Roads & Routes

Through an extensive collection of never-before published images, author Dolores Haugh chronicles the tale of this impressive chapter of Chicago history.

Every summer from 1904 to 1967, for 63 years, Riverview - the world's largest amusement park - opened its gates to millions of people from all walks of life. For three generations, the Schmidt's family park offered rides, shows, food, and music to men, women, and especially children. Riverview survived depressions, two World Wars, labor disputes, Prohibition, and a World's Fair that threatened to take a great deal of its business. Riverview Amusement Park tells the story of Riverview's growth from 22 acres and three rides to 140 acres and more than 100 attractions. Through an extensive collection of never-before published images, author Dolores Haugh chronicles the tale of this impressive chapter of Chicago history. Known as the "Roller Coaster Capital of America," Riverview remained a Chicago landmark until it was unexpectedly closed in 1967.

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.

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.

Cruise down Indiana's ""road that built the nation"" and delve into its history and beauty told through hundreds of images.

The Indiana National Road Association works to preserve, protect, and promote the Historic National Road. This byway is designated an All-American Road through the National Scenic Byways program and traverses six states from Baltimore, Maryland, to East St. Louis, Illinois. The road began as a primary route west for pioneers, and today the byway allows travelers to explore the American past--it is truly ""the road that built the nation."" This volume continues the story that began on the eastern leg of Indiana's Historic National Road, inviting readers to complete their photographic journey westward from Indianapolis to Terre Haute. These images document the people and stories that are part of the National Road's heritage, and it is hoped this book will encourage advocacy for the protection of important heritage resources.

Building the Mass Pike details the urban history and construction of old Boston, with previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives.

By 1950, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its capital city had fallen on hard times. The solution came in 1952 from one man and the road he devoted the last decade of his life to building. With the region's railroads in decline and the roads in appalling disrepair, the difficulty of moving people and goods around the state and into its largest port was taking a heavy toll on the economy. The man was William Callahan, and the road was the Massachusetts Turnpike. Building the Mass Pike tells the story of the road's planning, construction, and impact on the communities through which it passed. The book includes previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives and provides a vivid document of the largest public works project in the state's history and the firestorm of controversy that surrounded it. Written by an engineer-historian, Building the Mass Pike will appeal not only to those fascinated by the history of the Commonwealth and its capital but also to those with an interest in construction, urban history, and the politics of old Boston.

A collection of images celebrating the extravagant and historic mansions of Pittsburgh, PA.

In the 19th century, the positioning of Pittsburgh as a major manufacturing center and the subsequent rise of the area's steel industry created a wave of prosperity that prompted the beneficiaries of that wealth to construct extravagant residences. Wealthy enclaves sprang up in the city's East End, across the river in neighboring Allegheny City, and into the countryside. Pittsburgh's Mansions explores the stately homes of the area's prominent residents from the 1830s through the 1920s. Businessmen such as H.J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, and members of the Mellon family commissioned elaborate homes from the preeminent architects of their day. Firms such as Alden & Harlow, Janssen & Abbott, and Rutan & Russell left their marks on the city's landscape, often contributing iconic public buildings as well as expansive private homes. Though many of the residences have since been lost, Pittsburgh's Mansions offers a look back at the peak of the city's prominence.

This volume will highlight more than 140 years of images that capture Fort Monroe's varied missions, historic buildings, the families who lived there, the resort hotels, and other aspects of this unique national landmark.

Fort Monroe was once a powerful symbol of America's national defense system. From 1823 to 1945, its primary military mission was to protect Hampton Roads and the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay from enemy attacks. Over the years, as military technology advanced, Fort Monroe's defensive posture changed. To counter potential threats, American coastal defense installations such as Fort Monroe developed sophisticated steel disappearing guns, mortars, anti-aircraft weapons, and submarine mines. As the site of the army's Coast Artillery School, Fort Monroe trained thousands of soldiers. After World War II, Fort Monroe's role as a coastal defense installation ended, and the post took on new missions as a training headquarters facility. With more than 200 original photographs, this volume unveils the layered history of this massive stone-and-brick installation from the end of the Civil War to the present.

Presenting the tales behind North Carolina's historic lighthouses and saving stations - illuminated in both words and images!

Since the earliest days of European exploration, mariners have heard tales and relayed their own stories of North Carolina's perilous shoreline. With bold capes jutting into the ocean, sandy shoals extending miles offshore, fickle weather, and treacherous currents, it is no wonder that the coastline of the Old North State came to be known as "The Graveyard of the Atlantic." The inherent dangers of traveling North Carolina's coast long ago gave rise to a fascinating and world-renowned strand of lighthouses and lifesaving stations from Currituck to Cape Fear. For over two centuries, these bright beacons of safety have guided ships into busy harbors, signaled dangerous navigational obstacles, and warmed the hearts of homesick travelers. Their unique shapes and stoic beauty, as well as the adventures and lore that surround them, have elevated North Carolina's lighthouses to a legendary level far beyond their practical purposes. Indeed, they have become symbols of a brave and triumphant way of life.

As the use of satellite navigation increases, many of the lighthouses along the coast are being phased out of operation. Not surprisingly, a new wave of travelers have begun making pilgrimages, whether by land or sea, to visit these famous landmarks. Tourists from all over the world now make the journey to lighthouses at Currituck Beach, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, and others - and now you can, as well!

When Route 66 came to Arizona, the state was less than fifteen years old. But Arizona embraced the Mother Road, clinging to it long after any other state and then making sure that the world didn't forget it. Today that heritage is marked along the roadside by abandoned places which all tell a story, a narrative picked out in trading posts and motels and ordinary people.

To many travelers, these stores, diners and motels were a lifeline; to the people who owned them, they were, quite simply, their life. In an effort to ensure that we don't forget this recent history--the tales that make up the past, the buildings that provide us with a doorway into yesteryear--Abandoned Route 66 Arizona records some of those places along the Mother Road before they finally fade away and take their stories and secrets with them.

Join author M. Patrick Hendrix as he follows the tumultuous lives of the men who fought to control the most revered monuments to the war.

In 1829, construction began on a fort atop a rock formation in the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Decades later, Fort Sumter was near completion on December 26, 1860, when Major Robert Anderson occupied it in response to the growing hostilities between the North and South. As a symbol of sedition for the North and holy ground for the South, possession of Fort Sumter was deemed essential to both sides when the Civil War began. By 1864, the fort, heavily bombarded by Union artillery, was a shapeless mass of ruins, mostly bermed rubble and sand with a garrison of Confederate soldiers holding its ground.

Local author Andy Peter Antippas presents a walking history of the Vieux Carre, one alley, corner and street at a time.

Walking through the French Quarter can overwhelm the senses--and the imagination. The experience is much more meaningful with knowledge of the area's colorful history. For instance, the infamous 1890 "separate but equal" legal doctrine justifying racial segregation was upheld by the Louisiana Supreme Court at the Cabildo on Jackson Square. In the mid-twentieth century, a young Lee Harvey Oswald called Exchange Alley home. One of New Orleans' favorite drinks--the sazerac--would not exist if Antoine Peychaud had not served his legendary bitters with cognac from his famous apothecary at 437 Royal.