Jeset Garcia's List for Ryan

Philadelphia was once the proud home of Wanamaker's, a department store of many firsts founded by the retail giant John Wanamaker in 1861.

Its name was synonymous with service, and Philadelphians still fondly remember the massive bronze eagle in the Grand Court, concerts from the world's largest pipe organ and the spectacular Christmas festivities. Philadelphia native Michael J. Lisicky takes a nostalgic journey through the history of the store, from its beginnings as a haberdashery to its growth into New York and Delaware and the final poignant closing of its doors. Lisicky brilliantly combines interviews with store insiders, forgotten recipes and memories from local celebrities such as Trudy Haynes and Sally Starr to bring readers back to the soft glow of the marble atrium and the quiet elegance of the Crystal Tea Room that was Wanamaker's

Join Harry Kyriakodis as he strolls Front Street, Delaware Avenue, and Penn's Landing to rediscover the story of Philadelphia's lost waterfront.

The wharves and docks of William Penn's city that helped build a nation are gone lost to the onslaught of over 300 years of development. Yet the bygone streets and piers of Philadelphia's central waterfront were once part of the greatest tradecenter in the American colonies. Local historian Harry Kyriakodis chronicles the history of the city's original port district from Quaker settlers who first lived in caves along the Delaware and the devastating yellow fever epidemic of 1793 to its heyday as a maritime center and then the twentieth century that saw much of the historic riverfront razed.

Philadelphia is not only the birthplace of America but also the birthplace of America's consumer culture. From the Civil War until Vietnam, Philadelphia's thriving middle class made the city a mercantile mecca, home to some of America's largest and most innovative department and specialty stores. Market Street between Seventh Street and Philadelphia City Hall was lined with five major department stores: John Wanamaker, Strawbridge & Clothier, Gimbels, Lit Brothers, and N. Snellenburg & Co. Here, shoppers could buy everything they needed to furnish their house from attic to basement, as well as the house itself. On nearby Chestnut and Walnut Streets, the carriage trade selected silver and jewelry at J.E. Caldwell & Co. and Bailey Banks & Biddle, haute couture at Nan Duskin and the Blum Store, and men's clothing at Jacob Reed's Sons. Images of America: Philadelphia's Golden Age of Retail illustrates how these emporia taught generations of Philadelphians the proper way to live.

Philadelphia, as laid out in the 1680s, extended from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River and from Vine Street to South Street, an area known today as Center City.

As its population grew, the settled areas expanded westward from the Delaware River beyond early important landmarks such as Christ Church, the Pennsylvania State House, and Pennsylvania Hospital. By the mid-19th century, commercial, religious, and cultural institutions arose along Broad Street, and exclusive residential neighborhoods developed even farther west in areas previously undeveloped or used as industrial sites. Bustling shopping districts anchored by stores such as Wanamaker's Grand Depot and Strawbridge and Clothier ran for blocks along Chestnut and Market Streets. Center City Philadelphia in the 19th Century highlights the buildings, people, and activities of this area from the 1840s until the end of the century.

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