Photography

The deadrise and cross-planked bottom style of boatbuilding started on Chesapeake Bay in the 1880s, when builders of wooden boats began to shift away from constructing vessels out of logs and into using planks to create hulls with a V-shaped bottom. Marine historian Howard I. Chapelle says that the style started in the North and Deep South (on the Gulf of Mexico)—but was not popular in those areas—before coming to Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay’s choppy, shoal water conditions were ideal for a shoal draft, V-bottom style of boat. The availability of good wood, a dynamic cottage industry that grew, and diverse inshore fisheries that supported a bay-wide fleet all encouraged demand for various sizes of wooden deadrise boats on the bay. Over time, the hull style became so popular that in 1985, the State of Maryland named the deadrise and cross-planked sailing skipjack as Maryland’s state boat, and Virginia’s legislature named the motor-powered classic deadrise style as the state boat of Virginia. 

Nearly 200 vintage images capture the development of the tiny Eureka Springs, Arkansas and the story of a closely held secret that cured the ill.

For hundreds of years, Osage and Cherokee Indians knew of the healing waters that sprang from the rocks in the dark reaches of the Ozark Mountains. Around 1828, pioneers from Tennessee pushed west and began to settle in the area that would eventually be named Eureka Springs. Captured here in almost 200 vintage images are the growth and development of this tiny town and the story of a closely held secret that cured the ill. Dr. Alvah Jackson discovered the healing power of the spring's water when his application of the waters surging from the ground cured his son's chronic eye problem. Word spread, and people began to come in droves. The area was incorporated in 1879 and named Eureka Springs, meaning ""I found it."" Featured here are the residents, buildings, and events that shaped the tiny hamlet in the mountains, including the Crescent Hotel, the Carnegie Library, decades of visitors to the springs, and the local heroes of the First National Bank Robbery of 1922.

A pictoral history and moving tribute to the people of Portland's spirit, drive and ability to overcome adversity from the last 130 years.

Portland is often associated with the mythological phoenix, the animal that rises out of the ashes of its apparent death. Life here has often been a struggle: to overcome the disastrous fires of 1775 and 1866, to rebuild after the change in Canadian policy in 1920 that devastated the waterfront and to outlast the Depression and the other economic crises that have affected the area. The people of Portland have always faced these problems head on, survived, and rebuilt the city stronger then it was before.
Portland features more than 200 images that together document life in Maine's largest city over the last 130 years. We see immigrants arrive from all corners of the world and watch as they build lives and businesses in their new home. We witness the waterfront and Congress Street rise, fall, and rise again. We observe how the political scene has changed and been changed by everyday people. Perhaps the most interesting photographs, however, are those of everyday life: people working, playing sports, relaxing, falling in love and living life to its fullest.

Located near Charlotte, Carowinds has long been considered the "Thrill Capital of the Southeast!"

Inspired by a trip to Disneyland in 1957, Hall envisioned an amusement park for the citizens of the Carolinas. The brainchild of Earl Patterson Hall, a self-made businessman and real estate developer, Carowinds is an exciting day for children and adults alike. In 1973, after four years of planning and construction, Carowinds opened to the public on a large site that straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Throughout the 1970s, visitors enjoyed rides such as the Witchdoctor and White Lightnin'. Currently, the park features rides, shows, and attractions for all, including Intimidator, the tallest and fastest coaster in the Southeast. Carowinds showcases the rich history of this Carolina amusement park celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013.

Follow the road through New Jersey, the Jersey Turnpike, the road that brings the indsutrial prosperity and businesses of the state together. A main thoroughfare through the state, don't miss the many diners along the way!

The New Jersey Turnpike chronicles the history of the highway from 1949 through the present day. With vivid images, it follows the road's progress from an ambitious vision, through construction, to opening, and into the future. Built as a utilitarian, four-lane, limited-access highway, the New Jersey Turnpike has evolved into the economic engine of New Jersey, the foundation of industrial prosperity and personal mobility. The highway traverses the entire state and is part of the Interstate 95 Corridor Coalition, which covers the East Coast from Maine to Florida. Today, more than two hundred forty million vehicles travel along the route, and many of those travelers stop at the turnpike's twelve service areas.

Stunning images reveal the beauty and history of New York's Lake George located in the Adirondack Mountains.  

Pioneer photographers Seneca Ray Stoddard and Jesse Sumner Wooley, along with other local professional and amateur photographers, visually recorded life at Lake George around the beginning of the twentieth century. With artistic clarity and astuteness, they created a pictorial diary of this well-known resort area, as our grandparents and great-grandparents would have known it. Many of the nearly two hundred images in Lake George have rarely been seen before and serve as more than a road map through the area's past. They capture life at natural moments. The clothing, the modes of transportation, and the recreation that were once quite common appear in page after page of breathtaking photographs and brilliant narrative. This pictorial history explores the bays and byways of the lake, its year-round residents, and the vacationers who made it their temporary home every summer. Replete with images of moments, hideaways, and people that no longer exist, Lake George is a new experience in an old familiar place.

Take a ride through historic Massachusetts down Route 128!

Route 66 may be the most famous highway in the United States, but the country is home to countless roads ushering millions of motorists along decade after decade. Route 128 traces its origins to the late 1920s, when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works cobbled together a makeshift network of existing roads through Boston's suburbs. Between 1947 and 1956, Route 128 was reconstructed as a major regional expressway, and immediately feuled explosive growth in the region. What was once the "road to nowhere" quickly became a major commercial nexus for eastern Massachusetts and a critical link in the region's highway network. Building Route 128 vividly documents the highway's construction and its impact, drawing previously unpublished images from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and tells the story of a region forever changed.

The town of Wellington was located by the Stevens Pass summit in the Cascade Mountains. During the last days of February in 1910, the snow was relentless in the Cascades, falling as much as one foot per hour and rising up to 20 feet deep in areas. Rotary plows could not keep the lines open as snow covered the railroad tracks almost immediately after being cleared. The Seattle Express, coming from Spokane, and a fast mail train were stranded just beyond the safety of the Cascade Tunnel, where they remained unmovable for almost a week under the snow packed mountains. On March 1, an avalanche swept away the tracks and passengers aboard the two trains as well as several of Wellington's buildings and homes. Almost 100 individuals were killed in just a few seconds, creating America's deadliest avalanche and train disaster in history. Today, the site is part of the Iron Goat Trail off Highway 2, east of Skykomish. The snowshed, the abandoned original Cascade Tunnel, and various scraps of the trains left in the ravine are the only evidence that remain of Wellington, its long-forgotten inhabitants, or the disaster.

Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, is one of New England's most renowned graveyards. The cemetery attracts thousands of visitors every year, particularly when the foliage turns during fall.

This 85-acre open-air museum is noted for the artistry and craftsmanship of its monuments, derived exclusively from legendary Barre gray granite. Barre was a boomtown with a rapidly rising population of European immigrants, especially those from Italy and Scotland, seeking opportunities as artisan carvers and laborers in the area's granite quarries. Ethnic enclaves developed around Barre; most notably, the city's north end became known as Little Italy. This diversity is captured in granite on the monuments of those interred at Hope Cemetery—not only in the surnames etched in stone but also in the monuments' widely varying symbols of remembrance. Within Hope Cemetery, memorials range from traditional European forms, including angels, cherubs, and other religious hallmarks, to highly individualized modern monuments depicting images representative of family life, interests, and leisure in the form of such diverse objects as lounge chairs, airplanes, race cars, a soccer ball, and many more.

Take a ride through the memories and heydey of Euclid Beach Park located on Lake Erie in Cleveland.

In 1895, five Cleveland businessmen opened Euclid Beach Park. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, on the east side of Cleveland, this parcel of land would become a magical place that was more than just an amusement park - it was an institution of the community. However, in 1900, "the Beach" faced financial collapse under the original owners. After being rescued by the Humphrey family, Euclid Beach began its ascendancy in the 1901 season. During its 74 years of operation, particularly the "Humphrey years," Euclid Beach Park offered a vast array of major rides and attractions and also utilized industry innovations in ride design, construction, and park management. Few amusement parks have garnered the affection, memories, and respect that surround the wondrous spot called Euclid Beach Park.

Since 1938, when the Merritt's first 7-mile section was opened to traffic, millions have shared a fascination for Connecticut's Merritt Parkway and its bridges.

A survey made in 1928 called for a two-lane macadam highway to run from Stratford to Greenwich; with $1 million of state money, construction started on the Merritt Highway in 1932. Opened for 38 miles on September 2, 1940, it became known throughout Fairfield County as the ""Queen of Parkways."" Discover the beginnings of this groundbreaking advance in American travel in Traveling the Merritt Parkway. This pictorial history preserves and pays tribute to the history of the Merritt, and explores the construction of the parkway, as well as the little-known parent highway for which the earliest bridges were constructed, including White Plains Road in the town of Trumbull.

In the spotlight with the publication of The Great Gatsby, the North Shore's Gold Coast boasted perhaps the greatest concentration of wealth in the country during the first half of the 20th century.

In its heyday, over 1,200 grand homes lined the shoreline from Eaton's Neck to Great Neck and as far south as Old Westbury. With inspiration from around the globe, as well as the development of many new American styles, an architectural renaissance occurred, bringing together the greatest artisans, architects, landscape architects, and designers to create an exclusive enclave that flourished until World War II. Captains of industry, founding families, and even royalty called Long Island home. Everyone from Morgan, Woolworth, Vanderbilt, Hearst, Field, and Phipps to the Duke of Windsor resided here. Lavish parties celebrated weddings, Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, and other events. Today, approximately one-third of these houses still survive in various states, providing a glimpse of what was the Gold Coast.

From a distance, Shenandoah may look like any other small town, quaint and unassuming, and yet there are many more treasures than just the ""black diamonds"" of coal that run in her veins.

Discovery of the Mammoth Vein of anthracite in the 1860s brought tens of thousands of immigrants to work the local mines; in turn, they brought their cultures and dreams of a better life in America. Within a generation, rapidly increasing population created the ""Most Congested Square Mile in the United States."" Later, a shift from coal mine to Main Street fashioned recognition for retail fineries, along with distinction as the ""City of Churches."" At the center of the Molly Maguire troubles of the 1870s and the 1902 coal strike that changed the power of the presidency, Shenandoah has long been recognized for defiance and determination. Mining disasters, financial adversity, and ruinous fires scarred memories of decades of prominence; however, Shenandoah's spirit has endured through the last 150 years.

This photographic history showcases Greene County, which is located between the ""Rhine of America"" and the scenic northern Catskill Mountains.

Greene County has long been a magnet for settlers, artists, writers, and travelers; it all began with Henry Hudson's exploration of the Hudson River and was followed by the arrival of Dutch settlers. Its geographic location between the ""Rhine of America"" and the scenic northern Catskill Mountains contributes to Greene County's allure, as do the Great Algonquin Flint Mines, fascinating remnants of the area's prehistoric inhabitants, the Mohegans. Much of the content in Around Greene County and the Catskills reflects ""everyday living,"" a sampling of its architecture, people, and activities which reflect a sense of history and changing lifestyles. The inclusion of the Dutch Bronck houses of 1663 and 1738, a National Historic Landmark homestead complex, sets the tone of this visual history. From colonial times through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Greene County (like other New York counties) has been affected by national conditions; its economic base has changed and adjusted accordingly. Different ethnic groups who have chosen Greene County as their home have enhanced the area's rich cultural heritage.

What started as an institution to reform young and non-violent criminals became one of the most infamous prisons in American history.

Before 1884, most first-time offenders between the ages of 16 and 30 were housed in the Ohio Penitentiary, where they were likely to be influenced by hardened criminals. That changed when the Ohio Legislature approved the building of a reformatory, a new type of institution that would educate and train these young men. Since its opening in 1896, the reformatory expanded its training programs and became a self-sustaining institution - the largest of its kind in the United States. By 1970, the reformatory had become a maximum-security prison filled with the most dangerous criminals in the U.S., with a death row but no death chamber. It closed on December 31, 1990, but preservation and restoration efforts are ongoing, and it continues to be as infamous today as in its heyday, appearing in numerous television shows and feature films, including The Shawshank Redemption.

Experience the rich history of gold mining in North Carolina.

While many are familiar with the California Gold Rush, few people know that the first gold discovery in the United States occurred in 1799 when young Conrad Reed went fishing in Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The 17-pound nugget he found was used by his family as a doorstop until they figured out what the strange rock was.

This chance discovery set off the first gold rush in the nation's history. For more than a century, men extracted gold from the rolling hills and valleys of the North Carolina piedmont, as well as from the high peaks and rugged mountains of the western part of the state. From Nash County in the east to Cherokee County in the west, mining became a way of life in North Carolina. Prior to the California Gold Rush of 1849, North Carolina led the nation in production of this precious metal and was the largest gold-producing state in the South well into the 20th century, until Carolina mining's decline due to World War II.

Gold Mines in North Carolina begins with a written history of gold mining in eastern North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains. It includes historical photographs dating back to the mid-19th Century, mining diagrams, maps and other illustrations and a terminology glossary. The captions offer a fascinating glimpse into the sites, work, and hard lives of the miners. The perfect book for mining enthusiasts and readers of North Carolina History.

Approximately 110,000 soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies fought along the banks of Antietam Creek in the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.

In 12 hours of fighting, approximately 23,000 men fell, either killed, wounded, or missing, forever scarring the landscape around the town of Sharpsburg. Established as the Antietam Battlefield Site in 1890, Antietam National Battlefield became a National Park Service landmark in 1933. The park grew from 33 acres in the 1890s to encompassing over 3,000 acres today. Some of the Civil War’s most recognizable landmarks now sit within its boundaries, including Dunker Church, Bloody Lane, and Burnside Bridge. The events that occurred across the fields and woodlots around Sharpsburg and along Antietam Creek bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Antietam National Battlefield every year.

Kevin Pawlak serves as a certified battlefield guide at Antietam National Battlefield. Antietam National Battlefield is filled with historic photographs of the battlefield and its development from the collections of Antietam National Battlefield Library, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the United States Army Heritage and Education Center, private collections, and more.

Sodaro's book reveals the deadly 1967 tornado that struck towns of Belvidere and Oak Lawn in northern Illinois and left a 16 mile long path of destruction.

The morning of April 21, 1967, was crisp and clear, marking the arrival of spring. As the day progressed, dark clouds covered the skies over Oak Lawn, and a deadly tornado touched down in the village just before 5:30 p.m. Cutting through the intersection of 95th Street and Southwest Highway and striking elsewhere, the storm left mountains of debris and over 30 people dead in its wake. Oak Lawn Community High School, St. Gerald Catholic Church, and the Fairway Super Mart were among the structures damaged or destroyed by the high winds. After the disaster, rescue workers and volunteers poured into Oak Lawn to search for survivors, while Christ Community Hospital and other institutions treated more than 400 injured people. The immense cleanup, which took weeks to complete, saw debris hauled out or disposed of in controlled fires. Despite the scope of the devastation, many of the affected structures were repaired or rebuilt within 12 months.

Explore the charming city with a timeless style and resilient population, ever-vigilant against the potential of another destructive wave.

Hilo (pronounced ""Hee-low"") is the second largest city in Hawai'i and the seat of government for the Big Island of Hawai'i. Giant trees shade its avenues, and a string of picturesque beach parks line the crescent-shaped shoreline of Hilo Bay. It was from here that King Kamehameha the Great launched his fleet of war canoes to conquer the Hawaiian Islands and, later, where whaling ships and schooners dropped their cargoes of sailors, missionaries, and sundry goods. The bay is still active with modern seafaring vessels enjoying the protected waters inside a famous stone breakwater. Two majestic and scenic mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, overlook the city and the bay. Hilo itself holds many stories of ancient gods, kings and queens, the missionaries who came to challenge both, immigrants who came to work the sugar cane fields, and numerous destructive tsunamis that Mother Nature sent to challenge them. Century-old buildings remain, as do the descendants of merchants that prospered here.

Commissioned in 1936, The Taney was one of seven Secretary-class cutters built for the US Coast Guard during the Great Depression.

She served continuously for 50 years, including service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Taney was in Honolulu during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and participated in the defense of Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. During World War II, she saw service in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. The Taney spent several years on ocean weather station duty in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Later, she patrolled the East Coast of the United States, performing drug interdiction duties. The Taney is the only surviving ship that was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She was decommissioned in 1986 and has since been a museum ship in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, where she hosts an annual Pearl Harbor commemoration on December 7.

Join Yvonne Hill and Marguerite Jordan in collaboration with the Lee County Black History Society, Inc. as they recount the history of this beautiful island.

Sanibel, a barrier island on the southwest coast of Florida, was originally inhabited by the Calusa Indians around 1500. In 1513, explorer Ponce DeLeon landed ashore the exotic isle, with its brackish estuaries, plush mangrove jungles, and sandy beaches, opening the door for others who would eventually find their way to the island. Over time, Sanibel was visited by European explorers, slave traders, pirates, and Seminole Indians, all of whom added to its colorful and intriguing history. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the original settlers of modern-day Sanibel arrived on the island. These pioneers were a contrasting group of individuals, comprised of diverse ethic origins and cultures, yet all seemed to share a common goal of using hard work, resourcefulness, and determination to make the island their home. Their efforts and sacrifices greatly contributed to the growth and rich history of Sanibel as we know it today.

An entertaining romp through the charming history of a beloved Chicago neighborhood.

The town of Pullman, the brainchild of George M. Pullman, began as a small community on the far south side of Chicago. In 1879, Pullman, builder of the well-known Pullman Sleeping Car, purchased land just west of Lake Calumet and surrounding the Illinois Central Railroad, to build his model town in 1880. Pullman was the first planned model industrial town, and its center was Pullman's railroad car business. Employees lived in well-constructed housing on pleasantly landscaped streets, with all the necessary conveniences, including a bank, library, theater, post office, church, parks, and recreational facilities. In fact, Pullman was presented an award for the ""World's Most Perfect Town"" in 1896.

The railroads and coal industry permanently changed both the economy and culture of Floyd County, Kentucky.

Floyd County, named for Kentucky pioneer John Floyd, was formed in 1799. Originally encompassing all of the Big Sandy River Valley and much of eastern Kentucky, the boundaries included portions of what are now Pike, Martin, Knott, Magoffin, and Johnson Counties. Because of its river access, Floyd County developed earlier than many counties in eastern Kentucky; Prestonsburg, the county seat, became a major river port and center of trade in the region. With the coming of the railroad in 1903 and the coal industry, the county rapidly grew, in no small part thanks to the rapid rise in population due to the migration of white Americans from around the country, European immigrants, and African Americans from southern plantations and coalfields. What had been an agrarian, white population suddenly took on a whole new face, one more reflective of the nation. The history of coal production plays a large role in this book, particularly the Wheelright Coal Camps, but we know how much Kentucky has given to contribute to the story of America.

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.

Garden State Parkwayshows how this iconic New Jersey roadway gained its place in history and continues to combine safe transportation in a parklike setting.

The Garden State Parkwayhas transformed the lives of New Jersey residents since opening in 1954. Spanning 173 miles from Cape May to the New York State line, it has fostered tourism to the Jersey Shore and given commuters an easier way to get to work.

Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll had envisioned the impact a new highway could have on the state, and a large team of planners, engineers, and contractors made it happen. In 1952, the legislature created the New Jersey Highway Authorityto ensure the funding and completion of the $330-million parkway and to self-sufficiently operate the roadway through toll revenue.

Travel through the history of Ohio's historic canals and follow its growth throughout the years told with hundreds of photographs.

In the 1800s, the United States was a nation obsessed with finding a form of transportation that was the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable; at the time, canals were the answer. Canals broke through vast, open countryside, forested woodlands, and rolling hills to expose the heart of the nation to development. They took passengers and goods off of dusty or muddy roads and delivered them to their destinations faster and cheaper than by any other means. From Toledo to Cincinnati, the Miami and Erie Canal provided western Ohio with that sorely needed waterway and became part of the 1,000 miles of Ohio canals contributing to the national network of canals. Today, with the help of government, corporations, and citizens, many parts of the Ohio canal system have been preserved or restored and can be visited and experienced. Watered sections of canal quietly reflect a bygone era and lead an explorer down the towpaths of history.

A visual history of South Bend, Indiana by author, photographer and local resident Day Marnon Danielson. Perfect for fans of South Bend and Indiana history.

The land now called St. Joseph County was familiar ground to Native Americans long before recorded history. Many Indians, including the local Potawatomie and Miami, trod the well-worn path that offered a two-mile portage between the St. Joseph River (and Lake Michigan) to the Kankakee River and eventually the Mississippi River. Pierre F. Navarre built a log cabin beside the St. Joseph River in 1820, and began a settlement that would eventually become South Bend and Mishawaka in St. Joseph County.

The over 200 vintage images in this book, drawn from St. Joseph County and Mishawaka as well as South Bend, look back at the commerce, industry, and businesses like Studebaker, Ball Band, Singer, and Bendix, which grew on the rich resources of the area. Education was a high priority for early settlers, and they established one-room schoolhouses and Notre Dame University. The photographs show public places, buildings, and servants, some long gone, others that are still with us today. And of course, there are pictures of the people, the homes they built, and the activities they enjoyed in their northern Indiana home.

Celebrate the story of one of southwest Florida's most renowned beach resorts.

Founded as a place where "invalids can escape the chilling blasts of winter," the distant paradise known as Naples was accessible only by boat during its tenuous beginning in 1885. By 1890, the new town boasted a pier, the Naples Hotel-and little else. With train service arriving in Naples in 1927 and the opening of the Tamiami Trail a year later, the once-remote resort was finally open to development, but the Depression turned the dreamed-of boom into a bust until after World War II. The picture-perfect beaches and warm winter climate were soon "rediscovered," and by the time Hurricane Donna stormed ashore on September 10, 1960 and nearly destroyed the town once hailed as the "Summerland in Wintertime," Naples was the fastest-growing city in Collier County.

Washington Crossing is one of America’s most revered historic landmarks.

The crossing site is marked by the creation of two historic parks: Washington Crossing State Park, New Jersey, created in 1912, and Washington Crossing Historic Park, Pennsylvania, created in 1917. Washington Crossing illustrates how these two parks commemorate George Washington’s courage to lead his army across the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 to attack an isolated garrison of Hessians located at Trenton, which would turn the tide of the American Revolution. Filled with images from the collections of historian Peter Osborne, the Washington Crossing Foundation, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Trenton Free Public Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book includes an exposé of Emanuel Leutze’s famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware—a world-renowned symbol of freedom.

Robert W. Sands Jr. holds a master of arts in museum professions from Seton Hall University. He is the author of three previous Images of America books: Glassboro, Woodbury, and Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Patricia E. Millen holds a degree in American studies. An author of two books and numerous articles, she began her career at Washington Crossing State Park and is a founding board member of the Washington Crossing Park Association.

The story of the bridge that transformed Maryland's Eastern Shore from a sleepy backwater to a major tourism destination and caused an economic boom in Baltimore in the west.

When it opened to traffic in 1952, the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge - simply called the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - was the third-longest bridge in the world. The four-mile long span was constructed over the Chesapeake Bay in a dramatic 2.5-year period of progress that became known to the workers as Operation Link, because it would be the first physical connection between the two widely separated parts of Maryland. Today, the two spans - the original Bay Bridge from 1952 and the parallel span built alongside it in 1973 - are towering architectural landmarks along the East Coast of the United States.

The prosperous town of Wyandotte in Michigan, named for the Wyandott Indians, has been the home to American industry and the people who helped to build it.

Wyandotte, located between Detroit and Toledo along the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario, has enriched area history from the days of the first inhabitants, the Wyandott Indians and French farmers, through the industrial ages of iron and steel. In latter years, Wyandotte has been the stage for the manufacture of the first steel rails and iron plate and was home to shipbuilding and chemical industries. All of these contributed significantly to the growth of the nation and to the continuing development of a great American city. Businesses, churches, and community organizations are captured in these historic photographs, along with the people whose commitment to hard work helped the city prosper and grow.

No other city in the United States is home to more Slovaks than Pittsburgh. Through historical photographs, Slovak Pittsburgh celebrates the rich heritage there.

It is estimated that close to 100,000 Slovak immigrants came to the area in the 1890s looking for work and the chance for a better life. The hills and valleys of this new land reminded newcomers of the farms, forests, and mountains they left behind. They lived in neighborhoods close to their work, forming numerous cluster communities in such places as Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, the North Side, Rankin, and Swissvale. Once settled, Slovak immigrants founded their own churches, schools, fraternal benefit societies, and social clubs. Many of these organizations still enjoy an active presence in Pittsburgh today, serving to pass on the customs and traditions of the Slovak people.

Ithaca, New York has often been called ""the Hollywood of the East,"" growing from farms to factories to Cornell University--Ithaca's history is an interesting and broad one.

Nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca was planned by surveyor Simeon DeWitt and incorporated in 1821 when steamboats signaled Cayuga Lake's heyday of commerce and recreation. Spectacular creeks and waterfalls powered grist, plaster, carding, and other mills. From farms, merchants, and mills, Ithaca's industries grew to include the famous Thomas-Morse Aviation Company and Morse Chain Works. By 1914, Wharton Studios was producing silent films in this ""Hollywood of the East."" Such notable residents as actress Irene Castle, the Tremans, and community leader James L. Gibbs called Ithaca home. Ithacans became known for community involvement early on. St. James AME Zion Church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and Elizabeth Beebe built a mission for needy Rhiners. Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White realized their ideal of education when Cornell University opened in 1868, followed in 1892 by the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, which became Ithaca College in 1931. Students protested segregation in front of Woolworth's 30 years later, and echoes of this idealism can still be found here today.

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.

Health, history ... and horses! See the Saratoga Springs experience that has been spread out for visitors, year after golden year!

Brilliant afternoons awash in sunshine in Saratoga Springs. Nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks, it has been the midsummer mecca across two centuries. From the long distant past, the powerful waters from deep in the earth made this place a wellspring of the healing arts. The allure of meeting in the healthy country environment brought society first from the eastern cities and then from all points of the globe. Society itself became an object for summer entertainment, and connecting with living history came to be a recreational pursuit. However, there is more to Saratoga Springs.

While the Spa City opens its arms to all travelers, along with the charms there stands a robust, cheerful, and stalwart core of residents who have over the years transformed a northern wilderness into an oasis of leisure and elegance. Behind the grand hotels of Broadway and America's Monte Carlo are the mansions of Union Avenue and Circular Street, the winter play, and the personalities shaping a place of character, comfort, and culture.Saratoga Springs: A Historical Portraitis their story--the small town at the heart of the City in the Country.

Ocean City, which calls itself ""America's Greatest Family Resort,"" is best known for its clean beaches and yearly bayfront celebration called the ""Night in Venice.""

Founded in 1879 as a Christian seaside resort, the island community still maintains some of its early traditions including prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages--while striving to continue its long-standing reputation as a family-oriented resort. This remarkable new photographic history features such historic sites as the home of the town's firstresident and famous old-time restaurants like Chris', Hogate's, and Watson's. Several rare pictures of the shipwrecked Sindia and its cargo are also included, as well as photographs of Ocean City's most well-known citizens, Princess Grace Kelly and author Gay Talese.

Ever since ships began navigating the coast of North Carolina, the area has maintained a reputation for being dangerous. Weather, geography, war, piracy, and human error have all contributed to this dense shipwreck zone.

Today, the region that stretches from the Currituck Outer Banks south to Bogue Banks is referred to as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. From the 1585 grounding of the English ship Tiger off the Outer Banks to the 2012 loss of the Bounty, more than 2,000 shipwrecks have occurred in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The stories behind the shipwrecks illustrate the best and worst of mankind, showing courage and compassion as well as the atrocities of war. This history informs readers about commerce, technology, war, environment, maritime life, and the complexity of the human element.

See how O'ahu's North Shore became and why it has been recognized as a special place for as long as people have inhabitated it.

Once the site of the largest heiau, or temple, the North Shore of O'ahu contained two large valleys and other things considered so valuable that bloody wars were fought over their control. Later, the North Shore became famous for sugar, pineapples, ranching and the plantation life that brought thousands of immigrants from all over the world to the most remote part of O‘ahu. It was on the North Shore that Hawaiians mixed with Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Koreans, Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Spaniards, Irish, Scots, English, and Americans to mold the rural yet cosmopolitan society for which Hawai‘i is now famous.

Today, the Hawaiian temples are silent, sugar is gone, and only remnants of the old plantation buildings and ranches remain. But the North Shore's fame is now refocused, as it is recognized as the surfing capital of the world.

On March 25, 1911, flames rapidly consumed everything within the Triangle Waist Company factory, killing 146 workers. Until September 11, 2001, the Triangle fire was the deadliest workplace disaster in New York City history.

The victims, mostly young Jewish and Italian immigrant women, died needlessly due to unsafe working conditions, such as locked or blocked doors, narrow stairways, faulty fire escapes, and a lack of sprinklers. Mass grief and outrage spread from New York's Lower East Side across the country. Garment union membership swelled, and New York politics shifted dramatically toward reform, paving the way for the New Deal and, ultimately, the workplace standards expected today. Through historic images, The New York City Triangle Factory Fire honors the victims' sacrifice and serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for the dignity of all working people.

Florida's Space Coast and its explosion into the 20th century thrust these beach towns into the modern age and paved the way for America's space exploration.

Florida's Space Coast is an area that got its name from one of the most exciting times in United States history. Settlers were living in Brevard County as far back as the 1800s, and even after World War II, it was still a quiet place to live. Cities and beach towns along 74 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline were thrust into the modern age in the early 1950s, when rockets began lighting up the skies above them. The space race had begun, the nation would set a path to put men on the moon, and Florida would become the backdrop for this thrilling chapter of American history. The area's population surged with over 200,000 new residents, and things would never be the same. It was a time when people risked their lives for space exploration, and a community came together to make it happen.

A site of beauty due to its rock formations and home to a pivotal battle of the Civil War, the history of Lookout Mountain in Tennessee is revealed in these pages.

Few places in the southland compare to the resplendent beauty of Lookout Mountain. A scene of wonder to early explorers because of its intriguing rock formations, Lookout Mountain was the site of the pivotal Battle above the Clouds in November 1863, when Federal forces climbed the steep slope to claim a Union victory. In the passing years, Lookout Mountain grew into a home for a well-heeled community, and with the opening of the Dixie Highway in its shadow, the development of major tourist attractions was not far behind. Rock City and Ruby Falls became familiar to thousands of travelers, further solidifying the mountain's name on the American road map. The cool air in summer and the splendid views of the valley below, offered by Point Park and the famed Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, have left lasting impressions on generations of sightseers.

Located on the waterfront in historic Fall River, Massachusetts, Battleship Cove, a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial, is home to the largest and most diverse collection of preserved US Navy ships in the world.

It is the commonwealth's official memorial for the events of September 11, 2001, and the official veterans' memorial for World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. Beginning with the opening of the battleship USS Massachusetts in 1965, the ""Fall River Navy"" has continued to grow. The vessels include the submarine Lionfish, destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and PT boats 617 and 796. Having hosted nearly six million visitors from all over the world, Battleship Cove is one of the most popular attractions in southeastern Massachusetts. It now stands at the threshold of a new era in its ambitions to modernize for the 21st century.

Finneytown, a dynamic first-ring suburb of Cincinnati, continues to display the optimism and civic spirit that transformed this community during the post–World War II economic and population boom.

A tiny rural settlement for 140 years, Finneytown’s population from 1946 to 1970 quadrupled as young people filled its new residential subdivisions, schools, businesses, and churches. Finneytown celebrates this “creation story.” Seemingly overnight, farms and open fields gave way to streets carved out for cookie-cutter houses as well as stately, custom-built homes, including Mid-Century Modern designs prized today as architectural timepieces. This wide variety of housing drove Finneytown’s economic diversity, while enthusiastic support of its public and private schools defined the small community’s values. Some Finneytown residents throughout its history, such as television writer Rod Serling and illustrator Charley Harper, are known worldwide. Even a potato chip popular across the globe was named after a Finneytown street—Pringle Drive.

Rick Kennedy is a retired media relations manager for General Electric and author of three books, Jelly Roll, Bix & Hoagy, Little Labels—Big Sound, and GE Aviation: 100 Years of Reimagining Flight. Mark Evans is a retired product development manager for Procter & Gamble, a product development consultant, and an accomplished photographer. Kennedy and Evans, along with their wives, Jane and Chris, respectively, are longtime and active Finneytown residents. 

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.

Poet Walt Whitman proclaimed his adopted home of Camden, in its heyday, "the city invincible," a powerhouse of industrial might destined for greatness.

Camden resurrects that fascinating era of invincibility through powerful images of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge construction; Cooper Hospital's nearly ill-fated founding; and the momentous birth of Campbell Soup Company, Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA, and New York Shipbuilding. Also included are images of Camden's neighborhoods, community life, and bustling downtown district, as well as the newsmakers and lawbreakers who defined the "biggest little city in the world."

The city of Bloomington and Indiana University were linked from the start, grew together and still share joys and sorrows 180 years after their founding.

The many vintage photographs in this pictorial history bring to life both historical ambiance and transformation in town and gown from the late 1800s to the present. When Monroe County was organized in southern Indiana in 1818, hilly, thickly-wooded Bloomington became the county seat. The first courthouse was a log cabin, and 30 families made up the town. Six years later, when Bloomington's population had increased to 500, Indiana's first public institution of higher learning opened with 10 students and a single professor. It would grow to become Indiana University, and start building its present campus in 1884. Bloomington prospered during these decades through the presence of IU, as many as 40 industries, and its growing production of limestone. The town's Beaux Arts courthouse building (1907) and IU's wooded central campus form Bloomington's signature twin landmarks. Around them lie many distinctive neighborhoods, a now-extensive campus with Big Ten sports arenas, and a picturesque countryside that draws bicyclists from across the nation.

A fascinating, illustrated history of the melting pot that is the Old South Side.

The Old South Side has always welcomed ethnic groups. In the late 1800s, the area was developed by immigrant Poles, who became the dominant population for over 100 years. They celebrated their traditions, building churches, businesses, and service organizations and bringing over distinctive features from their homeland. While other Milwaukee ethnic neighborhoods gradually dissipated in the mid-20th century because of assimilation pressures, freeway building, or urban renewal programs, the Old South Side remained solidly Polish. Perhaps for this reason, the area became the destination of the fair housing marches. By the late 1960s, African Americans began demanding legislation that would allow them to live anywhere in the city, including the Old South Side. While African Americans never migrated to the area in great numbers, other populations did. A survey nearly a half century later revealed that people of 110 national backgrounds now lived on the Old South Side, with the three largest groups being Mexicans, Poles, and American Indians. Today, the neighborhood faith communities, businesses, sports, and celebrations strongly reflect the influence of these three communities.

Huntsville has served as the unofficial capital of north Alabama since the early 19th century. Yet Huntsville continued to redefine itself and remain relevant in regional, national, and international affairs.

Settled by John Hunt and developed by ambitious cotton planters, enterprising merchants and professionals, and thousands of families looking for new opportunities in the rich farmland, Huntsville has continued to grow and prosper as 21st-century corporations and government agencies develop new technologies that make the city the center of space and defense-related industries in the South. The city has endured military occupation, storms, financial panics, and the constant threat of economic and social stagnation that occurred in so many communities across the South. This positive spirit makes Huntsville a special place for residents and visitors alike. Images of America: Huntsville hopes to capture the uniqueness of the city while simultaneously acknowledging some mistakes that have been made in the past.

On Christmas Eve of 1741, a group of Moravians founded the mission community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and like its namesake, it became a bright beacon of hope.

The Moravians, a Protestant denomination, envisioned Bethlehem as a support center for missionaries, intent on converting Native Americans and other German-speaking Pennsylvanians, but it became much more. Moravian traditions are still strong in this town, from the preservation of the original stone buildings on Church Street to the sounds of the Trombone Choir on Easter morning. Yet with the arrival of industrialists and new immigrants into the area, Bethlehem evolved into a center of heavy industry and trade in the 19th century, the second-largest steel producer in the world, after its neighbor Pittsburgh. In addition to the ubiquitous steel mills, there also came silk mills, railroads and canals, all shaping Bethlehem to resemble the one we know today. In the process, Bethlehem evolved into a graceful place, famous for its institutions of higher learning and for steel production. This collection is a reinterpretation of the photograph exhibit that graced the windows of the Bethlehem Area Public Library during the city's 250th anniversary celebration, covering the years between 1845 through 1900. The original exhibit consisted of 350 photographs, selected from more than 600 submitted by area residents from their personal collections.

Prairie Avenue evolved into Chicago's most exclusive residential street during the last three decades of the 19th century.

Chicago's wealthiest citizens--Marshall Field, Philip Armour, and George Pullman--were soon joined by dozens of Chicago's business, social, and civic leaders, establishing a neighborhood that the Chicago Heraldproclaimed, "a cluster of millionaires not to be matched for numbers anywhere else in the country."

Substantial homes were designed by the leading architects of the day, including William Le Baron Jenney, Burnham and Root, Solon S. Beman, and Richard Morris Hunt. By the early 1900s, however, the neighborhood began a noticeable transformation as many homes were converted to rooming houses and offices, while others were razed for construction of large plants for the printing and publishing industry. The rescue of the landmark Glessner House in 1966 brought renewed attention to the area, and in 1979, the Prairie Avenue Historic District was designated. The late 1990s saw the rebirth of the area as a highly desirable residential neighborhood known as the South Loop.

William H. Tyre is executive director of the Glessner House Museum, H. H. Richardson's masterpiece of residential design that features an extraordinary collection of original English and American arts and crafts furnishings.

Through vintage photographs, McKeesport documents the history of this once booming steel town from the development and subsequent loss of its major industry to its recent revitalization.

Located at the confluence of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers, McKeesport was settled by David McKee in 1755. In 1769, McKee acquired land from the Colonial government and one of his sons, John, laid out a village that became known as McKee's Port because a ferry was operating there. Early industries included coal mining and the building of flatboats, and in 1851, an iron rolling mill was started. Industry continued to boom as steamboats and railroads soon appeared, and in 1872, National Tube was founded and joined by other steel industries and foundries. The growing industries created an abundance of jobs, and immigrants from throughout Europe flocked to the area. McKeesport still maintains a strong ethnic heritage.

Wander through the pages of this book and meet the mermaids of Weeki Wachee in their magical underwater theater.

Mermaids are like leprechauns: it's very hard to sneak up and catch a glimpse of one. But in a hamlet on the Gulf Coast of Florida, people have been able to do just that since 1947, when Newton Perry opened a small roadside attraction with an underwater theater. For nearly 60 years, live mermaids have been the unique focal point of Weeki Wachee Springs. Mysterious and enchanting, these young performers have done everything from teaching a class to typing a letter underwater. They are carefully trained, completely enthusiastic, and delightful to see.