Illinois

Name: Early Chicago Hotels
Brand: William R. Host
SKU: 9780738540412
Price: 18.74 USD
Availability: InStock

Illinois history exceeds the capacity of the Sears Catalog for categorization and the World’s Fair for spectacle. And no matter what the self-appointed tour guide at the local diner might say, the heritage of the land of Lincoln doesn’t end with Capone’s demise. Like the Chicago Loop, the Prairie State’s past seems to defy straightforward chronology—Cahokia offered a version of urban sprawl more than a thousand years before the first Windy City skyscraper. From Park Forest to Cave-in-Rock, scan our shelf of Illinois history books with the unflagging enthusiasm of a Wrigley Field hot dog vendor. [View all Illinois books]

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Early Chicago Hotels

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Chicago Amateur Boxing

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King of the Gold Coast:

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Remembering McDonough County

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Fox Lake

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Illinois: What's So Great About This State

$9.99 $7.49 Save 25%

Remembering Champaign County

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Onarga

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North Park University

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Wicked Springfield

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Peoria

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Traveling Through Illinois

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Springfield's Sculptures, Monuments, and Plaques

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Chicago Marathon

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It Didn't Play in Peoria

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North Aurora:

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Aurora's East-West Football Rivalry

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Kankakee

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Genoa and Kingston

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Chippiannock Cemetery

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Northwestern Wildcat Football

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Douglas/Grand Boulevard

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From Christmas to Twelfth Night in Southern Illinois

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Wicked Decatur

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Lucky to Live in Illinois

$16.99 $12.74 Save 25%

Arlington Heights, Illinois

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When Hollywood Landed at Chicago's Midway Airport:

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Lake Bluff

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The Wise Animal Handbook Illinois

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Macoupin County on Route 66

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Springfield Aviation

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The Chicago Haymarket Affair

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Chicago Aces

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Fort Sheridan

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Nick Blase:

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Italian-American Women of Chicagoland

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Puerto Rican Chicago

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Bloomingdale

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Chicago and the State of Illinois:

$11.99 $8.99 Save 25%

Virginia Marmaduke

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Lewis University

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Murder and Mayhem in Chicago's Vice Districts

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The Trout Valley Hertz Estate, and Curtiss Farm

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Boone County Originals:

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Early Chicago Hotels

9780738540412

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

From their rise in the early 19th century, Chicago's hotels were bustling centers of city life. The Great Fire in October 1871 destroyed all of that. But it also gave the city an opportunity to begin again with a fresh palette of architectural ideas. By the World's Columbian Exposition
of 1893, Chicago had built over 1,400 hotels and lodging houses, establishing it as the nation's prime destination for business, conventions, and tourism. Early Chicago Hotels presents more than 200 postcards, inviting the reader to tour the stunning exterior and dazzling interior designs of Chicago's architects. The city's fi rst-class hotels, resorts, and lesser-known second-class hotels--many of which are long gone--are featured. These early hotels set the stage for the great palace hotels of the 1920s.

King of the Gold Coast:

9781609493202

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Chicago's breathtaking Lake Shore Drive, with its beaches and luxury homes, has its origin in a neglected marsh and a clandestine land development. Meet the uncrowned king of the disputed shore, George Wellington Streeter, the outlandish swindler, unlikely hero and self-proclaimed founder of the Gold Coast who tried to secede from the state of Illinois. Opposing him was the quiet vision of Potter Palmer and the full weight of his investment syndicate. With this keen piece of investigative history, Wayne Klatt uncovers the secrets that both sides of the conflict managed to keep in spite of lawsuits, state inquiries, a presidential forgery and two murder trials.

Remembering McDonough County

9781596298385

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Established in 1826, McDonough County, Illinois, has experienced fascinating changes since pioneer days, including the gradual disappearance of some small communities and rural neighborhoods. Remembering McDonough County focuses on the local tradition of notable storytellers and historians as it reflects the county's strange and colorful, poignant and meaningful earlier days--in Macomb, outlying communities, ghost towns, and wild areas. Award-winning author John Hallwas sketches memorable figures like pioneer storyteller Quintus Walker, Macomb newspaper editor W.H. Hainline, and Bushnell poet Marian Stearns Curry, and he depicts beloved, legendary, and sometimes mysterious places like Vishnu Springs, Gin Ridge, Ragtown, and Scott's neighborhood. Along the way, he portrays the racehorse and Civil War hero Chickamauga, the frightening Gooseneck Ghost, and the long-forgotten Crooked Creek Terror.

Fox Lake

9780738540580

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Vintage postcards show the magic of the scenes and people of Fox Lake, a populsr destination of vacationing Chicagoans.

Fox Lake, nestled as it is in the the heart of the chain, has been one of the Chicago area's favorite recreation destinations for over 100 years. Starting in the late 1800s, wealthy sportsmen constructed clubs that sparked an era often referred to as the ""resort heyday."" An explosion of resorts and cottages beckoned tourists to come to hunt, fish, enjoy nature's gifts, or be entertained. In 1910, the Chicago Tribune referred to the area as the ""Vice Capital,"" noting the openness of gambling, saloons, dance halls, and more. Through the magic of vintage postcards, some of the ghosts of the past are brought to life in this book--scenery, structures, boats, and people gone but not totally forgotten.

Remembering Champaign County

9781596299634

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Champaign County's history is an intriguing mix of hard living and higher learning, with a long tradition of bearing witness to progress. That progress was not without struggle, the arrival of the railroad came at a high cost in human life, and the arrival of racial integration was long overdue. These vignettes by former mayor Dannel McCollum provide a memorable glimpse into the heart of the county's history, uncovering new angles on old stories and preserving the familiar features of beloved characters. Reacquaint yourself with entrepreneur extraordinaire Benjamin Franklin Harris, as well as a promising lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln who defended the county's first convicted murderer. Then treat yourself to a brief dip into March Madness history with the Fighting Illini's 1989 surge to the Final Four.

Onarga

9780738560601

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How Onarga received its name remains a mystery. Realists believe Illinois Central Railroad land commissioner John Calhoun combined two or three consonants and added the necessary vowels to invent a nice-sounding town name. Many prairie towns in the 1850s, with the arrival of the railroads, received their names by this method. Romantics believe Onarga was named for a young Native American girl, Princess Onarga, daughter of an Iroquois Indian chief. Prior to the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, Native Americans controlled this part of Illinois, and among the roving tribes that crisscrossed the grand prairie were the powerful Iroquois. Legend says that when a name was proposed for the new town on the railroad, none better than Onarga was given. This mystery may never be solved, but the realists and romantics agree to disagree--agreeing foremost on celebrating and preserving the rich history of Onarga.

North Park University

9780738560618

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North Park University was founded in Minneapolis in 1891 to provide basic education for Swedish immigrants and theological training for students entering the ministry. The school moved to the North Park community on the outskirts of Chicago in 1894. Since that time, the cornfields and cabbage patches in the area have given way to stores, bungalows, and apartment buildings, and the campus now covers 30 acres in a bustling urban neighborhood. The school has become an ethnically and racially diverse Christian university and seminary offering degrees in a wide range of disciplines and enrolling 3,300 students from across the country and around the world. It is one of the few evangelical Christian universities in the United States located in a major city.

Wicked Springfield

9781596299016

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In the twenty-four years that Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, the city saw its share of crime, corruption and scandal, much of it at the hands of Lincoln's law clients and acquaintances. Erika Holst sheds light on these shady characters, from the man being sued for divorce who claimed that he caught his venereal disease from an outhouse to Governor William Bissell, whose near duel with Jefferson Davis almost made him ineligible to hold office. Learn what prompted a congressional candidate- in an election clerked by Lincoln- to shout down his accuser as some 'spindle-shanked, toad-eating, man-granny, who feeds the depraved appetites of his patrons with gossip and slander.' Read the true stories that fed those depraved appetites, drawn from the newspapers Lincoln read and the docket where he practiced law. In these pages, discover the wicked side of Lincoln's Springfield.

Peoria

9780738554693

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Featuring more than 200 vintage postcards, Peoria: A Postcard History captures the changing scenes of the river and downtown Peoria from 1900 to 1950.

One of the largest cities in Illinois, Peoria is the seat of Peoria County and lies on the Illinois River where it forms Lake Peoria. Located in the state's central-farm country, Peoria is a manufacturing center known as the ""Earth-Moving Equipment Capital of the World. "" Distilling has also been important in Peoria, which was home to the world's largest distillery, Hiram Walker and Sons, in 1933. Peoria: A Postcard History will allow you to visit ""the world's most beautiful drive,"" as proclaimed by President Theodore Roosevelt during his visit to Grand View Drive in an automobile manufactured in Peoria Heights.

Traveling Through Illinois

9781626190481

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

If you have been driving through Illinois on I-55 and exclaimed, There's nothing out there but corn you aren't alone, but you couldn't be more wrong. Learn why Steven Spielberg visited Waggoner, Illinois, and what fruit Abraham Lincoln used to christen the town named after him, as well as what route was frequented by flesh-eating birds and what antique mall was said to harbor a spaceship. When you travel in the company of LuAnn Cadden and Ted Cable, every mile marker between Chicago and St. Louis hides a story, and even grain silos become adventure destinations.

Springfield's Sculptures, Monuments, and Plaques

9780738551654

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Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the home of Abraham Lincoln and Vachel Lindsay. The city is filled with history, and that fact is reflected in the many sculptures, monuments, and plaques that have been commissioned to commemorate this history. The city contains more than 14 statues and busts of Abraham Lincoln. Famous sculptors have created 17 statues inside the state capitol alone, and 13 more statues and sculptures are located on the capitol grounds. The state's Capital Development Board sponsors the Art-in-Architecture program and provides funding for newly commissioned sculptures in state-funded public buildings. Several major American sculptors are represented in the many works, including Leonard Volk, Leonard Crunelle, Larkin Mead, Fred Torrey, and James Earl Fraser. Works of contemporary artists such as Michael Dunbar, Richard Hunt, and Preston Jackson are also present. Oak Ridge Cemetery contains four war memorials and Abraham Lincoln's tomb. Each of the sculptures, monuments, and plaques has a story to tell and helps to make Springfield's history come alive.

Chicago Marathon

9780738577180

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

On Saturday, September 23, 1905, fifteen determined runners bolted at the sound of the starter's gun to begin an amazing journey of distance and endurance: the first Chicago Marathon. Huge crowds witnessed a thrilling race that had it all: action, disaster, suspense, a fallen favorite, and a cliff-hanger ending. It was epic, defining a new chapter in Chicago's athletic history. More than a century later, each year Chicago welcomes nearly 40,000 inspiring runners-from the world's best to complete novices-who will start, discover, battle, and ultimately finish something they once thought impossible, even ridiculous: the Chicago Marathon, all 26 miles, 385 yards. This book takes the reader into the marathon experience, including the sights, sounds, emotions, challenges, and achievements.

It Didn't Play in Peoria

9780738525709

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It Didn't Play in Peoria explores the interesting history of this small Middle American town which is often looked over.

""Will it play in Peoria?"" was an old Vaudeville phrase meaning, ""Will it appeal to the average person?"" But it had greatness in its grasp, and more than once. The Illinois city has gained fame through the years, but more often as the butt of jokes or as an example of the typical Middle American town than through any recognition of its many accomplishments. Peoria boasts a string of close brushes with prosperity, any one of which could have made it a Chicago or a St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh, for example, first approached Peoria for backing for his historic flight, but the town's moneymen refused him and his Spirit of Peoria, perhaps losing a chance at the airline industry as well.

North Aurora:

9780738541082

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North Aurora: 1834-1940 is a quintessential study of what happened when settlers arrived in the Midwest in the 1830s. The village's location on the Fox River provided plentiful trees and waterpower for sawmills. Soon other mills, smelting works, a packing plant, a door-sash-blind factory, and a creamery all came to town. The village's railroad enabled its Boswell Cheese Factory to ship cream cheese to England in 1877. By 1922, North Aurora had a huge entertainment complex, a popular racetrack, and a hotel. Today the village is growing rapidly but still maintains its rural atmosphere.

Aurora's East-West Football Rivalry

9781626195554

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

For over 120 years, the people of Aurora, Illinois, have gathered together to watch East Aurora and West Aurora High Schools square off in what is now Illinois' longest-running football rivalry. Since first taking to the gridiron in 1893, the schools have laid claim to mythical state championships, represented Illinois in intra-sectional games and pioneered night football. Alumni from these storied rivals include college all-Americans, Hall of Fame coaches, decorated war heroes, an Olympic medalist, a charter member of the NFL, numerous successful high school coaches, outstanding businessmen and civic leaders, including former mayors of Santa Monica, California, and Des Moines, Iowa. Author Steve Solarz pored over the records of more than two thousand games to produce a work that is both an encyclopedic resource and a passionate account of a celebrated tradition.

Kankakee

9780738540603

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Kankakee County was organized in early 1853. In June 1853, the village of Kankakee Depot, later known as the city of Kankakee, was declared the new county seat. The establishment of both Kankakee County and the city of Kankakee owed a great deal to the railroad, particularly the Illinois Central Railroad. By the end of the 19th century, the county had become an important railroad hub where several important lines converged and the city had become a commercial and manufacturing center. By 1900, Kankakee was a growing community possessing a vibrant economy and many fine public and private buildings. The city was also host to the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane, renamed the Kankakee State Hospital in 1910, which at the beginning of the 20th century was the second-largest mental health facility in the United States. It was probably the Kankakee River that most clearly defi ned the community. Many of Kankakee's citizens boated on the beautiful river and enjoyed good times at the "new-fangled" amusement facility, Electric Park. The over 200 vintage postcards displayed in this book illustrate the exciting period from 1900 to 1916.

Genoa and Kingston

9780738584478

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In 1835, while Charles Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle was exploring the Galapagos Islands, the northern Illinois municipalities of Genoa and Kingston were being settled. Pioneers arrived via the historic Chicago-Galena stagecoach trail. Thomas Matteson, a Revolutionary War soldier from Ohio, and his family traveled in three covered wagons and became Genoa's first settlers. Genoa was incorporated as a village in 1876 and as a city in 1911. Kingston became a village in 1886. In addition to sharing a boundary, the municipalities share the Genoa-Kingston Fire Department, Genoa-Kingston Middle School, and Genoa-Kingston High School. During the Civil War, 109 men from Genoa and 105 men from Kingston, roughly a tenth of the population of each municipality at that time, enlisted in the Union Army. Men and women from Genoa and Kingston have continued to serve in the U.S. military from World Wars I and II to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chippiannock Cemetery

9780738577418

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Built on a ridge named for the great Native American spirit Manitou, Chippiannock Cemetery has honored the dead of Rock Island County for over 150 years. Chippiannock, which means "village of the dead" in the Sauk and Fox languages, is truly a village. People from all walks of life are buried in the majestic rolling grounds. From railroad and lumber barons to blacksmiths and riverboat captains, here one will find the people who made this land along the Mississippi River thrive. Upon stepping through the gates of Chippiannock, one finds memorials to the dead, ranging from artistic and stately to simple or humble. Each stone tells a story-whether it is a cenotaph in honor of Civil War major general John Buford or the two Dimick children who passed away on the same day in 1878 of diphtheria. Today Chippiannock remains an active, "living" cemetery, beloved by locals and considered a jewel of the Quad Cities.

Northwestern Wildcat Football

9780738534336

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Their program was once regarded as a powerhouse, but 25 years ago the Northwestern University football team set records for futility. Defying nearly all expectations, the Wildcats experienced a rebirth in 1995 and have been surprising the college football world since. Northwestern Wildcat Football describes in detail the team's first games in the 19th century, the Wildcats' title runs in the 1930s, the career of NU legend Otto Graham, the 1949 Rose Bowl championship, the era of Ara Parseghian, the woes of the '70s and '80s, and Northwestern's return to football prominence in the past decade. From their beginning as one of the earliest college teams in the Midwest to the recent series of Big Ten championships, the Northwestern Wildcats have clawed their way to claim 8 conference titles, 36 All-Americans, and victory in some of the most thrilling college football games ever played.

Douglas/Grand Boulevard

9780738518558

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The history of Chicago can be told through its neighborhoods, and perhaps none is more telling than Douglas/Grand Boulevard on the city's south side. The future site of the neighborhood remained a sparsely settled prairie until the early 1850s, when Stephen A. Douglas purchased a large tract of land and began developing a residential subdivision for the wealthy. Douglas/Grand Boulevard: A Chicago Neighborhood explores the development of this distinctive community and the many obstacles its residents encountered. Originally a predominately white neighborhood, Douglas/Grand Boulevard became an African-American community during the Great Migration when thousands of Southern blacks moved north seeking greater opportunities. After the 1919 Race Riot, an increasing number of white residents moved away from the neighborhood, and the community became a national model of black achievement.

From Christmas to Twelfth Night in Southern Illinois

9781596299139

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Journey to a region where all the perennials are said to bloom at midnight on Christmas Eve and where a family's luck is determined by the first person to walk through their door on New Year's Day. Spend a literary Christmas in Herrin, listen to the twelve bells of Belleville ring out the coming year and greet the Three Kings of Germantown at Epiphany. Whether you are a newcomer to southern Illinois or whether you feel like you have been singing La Guiannee since the tradition started in Prairie du Rocher in 1720, join John J. Dunphy for a season of sacred memories and merry recollections.

Wicked Decatur

9781609491604

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In 1854, Decatur was nicknamed Hell's Half Acre. By the 1910s and 1920s, the town was referred to as the Second Most Corrupt City in Illinois, gaining notoriety as a place where murder, bootlegging, prostitution, kidnapping, gambling and political corruption were common. Members of the Decatur police force, like Troy Taylor's great-grandfather, were hard-pressed to bar the door against crime in a town that seemed determined to remain wide-open. Wicked Decatur presents a rogue's gallery of those who have slipped through the cracks of legality over the past century and a half.

Lucky to Live in Illinois

9780738527765

$16.99 $12.74 Save 25%

What do you get when you cross a read-aloud storybook with a write-in memory book? Magic moments between kids and adults! The Lucky to Live in Illinois book is the perfect tool to jump-start meaningful conversations between generations. Read-aloud rhymes set up interesting topics. Then write-in prompts invite children to record their own views to create a personal Prairie State keepsake. The real gift lies in the interactive nature of the book as it offers the perfect opportunity for adults to share their own stories and wisdom about such issues as friendship, community, team spirit, and other topics that help develop a child's social and emotional skills. Customized Illinois content—from favorite local cuisine (deep-dish pizza) to interesting attractions (Lincoln Home National Historic Site)—provides an even more personalized experience.

Arlington Heights, Illinois

9781596296749

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The village of Arlington Heights--beginning with the diligence and fortitude of William Dunton--is replete with stories of bitter hardship and exalting triumph. Originally named Dunton after its founder, the village's success was sealed by canny deal-making that brought a railroad through the middle of town. As the state of Illinois boomed, the village on the tracks flourished with agriculture, industry, transportation and an expanding population. From the influx of immigrants and industry to the resurrection of the Arlington Park Racetrack, read the compelling history of a small agricultural village's transformation into a thriving commercial district and the unique way in which its small-town charm and industrious spirit coexist.

When Hollywood Landed at Chicago's Midway Airport:

9781609495923

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Al Capone dove for the floor when he saw the flash of the camera, while his startled body guards drew their guns. The actress Miriam Hopkins ran screaming from the camera while Lyndon Johnson ran towards it. General Jimmy Doolittle called him a Son of a Bitch, while the Pope called him his friend. Bob Hope asked if he would escort Hope's wife to church, and John Barrymore asked if he would hide him from his mistress. Cary Grant demanded a shoe shine, Eleanor Roosevelt demanded an apology, and Harry Truman demanded a bourbon. Who was this guy? He was Mike Rotunno, and he was a photographer for one of Chicago's newspapers. Yet, he also photographed airplanes for the airlines, starting in the 1920's, the beginning of his 50 year career at Chicago's Midway airport. In that span he got to know everyone, great or small, and his story is like a cross between the movie The Terminal" and "Forrest Gump." He introduced movie stars to baseball players, Marilyn Monroe to a room full o."

Lake Bluff

9780738552101

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The shores of Lake Michigan, with towering bluffs and heavily wooded ravines, have attracted many to Lake Bluff during the past two centuries. The Potawatomis were the first to come, using the ravines for their tribal council meetings. The German and Irish came in the 1830s, drawn by the cheap land prices. The 1870s brought the Methodists, who, seeing the beauty of the lake and the ravines, purchased 200 acres and formed the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting Association. The summer chautauqua brought thousands of visitors every year to its quaint cottages and hotels. It was in Lake Bluff where Frances Willard, president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, brought together other temperance leaders to form the national Prohibition party, which led to the ill-fated 18th Amendment. In the 20th century, Lake Bluff has retained its charming cottages and tree-lined village streets. It remains today a picturesque and historic northern suburb of Chicago, nestled along the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Wise Animal Handbook Illinois

9780738528182

$16.99 $12.74 Save 25%

Read-aloud time is about to get a lot more fun! The Illinois Wise Animal Handbook offers laugh-out-loud animal kingdom advice for kids of every age! Engaging animal photos entertain while charming read-aloud rhymes help jump-start conversations about practical life solutions. The Read Together/Do Together™ experience continues with pull out coloring pages in the back of the book featuring fun facts about special Prairie State animals including the northern cardinal and painted turtle. Enjoy the opportunity to share your own practical wisdom with your favorite little one as you read-aloud… and laugh-aloud….again and again.

Macoupin County on Route 66

9780738550770

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Each community in Macoupin County has its own flavorful history. Historic Route 66 passes through many towns in the county. Some communities are
located on a major Native American trail. The courthouse in Carlinville was once the largest outside New York. Early labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones is buried in Mount Olive.

Springfield Aviation

9780738561592

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Citizens of Springfield first witnessed human flight, a balloon ascent, on July 5, 1858. In 1861, the capital city's most famous resident, Abraham Lincoln, then residing in the White House, authorized the creation of the first U.S. "air force," a balloon to observe Confederate troops. Springfield's interface with aviation has been a steady stream of hot-and-cold-running enthusiasm since airplanes began flying from the state fair racetrack infield about 1910. Springfield Aviation chronicles that flow and concludes with photographs from Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in early 2008. It presents photographs of memorable airplanes, airships, and prominent aviators from the author's extensive collection, augmented by contributions from Springfield Airport Authority, Lincoln Library's Sangamon Valley Collection, and many others.

The Chicago Haymarket Affair

9781467135740

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded during a labor demonstration near Haymarket Square. The ensuing gunfire and chaos brought a grisly end to what began as peaceful support for an eight-hour workday and led to the trial and execution of rally organizers. The incident also drew irrevocable attention to a conversation about workers' rights and the role of law enforcement that continues today. In this guide to the key moments and sites of one of Chicago's most confusing and chaotic events, author Joseph Anthony Rulli aims to establish a clearer understanding of its historical significance.

Fort Sheridan

9780738551913

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Fort Sheridan is a national historic treasure nestled along the shores of Lake Michigan. It was established as an army base in 1887 and decommissioned in 1993, giving way to its rebirth as a township and forest preserve. Laura Tucker, a six-year resident, avid photographer, and Fort Sheridan enthusiast, has researched and compiled a collection of photographs and facts that highlight the ever-changing uses of the structures and the chameleon-like personality of the fort.

Nick Blase:

9781609495497

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Nick Blase ruled the Chicago suburb of Niles for almost half a century, defeating every challenger and even facing down legendary Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley on occasion. Ultimately, Blase, the longest-sitting mayor in the country, resigned from office following an arrest on federal corruption charges the morning of his seventy-eighth birthday. He pled guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Despite the cloud over his tenure, there is no doubt Blase made a huge impact on the sleepy suburb, turning the postwar bedroom community into an economic powerhouse that ranked with the largest cities in the state. After exhaustive research and hours of personal interviews, Andrew Schneider has put together a fascinating portrait of Blase's political career.

Puerto Rican Chicago

9780738533681

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Puerto Ricans have a long history in Chicago. Beginning in the 1920s, a handful of middle-class Puerto Rican families sent their daughters and sons to study at prestigious universities in the city. While most returned to Puerto Rico, migration to Chicago peaked during the 1950s and 1960s. Enticed by the prospect of a better life for their families and future generations, thousands of Puerto Ricans came to Chicago in search of a brighter tomorrow. They came to Chicago as American citizens, yet still faced rampant discrimination and prejudice. In 1950, there were only 255 Puerto Ricans in Chicago; today, there are over 113,000. Chicago is home to a thriving Puerto Rican community, and its members continue to make important contributions to the political, educational, social, and cultural institutions of Chicago.

Bloomingdale

9780738551982

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This photographic journal traces Bloomingdale's development chronologically from its earliest days through its sesquicentennial celebration. The area claimed in 1833 by the Meacham brothers, who traveled from the east in search of land and opportunities, encompassed parts of present-day Roselle, Medinah, and Cloverdale. The Meacham brothers and those who followed formed an agricultural community that thrived in its location on a major thoroughfare, the Chicago Galena Highway. Retail was an important part of Bloomingdale by the time the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad came through the northern part of Bloomingdale Township in 1873. Largely "Smalltown, USA" for a number of years, Bloomingdale came into its own in the mid-1970s with an explosion of population, business, and prosperity.

Virginia Marmaduke

9780738519661

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Nicknamed "The Duchess" by a tongue-tied editor early in her career, Virginia Marmaduke is the First Lady of Chicago print journalism. She was the first woman to: cover both crime and sports for Windy City newspapers; be named (by Mayor Daley Sr.) to the Chicago Board of Health; be named Press Veteran of the Year by the Chicago Press Veterans Association; and to be inducted into Chicago's Journalism Hall of Fame.

First with the Chicago Sun, then the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, the Duchess's newspaper career ran parallel to the 20th Century. She covered, as she called it, "blood, guts and sex," as well as presidents, natural disasters, women's issues, and-notably-humanitarian causes.

This volume, the first on the life and career of Virginia Marmaduke, reprints many of the famous articles from her Chicago heyday. Additionally, it documents her childhood in Carbondale, Illinois, her first newspaper job, and her return to Southern Illinois where she became a community booster, humanitarian, and beloved "all-Illinoisian."

Lewis University

9780738520223

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Now the twelfth largest among more than 50 private colleges and universities in the State of Illinois, Lewis University was established in 1932 as a small aeronautical school for boys and has developed into a dynamic, coeducational, and comprehensive Catholic university with a richly diverse student body. Founded by the Archdiocese of Chicago and now sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis is faithful to its Catholic and Lasallian heritage, offering a values-centered curriculum rich in the Mission values of knowledge, fidelity, wisdom, and justice and guided by the spirit of association, which fosters community in teaching, learning, and service. As Lewis celebrates its 70th anniversary, this volume provides a visual glimpse into the history of this unique institution. Included are photographs of its humble beginnings, its evolution during and after World War II, dynamic enrollment growth during the 1960s, the dramatic campus transformation through construction, its student activities, its athletic successes, and the campus today.

Murder and Mayhem in Chicago's Vice Districts

9781596296923

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From the very beginning, Chicago thrived on its reputation as a wide-open town. After the Great Fire, no part of the city was rebuilt more quickly than the vice districts, where bribed cops and brutal force emboldened professional wickedness to celebrate itself with gala events like the First Ward Ball, begun in honor of a madam's pianist and often so crowded that passed-out drunks couldn't even fall to the floor. Randolph Street was nicknamed Gambler's Row because men gambled with their lives by visiting it. In Little Hell, guns and knives could be rented by the hour. In these seedy areas only put to sleep by Mickey Finn's knockout drinks or Gentle Annie's knockout punches, it is no wonder that Detective Woolridge kept seventy-five disguises, made twenty thousand arrests and was shot at forty-four times.

The Trout Valley Hertz Estate, and Curtiss Farm

9780738561608

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John D. Hertz, of rental car fame, discovered Trout Valley (then a part of unincorporated McHenry County) in the 1920s.

He built a mansion, barns, and polo grounds on the banks of the Fox River, calling his new country estate Leona Farms. Famous landscape architect Jens Jensen designed its scenic landscape, fishing streams, and ponds. Here Hertz raised racehorses, including two Kentucky Derby winners, and hosted Gatsby-like parties for the rich and famous, including Myrna Loy, Will Rogers, and Walt Disney. Eleanor Roosevelt was once a guest too. In 1943, Hertz sold his estate to Otto Schnering, of Baby Ruth and Butterfinger fame, who transformed the grounds from a lush playground to the headquarters of a 10,000-acre farming operation. Old-timers still remember Schnering's six-pony hitch carrying joy-filled passengers down Main Street, the state-of-the-art livestock arena, and the trophy-winning cattle raised at Curtiss Farm.

Boone County Originals:

9781596299382

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Daniel Boone may never have set foot in the Illinois county that bears his name, but his tradition of blazing new trails is certainly honored here. Boone County has been the home of Native American legends, a Major League Baseball player, a Miss America and a cross-dressing Civil War soldier. And don't forget Hairbreadth Harry, King of the Hobos, "? who wrote poetry, walked backward and bathed in gasoline. Enjoy the best of Mike Doyle's historical columns as he introduces the fascinating folk of this "garden on the prairie, "? where some of the tallest tales are true."