Name: Southern California Funny Cars
Brand: Mr. Steve Reyes
SKU: 9781467109727
Price: 23.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Southern California Funny Cars

9781467109727

$23.99

Southern California was the birthplace of organized drag racing, with the first organized race held at the Santa Ana airport in 1949 and the subsequent founding of the National Hot Rod Association in 1950. Over the next decade and a half, the dragster became the king of the quarter mile on Southern California drag strips. In 1964, veteran dragster owner/driver Jack Chrisman had an idea for something different to grace Southern California's drag strips. It was not a dragster but a stock-bodied race car using nitromethane for fuel in a supercharged engine. With the help of Gene Mooneyham, Mercury's Fran Hernandez, and sponsor Helen Sachs, Chrisman put together the world's first nitro-burning "funny car." It was a steel stock-bodied Mercury Cyclone with a supercharged 427 Ford engine running on pure nitromethane. Chrisman started the evolution that soon turned stock steel-bodied cars into fiberglass-bodied tube chassis funny cars. Southern California drag racers began to lead the way for racers all over the United States in the new funny car class.

Northern California Drag Racing

9781467108171

$23.99

Organized drag racing began in Northern California in 1949 thanks to World War II veterans with a "need for speed." Towns like Redding, Lodi, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Fremont would host their own drag events featuring homebuilt jalopies. Anyone with a driver's license and a paid entry fee could participate, and as the cars got more sophisticated and faster, more and more spectators came to watch the local "speed demons." By the 1960s, a metamorphosis began with the introduction of the slingshot-style dragsters. For the next 12 years, the slingshot dragster was the king of the quarter mile, and it made stars of Gary Ormsby, Frank Bradley, Dennis Baca, and James Warren. Meanwhile, in 1965, a funny new race car challenged "The King" as it gained popularity in Northern California. Leading this funny car charge was a Pennsylvania transplant named Russell James Liberman. However, the golden years of Northern California drag racing came to an end in the mid-1970s. Today, only 5 out of 17 drag strips are still open. Photographer Steve Reyes journeyed into the world of Northern California drag racing in 1963 as a 15-year-old kid. Upon seeing an advertisement from the Oakland Tribune that read, "Come see the nitro powered 200mph slingshot dragsters," Reyes and his father made the 23-mile trek to the Fremont drag strip. With the noise of high-powered engines filling the air, Reyes was hooked and made it his duty to capture this one-of-a-kind world on film.

Knott's Berry Farm:

9780738569215

$24.99

Before there was a Disneyland, there was Knott's Berry Farm. What started out in the early 1920s as a small, roadside berry stand in Buena Park, California, grew over the next 60 years into one of the most popular amusement parks in the world. Its founder, Walter Knott, along with his wife and family, knew no boundaries when it came to expanding his small berry market and tearoom into the world-famous Chicken Dinner Restaurant and later adding his ultimate achievement, Ghost Town. This book documents the early history of Knott's Berry Farm, featuring over 200 rarely seen images.

Southern California Top Fuel Dragsters

9781467161503

$24.99

Southern California front-engine top fuel dragsters were the kings of the quarter mile. Fathers and sons, friends, and next-door neighbors joined together to build and race these cars. From 1963 to 1971, considered the toughest years to complete, the top fuel dragster became faster and quicker with new innovations in the chassis design and engine building.

Southern California quickly became the place to prove top fuel racing skills as racers from all over the United States ventured to see how they matched up against those killer cars. For any top fuel racer or team to win in that era, it was truly a lifetime achievement. Many tried and failed to make their mark in Southern California.

Photographer Steve Reyes made the five-hour drive from his home in Northern California on many a weekend to capture Southern California’s top fuel teams in action at Riverside, Irwindale, Lions, and Orange County raceways. His images of these nitro warriors capture the action and feel of those bygone days of top fuel dragster racing as well as the memories of great racers and great racing in Southern California.

Cover image for Southern California Top Fuel Dragsters, isbn: 9781467161503

Pacific Coast Highway in California

9781467127516

$23.99

More commonly known as Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1 ribbons along or near the Pacific Ocean from Northern California at Leggett in Mendocino down to Southern California at San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Its construction began in 1913 and was done incrementally, largely because of funding issues, shortage of labor, legal challenges, deep canyons, steep mountains, solid rock, and unstable earth. A true modern marvel, its unique and extraordinary construction allows easy access to some of the country's most famous and historical places and picturesque sights. Thousands of pounds of dynamite were used to blast through granite, marble, and sandstone to build a highway following near or along the coastline. Among the 33 bridges along the route is the remarkable Bixby (Rainbow) Bridge at Big Sur. The highway wends its way through some of the most magnificent and scenic landscapes and historical places found between Ventura and Humboldt Counties, making it more than just a road. It is a destination.

Cover image for Pacific Coast Highway in California, isbn: 9781467127516

Pacific Palisades

9780738569482

$24.99

Pacific Palisades owes its name to its geography. The cliffs looming above the beach reminded the early developers of the Hudson River Palisades in New York. The name for this eventually affluent coastal enclave of the city of Los Angeles was first used in 1906 for an area of Santa Monica homes. Palisades Park in Santa Monica hugs the top of the bluff. So it must have seemed natural to name the area north of the Santa Monica Palisades Pacific Palisades. Today Pacific Palisades is synonymous with lovely homes and distinguished residents as well as rocky cliffs. Many of the photographs reproduced here have never before been published and show how the land changed from open mesas to the thriving community it is today. Pacific Palisades completes the story of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica and its neighboring rancho--the Boca de Santa Monica--and the Santa Monica Land and Water Company.

Filipinos in the San Fernando Valley

9781467162203

$24.99

From stories and photographs of longtime residents and community leaders in the San Fernando Valley, Joseph Bernardo pieces together a largely fragmented, hidden, yet rich history of Filipino Americans in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley.

Filipinos comprise the largest Asian American community in the place that some have deemed “America’s Suburb.” Although a small number of Filipinos formed farm laborer communities in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley beginning in the 1920s when the area was largely an agribusiness hub, most Filipinos settled in the valley when the post–World War II bedroom community largely integrated beginning in the 1970s and 1980s. From the postindustrial age to the present, thousands of Filipinos flocked to the San Fernando Valley seeking affordable homeownership and a suburban quality of life, helping to change the makeup of communities, neighborhoods, schools, and even suburbia itself. Filipinos in the San Fernando Valley traces the historical and cultural shifts of this quintessential suburb through the lens of generations of Filipinos who made the valley their home.

Dr. Bernardo is a native and current resident of the valley thanks to his immigrant parents, who settled in Northridge in the 1970s. He also cohosts the podcast This Filipino American Life with other Valleyites.

Cover image for Filipinos in the San Fernando Valley, isbn: 9781467162203

Hot Rodding in the San Fernando Valley

9781467160650

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

This book chronicles the once-vibrant hot rod scene in California’s San Fernando Valley—from the iconic Bob’s Big Boy drive-in to the San Fernando drag strip. Featuring “TV” Tommy Ivo, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Bob “Floyde Lippencotte Jr.” Muravez, Jim Miles, and many other luminaries from the golden age of drag racing, it also tells the story of the Road Kings of Burbank car club and how its members progressed from street racing to dominating the Southern California drag-racing scene. Several members of the club went on to become major stars as they spread the sport of drag racing across the United States and abroad through showmanship and innovation. And, of course, the book has lots of cool pictures of hot rods, customs, and dragsters.

Cover image for Hot Rodding in the San Fernando Valley, isbn: 9781467160650

Route 66 in California

9780738530376

$23.99

The Mother Road hauled it all, traversing the American West from Chicago to Santa Monica Beach, the last 350 miles through Southern California. For settlers, Depression-era Okies and Arkies, and post–World War II families bound for suburbia, Route 66 was a migration funnel for generations. Wending through the mountains and badlands of San Bernardino County into Los Angeles County, Route 66 became a state of mind and a catchphrase for travelers everywhere, especially after singer Bobby Troupe popularized the hit song (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 and actors Martin Milner and George Maharis hit the road with the ragtop down and the shades on in the namesake television series that seemed to go anywhere every week. The shield of the Route 66 sign has become iconography for the growth of Southern California's economy, population, popularity, and folklore.

Cover image for Route 66 in California, isbn: 9780738530376

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego

9780738588780

$24.99

Located northwest of downtown San Diego, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) is rich in the history and traditions of the US Marine Corps. The base was born in part of the perseverance of Col. Joseph H. Pendleton and the efforts of Congressman William Kettner. MCRD San Diego was commissioned in 1921 and officially designated as the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in 1948. It is the oldest operational Marine Corps base on the West Coast and graduates over 20,000 new Marines every year. MCRD San Diego is one of only two Marine Corps recruit-training bases in the United States and is responsible for the basic training of all male recruits west of the Mississippi River. Every Marine begins his career by participating in a 13-week training period that isolates him from the civilian world. Basic training at MCRD San Diego emphasizes physical fitness and adaption to the Marine Corps lifestyle.

San Francisco's 1939-1940 World's Fair

9781467106160

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Author Bill Cotter gives readers a glimpse into the ingenuity, creativity, and artistry behind San Francisco's 1939-1940 World's Fair through stunning photographs of the architecture, artwork, gardens, exhibits, and shows. See why this fair, centered on the unveiling of the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, attracted over 2 million tourists during the 382 days it was open.

The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) was a massive undertaking. The city of San Francisco had long looked for a site for a new airport to service the Pacific market, and the fair provided the impetus to build Treasure Island, a man-made island that would eventually service the massive seaplanes in use at the time. The GGIE also helped cement the Bay Area as a tourism and business center, competing directly with the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. While New York centered more on the industrial side, the GGIE showcased the many natural wonders of the West, with expansive gardens and complementing architecture. The GGIE was a success on all counts, enticing millions of visitors to travel to the region. When the fair was over, Treasure Island became an important naval base during World War II. Bill Cotter is a longtime world's fair enthusiast and has traveled to many of these international exhibitions. The author of several other books on fairs for Arcadia, he is a frequent contributor to other books, magazines, and documentaries on world's fairs, and he has spoken extensively on the subject. His photograph collection has been featured in museum exhibits, and he operates several popular websites devoted to the study and appreciation of the fairs.

California Dreamin' Along Route 66

9781467103169

$24.99

The California Dream made Route 66 the most famous road in the world. Flappers dreamed of stardom under the bright lights of Hollywood. A wave of families fleeing the Dust Bowl transformed the state during the Great Depression. During World War II, another wave followed Route 66 seeking opportunity in the massive wartime industrial plants. Thousands of soldiers trained in the Mojave Desert and then returned amid the postwar prosperity to blossoming housing developments that replaced the vast orange groves. While Nat King Cole sang (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66, the newly prosperous middle class hit the road headed for the dream land constructed by Walt Disney. Inspired by the Beat poets, the hippies, and the adventures of Buz and Tod on the CBS television show Route 66, a new generation took to the open road. Those who savor the journey as much as the destination still seek it out on Route 66 today.

Cover image for California Dreamin' Along Route 66, isbn: 9781467103169

Vanished San Francisco

9781467109215

$23.99

San Francisco is well-known for its beautiful vistas and fascinating destinations. However, many places that were once part of the San Francisco experience have vanished from the land, lost to earthquakes, fire, development, and other forces that led to their disappearance, but not from memory. Sand dunes have been replaced by buildings and streets, homes now cover previously desolate areas where cemeteries once stood, and beloved buildings are gone due to various reasons. San Francisco's lost treasures also include the popular Hamm's sign, the former two-toned foghorn, and the first insect to go extinct in the United States due to human behavior. Like most cities, San Francisco is constantly changing. Places appear and disappear, and the city grows and changes, always ready to rebuild and remake history.

History of Alcatraz Island since 1853, A

9781467108577

$23.99

As one of America’s most notorious prisons, Alcatraz has been a significant part of California’s history since 1853.

The small island known in sea charts by its Spanish name Isla de los Alcatraces or “Island of Pelicans” laid essentially dormant until the 1850s, when the US military converted the island into a fortress to protect the booming San Francisco region. Alcatraz served as a pivotal military position until the early 20th century and in 1934 was converted into a federal penitentiary to house some of America’s most incorrigible prisoners. The penitentiary closed in 1963, and Alcatraz joined the National Park Service system in 1972. Since then, it has remained one of the Bay Area’s most popular attractions as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Gregory L. Wellman, a California-based consultant, reveals in these images the evolution of Alcatraz. The island’s startling transformation comes alive through the photographic collections of the Alcatraz Alumni Association, the Golden Gate National Archives, and other private collections from around the country. This stirring imagery documents the evolution of one of America’s most renowned and memorable landmarks.

Cover image for History of Alcatraz Island since 1853, A, isbn: 9781467108577

1906 San Francisco Earthquake

9780738596587

$24.99

The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is an unparalleled disaster in the history of San Francisco. More than 4.5 square miles of San Francisco burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation. We will see this scene from behind the camera, covering before the earthquake through the fire and into the rebuilding of the city. The waterfront in the east to Golden Gate Park in the west and the marina in the north to Mission District in the south will be viewed. City hall and along Market Street through the center of the city will be covered. Stories from survivors and new information, like doctored photographs, will be included. Thirty years of research will be merged to give you an accurate account.

San Fernando Valley

9780738571577

$24.99

The Mission San Fernando was founded on September 8, 1797, as an outpost of New Spain, in the vast expanse between the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains.

Northwest over the Hollywood Hills from downtown Los Angeles, this land was developed into a vital farming and citrus breadbasket. After 1900, real estate developers began subdividing the Valley, as it is popularly known, and by 1940, communities of Los Angeles proper and new cities formed into models of suburbia: Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Burbank, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Northridge, Roscoe (Sun Valley), Tarzana, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, San Fernando, Glendale, Canoga Park, Pacoima, Toluca Lake, and Woodland Hills. The film industry built studios, location ranches, and support facilities in the valley. The aviation industries grew too, and the Hollywood, Ventura, and Golden State Freeways redrew the map. Songs, movies, and television shows have helped ingrain the Valley into L.A. lore.

Cover image for San Fernando Valley, isbn: 9780738571577

Los Angeles, California

9780738508122

$23.99

Los Angeles was founded in 1781 as one of the two original Spanish pueblos in California. At the time of statehood in 1851, Los Angeles began to reconsider its "cow town" condition, and gradually transformed an American city into the magnificent metropolis we know today. Drawn from the collections of the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the Los Angeles City Archives, Jeffrey Samudio and Portia Lee record the history of a community that established itself culturally as it grew exponentially. By 1945, the small town that had begun with 28 square miles in the late 19th century had grown to 450 square miles through almost 100 annexations. Businessmen constructed a downtown streetscape whose architecture elicited envy in other cities, hotels catered to visitors with such enthusiasm that guests eventually returned with ambitious schemes of their own, and the construction of an elaborate freeway system suddenly made Los Angeles a drive-in city.

Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery

9781467125864

$24.99

Founded in 1899, scenic Hollywood Forever Cemetery—the only cemetery located within the city of Hollywood—serves as the permanent home for many of Hollywood's most famous (and infamous) characters. Hollywood Forever Cemetery boasts a fascinating history surpassed only by the compelling stories of its famous residents. Behind its iron gates are the graves of Cecil B. DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Carl Alfalfa Switzer, Tyrone Power, Nelson Eddy, Marion Davies, Fay Wray, Mel Blanc, Johnny Ramone, Don Adams, Bebe Daniels, Bugsy Siegel, and a host of others whose memorials tell the history of Tinseltown in stone.

Cover image for Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, isbn: 9781467125864

Bakersfield

9781467109918

$23.99

Bakersfield was established in 1863 in the western shadow of the Sierra Nevada at the intersection of two of the country's defining events: the California Gold Rush and the Civil War. Bakersfield's first generation of pioneers--gold-seekers, Southern sympathizers, and European immigrants--tamed the region's confluence of swamps and built a frontier town. Over the next century, the town at the southern tip of California's San Joaquin Valley produced a noteworthy array of heroes, poets, leaders, and scoundrels, including the most influential Supreme Court chief justice in the nation's history, two best-selling country artists, decorated athletes, brilliant innovators, and corrupt lawmen. Founded by Col. Thomas Baker, Bakersfield prospered atop fertile soil unmatched anywhere on the planet and crude oil reserves that had few peers. During the Dust Bowl migration, it became a beacon of hope to the refugees of the nation's most dire ecological disaster and, consequently, a unique region that writer Gerald Haslam came to call the Other California. Today, Bakersfield is California's ninth-largest city and among its fastest-growing. The story of its first century is presented here in words and pictures.

Aviators in Early Hollywood

9780738559025

$24.99

Hollywood's leading aviators were heroic knights of the sky on the screen as well as in real life. These leading aviators performed aerial stunt sequences and acted, plus some wrote and directed motion pictures. Directing giant Cecil B. DeMille was so enthralled with aviation that he owned three airfields. Charlie Chaplin's family airfield also doubled as a motion-picture set. Thomas H. Ince, the famous producer who invented the studio system, owned Ince Airfield, which became the hub of Hollywood aviation. Eternal legends Rudolph Valentino, Oliver Hardy, Harry Houdini, and Mary Pickford performed in aerials. Many aviators gave their lives making motion pictures; three fatalities were incurred for Howard Hughes's great air epic, Hell's Angels. Hughes himself broke records within aircraft and film production. Aviators brought their screen work to life between films through barnstorming. The roaring in 1920s Hollywood was often aviators soaring beyond limits.

Record Plant, Sausalito Studios

9781467109468

$23.99

The Record Plant studio in Sausalito, California, was one of America's top-of-the-line music recording facilities. Opened in 1972, Record Plant was known as the "resort studio," just across the Golden Gate Bridge in Northern California and away from the big city. One of three studios, the first Record Plant was opened in New York City in 1968 by Chris Stone and Gary Kellgren. The second studio in Los Angeles opened in 1969, followed by the third studio in Sausalito. San Francisco Bay Area-based radio station KSAN FM hosted live studio broadcasts from the Sausalito studio. With its nautical-inspired interior wood artistry, the building known as the "Plant" had a groovy aesthetic that drew in some of the most iconic musical artists of all time, including Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Prince, Tom Petty, Metallica, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Dave Matthews Band, and many more. Katiana Giacona, a Marin County native, was resident DJ at the former Sausalito Studio location when it was a spa and yoga event center called Harmonia. For Record Plant, Sausalito Studio she has assembled a collection of discography and photographs from the studio as well as interviews from former receptionists, managers, audio engineers, producers, and staff. Ken Caillat was the producer of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album, one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time.

Legends of Westwood Village Cemetery

9781467160643

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, located on Los Angeles’s trendy west side, has been the leading choice for celebrity burials since Marilyn Monroe was interred here in 1962. The cemetery houses the remains of a plethora of household names, including Patty Andrews, Eve Arden, Lew Ayres, Jim Backus, Richard Basehart, Peter Bogdanovich, Ray Bradbury, Fanny Brice, Les Brown, Truman Capote, John Cassavetes, James Coburn, Jackie Collins, Richard Conte, Tim Conway, Bob Crane, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Dawson, Kirk Douglas, Peter Falk, Farrah Fawcett, June Foray, Stan Freberg, Eva Gabor, Merv Griffin, Jonathan Harris, Hugh Hefner, Florence Henderson, Brian Keith, Stan Kenton, Jack Klugman, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peggy Lee, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Rod McKuen, David Nelson, Lloyd Nolan, Carroll O’Connor, Heather O’Rourke, Bettie Page, Wolfgang Petersen, Gregor Piatigorsky, Donna Reed, Buddy Rich, Minnie Riperton, Doris Roberts, Wayne Rogers, George C. Scott, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Stack, Dorothy Stratten, Alvin Toffler, Mel Tormé, Josef von Sternberg, Harry Warren, Cornel Wilde, Billy Wilder, Carl Wilson, Natalie Wood, Darryl F. Zanuck, Frank Zappa, and hundreds more.

n Legends of Westwood Village Cemetery, Hollywood film historians husband-and-wife team E.J. and Kim Stephens and Phil Lantis take readers on a fascinating tour of this unique Los Angeles burial ground.

Cover image for Legends of Westwood Village Cemetery, isbn: 9781467160643

Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort

9781467162784

$24.99

Since 1950, Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort has been celebrated as a family-run, family-loved destination. It is the closest snow to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley. Many generations have learned to ski and snowboard on these slopes. There are multiple runs for all levels within the ski area and breathtaking views to enjoy with each turn. Ski legends have been and still are instructors here. An Olympian was raised here. Many people have called Dodge Ridge their happy place and a second home. It is a unique resort that is mighty in the hearts of outdoor enthusiasts. Now it is a year-round destination that includes mountain biking, hiking, and disc golf as the owners continue to expand family fun and fond memories. Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort operates in the Stanislaus National Forest under a special use permit from the US Forest Service.

Tricia O’Brien is also the author of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, San Francisco’s Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights, San Francisco Giants, and Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Through photographs and stories from locals, O’Brien shows the resort’s evolution from raw forest land to a year-round recreation playground.

Cover image for Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort, isbn: 9781467162784

RMS Queen Mary

9780738580678

$24.99

Launched in an era when speed and grandeur went hand in hand, the RMS Queen Mary is the last survivor of the golden age of ocean liners. From the time of her maiden voyage in 1936, passengers crossed the North Atlantic cocooned in luxury. Movie stars, tycoons, politicians, and royalty shared a ship with everyday people, for whom this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. During World War II, the Queen Mary ferried countless soldiers safely across the sea and, at war's end, carried their brides and babies home to America. Refurbished and polished to her previous glory, the Queen Mary continued to carry passengers until her final voyage to Long Beach in 1967. The RMS Queen Mary now serves as a floating hotel and tourist attraction, a living testament to her glamorous history, a generous showcase of art, and a magnificent example of a time when oceans could be crossed in both comfort and beauty.

Hollywoodland

9780738574783

$24.99

Established by real estate developers Tracy E. Shoults and S. H. Woodruff in 1923, Hollywoodland was one of the first hillside developments built in Hollywood. Touting its class and sophistication, the neighborhood promoted a European influence, featuring such unique elements as stone retaining walls and stairways, along with elegant Spanish, Mediterranean, French Normandy, and English Tudor styled homes thoughtfully placed onto the hillsides. The community contains one of the world's most recognizable landmarks, the Hollywood sign, originally constructed as a giant billboard for the development and reading "Hollywoodland." The book illustrates the development of the upper section of Beachwood Canyon known as Hollywoodland with historic photographs from Hollywood Heritage's S. H. Woodruff Collection as well as from other archives, institutions, and individuals.

Orange County International Raceway

9781467162296

$24.99

The Orange County International Raceway (OCIR) was a dream come true for Southern California race fans. From 1967 to 1983, the raceway featured the best of the best from the world of drag racing.

All the stars of the sport flocked to OCIR just to say they raced there. Race fans from all over the United States and beyond came to experience the comforts and innovations built into Southern California’s super raceway. For spectators, the raceway offered reserved seating, electronic scoreboards, and restaurant-style food. It was also a dream come true for racers with running water in the paved pit area; shade trees; and parking for trailers, recreational vehicles, and big rigs. But eventually the land the track was built on became too valuable as the population in the area grew, and the Orange County International Raceway closed its doors for good on October 29, 1983.

Author and photographer Steve Reyes made the 10-hour round-trip drive from his Northern California home to Southern California to attend and be a part of OCIR race coverage from 1967 to 1983. His publications with Arcadia Publishing include Southern California Top Fuel Dragsters, Northern California Drag Racing, and Southern California Funny Cars.

Cover image for Orange County International Raceway, isbn: 9781467162296

Cerro Gordo

9780738595207

$23.99

High in the Inyo Mountains, between Owens Valley and Death Valley National Park, lies the ghost town of Cerro Gordo. Discovered in 1865, this silver town boomed to a population of 3,000 people in the hands of savvy entrepreneurs during the 1870s. As the silver played out and the town faded, a few hung on to the dream. By the early 1900s, Louis D. Gordon wandered up the Yellow Grade Road where freight wagons once traversed with silver and supplies and took a closer look at the zinc ore that had been tossed aside by early miners. The Fat Hill lived again, primarily as a small company town. By the last quarter of the 20th century, Jody Stewart and Mike Patterson found themselves owners of the rough and tumble camp that helped Los Angeles turn into a thriving metropolis because of silver and commercial trade. Cerro Gordo found new life, second to Bodie, as California's best-preserved ghost town.

Bodie

9780738559865

$24.99

Nestled amongst the sage-covered, windswept hills of California's Eastern Sierra is the site of one of the most notorious mining towns of the Old West. In 1859, gold was discovered in the treeless hills northeast of Mono Lake. By 1879, Bodie was a metropolis of nearly 10,000 souls and was briefly the third-largest city in California. Excitement was short-lived, however, and word soon spread that the mines had reached peak production. An exodus began, but contrary to popular belief, Bodie was never totally abandoned. People continued living in this curious and beautiful place throughout the 1950s, and in 1962, the California State Parks system purchased the town site. Now stabilized against the elements, Bodie is today known as the largest unrestored ghost town in the West.

Cover image for Bodie, isbn: 9780738559865

San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition

9780738530093

$24.99

The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, the rebirth of San Francisco after the disastrous 1906 earthquake, and the world community in general. It was a festive time and one that transformed the swampy San Francisco waterfront into elaborate grounds for sculptures, playgrounds, fountains, and national pavilions. Some say it was the most successful world's fair ever held, bringing together disparate cultures as no other event before or since. Lasting 10 months and covering 635 acres over what is now the city's Marina District, the fair remains in evidence today at the famed Palace of Fine Arts, the only extant structure and a popular and much-photographed local landmark.

Cover image for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, isbn: 9780738530093

Scotty's Castle

9781467116756

$24.99

Scotty's Castle is a study in contrasts, much like its setting in Death Valley. While the castle is known worldwide and has been visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists, many myths persist. It is not a castle, nor was it owned by Walter E. Scott, known as Death Valley Scotty. But the Spanish-style hacienda, also known as Death Valley Ranch, has always been linked to Scott. This book explores the fascinating history of Death Valley Scotty, Albert and Bessie Johnson (the true owners and builders of the castle), and the castle itself from construction to private living quarters to a tourist facility owned and operated by the National Park Service.

Cover image for Scotty's Castle, isbn: 9781467116756

Southern California Road Racing

9781467103626

$24.99

In California, the popularity of all kinds of motor sports reached its peak in the mid-20th century. None was more exotic or glamorous than the type commonly called road racing. Southern California Road Racing is a collection of historic photographs that depicts all the action and excitement of the golden age of motor sports. The images in this book will take you back to the days when the best cars Europe had to offer competed with homebuilt specials over world-famous road courses like Laguna Seca, Willow, Glen Helen, and Riverside International, plus show all the cars and people that made it happen.

Cover image for Southern California Road Racing, isbn: 9781467103626

Yosemite National Park and Vicinity

9780738531427

$23.99

The astonishing scenery of Yosemite National Park is known throughout the world, primarily for the soaring granite outcroppings and graceful waterfalls around Yosemite Valley. But this park is much larger than just the valley. Relatively few visitors get to experience Yosemite's vast expanses, whether south to Wawona and Fish Camp or east to White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows. Indeed, it was John Muir's efforts to protect the meadows and hills around the valley that ultimately led to the establishment of Yosemite National Park in 1890. The state park, which had been established in 1863 and consisted of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, was added to the federal park in 1913.

Cover image for Yosemite National Park and Vicinity, isbn: 9780738531427

Alameda Naval Air Station

9780738580401

$24.99

The 56-year history of the Alameda Naval Air Station from 1940 to 1997 was a major military presence in the San Francisco Bay Area. As one of the largest and most important naval air stations in the United States, with a population of 45,000, it occupied 300 buildings to service squadrons and Carrier Air Groups. The large Overhaul and Repair facility operated from 1941 through the jet age, and U.S. Naval Reserve squadrons were added in the postwar years.

San Francisco, California

9780738518718

$24.99

On January 30, 1847, the small harbor village of Yerba Buena was rechristened "San Francisco." As the Gold Rush quickly propelled the population to over 50,000, fortunes made in the silver Comstock lode and the railroad transformed the area into the financial and cultural center of the West. Captured here in over 200 vintage images are the life and times of the city's earliest residents and their livelihoods. Spanning the mid-1800s through the early decades of the 20th century, this book offers a visual account of early life in San Francisco, from family outings at Golden Gate Park, to the images of San Franciscans rebuilding their city after the devastating Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Also pictured are the joyous occasions, including the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915, the openings of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges, and the 1939 World's Fair. Early views of the city's landmarks capture the magic of the Bay area, such as the Ferry Depot, Nob Hill, turn of the century Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf.

Jewish Los Angeles

9781467105491

$24.99

The first known Jewish resident of the Mexican Pueblo de Los Ángeles arrived in 1841. When California entered the Union in 1850, the census listed just eight Jews living in Los Angeles. By 1855, the fledgling city had a Hebrew Benevolent Society and a Jewish cemetery. The first Jewish congregation and kosher market were established in 1862. Meanwhile, Jewish merchants and business owners founded banks, fraternal orders, charities, athletic clubs, and social service organizations. Jewish property owners developed vast areas of Los Angeles and beyond into the neighborhoods and cities we know today. By 1897, the city's Jewish population was large enough to support its own newspaper. The 20th century brought waves of Jewish immigrants and migrants to Los Angeles, where they built the motion picture and television industries, Cedars-Sinai and City of Hope medical centers, the Jewish Home for the Aging, urban and suburban synagogues and Jewish centers, and other institutions. The foundations laid by these enterprising pioneers helped transform Los Angeles into a major metropolis.

The Twenty Mule Team of Death Valley

9780738595092

$24.99

The image of 20 mules hauling a train of wagons was once as popular as the golden arches are today. Everyone knew what it meant. It was the trademark of Pacific Coast Borax's most famous product, a laundry additive called Twenty Mule Team Borax. The company's advertising was dependent on one important fact: the connection between the Twenty Mule Team and America's most notorious desert, Death Valley. From 1883 to 1888, teams of mules and wagons hauled borax out of the famed valley on the California-Nevada border. During those years, the teams were not famous; they were just a common means of transportation. After all, it was not the first time 20 mules hauled borax and it was not the longest or the most treacherous path. So what happened? How did this common form of transportation (the big-rig truck of its day) become transformed into an American icon? That is the story of this book.

Los Angeles Underworld

9781467106382

$24.99

From the blackhanders and bootleggers of the early 20th century to political corruption and the rise and eventual toppling of a Mafia family, the history of organized crime in Los Angeles visually chronicled within this work possesses the same level of intrigue, glamour, and murder as the films that made the City of Angels iconic. Los Angeles Underworld showcases an extraordinary collection of rare and previously unpublished images pulled directly from family photo albums and top secret police files.

Sequoia National Park

9780738559407

$23.99

Sequoia National Park is the nation's second-oldest national park, a spectacular, awe-inspiring place preserving the world's largest trees and the highest peak in the continental United States. The park's human history glows as richly as its natural splendor--among the stories are a utopian collective targeting social change with lumber profits, a newspaperman's tireless editorializing to preserve giant Sequoias, a Spanish-American War veteran ushering in an era of preservationism, and the army's only African American commanding officer whose tenure as park superintendent still inspires. The Civilian Conservation Corps toiled here, turning the hardships of the Great Depression into lasting contributions for the common good. And, most importantly, generations of visitors have discovered here sights and experiences on a scale that challenges human comprehension and stirs the sense of wonder.

San Francisco Landmarks

9780738595801

$24.99

San Francisco is one of the most recognized and beloved cities in the United States, brilliantly illustrated through a visual history of 493 designated local, state, and national landmarks. San Francisco's attributes speak to us through stunning topography, the arts, and a unique array of architectural styles. The city inherited the imprint left by the Spanish with Mission Dolores, by the Gold Rush with Jackson Square, and by 20th-century entrepreneurs with the Bank of Italy. The period from the 1920s to 1950s brought a growing cosmopolitan metropolis with such landmarks as the Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Golden Gate Bridge. Residents and visitors want to know why there is a monument in the neighborhood park and why the delightful Victorians next door have a historic plaque by their front steps. Each landmark embodies the characteristics of the surrounding community and the history of the "City by the Bay."

Newport Beach's Balboa and Balboa Island

9780738555751

$24.99

The village of Balboa lies on the eastern half of a 4-mile-long peninsula, a natural barrier that protects the neighboring Balboa Island from Pacific storms. Both the village and the island have constituted a sun-soaked paradise for residents and vacationers from all over the world for more than a century. Famous for luxury homes, miles of beautiful, sandy beaches, and one of the largest pleasure harbors on the West Coast, Balboa has enjoyed a colorful history filled with backroom gambling, midnight deliveries during Prohibition, and frequent visits from Hollywood's biggest stars. Such legends as John Wayne, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall spent many a day sailing Balboa's harbor and many nights enjoying its justifiably famous nightlife of dance halls, restaurants, and clubs. Balboa and Balboa Island represent all of the extremes, perhaps best exemplified in the quaintness of today's city of Newport Beach, an Orange County enclave where great wealth commingles with the carefree charm of a barefoot community.

Newport Beach's Balboa and Balboa Island

Death Valley Gold Rush

9781467108485

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

From the mid-19th century to the 1930s, no place in America was more feared or mysterious than the stretch of desert on the California-Nevada border known as Death Valley. While today Death Valley National Park is seen as a place of natural beauty and scenic wonders, there were once rumors of vaporous gases so toxic that birds flying overhead would drop dead instantly. One of the first Americans to encounter this dreaded land was William Lewis Manly, who left his Wisconsin home for California's 1849 Gold Rush and who heroically saved those lost pioneers who would give Death Valley its name. Other pioneers in the early 20th century were Frank "Shorty'? Harris, who made Death Valley's biggest gold strike; the Hoyt brothers, who, in 1908, struck it rich in a place called Skidoo; and in the 1920s, a con man named C.C. Julian, who used the valley's reputation to scam naive investors. There was a time when the entire country seemed to be consumed with news and tales of the Death Valley Gold Rush.

The Benicia Arsenal

9781467109635

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

The Benicia Arsenal served the US Army in the West for 117 years. Located at a strategic location between the San Francisco Bay and the interior of California, the military reservation began as cavalry barracks. During the Civil War, the arsenal was the logistics headquarters of the California Volunteers, a force that replaced the Army units that went east to fight. In the later 19th century, the arsenal supported missions in Russia, Hawaii, and South America. The 20th century took the arsenal from the horse-and-buggy era to Nike missiles and provided support during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During World War II, half the workforce was made up of women, and in the postwar period, as the Army integrated, so did the arsenal. The arsenal closed in 1964, and the land was converted into an industrial park that now houses over 300 companies.

San Bernardino, California

9780738520834

$24.99

Strategically located about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, San Bernardino was colonized in 1851 as an expansion outpost for the Mormon Church. Today, it is the county seat for the largest county in the United States. Captured here in over 200 vintage photographs is the history of this Southern California city and its role in the state's development for more than two centuries. Many famous, as well as infamous, faces have passed through the area, contributing to the rich history of the region, including Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, President Lyndon Johnson, and early explorer Jedediah Smith. Featuring images from the San Bernardino Historical Society, this book brings readers back in time to the city's earliest development, from early Native American settlements, through the Mission period, the Mexican Rancho era, the arrival of Mormon families, the impact of the railroads, and up to the challenges of the 20th century.

Cover image for San Bernardino, California, isbn: 9780738520834

San Francisco's Chinatown

9781467116824

$24.99

San Francisco's Chinatown—the oldest, largest, and most famous Chinese enclave outside of Asia—is more than a tourist attraction. Since its birth in the 1850s, Chinatown has also been a residential neighborhood, business community, and cultural center for generations of Chinese Americans. This collection of vintage photographs, taken from public archives and private collections, looks beyond the facade of Chinatown to show the realities of daily life, including a community's struggle for survival against racial hostility, exclusion laws, two major earthquakes, and urban renewal. The images of ordinary people working, shopping, and socializing in Chinatown, combined with the changing streetscape, historic landmarks, and significant cultural and political events, are organized into three historical periods, providing a panoramic view of community transformation from the gold rush to the present day.

Lost Amusement Parks of Southern California

9781467106917

$23.99

After World War II, veterans and their growing families flocked to sunny Southern California for jobs in the aerospace and defense industries. Capitalizing on the baby boom and expanding suburbs, amusement parks sprang up to entertain residents and their visiting relatives. The crown jewel was Disneyland, which focused on themed sections and changed amusement parks forever. Other parks followed, transforming Southern California into one of the world's top vacation destinations. Parks like Lion Country Safari, Corriganville, and Marineland--along with many kiddie lands and animal, water, and theme parks--came and went in the postwar decades. Some were planned but never developed, while existing popular parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios periodically close rides only to substitute them with attractions considered more crowd-pleasing.

Lost Amusement Parks of Southern California

Alameda County Sheriff's Office

9781467160803

$24.99

In 1853, Alameda County was formed on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. On the land route to the California goldfields, the primarily agricultural county had problems with cattle rustling and thievery. It had the reputation of being one of the most lawless areas around. From famous lawmen like Harry Morse to infamous outlaws like Joaquin Murietta, the sheriff and deputies of Alameda County had their hands full. As the county changed, so did the law enforcement challenges. By the 20th century, the sheriff’s office was dealing with antiwar demonstrations, riots, kidnappings, suburban and rural crime, earthquakes, and other disasters that found the men and women of

county law enforcement always ready to respond. Often the challenges became newsworthy. During the 1960s and 1970s, the sheriff’s office riot squad became internationally known as the “Blue Meanies.”

Steven Minniear, a local historian, collected and assembled photographs and information from throughout Alameda County to bring to light the forgotten stories of the sheriff’s office. Many of these previously unseen photographs come from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Archive. In that process, he uncovered the lost stories and forgotten incidents that shaped the office and the communities it serves.

Cover image for Alameda County Sheriff's Office, isbn: 9781467160803

Hollywood 1940-2008

9780738559230

$24.99

Since World War II, Hollywood has fought and won that same war many times, won the West even more often--plus got the girl--and laughed like crazy, too. The postwar era in the dream factory was a prosperous time of expansion and wealth through the 1970s, decline in the 1980s, and rebirth in the new century. Vintage photographs from the rare collections of Hollywood Heritage and Bison Archives depict the municipal, business, residential, and entertainment industry growth in Hollywood proper, from 1940 until the beginning of the 21st century. This companion volume to Arcadia Publishing's Early Hollywood completes the pictorial saga of the world's most renowned storytelling capital. These images depict the rise of the television industry, changes along Hollywood Boulevard, and movers and shakers whose visions and influence have made Hollywood the entertainment industry's Mecca.

Cover image for Hollywood 1940-2008, isbn: 9780738559230

Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County

9780738546926

$24.99

Nevada County is webbed with some of the richest veins of goldbearing quartz in the world. First discovered in 1849 as placer gold washed into creek beds, hydraulic miners later used massive jets of water to melt mountains and free the precious metal. Rich lodegold districts such as Grass Valley and Nevada City were the most productive in California, and innovations such as hydraulic mining began here and spread throughout the nation. Whimsical names like You Bet, Red Dog, Rough and Ready, French Corral, and Blue Tent hint at the colorful beginnings of dozens of camps that grew from wild and chaotic tent towns to bustling young communities, complete with schools, churches, and businesses. Boomtowns North San Juan, North Bloomfield, and Columbia propelled Nevada County to the head of the state's economy by 1900 and hundreds of miles of gold-bearing quartz veins continued to be tapped in underground tunnels for another 50 years or more.

Vandenberg Air Force Base

9781467132091

$24.99

A historical cornucopia ranging from native tribal lands and ranch living to infantry training grounds and missile launch site, the location currently known as Vandenberg Air Force Base has held an amazing legacy that continues today. Stretching over 45 miles of pristine California coastline and covering over 99,000 acres, the base has been the vanguard for the United States' space and missile program. Showcasing over 1,900 launches since 1957, Vandenberg put the world's first photoreconnaissance (spy) satellite into orbit and is the only launch location for America's operational intercontinental ballistic missile force. Within Vandenberg's lands are ancient rock drawings from the native Chumash tribe, hundreds of species of plants, insects, and animals, and untouched beaches—protected and thriving under the military's stewardship of the lands. Within these pages are stories and photographs that highlight Vandenberg Air Force Base's legacy as the free world's first missile base.

Cover image for Vandenberg Air Force Base, isbn: 9781467132091

World War II Shipyards by the Bay

9780738547176

$24.99

In the dark, frenzied years of World War II, the San Francisco Bay Area was the geographic center of a $6.3 billion West Coast shipbuilding industry. Stretching from the Golden Gate to Vallejo to Sunnyvale, 14 Bay Area yards launched many of the ships that helped save the free world. Basalt Rock of Napa, Bethlehem Steel of San Francisco and Alameda, Hunters Point and Mare Island Naval Shipyards, Joshua Hendy Iron Works of Sunnyvale, Marinship of Sausalito, Permanente Metals in Richmond, and Western Pipe and Steel in South San Francisco are names that still conjure memories for many locals of one of the most impassioned war efforts in human history. Offering new opportunities for African Americans and women, recruiters searched the nation for workers who relocated here by the thousands. These motivated men and women delivered Liberty cargo ships like the SS Robert E. Peary, built in seven and a half days, a shipbuilding record that stands to this day.

Griffith Park

9780738588834

$24.99

Carved from the former Spanish land grant known as Rancho Los Feliz, Griffith Park, a rugged, 4,300-acre wilderness located in the heart of Los Angeles, has been the principal playground for Angelenos for over a century. Since 1896, when the land was donated to the city by controversial philanthropist Col. Griffith J. Griffith, generations of weekenders have picnicked, camped, golfed, ridden horses, hiked, bicycled, and played ball in the park. To this day, visitors still climb aboard its mini-train and merry-go-round and explore its zoo, museums, amphitheater, and world-famous observatory. The park, which lies in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, has been a frequent filming site for legendary movies like Back to the Future, Birth of a Nation, and Rebel Without a Cause.

Riverboats of Northern California

9780738574967

$24.99

California's mighty rivers served as the state's early superhighways. Riverboats transported countless tons of supplies, workers, and settlers from the coast to inland gold rush colonies and everywhere in between. Majestic sidewheelers and sternwheelers burning coal, wood, and oil plied the waterways of the delta, as well as the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Napa Rivers, and the lesser-known routes of the Sonoma and Petaluma. Starting with the Sitka in 1847, boats such as the Captain Weber, Jacinto, Fort Sutter, T.C. Walker, and J.R. McDonald ruled the rivers, visiting such ports as Courtland, Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco, Marysville, Firebaugh, Yuba City, and Rio Vista.

Oakdale

9781467160568

$24.99

Oakdale, California, is located on the south bank of the Stanislaus River in the state's great Central Valley. The area was the ancestral home of a band of Yokut Indians. With their leader Cucunuchi (later named Estanislao by missionaries), the Yokuts successfully resisted Spanish occupation until the flood of American and European gold seekers overwhelmed them in 1849. Ferries were quickly constructed on the banks of the river to transport miners, merchants, mules, and horses from the port of Stockton to the goldfields of the southern Mother Lode. Cattle ranchers and grain farmers soon moved into the area, and by the time the railroad built a bridge across the river in 1871, a town was laid out, and there were plenty who jumped at the chance to buy lots in the new town of Oak Dale, as it was known then. This is the story of those colorful, resourceful, and enterprising people who transformed a rough, saloon-filled railroad stop into a strong and thriving community.

Consolidated Aircraft Corporation

9780738559384

$21.99

Founded by Reuben H. Fleet in 1923, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (later Convair) became one of the most significant aircraft manufacturers in American history. For roughly 60 years, this prolific company was synonymous with San Diego. In fact, whole sections of the city were designed to provide homes for the Convair workers and their families. These men and women were responsible for building some of the most significant aircraft in aviation history, including the PBY Catalina, B-24 Liberator, F-102 Delta Dagger, as well as the reliable Atlas missile, which was vital in launching America into space. To this day, more than a decade after the company passed from the San Diego scene, tens of thousands of San Diegans still celebrate a seminal connection with Reuben Fleet, his company, and his popular slogan, "Nothing short of right is right."

Cover image for Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, isbn: 9780738559384

Beale Air Force Base During the Cold War

9781467130813

$24.99

KLAXON! The alarm immediately sent the aircrews at Beale Air Force Base, California, scrambling to their alert aircraft in a race to get airborne first. The KC-135 tankers were usually the quickest to taxi out, with the B-52 bombers following closely behind. Soon, the air filled with the rumble of engines as aircraft roared down the runway trailing great clouds of exhaust and disappeared into the skies of Northern California. It was a dramatic scenario practiced many times during the Cold War and one that Universal Pictures filmed at Beale AFB for its movie A Gathering of Eagles, starring Rock Hudson and Rod Taylor.

Cover image for Beale Air Force Base During the Cold War, isbn: 9781467130813

San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill

9780738581583

$24.99

North Beach and Telegraph Hill are among San Francisco's most charming and historic districts. In the early years, Mexican and Spanish settlements dotted the beach and the hill, but the area was heavily developed during California's Gold Rush as gold seekers flooded the city. Later, European immigrants added many layers of unique character. North Beach was home to A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America), and in the 1950s, the Beat Generation evolved from the creative character of this artistic neighborhood. Charming cottages and architectural gems, such as famed landmark Coit Tower, decorate the slopes down to the bay, delighting residents and tourists alike. Many cafés and restaurants offer delicious foods, while the breathtaking views provide food for the soul.

San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill

Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966

9781467133203

$24.99

Dick Dale & the Del-Tones began holding weekend dances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, in the summer of 1960. Over the next year and a half, Dale developed the sound and style that came to be known as surf music. The result was the development of more powerful guitar amplifiers, a dramatic increase in the sales of Fender guitars and amplifiers, and a shift from New York to West Coast recording studios. More and more people were drawn to the sport of surfing, which became an important part of teen beach culture at the time. Even landlocked teenagers were captured by the moment, carrying surfboards atop their woodies in Phoenix or bleaching their hair blonde in St. Paul. For hundreds of thousands of kids, though, the attraction was not the connection to surfing; it was the connection to the music pioneered by Dick Dale.

Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966

Death Valley

9780738558240

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Death Valley, its harsh and rugged landscape established a national monument in 1933 and named a national park in 1994, has long held a fascination for visitors, even before it became tourist friendly. Shortly after the first visit of nonnative inhabitants, a party of forty-niners looking for a shortcut to the goldfields of California crossed this land with tragic results, inadvertently giving the valley its moniker. Despite the immense suffering in their midst, prospectors began exploring the area looking for mineral wealth. Boomtowns formed, prospered, and died all within a few years, most disappearing completely into the desert. Adding to Death Valley's mystique was the shameless self-promotion of Death Valley Scotty, which lasted for a period spanning more than 50 years.

Mount Wilson Observatory

9781467109895

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Visionary astronomer George Ellery Hale founded the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1904, high above Pasadena in Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains. At an elevation of 5,700 feet, with exceptionally stable air and nearly 300 days of clear skies annually, this prime location was deemed the perfect site to investigate the secrets of the universe. With funding from the Carnegie Institute of Washington, by 1917 Hale had constructed the world's first two tower telescopes for study of the sun and the world's two largest reflecting telescopes for study of the stars, ushering in the "New Astronomy" astrophysics. Magnetism outside of Earth, stellar evolution, dark matter, our place in the Milky Way, and Hubble's landmark discovery of our expanding universe are just a few of the spectacular discoveries made by the Mount Wilson Observatory astronomers for more than a century. Today, the observatory is run by the Mount Wilson Institute and is open to the public for tours and nighttime viewing through these same historic telescopes. The authors selected the majority of images from the personal collection of Maggie Sharma, which will be donated to the Mount Lowe Preservation Society, and from the vast archives of that society, of which Michael A. Patris is founder and president.

Abalone Diving on the California Coast

9781467160285

$23.99

Abalones are marine snails from the family Haliotidae. This family of shellfish is comprised of 56 recognized species worldwide and eight known species in California. The Native Peoples of California fished and dove for abalone for thousands of years. Chinese immigrants first arrived in California around 1850 to work in the goldfields and on the railroads. Some found their way to Monterey and discovered an abundance of large red abalone that nobody was using. By the mid-1890s, Japanese fishermen had also discovered this rich abundance of abalone. Soon, the Japanese introduced helmet diving technology to the fishery. In 1908, a German restaurateur in Monterey began slicing abalone into steaks. Soon, men from the Azores and elsewhere started fishing abalone along the Central Coast of California. By the 1950s, there were hundreds of people and families fishing this delicacy commercially and thousands more fishing for recreation and subsistence. Steven L. Rebuck grew up in the abalone fishery and served as the abalone technical consultant to the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Team from 1993 to 2004. Christopher Rebuck, a software development manager, is a native Californian and Steven’s oldest son. He began surfing and hunting abalone at the age of five. Tim Thomas is the former historian and curator of the Monterey Maritime Museum. He authored The Abalone King of Monterey: “Pop” Ernest Doelter, Pioneering Japanese Fishermen & the Culinary Classic that Saved an Industry with The History Press in 2013.

Marysville

9780738547374

$24.99

Known as the "Gateway to the Goldfields," Marysville was once one of California's largest and most prosperous cities during the gold rush era; millions of dollars in gold were shipped from Marysville to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. The community began in 1842 when Theodor Cordua purchased land for a livestock ranch near the junction of the Yuba River and the Feather River, the major waterway from Sacramento. By 1851, the city of 10,000 was incorporated and named after Mary Murphy, a survivor of the ill-fated Donner Party and wife of Charles Covillaud, one of the city founders. The citizens of Marysville prospered during those days and built magnificent homes in Gothic Victorian, Queen Anne, Greek Revival, Edwardian, Italianate, and Eastlake styles, as well as brick commercial buildings, mills, ironworks, machine shops, and factories. Although many have now been lost to fire, flood, and redevelopment, the city still retains much of its early charm.

Theatres of San Francisco

9780738530208

$24.99

You read the sad stories in the papers: another ornate, 1920s, single-screen theatre closes, to be demolished and replaced by a strip mall. That's progress, and in this 20-screen multiplex world, it's happening more and more. Only a handful of the 100 or so neighborhood theatres that once graced these streets are left in San Francisco, but they live on in the photographs featured in this book. The heyday of such venues as the Clay, Noe, Metro, New Mission, Alexandria, Coronet, Fox, Uptown, Coliseum, Surf, El Rey, and Royal was a time when San Franciscans thronged to the movies and vaudeville shows, dressed to the hilt, to see and be seen in majestic art deco palaces. Unfortunately, this era has passed into history despite the dedicated efforts of many neighborhood preservation groups.

Cover image for Theatres of San Francisco, isbn: 9780738530208

Hollywood on the Santa Monica Beach

9781467160735

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Since pioneer filmmakers arrived on its shoreline in the early 20th century, the Santa Monica beach has been a popular location for the making of movies and television productions. Its enchanting beauty led studio moguls, producers, and celebrities to build beach houses there, creating what became known as "Hollywood's Playground." The sand and shore of the Santa Monica beach became a favored site for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, and Cary Grant. It was on this beach that the Academy Awards were conceived, the movie The Wizard of Oz sprang forth, and a young Pres. John F. Kennedy stunned beachgoers with a surprise ocean swim without the protection of Secret Service agents. In 1962, the beach became the center of the universe as the site of President Kennedy's "Western White House," where the visitors included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Monroe, and--famously--"anyone who was anyone."

Frontier Village

9780738596655

$24.99

In the late 1950s, businessman Joe Zukin Jr. had a dream of building an amusement park with a Wild West theme in Santa Clara County. His dream was realized with the 1961 opening of Frontier Village on the former grounds of the Hayes Mansion in south San Jose. Among the trees rose a fantasy frontier town complete with a Main Street, where hourly gunfights always ended with the bad guys being carted off to Boot Hill. Visitors could relax in the town square or ride the train around the park. Guests could paddle an Indian war canoe, ride in a stagecoach, or venture into the interior of a haunted mine. Frontier Village was a safe and clean place that welcomed children and their families. Encroaching subdivisions and changing economic conditions forced the park to close in 1980, but to this day, fond memories of the park continue to live on in everyone who ever visited or worked in Frontier Village.

Whittier

9781467134293

$24.99

When Quaker colonists arrived in Southern California in 1887 to establish their ideal city of dreams between the San Gabriel River and the base of the Puente Hills, this land already had a storied past. It was once a place where native Tongvans gathered, the site of Spanish land grant holder Manuel Nieto's rancho, and home to the mansion of the last governor of Alta California, Pío Pico. Named by the early settlers after the abolitionist poet, Ye Friendly Towne grew from a small colony of Quaker pioneers to a bustling center for the production of citrus, walnuts, and avocados. After incorporation in 1898, Whittier also became a flourishing suburb connected to Los Angeles via the Pacific Electric trolley; the home of Whittier College, celebrated for its academics and the mascot Johnny Poet; and home to several notable Americans, including the 37th president of the United States.

Cover image for Whittier, isbn: 9781467134293

Location Filming in the Alabama Hills

9781467131315

$24.99

Forged from glaciers and sacred to Native Americans, the mountains, boulders, and rocks of the Alabama Hills mirror landscapes found all over the world. A scenic three-hour drive from the Hollywood sign, this location would prove to serve as the place to make movies. Early Hollywood studios sent location scouts to the area after hearing stories shared by travelers, and the rest is movie history. Over 500 films have completed shooting here, including silents, A movies, B Westerns, serials, sci-fi, film noir, television shows, and commercials. Tom Mix, Errol Flynn, John Wayne, William Boyd, Clayton Moore, Lucille Ball, Roy Rogers, Natalie Wood, Humphrey Bogart, Steve McQueen, Russell Crowe, Jamie Foxx, and many more have all scrambled amongst the terrain in the Alabama Hills.

Travis Air Force Base

9780738529417

$24.99

Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, later to become Travis, was born on the windswept plains of Solano County. To meet the urgent need for an air gateway to the Pacific, the base soon had two runways on a 945-acre site between the twin farming communities. The gusty winds challenged the gutsy young pilots who trained here, many of whom saw the Golden Gate--their last view of the mainland--as they flew out to do battle. Expanding through the next two decades until it encompassed over 6,000 acres, Travis is now the largest base under the U.S. Air Force Mobility Command.

Los Angeles's Boyle Heights

9780738530154

$24.99

Boyle Heights was one of the earliest residential areas outside of Los Angeles's original pueblo. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was the city's most ethnically heterogeneous neighborhood with residents coming from such far-flung places as Mexico, Japan, England, Germany, Russia, and Armenia, as well as from the eastern, southern, and southwestern United States. Over the years, Boyle Heights has continued to be a focal point for new immigration. Transformed through the everyday interactions of its diverse residents as well as by political events occurring at the regional, national, and international levels, the neighborhood's historical and contemporary communities reflect the challenges and potential of living in a pluralistic society.

San Diego's Naval Training Center

9780738559582

$24.99

San Diego's Naval Training Center (NTC) was commissioned on June 1, 1923, and for 70 years served as a young recruit's introduction to a naval career, beginning with nine weeks of basic orientation and organization training (BOOT) camp. Originally consisting of 135 acres adjacent to San Diego Bay, NTC eventually expanded to almost 550 acres with 300 buildings, landscaped promenades, parade grounds, and a concrete training "non-ship," the USS Recruit (a.k.a. USS Neversail), where recruits learned their first duties of seamanship. Advanced training schools were later added for military personnel learning specialized duties. After training hundreds of thousands of recruits, NTC was officially closed on April 30, 1997, and has since been transformed into San Diego's new and vibrant cultural center, Liberty Station.

Cover image for San Diego's Naval Training Center, isbn: 9780738559582

Alameda

9780738559537

$24.99

Through its many incarnations, Alameda has never lost its charm and ability to draw people from all walks of life. Originally a peninsula inhabited by Native Americans, it was purchased by Don Luis Peralta in 1818 and developed into a bedroom community of San Francisco. Alameda became an island in 1902, and a short time later, it was a new home to many refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The Neptune Beach amusement park attracted tourists who enjoyed the bathing, beaches, and rides, making Alameda the Coney Island of the West. Modern transportation carried people and cargo in and out on ferries, trains, ships, and planes, which landed at the busy Airdrome. The creation of the Naval Air Station in 1938 and World War II made Alameda a military town. The 1990s brought Alameda back to its first purpose, as a small town amongst big cities, its streets lined with graceful Victorians and with a diverse and lively population.

Cover image for Alameda, isbn: 9780738559537

Huntington Beach, California

9780738518787

$24.99

Incorporated in 1909, Huntington Beach remained a sleepy seaside town until the city's legendary oil boom in the 1920s. Wells sprang up overnight, and in less than a month, the city's population more than doubled. As the area developed culturally through the decades, the once tiny farming community increased its size with 25 miles of annexations to become one of Southern California's major tourist destinations. Pictured here in nearly 200 vintage photographs is the evolution of this small seaside village into a classic, Southern California beach city, known as Surf City to nearly a million tourists a year. Showcased here are images acquired from city records, including shots of the famous Huntington Beach Pier as it evolved over the century, rare amateur photos of one of the largest gushers in city history, vintage beach scenes, rarely seen historic aerial views, images of the turn of the century "Tent City," the infamous flood of 1938, and nostalgic shots of the Saltwater Plunge.

Cover image for Huntington Beach, California, isbn: 9780738518787

Los Angeles Police Department

9780738530253

$24.99

No police force in history has gained as much fame and notoriety as the Los Angeles Police Department. The acronym LAPD is practically synonymous with the idea of professional law enforcement. The men in blue who patrol Hollywood and the sprawling metropolis of L.A. have been investigated by screenwriters more times than vice versa. With more than 9,300 sworn officers today, the LAPD endures seemingly endless controversies and media circuses. But then there's the other side of L.A.'s protective shield--the story of the force's evolution alongside the spectacular growth of its unique melting-pot city. This book's rare and often never-before-published photographs focus on that side: the excitement, danger, tragedy, and comedy of everyday beat cops and workaday detectives--with concessions to their limelight representations, including Jack Webb's Dragnet and Adam-12.

Fort Bragg

9781467130851

$24.99

In 1857, Fort Bragg was an Army post on the Mendocino Indian Reservation. Coastal California north of San Francisco had been home to the Pomo and Yuki people for thousands of years. In the early 1800s, that area was visited by Russian, English, and French fur trappers. In 1850, an opium trader carrying goods from the Orient to gold-rush San Francisco shipwrecked near Fort Bragg. Would-be salvagers discovered giant redwood trees, and lumber mills soon sprang up at the mouth of every stream. "Dog-hole schooners" transported lumber, passengers, and supplies, and the world-wide Dollar Shipping Lines started here. Former reservation lands were acquired by lumber interests, and the city of Fort Bragg sprang up around them, all while photographers, artists, and writers documented the "far West." Today, the former California Western logging railroad transports tourists through the redwood forests. Hollywood movies continue to be set in the New England-style towns along the rocky Mendocino Coast, and Paul Bunyan Days celebrates old-time logging skills. The area's colorful past permeates and enriches local culture.

Early Warner Bros. Studios

9780738580913

$24.99

Since 1928, Warner Bros. has produced thousands of beloved films and television shows at the studio's magical 110-acre film factory in Burbank. This collection of evocative images concentrates on the Warner Bros. legacy from the 1920s to the 1950s, when timeless classics such as Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, and East of Eden came to life. It also looks at WB's earlier homes along Hollywood's "Poverty Row," the birthplace of Looney Tunes, and the site of WB's pioneering marriage between film and sound in the 1920s. Early Warner Bros. Studios also tells the tale of four brothers--Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner--scions of a Polish Jewish immigrant family who rose from the humblest of origins to become Hollywood moguls of enormous and lasting influence.

Early-20th-Century Los Angeles Bungalow Architecture

9781467109031

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Los Angeles, California, shaped the nation's culture in the 20th century with the city's bungalow style of mass middle-class housing. The style made the novelty and easy climate of Los Angeles into a force for living according to new standards of health and well-being, freedom and openness, and simple artistry. The bungalow combined the cozy appeal of Arts and Crafts design with what became the basic principles of 20th-century house architecture: earth-hugging lines, visible structure, and open floor plans emphasizing warmth, intimacy, and fluidity. While the streets and neighborhoods of the "bungalowtown'? presented a lively panorama in which each house stood out as an individual, the bungalow was also a dream that the real estate industry sold to exploit the hunger for upward mobility that brought hundreds of thousands of new residents to the city during the three decades of the popularity of the style. Some of the neighborhoods that the developers established failed, and many homes were eventually demolished or in advanced decay. Yet today, these old houses are beautiful and comfortable homes when restored.

Early-20th-Century Los Angeles Bungalow Architecture

Coronado

9780738581309

$24.99

During the 1880s, a great land boom was sweeping California. Two visionary entrepreneurs, Elisha Babcock and H. L. Story, imagined Coronado as a resort and brought their dream to reality by luring the wealthy and famous to their exclusive red-roofed hotel on the beach. John D. Spreckels continued to build upon that dream, leaving a legacy through his many gifts to the city. The U.S. Navy has played a prominent role in Coronado's development, with North Island officially known as the birthplace of naval aviation, and later, with U.S. Navy SEALs stationed at Naval Amphibious Base. Coronado and North Island are surrounded by water and only accessible by the peninsular Silver Strand and the iconic Coronado-San Diego Bay Bridge. This creates a small town atmosphere with a unique combination of cosmopolitan beach resort and navy town, rich in history.

Cover image for Coronado, isbn: 9780738581309

Ghost Towns of Death Valley

9781467132275

$24.99

Although the Death Valley area is sparsely populated, it once was home to a good many towns, some of which not only have disappeared from the desert but also from history. Even though the name "Death Valley" itself evokes dark and foreboding images devoid of life, there was a surprising number of towns that did exist in or near the 3.4 million acres that comprise Death Valley National Park. Many had the amenities of larger cities, and some thrived before being deserted and melting back into the desert. The visual record of many of these towns and their occupants is featured in this book.

African Americans in Los Angeles

9780738580944

$21.99

The notion of Los Angeles as a wonderful place of opportunity contributed to the western migration of thousands of Americans, including African Americans escaping racism and violence in the South. But Los Angeles blacks encountered a white backlash, and the doors of opportunity were closed in the form of housing covenants, job discrimination, and school segregation. African Americans fought for equality, building strength in community and collective identity that became their ongoing Los Angeles legacy. This story, encapsulated here in vintage photographs, encompasses the settlers of African descent, antislavery and antidiscrimination efforts, and their cultural contributions on Central Avenue and in Hollywood. Also shown are important flash points, including the 1965 Watts uprising and the O. J. Simpson murder trial. The story of African Americans in Los Angeles is one of promise, dreams, and opportunity realized through survival, willfulness, and foresight.

Lake Arrowhead

9780738529189

$24.99

Legend has it that the remarkable scar on the southern face of the mountain was formed when the Great Spirit fired an arrow at healing hot springs along the baseline, to mark the spot for the Pauite and Serrano Indians. From the floor of the San Bernardino Valley, the "arrowhead" can be seen from up to 50 miles away. The once-named "Little Bear Valley" was populated mostly by loggers for a time, but in the 1920s, the area was reimagined as a getaway spot. Tourists and Hollywood stars flocked to the lakefront hotels and homes, and the lake became a year-round destination for skiing, hiking, shopping, and dining.

Chico

9780738530574

$24.99

Over time, the land of the Mechoopda Indians, where elk herds grazed on blue-stemmed grass, became Rancho Arroyo Chico, the land chosen by California pioneer John Bidwell for his stately creekside mansion. Bidwell later founded the town of Chico with its wooden plank sidewalks
and iron-front and brick commercial buildings. Today Chico is a dynamic modern city with its own California State University, a wide, tree-lined Esplanade, and--thanks to the legacy of Annie Bidwell--the eighth-largest municipal park in the nation.

Cover image for Chico, isbn: 9780738530574

California Agriculture

9781467161619

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Beginning with the Spanish padres in 1769 and reaching its apex in the 1950s, California’s rise to a global leader in agriculture rested on a series of converging events. California’s population exploded during the Gold Rush, and many who chose to stay found their gold in California’s sunshine, fertile soil, and optimal growing climate.

Initially, those settlers grew staples such as grain, but by the early 1900s, due to innovations in irrigation, transportation, mechanization, and food processing, California rose to the nation’s top grower and shipper of fresh produce. California currently grows over two thirds of America’s fruits and nuts and over one third of its vegetables, and each fruit, vegetable, nut, and grain has its own unique backstory. California’s crop history is full of the risk-taking and determination of pioneers, immigrants, and entrepreneurs. California also deserves credit for many modern marketing and advertising methods, and the preponderance of food “capitals of the world” is a nostalgic feature of California culture.

Patti DesMarais has lived in six California cities. She has a bachelor of arts degree in television and film production from San Diego State University and a master of arts in humanities from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She collects vintage crate labels and has picked lemons, oranges, grapefruits, peaches, and avocados from her own California backyards.

Cover image for California Agriculture, isbn: 9781467161619

St. Francis Dam Disaster

9780738520797

$24.99

Minutes before midnight on the evening of March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed. The dam's 200-foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of gallons of raging flood waters down San Francisquito Canyon, sweeping 54 miles down the Santa Clara River to the sea, and claiming over 450 lives in the disaster. Captured here in over 200 images is a photographic record of the devastation caused by the flood, and the heroic efforts of residents and rescue workers.

Built by the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Water Works and Supply, the failure of the St. Francis Dam on its first filling was the greatest American civil engineering failure of the 20th century. Beginning at dawn on the morning after the disaster, stunned local residents picked up their cameras to record the path of destruction, and professional photographers moved in to take images of the washed-out bridges, destroyed homes and buildings, Red Cross workers giving aid, and the massive clean-up that followed. The event was one of the worst disasters in California's history, second only to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

Cover image for St. Francis Dam Disaster, isbn: 9780738520797

California's Highway 99

9781467132138

$24.99

The portion of California's Highway 99 between Modesto and Bakersfield presents a fascinating and nostalgic environment. The highway has a unique charm and character that are significant to California natives, visitors, and those who have moved to the California Central Valley over the past century. This roadway has never been upscale or presumptuous but is truly egalitarian. This book is a pictorial and textual history of the highway itself, the cities and towns along the highway, and other locations in Northern California that evoke the same nostalgic feelings. Presented here are images taken in the region before Highway 99 was officially established. It includes images that were captured over the past century of Giant Orange juice stands, vintage signs, historical buildings, and other attractions that are part of the heritage. The author's hope is to entertain, provoke thought, and provide glimpses into obscure slivers of history.

Cover image for California's Highway 99, isbn: 9781467132138

Early Poverty Row Studios

9781467132589

$24.99

The history of Hollywood is often seen only through the lens of the major studios, forgetting that many of Tinseltown's early creations came from micro-studios stretched along Sunset Boulevard in an area disparagingly known as Poverty Row. Here, the first wave of West Coast moviemakers migrated to the tiny village of Hollywood, where alcohol was illegal, actors were unwelcome, and cattle were herded down the unpaved streets. Most Poverty Row producers survived from film to film, their fortunes tied to the previous week's take from hundreds of nickelodeon tills. They would routinely script movies around an event or disaster, often creating scenarios using sets from more established productions, when the bosses weren't looking, of course. Poverty Row quickly became a generic term for other fly-by-night studios throughout the Los Angeles area. Their struggles to hang on in Hollywood were often more intriguing than the serialized cliffhangers they produced.

Rincon Point

9781467108706

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Rincon Point is renowned as the Queen of the Coast, one of the premier surfing spots in the world, but that is only a fragment of its rich history. Before the arrival of Europeans, it was a Chumash village called Shuku. In the 19th century, it was part of Rancho El Rincon, whose owners included a rich but illiterate Californio rancher, an English physician who made house calls by bicycle, and a Chilean pharmacist who dispensed drugs out of an old ship's cabin. It was the site of a scandalous love-triangle murder in the 1870s, a rickety highway on stilts in the 1910s, and a raunchy honky-tonk in the 1920s. Banditos, nudists, movie stars, long-boarders--they have all shaped Rincon Point, a place immortalized by novelists, poets, painters, photographers, and the Beach Boys.

Roseville

9780738570297

$24.99

Long before white settlers arrived around 1849, the Maidu of Nisenan Indians, as they were sometimes called, were living in the vicinity of today's Roseville. Known for its gently rolling hills and beautiful old oak trees, the area had many new arrivals during the Gold Rush. Many came to try their luck, but some came looking for land, not gold, and so stayed here. By 1864, the first several miles of the Central Pacific Railroad reached Roseville (then known as Grider's), cementing its long-standing rail heritage. In 1909, the citizens voted to incorporate, and the sleepy little town became Placer County's largest city, with today's population surpassing 105,000. It is uncertain, but many agree Roseville is so called because of an abundance of wild roses in the region.

Cover image for Roseville, isbn: 9780738570297

The Mojave Desert

9780738502199

$24.99

A vast land of mineral wealth, eerie beauty, and countless contrasts, the Mojave Desert joined the Union of the United States on September 5, 1850, and became part of the new San Bernadino County three years later. A massive, parched region, its varied terrain rolls eastward from the Antelope Valley to the Colorado River. The nation's highest temperature on record occurred in this region; on the other extreme, the freezing winters here shroud the land in ice and snow. This thirsty expanse climbs to over 4,000 feet, with a great number of different wildlife forms making their homes among the hills. Featuring over 200 evocative and illustrative images, The Mojave Desert is an entertaining and educational source of information about the area and its unique history.

Motorcycling in California's Central Valley

9781467108911

$23.99

The heart of California's Central Valley--from Lodi, Stockton, and Tracy through Modesto, Oakdale, and Turlock--embraced motorcycling from the beginning of the sport and lifestyle. Eleven riders from the region are in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Hall of Fame, spanning every decade from the 1900s. The popularity of bicycling in the 1890s led to early motorcycle shops, riders, and champion racers in the 1900-1910s. Area motorcycle club recreational rides and field meets started in 1914. Central Valley police departments were among the first to develop motorcycle traffic units in the 1920s, before the California Highway Patrol. Early racing venues such as repurposed bicycle velodromes, college stadiums, and horse tracks were expanded when the Lodi Cycle Bowl was developed in the 1950s; it gave newcomers such as Modesto's Kenny Roberts and Stockton's Alex Jorgensen, Chris Carr, and Fred Merkel--all now AMA Hall of Famers--a track at which to compete weekly.

Motorcycling in California's Central Valley

California Highway Patrol

9780738556208

$23.99

The California Highway Patrol has its roots in the early 1920s motorcycle traffic cops employed by counties and cities. The CHP became a separate state entity in 1929 and has grown from the early traffic enforcement role to that of one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States. Their responsibilities range from patrolling the freeways and county roads of California to providing security for the state capital and other state buildings to protecting the governor and visiting dignitaries from around the world. The CHP has marshaled its forces to restore and maintain peace in times of war, civil unrest, or natural disasters.

Cover image for California Highway Patrol, isbn: 9780738556208

Early Hollywood

9780738547923

$24.99

The image of Hollywood often translates as some otherworldly dreamscape filled with fantastic lives and fantasy fulfillment. The real deal was carved from the Southern California desert as an outpost northwest of Los Angeles. The movie industry arrived when tumbleweeds were not simply props and actual horsepower pulled the loads. Everyday workers, civic management, and Main Street conventionalities nurtured Hollywood's growth, as did a balmy climate that facilitated outdoor photography and shooting schedules for filmmakers. Splendid vintage photographs from the renowned collections of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and Bison Archives illustrate Hollywood's businesses, homes, and residents during the silent-film era and immediately after, as the Great Depression led up to World War II. These images celebrate Hollywood before and after its annexation into the city of Los Angeles in 1910 and its subsequent ascension as the world's greatest filmmaking center.

Cover image for Early Hollywood, isbn: 9780738547923

Early Paramount Studios

9781467130103

$24.99

For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount's origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

9780738501864

$24.99

In 1943, the finishing touches on El Toro's construction turned a bean field into one of the country's finest military air stations. Located in a quiet valley at the base of the Saddleback Mountains and only a few miles from the Pacific
Ocean, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro stood proud and tall on behalf of the U.S. military for 57 years and four wars.
In this publication dedicated to the history of the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, with a sub-section covering MCAS Tustin, Thomas O'Hara presents a detailed account of the installation's achievements and activities during the entire period of its service to the U.S. military. Over 200 images--from photos of the first Woman Reserve Officers in 1943 to documentation of the annual airshow--illustrate the base's history from its role in World War II through Desert Storm.

Big Bear

9780738531113

$24.99

California’s Big Bear received its name from a perhaps unsurprising story— from an early encounter with a group of bears.

In 1845, Benjamin Davis Wilson--the future first mayor of Los Angeles and the grandfather of Gen. George S. Patton--led a 20-man posse into the San Bernardino Mountains in search of Native American raiding parties that had been attacking Riverside ranches. But what they found in a particular high-altitude valley were, instead, large and furry. Wilson's men soon roped 11 bears, bringing the creatures into camp, and the valley the Serrano Indians knew as Yuhaviat, or Pine Place, received a new map designation. Wilson named a nearby body of water Big Bear Lake (now Baldwin Lake, with the present-day, man-made lake co-opting the bruin moniker). Today, at elevations between 6,000 and 9,000 feet, the city of Big Bear Lake is an hour and a half from Los Angeles and a million miles from the rat race, where hiking, sports, and the absence of exertion thrive in a vacation atmosphere.

Cover image for Big Bear, isbn: 9780738531113

Lindsay

9781467115728

$24.99

A picturesque town nestled among the wildflower-covered foothills of the Sierras, Lindsay is the epitome of the ideal California life—one of health, wealth and sunshine. Lindsay became the heart of the state's second gold rush, when large-scale farming became popular, by hitting the mother lode with oranges. With over 16 citrus packinghouses, people initially came to Lindsay to seek their fortune. The success of the citrus groves attracted not only many skilled Japanese farmers but also many immigrants who were new to the trade. By the 1920s, Lindsay's most famous crop became Lindsay Ripe Olives. Lindsay is a town of surprising inventions and innovations that revolutionized agriculture, citrus farming, irrigation, and especially the olive industry.

Cover image for Lindsay, isbn: 9781467115728

San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury

9780738559940

$24.99

At the turn of the 20th century, the Haight-Ashbury first gained prominence as the gateway to Golden Gate Park; six decades later, it would anchor the worldwide cultural revolution that blossomed in the 1960s. Though synonymous with peace, love, and living outside the mainstream, its history goes back long before the Summer of Love. Starting as a dairy farm in San Francisco's Outlands, the area saw a building boom of Queen Anne country homes for well-heeled San Franciscans and served as a refuge for victims of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Through world wars, industrial and cultural revolutions, the dot-com boom, and beyond, the Haight-Ashbury has one of the most fascinating histories of any place, anywhere. Here is the story of a vibrant neighborhood that attracts throngs of visitors, while maintaining a core community of families, young people, and long-timers.

Paramount Studios

9781467134941

$24.99

The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Pictures--beginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930s--was told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E.J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 1940-2000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War II--a successful era for the studio--which was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history.

Malibu

9780738576145

$24.99

Malibu offers the best in Southern California living. This small town is situated close to Los Angeles and Hollywood, but far enough away from the traffic and stress of big-city life. All the clichés of Southern California come true in Malibu: the swimming pools, movie stars, paparazzi, and fancy cars. It's the land of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But Malibu is also a beautiful, quiet, and surprisingly rural beachfront community. In a desirable location going back to the time of the Chumash Indians, the peace and environment of Malibu have been protected by city fathers with a vision. This is the California Riviera, a thin slice of la dolce vita located between the Santa Monica Mountains and the deep blue sea.

Cover image for Malibu, isbn: 9780738576145

The California Delta

9780738547879

$24.99

Welcome to the delta--California style! Over 1,000 miles of waterways lure sportsmen, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts to the largest estuary in the western United States, surpassed nationally only by the Mississippi River Delta. For generations, the promise of lazy summer days has beckoned travelers to cruise the mighty Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Along with vacationers, however, agricultural users and commercial vessels from around the globe share in the California Delta's bounty. Over 23 million Californians rely on the delta watershed for drinking water, and diversions sustain the largest agricultural industry in the nation. The small towns dotting the sloughs from Collinsville to Stockton to Walnut Grove tell of a simpler time, while today's delta faces such challenges as wildlife-habitat restoration, water rights, housing development, and politics. Complicating these issues, aging levees throughout the low-lying region threaten a disaster of national proportions--and with that prospect, the very future of the California Delta.

Cover image for The California Delta, isbn: 9780738547879

Fort Ord

9780738528694

$24.99

From its establishment during World War I to its closure at the end of the Cold War, the Army installation best known as Fort Ord made a significant contribution to our national defense. Founded as a training area for Presidio of Monterey troops in 1917, Fort Ord covered more than 28,000 acres near the city of Monterey in its heyday. The local topography made it ideal as an infantry training center, and this was its primary mission throughout much of the 20th century. Most recently, Fort Ord was home to the 7th Infantry Division (Light), which was inactivated in 1993. In September 1994, Fort Ord closed its gates and became a part of military history.

Cover image for Fort Ord, isbn: 9780738528694

Bishop

9780738581835

$24.99

Located in the stark landscape of Eastern California's Owens Valley, Bishop is situated between two of the highest mountain ranges of the contiguous United States. Native Americans had been in the region since antiquity, and white settlers began to filter in after many battles with the Paiutes and Shoshones. Bishop was named after Sam Bishop, who drove cattle into the area and settled along Bishop Creek. Many more farmers and ranchers followed. To the south, Los Angeles was growing too, tapping the Owens River for a gravity-fed aqueduct for its residents; thus began the Los Angeles–Owens Valley Water Conflict.