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Name: History of Alcatraz Island since 1853, A
Brand: Gregory L. Wellman
SKU: 9781467108577
Price: 23.99 USD
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History of Alcatraz Island since 1853, A

Early Paramount Studios

E.J. Stephens

$24.99

Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress

Taylor Kiland

$24.99

Los Angeles Residential Architecture

Surfing Newport Beach

Claudine Burnett

$21.99

San Francisco's Castro

Strange de Jim

$24.99

Santa Clara

Beatrice Lichtenstein

Santa Barbara in Vintage Postcards

Shasta Historical Society

Manhattan Beach Chronicles

Jan Dennis

$21.99

Women Trailblazers of California

Gloria G. Harris

$23.99

The Great Crescenta Valley Flood

Covina Valley Citrus Industry

Dr. Barbara Ann Hall

$24.99

Boxing in San Francisco

F. Daniel Somrack

$24.99

Orange County Chronicles

Phil Brigandi

$21.99

Point Piedras Blancas

Oakland's Equestrian Heritage

Amelia S. Marshall

$24.99

Southern San Joaquin Valley Scenes

The Orange County Fair

Lighthouses of Greater Los Angeles

Rose Castro-Bran

$21.99

South Pasadena's Ostrich Farm

Rick Thomas

$24.99

Christmas in San Diego

Bill Swank

$24.99

Los Gatos

Peggy Conaway Bergtold

$24.99

Golden Memories of the San Francisco Bay Area

Legendary Locals of Norco

Kevin Bash

$24.99

San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team

Bob Blanck

$24.99

Calabasas

Cimberly B. Castellon

$34.99

Latino Boxing in Southern California

Gene Aguilera

$24.99

Manhattan Beach Police Department

Jan Dennis

$24.99

Gregory L. Wellman

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.

David Marshall

Forgotten San Diego

9781467160261

$24.99

Memories are fleeting, and a region’s history can easily be forgotten. This book features over 200 unique and interesting historical postcards that vividly capture San Diego County’s forgotten past from 1890 to 1990. From bowling alleys to military bases, from giant dirigibles to sleek airplanes, from billionaires to bulldogs—San Diego has changed so fundamentally that much of its charming history has faded from our memories. Forgotten San Diego showcases the unique evolution of San Diego and its neighboring cities, making sure that the triumphs, tragedies, and oddities of this region live on.

E.J. Stephens

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.

Taylor Kiland

Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress

9781467150583

$24.99

One candy heiress, two bullets and three suspects.

The small Southern California island of Coronado rarely makes news for violent crime. But in the spring of 1975, World War II widow and retired librarian Ruth Quinn was murdered, execution-style, in her cottage. Her death sent a shock wave through the community. The granddaughter of Jujubes and Jujyfruits creator Henry Heide, Ruth was found fully clothed with her shoes on, in her bed, dead from two gunshot wounds. To this day, her murder has never been solved, but whispers about her brother, her son and even a local petty thief still swirl.

Author Taylor Baldwin Kiland sifts through the dirt for the facts about Ruth’s life and her untimely end in Coronado.

Ruth Wallach

Los Angeles Residential Architecture

9781626198036

$21.99

During the first half of the twentieth century, Los Angeles grew into a sprawling metropolis. As suburbs developed, demonstration homes and housing exhibitions brought innovative architectural and interior design styles. Displays like the California Home and Garden Exhibition showcased the latest in timesaving appliances, modern furniture and cutting-edge building techniques meant to represent the future and ideals of Southern California living. Model and tract home exhibitions like those at Leimert Park inspired a new generation of homebuyers. Designed to house the masses, multi-family developments like the Zigzag Moderne–style Val d'Amour were benchmarks for their time. Join author Ruth Wallach on a tour of the varied Modernist styles that give Los Angeles its distinct residential landscape.

Jane Wehrey

Manzanar

9780738558080

$24.99

East of the rugged Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley lies Manzanar. Founded in 1910 as a fruit-growing colony, it was named in Spanish for the fragrant apple orchards that once filled its
spectacularly scenic landscape. Owens Valley Paiute lived there first, followed by white homesteaders and ranchers. But with the onset of World War II came a new identity as the first of 10 relocation centers hastily built in 1942 to house 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them American citizens, removed from the West Coast. In
the face of upheaval and loss, Manzanar's 10,000 confined residents created parks, gardens, and a functioning wartime community within the camp's barbed-wire-enclosed square mile of flimsy barracks.
Today Manzanar National Historic Site commemorates this and all of Manzanar's unique communities.

James Nagareda

San Jose's Japantown

9781467125291

$24.99

The Japanese started to arrive in San Jose, California, around 1890 in the Heinlenville area, which was once on the outskirts of the city. Many of the businesses that the Japanese opened would serve the needs of the growing Japanese population, who came to the Santa Clara Valley to take advantage of opportunities in the agricultural industry. Out of 46 Japantowns, only three remain in California. San Jose's Japantown is unique in that it is the only surviving Japantown that has remained in its original location. Today, San Jose's Japantown is a thriving and evolving mix of traditional and contemporary arts, culture, and lifestyle.

Claudine Burnett

Surfing Newport Beach

9781609498405

$21.99

Corona del Mar was once California's premier surfing spot, holding the sport's first Pacific Coast competition in 1928. Attempts to tame Corona and to make the Newport Beach harbor mouth safe for watercraft drastically altered board riding, destroying the great wave-making machine of Corona and creating the surf giant of today known as the Wedge. Read about Newport before World War II: experience the Great Rescue of 1925 by Duke Kahanamoku and others, the rum runners of Balboa and the evolution of Newport Bay. Pioneering surfers such as George Freeth, Tom Blake, the Vultee brothers and Pete Peterson helped make a name for the city in surf culture. Authors Claudine Burnett and her surfer husband, Paul, have delved deeply into the past, sharing stories that will give readers never-before-revealed facts not only about surfing but Newport Beach and Corona del Mar history as well.

Strange de Jim

San Francisco's Castro

9780738528663

$24.99

Nestled in the Eureka Valley area, the Castro is arguably the most well-known of San Francisco's neighborhoods, having been the epicenter of the gay rights movement since the 1970s. This new collection of photographs shows the area's growth from a smattering of Victorian houses built for working-class families in the 1870s to the flood of young gay men who settled in the neighborhood during the 1970s. This influx transformed the area and led to the rise of Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to a major public office. This book also chronicles the 1978 assassination of Milk and Mayor George Moscone, the subsequent riots, and the effects of AIDS on the community in the 1980s and 1990s. Ultimately, these stirring images bear witness to the resilience of the Castro today.

Beatrice Lichtenstein

Santa Clara

9780738528816

$24.99

Santa Clara, named for the prosperous Spanish mission founded there in 1777, lies in a place once called the Valley of Heart's Delight. Its black fertile loam produced thousands of acres of bright flowers and vegetables for the largest seed farm in the world, and much of the rest was blanketed in springtime with fruit blossoms. The wealth of its pre-eminent tanning, wood manufacturing, and fruit packing industries gave way to another type of opportunity in the 1950s with the emergence of the semi-conductor. The tiny chip that transformed the world of communication spawned new companies here like Intel, National Semi-Conductor, and Applied Materials, which earned the now urban economic powerhouse a new name, Silicon Valley.

Jeannine L. Pedersen

Catalina by Sea

9780738531168

$24.99

A fancy flight of lyrics specifies that Santa Catalina Island is 26 miles across the sea. But mapmakers put the distance at 19.7 miles from the closest island point, Doctor's Cove (near Arrow Point), to the closest mainland locale, Point Fermin at San Pedro. Today boats and helicopters operating out of the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newport Beach, and Dana Point transport musing songwriters and everyone else to Catalina for the song's much-promised romance, romance, romance, romance, as well as fishing, sightseeing, and gainful employment. But the history of getting to and from the island's ports of Avalon and Two Harbors has been an epic across centuries of business and pleasure, involving a collective flotilla of side-wheelers, yachts, lumber schooners, steamships, water taxis, converted military vessels, crew boats, and today's fast and convenient jet boats.

Marlin L. Heckman

Santa Barbara in Vintage Postcards

9780738508764

$24.99

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

Colette Kavanaugh

Arden-Arcade

9781467160018

$23.99

Arden-Arcade is a vibrant community. The first inhabitants were members of the Valley Nisenan tribe; however, world events, including the arrival of Europeans and the Gold Rush of 1849, changed the area’s dynamics in drastic ways. Arden-Arcade was part of the Mexican land grant known as the Rancho Del Paso. When Col. James Ben Ali Haggin became the owner of Rancho Del Paso, it became known for breeding champion racehorses. The horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1886—aptly named Ben Ali—was bred on Rancho Del Paso. In 1905, Orlando Robertson, owner of the Sacramento Colonization Company, purchased the land and began mapping out tracts for development, later advertising the area as the perfect place to farm citrus, olives, and hops. After World War II, Arden-Arcade experienced a boom of economic development. The construction of Town and Country Village, Country Club Centre, and Arden Fair Mall fueled the growth of residential homes. US Route 40 boasted numerous travel accommodations and was a popular destination until the construction of the Capital City Freeway. Notably, the area features many mid-century modern homes and buildings with Googie architecture.

Shasta Historical Society

Shasta County

9780738528540

$24.99

Picturesque Shasta County, located at the northern end of California's Sacramento Valley, is known for its colorful history, abundant natural beauty, and unlimited recreational opportunities. First home to native tribes such as the Wintu and Yana, Shasta County was officially established in 1850, and fur trappers, cattle ranchers, and miners, lumber mills, copper smelters, and railroads soon made their indelible mark on the landscape. The region's story continued to unfold throughout the 20th century as its many lakes, parks, rivers, and the snow-capped peak of Mt. Shasta glistening in the distance welcomed visitors and enticed many to make Shasta County home.

Timothy Swenson

Union City

9780738558097

$24.99

Union City was formed by the merging of two communities, Alvarado and Decoto. In the early 1850s, Alvarado was founded as a place to ship local produce to San Francisco. When Alameda County was created in 1853, Alvarado became the county seat and the hub of business activity for the county. The proximity of Alameda Creek to Alvarado, with its yearly floods, would cause the county seat to move to San Leandro and then Oakland. In the 1870s, Decoto was founded as a rail town on the new transcontinental railroad. Agriculture formed the start of Decoto, and eventually canneries cropped up along the railroad tracks, making local produce available around the country. In 1938, Pacific States Steel created jobs that expanded the town, making it the largest employer in Decoto for many years. In 1959, the towns of Alvarado and Decoto joined to form Union City. The first mayor of Union City, Tom Kitayama, was the first Japanese American mayor in the United States.

Carole Noske

Vacaville

9780738555638

$24.99

One hundred years after it was settled by the Vaca and Pe±a families in 1842, Vacaville's population still numbered only 1,608 people. The population was booming by the 1960s, doubled in each of the next two decades, and was home to 96,395 people by 2006. While experiencing some growing pains, the city enjoys small-town pleasures, festivals, parades, and concerts in the park.

Jan Dennis

Manhattan Beach Chronicles

9781609499082

$21.99

An isolated ocean-view village on the dunes above South Santa Monica Bay, Manhattan Beach grew with the arrival of railroads. This quaint, upscale jewel of the Los Angeles County coast has been known for its cottage-style living, the Metlox Pottery Company and the iconic pier. These diverse stories mix the city's controversies, including the still unsolved 1936 murder of Reid Russell, with true tales of pioneering women, controversial politics and the vicissitudes of seaside city development. Join author Jan Dennis, a former Manhattan Beach city mayor, on this illuminating tour through the issues and eras of her beloved city's history.

Gloria G. Harris

Women Trailblazers of California

9781609496753

$23.99

Throughout California's history, remarkable women have been at the core of change and innovation. In this unparalleled collection, Gloria Harris and Hannah Cohen relate the stories of forty women whose struggles and achievements have paved the way for generations. These women were strong and determined, overcoming prejudice, skepticism and injustice. Visionary architect Julia Morgan designed Hearst Castle; Dolores Huerta co-founded United Farm Workers; Donaldina Cameron, the angry angel of Chinatown, rescued brothel workers; and silent film actress Mary Pickford helped form United Artists Pictures. From fearless pioneers and determined reformers to professionals from every walk of life, Harris and Cohen chronicle the triumphs and disappointments of diverse women who dared to take risks and break down barriers.

Art Cobery

The Great Crescenta Valley Flood

9781609494490

$21.99

As Crescenta Valley residents gathered to ring in the 1934 New Year, a cloudburst broke over Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, unleashing a deluge on mountainsides denuded by recent fires. A roaring wall of rocks, mud and water crashed down the canyons, uprooting trees, tossing boulders and automobiles like toys and carving a path of destruction. Using painstaking research and heart-rending firsthand accounts, historian Art Cobery paints a picture of survival and redemption in the face of natural disaster, including the heroic efforts of eleven-year-old Marcie Warfield to save her father and younger brother, the devastating debris flow that claimed the lives of refugees and aid workers at the American Legion Hall and the selfless acts of neighbors caught in the storm of events.

Hilary Keith

Santa Fe Springs

9780738575766

$24.99

Before its incorporation in May 1957, Santa Fe Springs had a vibrant past that brought the area to prominence several times throughout its history. It was the hub for the early Spanish rancho of Jose Manuel Nieto, the holder of the largest Spanish land grant in California. Later, after a sulfur hot spring was discovered in the area, it became a popular destination for those seeking its curative powers; visitors headed to the Fulton Wells health resort, which was built around the sulfur spring. Following an oil strike in 1919, a dramatic change occurred in the area as oil derricks and refineries soon covered the landscape. Santa Fe Springs then became a destination for those seeking their fortunes. Such famous people as Alfonso Bell and J. Paul Getty started their careers here in one of the largest oil strikes in the country. Today, Santa Fe Springs is a thriving city, proud of its fusion between residents and industry and its roots that go back to a small, Native American, Tongva village.

Judith Marvin

Around Murphys

9780738529943

$24.99

Murphys is a bustling little town in the foothills—a town so popular that it won't be little for long. It's a favorite for weekend jaunts, and home to an eclectic group of people attracted by the natural surroundings, laid-back lifestyle, and, increasingly, world-class wineries. Originally named for the trading camp of John and Daniel Murphy, the area became a boomtown during the Gold Rush, and later hosted such notables as Mark Twain, Black Bart, Ulysses S. Grant, and Horatio Alger. Nearby, the majestic stands of redwood at Calaveras Big Trees State Park stand sentinel over the gullies and ranches of this area, which has changed much since the 1800s but still retains its compelling forested beauty.

A.J. Johnston

Sacramento

9780738594804

$21.99

Of the state of California and its resources, much of late years has been written and printed for dissemination among people of the eastern states. Particularly has such information been published concerning the resources of the southern section of the state. As yet but little has been written of the central section—a vast, rich, but comparatively undeveloped territory—which in the very near future will as much astonish the world by the demonstration of its agricultural wealth, as did the state in 1849 by the richness of its gold mines. In the pages following, nothing but facts, capable of absolute and satisfactory demonstration, are presented. Of the section of which this work treats, the facts furnish an ample and convincing argument of its resources and capabilities. It has been the endeavor of the writers—and they are gentlemen of state-wide reputation—to present but the actual facts.

Desiree Heveroh

Richmond

9781467161930

$24.99

Founded in 1905, Richmond, California, boasts 32 miles of shoreline and is centrally located within the San Francisco Bay Area. From a nationally registered historic district to its critical role in World War II, Richmond fits the quintessential historic bill—both on land and at sea.

Enjoy this glimpse into a past that is still very present courtesy of two native Richmond daughters, Desiree Heveroh and Victoria Stuhr, with images from Richmond Museum of History & Culture, Point Richmond History Association, and the Richmond Public Library.

Dr. Barbara Ann Hall

Covina Valley Citrus Industry

9780738574424

$24.99

Drawn by the California dream of golden sunshine and promise, many settlers came to the Covina Valley, where, after clearing the rocks, sagebrush, and cactus, they found rich alluvial soil. With the addition of water, everything grew in abundance. Citrus gradually became the best cash crop. This is the story of the men and women who made the citrus industry work in and around Covina, how they founded towns and eventually planted 25,000 acres of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. They endured droughts, floods, freezes, insect invasions, and unscrupulous buyers who almost ruined them financially. Together they developed water resources and the first stockholder-owned citrus cooperative, and brought railroads, transforming the Covina Valley into a major citrus producing and processing center.

F. Daniel Somrack

Boxing in San Francisco

9780738528861

$24.99

During the California Gold Rush, amateur and professional boxing almost immediately gained a strong foothold in northern California, as the gold fields and mining camps provided both employment and a venue for these athletes. In these times, many of the world's best fighters made their way to the canvas squares of the Pacific coast where San Francisco served as the locus of championship title bouts that even today remain legendary. This volume spotlights such greats as Gentleman Jim Corbett, Joe Choynski, Jack Johnson, Battling Nelson, Stanley Ketchel, and 1904 Olympic heavyweight champion Sam Berger. Somrack explores San Francisco's boxing scene through the years, but also focuses in on weight classifications and ring records.

Phil Brigandi

Orange County Chronicles

9781626191334

$21.99

Orange County is one of the best-known, yet least understood, counties in California. The popular image of beautiful people in beach cities is certainly accurate. But the Orange County that is often overlooked includes workaday lives in Anaheim, the barrios of Santa Ana, townhouse living in Brea and the diverse communities of Little Saigon, Little Texas, Los Rios, La Habra and Silverado Canyon. Modern Orange County offers very little sense of history, and it sometimes seems as if the urbanization of the 1960s is all that defines the place. Orange County historian Phil Brigandi fills in the gaps with this collection of essays that explores the very creation of the county, as well as pressing issues of race, citrus, attractions and annexation.

Carole Adams

Point Piedras Blancas

9780738558196

$24.99

For thousands of years, Point Piedras Blancas, located along the central coast of California, has attracted people to its rocky, windswept shores. In ancient times, it was used by Native American cultures. Since 1875, it has been the site of a First Order Lighthouse, warning ships to steer clear of its rocky shoals, a duty it continues to fulfill. Although the years have not been kind to this stunning area nor to the lighthouse, new life is being breathed into it by a partnership of enthusiastic community volunteers and government agencies. Their common goal is to restore this magnificent site to its original state while reintroducing the natural environment that was almost obliterated during the past four decades.

Jan Loomis

Westside Chronicles

9781609496234

$21.99

Los Angeles sprawled westward toward the sand and sea of Santa Monica Bay throughout the twentieth century as land-grant ranchos gave way to capitalists and promoters. Developers subdivided the coastal land into neighborhoods and communities: Santa Monica, Brentwood, Bel-Air, Westwood, Venice, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Marina del Rey. These became places known to the nation at large for movie stars, moguls and business tycoons; for Will Rogers, Henry Huntington and UCLA; and for estate homes, amusement piers and surfing beaches. Join Jan Loomis, a former West L.A. magazine publisher and historian, as she tells the stories behind how it all came to be West Los Angeles.

Amelia S. Marshall

Oakland's Equestrian Heritage

9780738558103

$24.99

Throughout its history, Oakland has been a haven for horse enthusiasts. Clubs held frequent horse shows and social events, and riders were seen galloping along roads that led to the beautiful trails of Joaquin Miller, Redwood, and Anthony Chabot Parks. United by a shared passion, traditional cowboys and cowgirls continue to ride alongside English-style riders at the remaining local stables. Capture a glimpse into Oakland's rich equestrian history during the hayday of horses.

Christopher Brewer

Southern San Joaquin Valley Scenes

9780738502458

$24.99

Known as the fruit basket of the world, the Southern San Joaquin Valley is a great expanse of land rich in both resources and heritage. From the early Franciscan Friars, fur trappers, and explorers to the late-twentieth-century technological revolution, the area is rich in California history.
The Southern San Joaquin Valley encompasses three counties in south central California, stretching from the citrus and cotton fields of Tulare and Kings Counties to the oil-rich land of Bakersfield and Kern County. This book contains nearly two hundred images of people, places, and events in the valley, some taken by noted photographers such as Carleton Watkins and C.A. Nelson, and others captured by everyday folks as family mementos. Ranging from a simple streetscape of early Visalia to photographs of field workers in Kern County, they provide an interesting glimpse of the valley's past, as seen by historians and other recorders of historical events.

Glenn Ditman

Riverbank

9781467130158

$24.99

In the 1850s, the Riverbank area was little more than a ferry site along the Stanislaus River. A small town grew up there until the Union Pacific Railroad built a line farther east, causing the first attempt at settlement to soon die out. In 1895, however, the Santa Fe Railway crossed the river close to the original site of the ferry, and the town of Riverbank was born. Riverbank's history is a study in change. Its various influences—from the railway and agriculture to its Army ammunitions plant to its days as a country-western music mecca—earned it the motto The City of Action. It has been built by different cultures, including Irish and German immigrants and modern-day Hispanic arrivals. Its founders, movers, and shakers are as diverse, rich, and interesting as its colorful past.

Chris Epting

The Orange County Fair

9781626198029

$21.99

The Orange County Fair is one of Southern California's most anticipated summer events. From its first year in 1890 with a few livestock exhibits and horse races, the fair evolved into what is now a month-long extravaganza of rides, games and entertainment that still celebrates the importance of local agriculture. Millions of visitors have crowded the grounds over the years to enjoy the spectacle of everything from ostrich races and demolition derbies to its unique Centennial Farm and the time-honored All-Alaskan pig race. Author Chris Epting recounts more than a century of community history and revelry at the OC Fair.

Carl P. Baggese

Modesto

9780738575797

$24.99

At the beginning of the 20th century, Modesto became Stanislaus County's cultural and economic center. From the construction of ornate residences to the addition of prominent businesses and landmarks, the village founded in 1870 by the Central Pacific Railroad grew into a busy inland city. No less than four major hotels located downtown. The intent to build the nation's first municipal airport was incorporated into the city's revised 1910 charter, and the town's iconic arch was added to the landscape in 1912. Modesto left behind its Wild West roots to become a thriving center of commerce in the San Joaquin Valley.

Rose Castro-Bran

Lighthouses of Greater Los Angeles

9781609496197

$21.99

Despite news of shipwrecks along California's dangerous coastline, a burgeoning maritime trade came to what would become the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The shipping complex became the nation's busiest, in part because of the bright navigation lights that enabled reliable access for early vessels. In 1874, sister lighthouses Point Fermin and Point Hueneme were lit on the same day, followed by the Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse in 1913. Nicknamed the Hollywood Lighthouse for its frequent use in movies, in 1926, Point Vicente was established to light the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Today, they are joined by the Anacapa Island Light Station, Long Beach Light and the private aid to navigation, Lions Lighthouse for Sight. Together with the U.S. Coast Guard, these historic beacons continue to illuminate and protect the coast of Greater Los Angeles. Join author Rose Castro-Bran as she explores their storied history.

Rick Thomas

South Pasadena's Ostrich Farm

9780738555782

$24.99

Edwin Cawston courted the early-20th-century public's fascination with exotic foreign creatures when he began raising ostriches, for more than the use of their feathers in the clothing industry. When Cawston brought the enormous, flightless, African birds onto prime real estate in the Arroyo Seco of South Pasadena, Los Angeles County, more than a few observers thought that the looniest bird might be him. But Cawston was determined to showcase struthio camelus, the biggest bird in the world at 8 vertical feet and 350 pounds. The Cawston Ostrich Farm soon became one of the most popular Southern California attractions, drawing millions to watch people ride the birds bareback at a cruising speed of 35 miles per hour. Cawston supplied ostrich plumes for budget-minded consumers as well as fancy feathers for Vaudeville dancers, movie actresses, and even European queens, becoming a great promoter and showman of his time.

Bill Swank

Christmas in San Diego

9781467134552

$24.99

What is the true meaning of Christmas? The author believes the answer is found in the Golden Rule. Christmas should be about being good to one another. Christmas in San Diego, therefore, focuses on people who bring joy to others. Locals are blessed to have many special individuals who share their spirit to make Christmas in San Diego a special season for everyone. This book is divided into five chapters: the history of Christmas in San Diego, the many Christmas traditions throughout San Diego, the various ways Christmas is celebrated within the communities of San Diego County, unique San Diego Christmas trees, and lastly, some special Santa Diego Santas.

Peggy Conaway Bergtold

Los Gatos

9781467134217

$24.99

A magical place to grow up and an exceptionally lovely place to live, Los Gatos has transformed from its agrarian roots to an upscale community at the southern tip of Silicon Valley. With its sublime Mediterranean climate and stunning natural setting, the town has progressed while still valiantly protecting its small town character and customs. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit Los Gatos hard, creating a devastating litany of 481 damaged homes and businesses, many of them historic. Los Gatos made the decision to rebuild and restore what had been lost, with picture-perfect results.

Steven Friedman

Golden Memories of the San Francisco Bay Area

9780738508757

$24.99

San Francisco, the flamboyant and cosmopolitan city by the bay and its neighboring municipalities, was born to tell stories upon stories. Ranging in ages from 68 to 91, the narrators reflect the ethnic and religious diversity of a metropolis that has been a pioneer of several social, political, and cultural movements. They also stretch across both ends of the economic spectrum. A Japanese-American woman describes the harsh humiliation of internment during World War II, while an Irish Catholic man fondly remembers being a paperboy in the same neighborhood for ten years—until he was 20. An African-American woman from Marin City explains why she'll never sell the quilts she makes. Another woman recalls kissing under the Golden Gate Bridge with the man who eventually became her husband.

The book also utilizes more than 80 photographs from the narrators and the collections of local libraries, museums, and historical societies to complement the poignant, humorous, and revealing portraits of the people and places of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kevin Bash

Legendary Locals of Norco

9781467102322

$24.99

From its beginning as a poultry powerhouse to World War II Navy town and to Horse Town USA, Norco has been known over time as a community of go-getters and dreamers with unparalleled volunteerism, stubbornly protecting a rural way of life. Founder Rex Clark wished for families to be self-sustaining with what they could grow and raise on their property; wounded Marine Johnny Winterholler, against incredible odds, led the way for other disabled veterans as the star of the famed wheelchair basketball team the Rolling Devils; and Tamara Ivie fulfilled her impossible dream to play professional baseball. And regular folks, known once as Acres of Neighbors, stepped up to create a city of elbow room, stopping cold, big-money developers wishing to cut the community into small lots. Today, Norco is an equestrian paradise with trails on most streets and plentiful open space. For decades, this small community has produced activists, ballplayers, college presidents, physicians, actors, cowboys, and lots of Norconians who give back to the community that raised them.

Bob Blanck

San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team

9780738555768

$24.99

In February 1958, a tragic climbing accident occurred on Big Falls, in Forest Falls, California, resulting in the death of a 13-year-old boy. Rescue attempts were futile because there were no experienced personnel or climbing equipment available. As a result of this unfortunate tragedy, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
spearheaded a recruitment of volunteers, forming the county's first mountain search and rescue team. Since that time, the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team has performed thousands of searches, rescues,
and body recoveries. The organization is the oldest of its kind in San Bernardino County and is proud to have second-generation team members. This book tells the story of these dedicated volunteers through photographs taken by team members and through the stories retold by those who were there.

Cimberly B. Castellon

Calabasas

9781467134156

$34.99

Calabasas is located in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley in the northwest Santa Monica Mountains. The Chumash Indians were the first to settle in this picturesque region, abundant with wildlife, water, and shady oak trees. The early years of Calabasas offer a colorful history full of buried treasure, cattle and sheep ranches, stagecoaching, ghost sightings, and some of Southern California's roughest and toughest residents. Between the 1920s and 1970s, countless films and television episodes were filmed in the west San Fernando Valley area alone. It was a time when Westerns ruled the scene, and the studios bought up huge tracts of underdeveloped acreage in the hills around Calabasas to serve as movie ranches. Today, Calabasas is primarily a city of master-planned communities that are home to over 23,000 residents, including many of Hollywood's rich and famous. In banning secondhand smoke, plastic bags, and Styrofoam, Calabasas has been on the forefront of enacting environmental stewardship to preserve its historical roots and protect its open spaces.

Jan Dennis

Manhattan Beach Police Department

9780738520896

$24.99

The small community of Manhattan Beach, located in the county of Los Angeles, is situated on the shore of the Santa Monica Bay. Late in the 1800s, there was little need for law enforcement: this unspoiled terrain along the ocean coastline with its shifting sands, scrub brush, and native wildflowers had yet to be cultivated. By 1912, the sparsely populated area had been incorporated and the city fathers appointed the first peace officer, Fred W. Petway, who was one of three marshals to serve the new town. In 1924, the position of police chief was created with the appointment of Fred Garvin. However, it would be many years before a first-class police department would oversee the safety and security of the growing community. This volume tracks a century of social change and dramatic episodes that challenged a long line of dedicated men and women in law enforcement. Each of these professionals raised the bar on the high standard of police department service that operates in this seaside municipality today.