Mid-Atlantic

Through rare and historic images, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade offers readers a chance to reminisce, explore, and delight in eighty years of this thoroughly American celebration.

Let's have a parade is the phrase that begins a beloved American tradition, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 1924, employees of the R. H. Macy and Company store in Herald Square, many of whom were immigrants and first-generation Americans, chose to give thanks for their good fortune in a manner reminiscent of the festive parades held in their native countries. The excitement and praise from crowds lining the route that first year led Macy's to issue an immediate proclamation: the parade would become a tradition. Before the parade's first decade passed, Macy's welcomed the huge and spectacular helium character balloons that became its goodwill ambassadors. Since then, the parade has become a world-famous treasure.

Washington's Harrowing Escape from the Hudson Valley

In October 1776 central Westchester witnessed a critical episode in the early campaign of George Washington’s ragtag Continental Army and its quest for American independence. Often overlooked as just an interval between the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn and victory at Trenton, the Battle of White Plains showcased Washington’s sly strategy of perseverance.  Poor decision making and ignorance of the area’s hilly terrain among British leadership gave the patriot army a chance to secure a path to safety despite being on the run and outmanned. Though British General Howe claimed victory, the battle’s lessons informed Washington’s cat and mouse strategy that ultimately brought success later in the war.  

Author Stephen Paul DeVillo presents just how close the American cause for independence came to being extinguished at the Battle of White Plains.

Opened in 1913, Grand Central Terminal is a world-famous landmark building with a magnificent 48-foot-high, 1,500-ton statuary group on top of the main facade.

Designed by sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, a 13-foot-wide Tiffany clock serves as the centerpiece.The figure above the clock is Mercury, with Hercules to the left and Minerva to the right.In the late 1990s, a historic restoration was performed on the terminal after which two cast-iron eagle statues were placed over entrances at Lexington Avenue and Forty-Second Street/Vanderbilt Avenue.These eagles were from the 1898 Grand Central Station building that was demolished in 1910 to make room for the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal structure.Penn Station, which opened in 1910, covered two full city blocks and had statuary groups, designed by sculptor Adolph Weinman, on all four sides of the building.After Penn Station was demolished in the mid-1960s, the statuary was dispersed throughout various locations, mainly in the Northeast.

New York State was a center of industry during World War II. New York aviation companies designed many of the greatest combat aircraft of the era, and bustling armies of women and men helped quickly churn them out by the thousands. More than one fourth of all US warplanes came from New York drawing boards during the war. These planes saw combat service everywhere, holding the line in the deserts of North Africa and flying from aircraft carriers plying the vast Pacific Ocean. Others operated over the frozen tundra of Alaska and Siberia. New York aircraft flew tons of fuel, ammunition, and supplies over the treacherous Himalayan Mountains into China, relentlessly hounded enemy submarines and ships, and battered Axis strongholds all the way to victory.

The story of Chesapeake pirates and patriots begins with a land dispute and ends with the untimely death of an oyster dredger at the hands of the Maryland Oyster Navy.

From the golden age of piracy to Confederate privateers and oyster pirates, the maritime communities of the Chesapeake Bay are intimately tied to a fascinating history of intrigue, plunder and illicit commerce raiding. Author Jamie L.H. Goodall introduces infamous men like Edward “Blackbeard” Teach and “Black Sam” Bellamy, as well as lesser-known local figures like Gus Price and Berkeley Muse, whose tales of piracy are legendary from the harbor of Baltimore to the shores of Cape Charles.

This book invites the reader to step back in time and imagine the days when ancestors traveled through wooden spans to reach their daily destinations.

Starting in the early 1800s, Pennsylvania's rich forests provided natural material for the construction of more than 1,500 covered bridges across the state. The first covered bridge was built in 1805. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges looks at the earliest covered bridges as well as those that have survived modern progress. Images also show rare railroad covered bridges that have been saved from destruction over the years.

The Morris Canal was not the longest canal in the world, but it did have one superlative to its credit—it climbed higher than any other canal ever built.

In its time, it was world famous, visited by tourists and technical people from as far away as Europe and Asia.For nearly 100 years, it crossed the hills of northern New Jersey, accomplishing that feat with 23 lift locks and 23 inclined planes.From Lake Hopatcong, the canal ran westward through the Musconetcong valley to Phillipsburg, on the Delaware River, and eastward through the valleys of the Rockaway and Passaic Rivers to tidewater at Newark and Jersey City—a little over 100 miles horizontally and a total rise and fall of nearly 1,700 feet vertically.The Morris Canal, once an important soldier in the American Industrial Revolution, has been gone for most of the 20th century, but its memory lives on in the many photographs, postcards, and other memorabilia that its unique presence inspired.

Carlisle is the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

It is about 18 miles west of Harrisburg, the state capital.Carlisle was planned and founded in 1751 when it was a pioneer town and became the gateway to the westward movement.It was a prominent military post in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.Carlisle was the home of two signers of the Declaration of Independence and a heroine of the Revolutionary War, Molly Pitcher.It was also one of the most northern towns occupied by the Confederate army during the Civil War.The town was the location of a number of known manufacturers, such as Carlisle Tire and Rubber Company, Quartz Crystal Company, and C.H.Masland Company.Carlisle is known today as the “Trucking Capital of the World.” It is also the home of Dickinson College, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and the US Army War College.

During the 19th century, Paterson, New Jersey, grew from an idea of Alexander Hamilton into a manufacturing and commercial powerhouse. Paterson was a city characterized as “an arm of iron in a sleeve of silk.” A major producer of locomotives and the largest source of silk products in the nation became a fast-growing center of business and commerce. The architecture of the period displays a confidence in the city’s long-term future that created a distinctive and noteworthy urban environment. In addition, Paterson was a gateway city for thousands of immigrant families. Although its long-term prominence as a manufacturing center did not endure, the city’s products and people impacted the nation and the world. The photographs in this book, largely from the archives of the Paterson Museum, highlight the city’s progression during its period of greatest growth and prominence. Focusing on the city’s architectural heritage in a variety of building types, the images illuminate the city’s growth, fortunes, and the heritage of a complex community during its most dynamic period. 

Author Richard Polton is a Paterson native trained in architecture, planning, and urban history. He has compiled photographs from the period to reveal the evolution of the nation’s first intentional industrial city’s transforming the ideas of Alexander Hamilton into a vibrant place that reflects its economic prowess. 

Downtown Pittsburgh is the story of the great transformation of this city and its contributions to the world.

Downtown Pittsburgh is a 300-acre triangle of land where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers converge to form the mighty Ohio River. Between the rivers is a tiny spit of flat-bottom land once known as the gateway to the West, the portal to a vast, remote, unexplored wilderness. Ownership of this strategic wedge of land was fiercely contested for hundreds of years. The powerful Iroquois Nation first invaded the area in the 1600s during the Beaver Wars. When the French planted their flag in 1749, they collided with the British Empire for control of the forks of the Ohio River and all of North America. One hundred years later, this swath of frontier wilderness became the workplace of the world, the heart of the great Industrial Revolution. Immigrants arrived from around Europe to work in the glass, iron, and steel mills. Industrial giants such as Carnegie, Frick, Mellon, and Heinz forged their fortunes here. Enjoy the rich history of Pittsburgh in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Allentown State Hospital, formerly known as the Homoeopathic State Hospital for the Insane at Allentown, was the first homeopathic state hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill in Pennsylvania.

On October 3, 1912, under the direction of its superintendent, Dr.Henry I. Klopp, the hospital opened its doors to receiving patients. In 1930, Dr. Klopp opened a children’s ward on the hospital’s grounds, one of the first of its kind in the world.Built to alleviate overcrowding in the state mental health system, the hospital quickly exceeded its own occupancy. By 1954, the population of the hospital hit its peak of 2,107 patients. However, Allentown State Hospital would consistently pioneer change in the mental health system until its closure in 2010. In 1993, a dedicated group of employees created the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) process to provide a safer response to supporting patients in crisis.By 1998, this approach helped put the spotlight on Allentown State Hospital when it became the first hospital in the United States to go seclusion free.

Steven Royer is a local resident of the Lehigh Valley and supporter of preservation efforts for the adaptive reuse of the property over the alternative choice of demolition. Throughout his studies, he has reviewed over 1,000 documents and has dedicated many hours to talking with both staff and patients of the former hospital. Many of the images contained in this book come from their personal collections and aim to provide an inside view of one of the most progressive mental health hospitals in the United States.

Founded by an eccentric glassmaker named Henry William Stiegel in 1762, Manheim, Pennsylvania was born of entrepreneurship and the hardy, adventuresome spirit of early America.

Despite its founder’s unfortunate financial downfall, Manheim made it through the Revolutionary War and continued to grow into a center of commerce for the surrounding farmland. Through the 20th century, Manheim continually grew in pride of its history and in modernization, as electric lights, piping, and paved roads built up the town’s infrastructure. Today, Manheim remains rooted in industry but also offers visitors and residents a variety of boutiques, art studios, and community events. One can also stroll through the streets of Manheim as though walking through time itself, as many buildings from the early 1900s, the 1800s, and even two from the 1700s still grace the town’s streets, making it an architectural gem.

The venerable Wonder Wheel, Coney Island’s oldest and greatest attraction, has dominated the Coney Island skyline for more than a century.

Towering over an ephemeral amusement zone long plagued by fires, floods, and ill-conceived urban renewal schemes, the magnificent steel machine has proved to be the ultimate survivor.The ride boasts impressive statistics.A combination of roller coaster and Ferris wheel, the 150-foot-tall structure weighs 200 tons, has 16 swinging cars and 8 stationary cars, and can carry 144 riders.More than 40 million passengers have taken a ride on the wheel since it was built in 1920, and during that time, it has maintained a perfect safety record.The ride is also a monument to immigrant initiative.Charles Hermann, the ride’s designer, was Romanian; the original owner, Herman Garms, was German; and Denos Vourderis, who purchased and lovingly restored the aging landmark in 1983, was Greek.An official New York City landmark, the Wonder Wheel is now owned and operated by three generations of the Vourderis family as the centerpiece of their Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.The enduring saga of this iconic ride, and the family that saved it, provide a captivating chapter of Coney Island’s history.

The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and became the backbone of an economic and cultural explosion that defined the image of New York.

The canal's development spurred successful industry and a booming economy, sparking massive urban growth in an area that was previously virtually unexplored wilderness. People poured west into this new space, drawn by the ability to ship goods along the canal to the Hudson River, New York City, and the world beyond. Erie Canal is a compilation of 15 vintage images from the Erie Canal Museum's documentary collection of New York's canal system. Vintage postcards depict life and industry along the canal, including not only the Erie itself but also the lateral and feeder canals that completed the state-wide system.

The first recorded Jewish immigrants arrived in New York in 1654 by way of Brazil. Their assimilation and influence on the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and the continual influx of Jewish immigrants from Germany, Eastern Europe, and Russia, have provided a rich tapestry of historic sites in New York. Author Paul M. Kaplan has written more than a mere travel guide; he has provided a road map to the history of Jewish immigration in this great American city. With a focus on the communities of Manhattan, Kaplan includes museums, places of historic interest, restaurants, synagogues, and entertainment venues of the present and those that no longer exist.

Alive in vintage photos, these sites are divided by their location, traveling from the south to the farthest northern tip of Manhattan. Each section provides a map of the area and a broad introduction to the district's place in the historic timeline of Jewish immigration. Included are the regions known as Lower Manhattan; the Lower East Side; Greenwich Village and the East Village, Chelsea, and Midtown; the Upper East Side and Upper West Side; Harlem and Morningside Heights; and Washington Heights. The author provides suggested itineraries, tips for the visitor, and reference notes for further exploration. Kaplan's historical introduction provides the framework for locals and visitors of every religion and nationality to delve into the rich history and contribution of Jewish immigrants in New York.

Discover the hidden history of the Hudson Valley's Columbia County with local author Allison Guertin Marchese.

Bordered by the Hudson River and the Berkshire Mountains, Columbia County is part of the famously picturesque Hudson Valley region, but these rolling hills hold secrets most have long forgotten. A mastodon tooth rolling down a farmer's hill in Claverack, changing the world's understanding of prehistoric times; the site of New York's last hanging at Hudson's gallows, as hundreds of ticketholders looked on; outcasts called Pondshiners who hid in the hills of Taghkanic, the only sign of their existence being the fantastic handwove baskets made from strips of hardwood. Join author Allison Guertin Marchese as she explores these little-known stories of people and places that create the history of Columbia County, New York.

A female Paul Revere, 16 year old Sybil Ludington's heroic actions helped  the army win many battles in the Hudson Valley of New York. Read the fascinating story of her life and legacy.

The Revolutionary War in the Hudson Valley inspired the rise of heroes and heroines alike. On a rainy night in 1777, sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington mounted her beloved horse and rode forty miles through enemy-infested Putnam County to warn her father’s regiment of impending British raids. Riding twice the distance of Paul Revere and under more dire circumstances, her heroic efforts helped position the Continental army in subsequent battles. A widow at a young age, Sybil became a successful businesswoman in a male-dominated profession and lived in the region for her remaining years. Through family documents and correspondence, author Vincent T. Dacquino charts the incredible life and legacy of Sybil Ludington.

The historic grounds of The Homewood Cemetery have been an integral part of Pittsburgh since before the cemetery was founded in 1878.

Nearly a half-century prior, Judge William Wilkins established his family’s Homewood residence on these now hallowed hills.Homewood was surrounded by the estates of notable Pittsburgh industrialists such as Henry Frick’s residence, named Clayton, and the H.J.Heinz family mansion, Greenlawn.These well-known families, along with numerous other sons and daughters of Pittsburgh, now rest in the approximately 200 acres encompassing The Homewood Cemetery.Today, past blends seamlessly with present, as the lawn park design of the cemetery draws visitors from all walks of life to enjoy its bucolic grounds and storied paths.

Untold stories of Howard County’s rich and fascinating past.

First settled in the 17th century when the area was part of Anne Arundel County, early towns formed around grist mills. Nearby quarries and mills shaped Ellicott City before the more well-known impact of the B&O Railroad in the 1830s. Cotton mills flourished, and mill towns like Savage grew. In the 20th century Savage briefly became the Christmas capital of the country. It was also a well-known sundown town. Historically Black communities dealt with battles over education as the state emerged from segregation. Development brought suburban neighborhoods and change to rural areas, and planned communities like Columbia affected Guilford and other surrounding towns.

Local authors Nathan Davis and Wayne Davis explore local myths and uncover erased histories.

As a suburb of the nation’s capital in the late 1800s, Rockville was proclaimed a “peerless” place to live; its subsequent transformation into a city all its own is equally remarkable.

Starting out as a tiny colonial crossroads village, it gained stature as the county seat and evolved into a town.Construction of a train line to Washington spurred suburbanization—even resort hotels. Then the automobile and post–World War II boom rapidly turned it into a full-fledged city, with much of its identity tied to the bustling Rockville Pike, a region-wide commercial mecca.As its downtown faltered, Rockville undertook a massive urban renewal makeover—but with mixed results.Along the way, luminaries such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thurgood Marshall figured in Rockville’s story, as did an escaped slave whose autobiography inspired the influential novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Rockville even once had an airport and a renowned mental hospital memorialized in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. A four-time All-America City awardee, Rockville is evolving still as one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse cities.

Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd., is a vibrant nonprofit organization working since 1974 to protect and enhance awareness of Rockville’s rich cultural and architectural heritage. Most of this volume’s photographs come from its extensive archives.

The Hudson River bridges, iconic structures of the New York State Bridge Authority, are the cornerstone of the Mid-Hudson Valley.

Opened in 1924, the Bear Mountain Bridge was the first vehicular crossing of the Hudson River, south of Albany. Twentieth-century growth in the Hudson Valley can be traced to each bridge opening, the result of grassroot efforts by local residents. The Mid-Hudson Bridge, named for the region these bridges span, was designated an “Engineering Epic” following the tipping of the east caisson that delayed construction for a year while engineers and laborers struggled to right that caisson in the waters of the Hudson River. The plan for the Rip Van Winkle Bridge required the creation of the New York State Bridge Authority, when funding was otherwise impossible during the Great Depression. Three more bridges were built connecting remaining areas of the Mid-Hudson region.The last crossing became the “twin spans” of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, the New York State Bridge Authority’s most traveled span. In 2010, the New York State Bridge Authority gained ownership of the bridge structure of the Walkway Over the Hudson, a pedestrian walkway built on the old Poughkeepsie Bridge, which opened for trains in 1889.

Kathryn W. Burke, educator, author, and director of Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley, shares her appreciation and knowledge of these bridges through photograph archives of the New York State Bridge Authority; the Modjeski & Masters, Inc., engineering firm; and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This is Burke’s second book on the Hudson River bridges.

Situated on high ground above the Christina River, Holy Trinity Church, known as Old Swedes, is the surviving tangible remnant of the New Sweden Colony, established in 1638. Today, the church, constructed in 1698, and its surrounding burial ground, established in 1638, are part of the Old Swedes Historic Site, which welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world. At the historic site, Delaware schoolchildren learn their state’s early history; Iowans and Minnesotans research their Swedish family roots; and worshipers attend services, weddings, and funerals, as they have for 325 years. The church was declared a national historic landmark in 1961 and was included, with the burial ground, as a unit of First State National Historical Park in 2015. Tracing the legacy of the Swedish colonists in what is now Wilmington, the site offers visitors a distinctive view of the history of Delaware and the surrounding area. 

Flushing explores the dramatic changes of this ever growing city with many never-before-seen images. Jason D. Antos is the author of three other local Queens history books.

In the 1890s, electric lighting and improved roads were just the beginning of the changes about to take place in Flushing, New York. Once a rural village of wide-open farms and magnificent estates, Flushing transformed into a community of more than 200,000 people and quickly became one of the busiest neighborhoods in Queens.

Flanked by the Hudson River to the east and the Delaware River to the west, Bergen County comprised one of the most vital theaters of the Revolutionary War.

An army that could control this territory could drive a fateful wedge between New England and the other colonies.In The Revolutionary War in Bergen County, Carol Karels and her team of scholars weave a masterful account of the war in northeastern New Jersey. Here in Bergen County General Washington took the young Marquis de Lafayette under his wing; here in Bergen County the future antagonists Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were baptized by fire; here in Bergen County families—in a prelude to the Civil War—split bitterly along Loyalist and Patriotic lines. From Washington's miraculous November 1776 retreat to the Delaware to the beginning of the Continental Army's epic August 1781 march to destiny at Yorktown, The Revolutionary War in Bergen County, comprehensively encompasses one of the Revolutionary War's most dramatic and pivotal fronts.

Across New Jersey, thousands of men have entered through the doors of Masonic Lodge buildings, also known as temples, over the fraternity's more than 250-year history in the Garden State.

These buildings, from humble meeting spaces to elaborate single-purpose centers, stand tribute to the memory and influence of one of the oldest fraternities in the world, founded on the tenets of faith, hope, and charity.From governors and US Supreme Court justices to carpenters and stonemasons, Freemasonry has welcomed men from all walks of life, and the temples they built have played important roles in the civic, social, and charitable life of many towns.Although some lodges have been lost, many still remain and are presented here for the first time through photographs and images collected from various historical societies, museums, libraries, and Masonic organizations.This book attempts not to serve as an encyclopedic source but rather to catalog and organize the development of the Masonic temples in New Jersey.

Then and Now: Washington, D.C. includes images of U Street's nightlife, produce and fish markets along the waterfront, the prestigious Congressional Cemetery of Capitol Hill, popular drinking holes on Pennsylvania Avenue, Orville Wright's groundbreaking test flight in 1909, and Georgetown's renowned Dodge Mansion radically changed over the years. These photographs, many of them never before published, shed new light on D.C.'s rich cultural, social, and architectural heritage.

In 1740, Moravian immigrants made their first permanent American settlement in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Nazareth was closed to residents outside of the Moravian faith.In 1856, the town opened to non-Moravians, who were then allowed to own property and live and work in the town.Early industries, including textiles, cement production, and agriculture, attracted immigrants and expanded the town’s diversity from a predominately German origin to include a sizeable Italian and Polish population.During the 20th century, many of these businesses continued, including the world-renowned C.F.Martin Guitar Company, which has been family owned and operated since 1833.By mid-century, at least three large cement companies surrounded the Nazareth borough area and employed hundreds of laborers.Nazareth was also home to the Nazareth Speedway, a one-mile tri-oval paved track of Indy and United States Auto Club (USAC) racing fame, and is home to racing champions Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, and third-generation driver Marco Andretti.

A fascinating documentation of the history and present-day meaning of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and the importance of the wildlife they contain.

The phrase New Jersey Pine Barrens often conjures images of desolate forests and even the piercing red eyes of the Jersey Devil. While those just might be true, there are over one million acres in southern New Jersey filled with remarkable people, charming communities, natural wonders and man-made marvels. Conservationists from around the state strive to protect the region from overpopulation and preserve the pristine wilds. From sweetly scented pines, blueberry and cranberry farms and family businesses to the proud inhabitants who welcome thousands of visitors every year, discover what makes the Pine Barrens one of the most beautiful regions in the Northeast.

Jamestown furniture is renowned for its quality of its wood furniture, even today. Read the history beginning in 1816 by local expert Clarence Carlson.

While all but gone today, Jamestown's furniture industry was once the second-largest producer of furniture in the United States. Manufacturing boomed from 1816, when William Breed and Royal Keyes opened their shops, to the 1920s, when Jamestown was still one of the top wood furniture producers in the country. In the nineteenth century, the thriving railroad industry allowed Jamestown's quality creations to be distributed nationwide. After the Civil War, an influx of Swedish immigrants brought their craftsmanship and skills to Jamestown, forming Morgan Manufacturing, Empire Furniture Company and many others. Then, their pieces were valued for quality and durability; today, they're coveted by collectors as beautiful antiques. Local expert Clarence Carlson uncovers the fascinating story of Jamestown furniture.