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Chicago is known the world over for its architecture and theater, as well as a myriad of other tourist sights. Visitors, however, usually only see the "nice" parts of the city, mostly the heavily gentrified corridor between the Loop's business district and the baseball shrine of Wrigley Field. But every city has its dark and dirty side, and Chicago is no exception. Economic upheaval and racial segregation, as well as the more mundane ravages of time, have created pockets of blight and abandonment.

The strange transformations brought on by years of decay can be both tragic and beautiful. This effect is all the more poignant when it happens a stone's throw from the opulence of the Magnificent Mile. The photos within showcase the area's neglected, sometimes forgotten places, from shuttered industrial areas to churches whose congregations have moved on. This book presents portraits of the old, abandoned and off-the-beaten-path places across all of Chicagoland. See what happens when the doors close, nature takes over, and the din of humanity fades away.

For more than a century, Chicago has been a workshop to the world. The city nurtured thousands of companies that supplied a hungry market with industrial products. Successful firms that survived nearly 100 years are Mars Candy, Motorola Inc., Abbot Labs, Radio Flyer, Rand McNally, and others. Aged companies that sold off their brands or were bought-out entirely include Schwinn Bikes, Sears Stores, Pullman Rail Cars, Bell & Howell Cameras, and more. The large manufacturers listed in this history book are arranged in a "then-and-now" photo format that is easy to follow across decades.

This book is a survey of economic growth. Trace a large city firm that was once a mom-and-pop store like Brach's Candy or follow the growth of an industrial giant like Western Electric as it morphed into AT&T. Through world wars, economic recessions, and boom times, the companies in this book offer lessons on perseverance, abundant energy, and innovative labor.

Today, Chicago has lost its lead in the meat packing, farm equipment, and clothing industries, but significant gains have been made in computerization, medical services, social media, and finance. This book traces Chicago's economic legacy.

Throughout its rich and storied history, California has seen the rise and fall of countless individuals, industries, and empires. Men have dug deep into her rich soil in search of mineral wealth, hauling out tungsten, silver, mercury and, of course, gold. Loggers plied their trade in the dense forests of her northernmost corners, harvesting redwood, fir, and pine that would build the metropolises of San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Entire cities have been dreamt up, built, and then left to rot in the desert sun or salty coastal air. Along the way, untold thousands of locations have slipped through the cracks of time, seemingly forgotten in mankind's eternal quest for greater things.

Such is the nature of time that nothing lasts forever; all over the Golden State, the lost histories of California are waiting to be discovered by those intrepid, and perhaps, foolhardy enough to seek them out. From the sunbaked beaches of Los Angeles to the rugged cliffs of the Lost Coast, wherever humans have briefly tread can be found the decaying remains of the world that once was.

Abandoned buildings provide us with a look at the past. Often these structures are all that's left of the history of a bygone era. The images within these pages will help tell the story of forgotten coal towns of West Virginia and provide a way for others to explore them before they are demolished or reclaimed by nature. Take a visual journey through these abandoned towns with photographer Michael Justice.

If you've ever seen a building and wanted to explore but didn't have the time or lacked personal safety equipment (these places are dangerous and caution should be used), this book is for you. While the buildings are abandoned, there are signs of life. No buildings were harmed in the making of this book.

Under the Clock documents the fascinating historical chain of department stores Miller & Rhoads through its many transformations.

Under the Clock tells the story of Miller & Rhoads, from its incarnation as a little dry goods store in 1885 through more than a century as a beloved Richmond landmark. Earle Dunford, longtime city editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and George Bryson, a Miller & Rhoads veteran for thirty-nine years, usher us behind the scenes at the famous department store, sharing anecdotes they have collected from the many devoted shoppers and loyal employees who remember the good old days at Miller & Rhoads. Meet them ""under the clock"" to read about the famous Tea Room, Book and Author Dinners, fashion shows, Sara Sue hats, Christmastime with Santa Claus and countless other memories of a bygone era in shopping.

Affectionately called "Woodies" by loyal Washingtonians, the beloved department store Woodward & Lothrop stood at the heart of downtown for over a century.

Crowds flocked to the flagship store on the F Street shopping corridor to find better service and the season's fashions. The store and its employees shared in the best moments in the lives of Washingtonians, from the elaborate holiday window displays to the Wedding Service department that helped countless brides choose their china patterns. For weary shoppers, the Bake Shop and seventh-floor Tea Room offered city favorites such as Wellesley Fudge Cupcakes and Chicken Pot Pie. Department store historian Michael J. Lisicky brings readers back to the store's golden age, chronicling the enterprise that made it a retail giant and the missteps that brought the store to its much lamented closing in 1995. Through interviews with store insiders, vintage images and a selection of recipes, Lisicky reveals the magic and the memories behind Woodward & Lothrop. With an introduction by Tim Gunn, American fashion icon and television personality.

The formula for C.F. Martin & Co.'s success has always been an unparalleled commitment to precise handcraftsmanship blended with optimum tonewoods, innovation, and singular design.

This family business has persevered from the Civil War through the present and remains the oldest surviving maker of stringed instruments in the world. It is the largest and most respected producer of acoustic guitars in America. The images in this book trace the remarkable development of the acoustic guitar in the hands of six generations of Martin family members who have managed the business from 1833 to today. C.F. Martin & Co. captures the buildings, employees, musicians, and exquisite instruments that have contributed to a lasting legacy.

Take a glimpse at one of America's best loved companies and a study in how to ""do the common thing uncommonly well.""

In 1869, the American diet was a dreary affair. Kitchen staples included bread, potatoes, other root vegetables, and meat. Tomatoes-then called ""love apples""-were an exotic fruit. A young 25-year-old Henry J. Heinz helped to change all of that. He established his company based on a single premise: quality. He demonstrated this commitment by bottling his first product, grated horseradish, in clear glass jars to showcase its purity. From his hometown near Pittsburgh, Heinz sparked a revolution. A colorful marketing genius, he was a foresighted entrepreneur whose peripatetic travels birthed the global H. J. Heinz Company, which today is the most international of all United States-based food companies. H. J. Heinz Company contains vintage images from the archives of one of America's first industrial photography studios. It captures memorable and creative marketing from the ""57 Varieties"" to today and features photography of many current initiatives in Heinz's main businesses of ketchup and sauces, meals and snacks, and infant foods.

Wilmerding and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company tells the story of a town and company that grew up hand in hand through historical images.

When George Westinghouse Jr. founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, his air brakes, railroad equipment, and industrial pneumatic devices revolutionized rail travel, opening a new chapter in American industrial history. Not only were the products of his first company revolutionary, but the small borough he founded in 1890 in southwestern Pennsylvania became a model for residential and industrial development. Wilmerding, precisely planned and built according to Westinghouse's specifications, would house the workers-skilled and unskilled, black and white-who would produce George Westinghouse's air brake. Wilmerding and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company tells the story of a town and company that grew up hand in hand. This collection of historical photographs, drawn from the archive of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, shows how the citizens of Wilmerding lived-from the factories where they worked everyday to the Castle, where they bowled and swam. See the Victorian-style homes where they lived with their families, the park where they strolled, and the company band they heard at concerts and parades. Learn about the industry-changing products they produced and sold globally. Wilmerding and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company is an American story of a man and his vision-how he and the town he founded changed the face of rail travel and industry.

This book documents the history of Thalhimers department stores, through stories and vintage photographs.

Thalhimers was founded in Richmond in 1842 by German Jewish immigrant William Thalhimer as a humble dry goods store. It expanded over the years to become a 26-store chain across the Southeast under the leadership of William's great-grandson, William B. Thalhimer Jr. It boasted the latest in clothing, shoes, and accessories for the entire family, the most modern of housewares, and gourmet foods and baked goods, including the iconic six-layer chocolate cake. Through decades of dramatic political and social change, Thalhimers stood strong, guided by the overarching philosophies of honesty, integrity, quality, and service. Loyal and devoted employees were the heart of Thalhimers, becoming part of the extended Thalhimer family. Sadly, in 1992, as a result of retail consolidation, the Thalhimer name was dropped and the flagship downtown Richmond store closed. A 150-year legacy ended, leaving behind cherished memories, stories, and images.

In 1865, industrialist/inventor Hezekiah Bradley Smith purchased Shreveville, later renamed Smithville, an abandoned textile mill and town located along the Rancocas Creek in Burlington County, for $20,000.

He moved many workers from his Lowell, Massachusetts, plant to the new location, rebuilt the factory, and prepared it for the manufacture of his patented iron woodworking machinery. Smith began to improve the aging housing in the surrounding village. He opened a school and, later, constructed a new school building. Smith erected a boardinghouse for factory workers that contained shops and a concert hall. Through farming on land adjacent to his mansion, he made fresh produce and milk available to his workers. Smith's company also expanded into new industries by working with outside inventors, like George Washington Pressey, who needed a manufacturer for his American Star Bicycle. Later, Arthur Hotchkiss contacted the company to build the world's first bicycle railroad to transport workers from Mount Holly to the Smithville factory. This book captures life in the village and factory, memorializing the intertwining lives of the Smithville workers and H.B. Smith through photographs.