nation's fastest growing cities and a center for the aerospace and defense industries, Palmdale began in 1886 with the doomed colony of Palmenthal in a land plentiful with Joshua trees and jackrabbits but very little water. The gateway to the southern Antelope Valley, Palmdale has enjoyed a rich, diverse, and eventful history while resourceful pioneers created neighboring communities of unique character. Littlerock, a "pearadise," became the fruit basket for the Antelope Valley. Neil Armstrong, before becoming the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, resided in Juniper Hills. Pearblossom's rustic landscape was ideal for early cowboy movies. The crumbling site of Llano del Rio is the location of perhaps the most important nonreligious utopian colony in Western American history. Valyermo owes its existence to the San Andreas Fault, and the Big Rock Creek area became known for Noah Beery Sr.'s Paradise Trout Club, a favorite rendezvous for many Hollywood movie stars and notables.

Cover image for Palmdale, isbn: 9780738581224

Ojai

9780738555775

$24.99

A resort community surrounded by mountains, Ojai is the gateway to Los Padres National Forest, the Sespe Creek Valley, and Lake Casitas Recreational Area. The setting offers inspiring views of and from Chief Peak and the majestic Topa Topa bluffs. The sleepy, spa reputation of Ojai (pronounced Oh-hi) belies one of the busier civic schedules of any California community its size. This corner of Ventura County is home of the world-renowned Ojai Music Festival and the century-old Ojai Tennis Tournament, as well as a concentration of top-quality boarding schools. It's a meeting and greeting place known for its painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, and filmmakers. The valley also welcomed the New Age when it was still very new—as many of the area's denizens are committed to the well-being of body, mind, and soul—and has been favored through the years by such resident spiritual leaders as the philosopher Krishnamurti.

Cover image for Ojai, isbn: 9780738555775

Woodside

9780738580623

$24.99

Nestled in the foothills of the San Francisco Peninsula, just north of Silicon Valley, is the small community of Woodside, which insists on being called a town. Herein are the tales of the indigenous Ohlone culture, Spanish and Mexican periods, logging of the magnificent redwoods, settlement by European and other pioneers, and Woodside's incorporation as a town. There are no traffic lights, sidewalks, or roads named "streets," making Woodside seem anachronistic. Horses have the right-of-way, and the main road through town, a state highway, is closed for the annual May Day Parade. Defining rural may be elusive, yet residents would agree that the narrow roads, open spaces, and plentiful trees contribute to its rural character.

Cover image for Woodside, isbn: 9780738580623

Capitola

9780738596907

$24.99

School is out and temperatures nudge the triple digits as a great migration begins. Each year, inhabitants of California's sweltering interior valleys journey to the coast. Here, they dash toward the surf and sprawl contentedly in the cool mists of a summer day at the beach in Capitola. Some have made this trip annually all their lives. Parents and grandparents owned or rented cabins on streets named for the stifling cities they had just left, like Stockton, Sacramento, and San Jose. Opening on July 4, 1874, Capitola is The Oldest Camping Ground on the Pacific Coast. Its visionary owner, German immigrant Frederick Hihn, shaped the grounds in European style, wound up to run as efficiently as a German clock. As the resort progressed from a tent camp into a dignified Victorian retreat by the sea, its character similarly advanced. Incorporating as a city in 1949, Capitola reached its 75th birthday as a tidy village of historic cottages, beach-oriented shops, and esplanade concessions bordering a seasonal lagoon.

Cover image for Capitola, isbn: 9780738596907

California State Fair

9780738580890

$24.99

Starting in San Francisco in 1854, the California State Fair and Exposition began as a vehicle to showcase, encourage, and expand California's agricultural industry.

The event quickly became an attraction for thousands of residents, both local and from across the state. By 1884, it occupied the largest exhibit hall in the United States; within 100 years, it became the largest fair in the country by adding horse racing, elaborate exhibits from every county in the state and from around the world, thrill rides, top-flight entertainment, and, of course, the best food. The original goal of the fair was met some 50 years ago, as California remains the nation's top producer of agricultural products.

Cover image for California State Fair, isbn: 9780738580890

Idyllwild and the High San Jacintos

9780738559858

$24.99

Southern California's hidden treasure lies in the San Jacinto Mountains. Capped by the last 10,000-foot peaks on the way to Mexico, these mountains have enriched human lives for centuries. Discovered by loggers in 1876, partially stripped of their trees during California's first population boom in the 1880s, then protected by federal edict in 1897, these mountains attracted a special breed of settler. The uncommon village of Idyllwild was created by common people who were enchanted by the surrounding forest wilderness. Isolated here, high above the chaos of modern life, they have preserved a vestige of mid-20th-century small-town America in the woods. This collection of around 200 previously unpublished photographs, including stunning images by the gifted photographers Avery Field and Harry Wendelken, offers glimpses of the paths along which village and wilderness have shaped each other.

Cover image for Idyllwild and the High San Jacintos, isbn: 9780738559858

Gardena

9780738546766

$24.99

From its beginnings around 1880, Gardena was noted for its cultural mix. Its Spanish rancho-era name perfectly described the community's regionally famous vegetable and strawberry fields, which were primarily tended by settlers of Japanese descent, in Los Angeles County's South Bay area. The city of Gardena, incorporated in 1930, remains one of the nation's most ethnically balanced communities, drawing visitors worldwide to its diverse cultural activities. For nearly 40 years, Gardena was the only place in the county to have legalized gambling, and the city's unique history includes the fact that more public poker tables once existed here than in the rest of the United States combined. Located at the nexus of four major freeways, the City of Opportunity thrives today with more than 60,000 people on six square miles only a short distance from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Cover image for Gardena, isbn: 9780738546766

Depression-Era Murals of the Bay Area

9781467131445

$24.99

The San Francisco Bay Area's art community was thriving until the Great Depression strangled commerce in the 1930s. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal art programs brought relief to many talented but financially strapped artists. Their legacy, and that of the New Deal, adorns the walls and halls of many public spaces throughout the region. Murals cover the lobbies of the Coit Memorial Tower, the Beach Chalet, and the Aquatic Park Bathhouse (today's San Francisco Maritime Museum) and decorate many public schools and post offices. Today, almost all of this wonderful art can be viewed by the public, free of charge.

Cover image for Depression-Era Murals of the Bay Area, isbn: 9781467131445

Skiing at Lake Tahoe

9780738589060

$24.99

Organized ski racing in America started near Lake Tahoe in the 1860s when gold miners rode 15-foot boards that reached speeds near 100 miles per hour. By 1895, residents of Truckee had started the nation's first winter carnival west of the Rocky Mountains and soon built the largest ski jump in California. Today's Lake Tahoe, with significant annual snowfall, has become home to the largest concentration of ski resorts on the continent. Places like Mount Rose, Squaw Valley (home of the 1960 Winter Olympics), Sugar Bowl, Heavenly Valley, Homewood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood, Diamond Peak, Donner Ski Ranch, Granlibakken, and Northstar-at-Tahoe have seen skiing styles, sports, and fashions churn through the decades, while now gone resorts, such as Edelweiss and White Hills Ski Resort, echo the memories of yesterday's skiers through the pines.

Cover image for Skiing at Lake Tahoe, isbn: 9780738589060

San Francisco's Ocean Beach

9780738528571

$24.99

Where the waves of the Pacific Ocean wash up against the quiet neighborhoods of San Francisco, Ocean Beach has endured as a popular destination for tourists and San Francisco residents alike. At water's edge is the Cliff House restaurant where visitors can look down upon the remains of the Sutro Baths, a 19th-century indoor pool complex. Just south is the famous Golden Gate Park with its two stately windmills, followed by the well-loved San Francisco Zoo. But a century of change has altered the landscape and the attractions of Ocean Beach, making way for new developments and reflecting the evolution of the city of San Francisco itself.

Cover image for San Francisco's Ocean Beach, isbn: 9780738528571

Oxnard

9780738529301

$24.99

Stretching out along the beautiful Pacific shoreline, Oxnard is the largest city in Ventura County. The flat plain area lay fallow for nearly a century after the original population, the Chumash Indians, concentrated around the mission of San Buenaventura. The first crops were planted by German and Irish immigrants in 1867, and by 1898, Henry T. Oxnard and his investors saw the potential to build the largest sugar factory in the world. These days, the annual strawberry festival attracts thousands of visitors who come to celebrate the city's deep agricultural roots.

Cover image for Oxnard, isbn: 9780738529301

Westminster

9781467109680

$23.99

Westminster Colony was founded in 1870 by Presbyterian minister Rev. Lemuel P. Webber. The colony, based on Protestant Christian tenets and temperance, was one of the earliest settlements in what would later become Orange County, California. It developed into an important agricultural area until farmlands gave way to suburban tract homes during the county’s population boom of the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1947, it became the background for the important Mendez v. Westminster case, which helped pave the way for the national dismantling of segregation in schools. A little more than a century after the first settlers arrived in Westminster, Little Saigon became the heart of Orange County’s Vietnamese immigrant community. This latest group of settlers continues to make notable and unique contributions to this historic city.

Cover image for Westminster, isbn: 9781467109680

California's Haunted Central Coast

9781467140935

$21.99

Eerie haunts and stories of apparitions stretch along the California coast from Monterey Bay to the Channel Islands. James Dean's presence lingers at the site of his deadly car crash on Highway 46, and a ghost-in-residence presides over the Robert Louis Stevenson house in Monterey. Learn of the ghoulish murders of the Reed family at the San Miguel Mission, the mysterious spirits that haunt the Hearst Castle and the twisted tales of strange occurrences in what was once the Camarillo State Hospital. Join author Evie Ybarra as she explores the unexplained along this infamous coast.

Cover image for California's Haunted Central Coast, isbn: 9781467140935

The Valley of Heart's Delight

9781467151474

$21.99

The Santa Clara Valley, with its rich soil and sunny weather, has been home to great diversity and great innovation long before it became known as Silicon Valley.

California’s first immigrants from Mexico were astonished by its beauty. “The land is moist and the hills have an abundance of rosemary and herbs, sunflowers in bloom, vines as plentiful as a vineyard,” wrote one. From the movie stars of Hollywood’s golden era who once came to play to billionaires who grew apricots for pleasure, the valley has hosted orchards, electric railroads, Army camps and even a love-struck poet.

Join author and historian Robin Chapman as she uncovers the true tales of this ever-changing place.

Cover image for The Valley of Heart's Delight, isbn: 9781467151474

Iconic Hollywood Dishes, Drinks & Desserts

9781467151337

$21.99

Recipes born in the city of stars

Los Angeles is a city where film mingles with food. From healthful salads to sweet treats inspired by California's agricultural bounty, the innovative fare mirrors the rise from a sleepy, western outpost to celluloid dream, where food has always played an award-winning role. The minds behind these delicious treasures include a pauper who reinvented himself as a prince, a penniless single mom who perfected a treasured recipe to create an empire, and a guru who provided good vibes and scandal alongside cold-pressed juices. Bake up the Cocoanut Grove's Coconut Strawberry Cream Tarts and sip a Zombie from the first-ever Tiki bar to create a little Hollywood magic in your own kitchen.

Amy Bizzarri rolls out the red carpet in celebration of Tinseltown’s iconic cuisine.

Cover image for Iconic Hollywood Dishes, Drinks & Desserts, isbn: 9781467151337

San Francisco's Richmond District

9780738530536

$24.99

San Francisco is a patchwork of unique neighborhoods, and one of the most distinctive is the Richmond District. Stretching from the city's dense urban core outward to the rocky, rugged cliffs of Land's End, the Richmond contains schools, shops, churches, hospitals, and citizens from many different backgrounds and countries. San Francisco historian and tour guide Lorri Ungaretti, author of San Francisco's Sunset District, showcases here a stirring collection of vintage Richmond images, detailing this district's journey from windswept sand dunes to the modern and livable place we know today. Among the Richmond's long-gone sights are cemeteries, farms, racetracks, and improvised cottages built in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. The area remained mostly rural through the 1880s, when mining entrepreneur Adolph Sutro (who also developed Sutro Heights and Sutro Baths) put in a commuter rail line to connect San Francisco's central district with his entertainment destinations in the Outside Lands near Ocean Beach. The Richmond District's history includes large cemetery plots that are now covered with homes. In addition, the various roadhouses, racetracks, and amusement parks in the area made it what Ungaretti calls the city's playground. They're gone now, but remain important parts of the Richmond's fascinating history.

Cover image for San Francisco's Richmond District, isbn: 9780738530536

Lavender Los Angeles

9780738574905

$24.99

Los Angeles has always been a city of possibilities and reinvention. A youthful and independent spirit permeates the culture and gives a sense of freedom found in few other places. This environment provided fertile ground for the growth of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community that had a major influence on LGBT life in the United States. For most of American history, queer identities were only visible in forms of entertainment, with most of the culture existing underground and in fear. By the 1950s, however, a few brave gay people living in Los Angeles dared to challenge society's negative views on homosexuality. For the next two decades, L.A. produced the nation's first LGBT leaders, organizations, and publications, and gave birth to the national movement for LGBT equality.

Cover image for Lavender Los Angeles, isbn: 9780738574905

Redondo Beach Pier

9780738575025

$24.99

Piers have always drawn people to the mysterious wonder of the ocean. The ability to seemingly walk on water with the construction of a pier has created for humans a sense of temporary mastery of the majestic and merciless sea. The Southern California shoreline has always attracted tourists from near and far to experience the natural beauty of the coastline. Capitalizing on the natural and man-made appeal of the ocean and the pleasure pier, Henry Huntington created in Redondo Beach a fantasyland of wonder and excitement for beachgoers in the early 20th century. As one of the major rivals to the pleasure piers of Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and Venice to the north, the Endless Pier and later the adjacent Monstad Pier in Redondo Beach drew in thousands of tourists a day. Pleasure-seekers can still fish, enjoy dinner and music, shop, or simply take a nighttime stroll over the water on today's Municipal Pier--remnants from the heyday of Redondo Beach's pleasure pier of the early 20th century.

Cover image for Redondo Beach Pier, isbn: 9780738575025

San Francisco Giants

9780738576121

$24.99

In 1958, San Francisco welcomed its first major league baseball team when the Giants left New York and journeyed across the country to the Bay Area. Steeped in tradition, the orange-and-black team has captivated fans for decades with rosters including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Will Clark, Barry Bonds, and Tim Lincecum. This book provides a look into the team's history, highlighting the players and other notables who were instrumental in shaping the Giants organization.

Cover image for San Francisco Giants, isbn: 9780738576121

Sonoma Valley

9780738529431

$24.99

California's Wine Country, its rolling hills studded with ancient oaks and laced with vines. Tourists flock to the charming, historic towns in the Valley of the Moon, from Kenwood in the north to Schellville in the south. The town of Sonoma may be the birthplace of the State of California. Its central plaza, designed as a parade ground by Mexican general Mariano Vallejo and still ringed by mid-19th century buildings, was the site of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt. Since 1823, when Mission San Francisco Solano, the last link in the long chain of California missions, was established here, to the famous present-day wineries, restaurants, and shops, Sonoma Valley has been treasured by residents and visitors alike.

Cover image for Sonoma Valley, isbn: 9780738529431

Hidden History of Transportation in Los Angeles

9781626196711

$23.99

Los Angeles transportation's epic scale--its iconic freeways, Union Station, Los Angeles International Airport and the giant ports of its shores--has obscured many offbeat transit stories of moxie and eccentricity. Triumphs such as the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Mac Barnes's Ground Link buspool have existed alongside such flops as the Santa Monica Freeway Diamond Lane and the Oxnard-Los Angeles Caltrain commuter rail. The City of Angels lacks a propeller-driven monorail and a freeway in the paved bed of the Los Angeles River, but not for a lack of public promoters. Horace Dobbins built the elevated California Cycleway in Pasadena, and Mike Kadletz deployed the Pink Buses for Orange County kids hitchhiking to the beach. Join Charles P. Hobbs as he recalls these and other lost episodes of LA-area transportation lore.

Cover image for Hidden History of Transportation in Los Angeles, isbn: 9781626196711

Napa

9780738529516

$24.99

The name Napa may come from Napato, a clan of the Wintun Indians who once lived along a river that flows into San Francisco Bay. In the 1850s, miners sought refuge in the young city that grew up by the Napa River, living in tents along its main street. Later they and other newcomers found work at businesses and nearby ranches while Napa City flourished as goods and produce from all over the valley were loaded onto steamers bound for San Francisco. Shortening its name in 1900, Napa continued to provide housing and shops, utilities and transportation for a growing agricultural center, and it shared the valley's economic hard times through Prohibition and the Great Depression.

Cover image for Napa, isbn: 9780738529516

Tales of the Russian River

9781609496265

$21.99

The Russian River has drawn tourists to its colossal redwoods, picturesque seashore and idyllic resorts for more than a century. This collection of John C. Schubert's Stumptown Stories columns relates the history of this California river valley through in-depth research and firsthand stories. Ride the first train to chug across the Hacienda Bridge and wave farewell to the town's last train in 1935. Swing around in the many dance halls to the big bands of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Let the entertaining stories behind once stately, now hidden, landmarks carry you into Stumptown's past. Reconnect over coffee at Pat's Cafe and discover the rich history that formed the Russian River's communities.

Cover image for Tales of the Russian River, isbn: 9781609496265

Silverado Canyon

9780738559629

$24.99

Hidden in the Santa Ana Mountains below Santiago Peak is a canyon called Silverado. The Spaniards called it Canon de la Madera because of the abundance of timber. The first non-native homesteaders arrived in 1876 to tend bees and grow fruit trees. With the discovery in 1877 of quartz deposits embedded with silver, the canyon became a hotbed of activity, with possibilities of newfound fortune for the hundreds of men who arrived there. Renamed Silverado City, the heart of the canyon turned into a bustling mining town. After the silver bust, peace and quiet returned and Silverado was promoted as a health resort, a place to "take the waters" that flowed from the natural sulfur springs. Attracted by the beauty of the canyon, city dwellers began visiting. Abandoned cabins were turned into small bungalows and used as vacation homes and eventually year-round residences. Through boom and bust, fire and flood, the canyon remains a unique and enchanting part of Orange County.