The History Press [New Releases]

Remembering two palaces of retail

For generations, Scranton’s two big department stores, The Globe Store and Oppenheim’s Scranton Dry Goods Company, affectionately known as “the Dry,” dominated retail in the Electric City. Facing each other on Wyoming Avenue, they created special memories for those who walked their sales floors with attractive displays, special events, community service and elaborate Christmas decorations. Many fondly recall the steamship round of beef carved to order at The Globe’s Charl-Mont Restaurant or waving to customers passing by on the escalator from the Dry’s mezzanine Tea Room. Together, the two stores brought the best the world had to offer to Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Join Scranton-area native Daniel J. Packer Jr. and step through the iconic revolving doors into a bygone era of shopping in grand style.

A Highway Runs Through It

When U.S. Highway 29 between Greenville and Spartanburg was completed in 1946, it became the first modern super highway in the Upstate region. Known by many as the Super Highway, it was lauded as the “finest type in the country.” Although it is technically a north–south highway, it takes a meandering course across piedmont ridges, adding side roads and economic development. The businesses that grew along the corridor created a new landscape for the region. J. Harley Bonds was a longtime furniture store owner who helped desegregate Greer High School. W.O. Ezell helped beautify Spartanburg with his landscaping. Authors William “Lynn” Duncan and Scott Withrow explore the fascinating history of this well-traveled Upstate highway.

Discover the History Behind the Beauty of Long Island's Most Cherished Parks

Each year, tens of millions of people visit Long Island’s state parks. Most visitors are unaware that each one of the state parks has its own fascinating chapter in the region’s storied history. Some were once vast estates of New York’s elite during the turn-of-the-century Gilded Age, such as Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park. Others were “hunting clubs,” where wealthy members banded together to create retreats, including Caleb Smith State Park Preserve. Montauk’s Camp Hero has a multigenerational military history, even inspiring conspiracies that the government experimented with mind control and time travel. Underprivileged children from the bustling boroughs of New York City found fresh air and formative experiences at Camp William Carey in today’s Hallock State Park Preserve. Author Kristen Matejka presents the hidden history of the New York state parks on Long Island.

Unbeknownst to most of the city’s inhabitants, a rural community of garbage workers once existed on a now-vanished island in New York City.

Barren Island was a swampy speck in Jamaica Bay where a motley group of new immigrants and African Americans quietly processed mountains of garbage and dead animals starting in the 1850s. They turned the waste into useful industrial products until their eviction by Robert Moses in 1936, all in the name of progress. Barren Islanders built businesses, fought fires, demanded a public school and worshipped at churches as they created a quintessentially American community from scratch. Author Miriam Sicherman tells the story of a Brooklyn neighborhood lost in the annals of New York City history.

From 1837 to 1900 the tiny borough of Stonington, Connecticut was a major transportation hub on the route between New York and Boston. Steamboats leaving Manhattan followed Long Island Sound to Stonington Harbor where passengers boarded trains for the rest of the journey to Providence or Boston.

Stonington’s Steamboat Hotel, built in 1838 near the piers and railroad yard, was home to saloons, restaurants, a pool hall, a cigar shop, a tailor and a barber shop. Merchants, hotel keepers and saloon workers passed through the building, each with their own unique story.  Many of them were immigrants or first-generation Americans, and they are a window onto a late 19th-century class of merchants and service workers.

   Join local author Stuart Vyse as he reveals a lively portrait of remarkable harmony in a small village that was far more diverse than it is today.

With more than 30,000 interred in its 15 acres, Zion Cemetery is the largest African American community burial ground in Memphis. It was opened in 1876 by former slaves to establish a sacred burial ground for people of color. It is the final resting place of luminaries like Reverend Morris Henderson, who led the founding of the cemetery, and Dr. Georgia Patton Washington, Tennessee’s first African American physician. Lynching victims Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and William Stewart rest there. The cemetery is also the final home of Thomas Franks Cassels and the grandparents of Dr. Benjamin Hooks. Dr. Peatchola Cole-Jones details the rich history and more.

It has been four centuries since the first Roosevelt arrived in New Amsterdam as a humble farmer.

The Roosevelts became one of America’s most distinguished families—one with ties to many sites in New York City. A brownstone on East 20th Street where Theodore Roosevelt was born and developed his love of nature. A twin brownstone next door where his uncle Robert instilled in the future president an interest in conservation, while having multiple affairs and even starting a second secret family with a mistress. And the double townhouse on East 65th Street built by Sara Delano Roosevelt so the growing family of her son, Franklin, would have a suitable place to live while she meddled in their lives. Historian Bill Bleyer details the unique places in the city where family members lived and worked and unveils the private interactions behind this famous American family.

Witness the evolution of Albuquerque from the perspective of its birthplace, the historic Old Town Plaza. Explore the rich architectural heritage and traditions that frame the bustling tourist attraction that is Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza. Learn to navigate the district by the original street names and property owners of the settlement. Survey the square from the basket of a hot air balloon suspended 14,207 feet above the 1882 Territorial Fair. Or gain a deeper appreciation for the legacy of venerable landmarks like San Felipe de Neri Church down to the mixing of the adobe plaster. With rare photographs and a detailed account of each historic structure, author Debra Montoya maps out how the Old Town Plaza became what it is today.

The History of an Historic Cemetery

Founded in 1850 and dedicated in 1852, Knoxville's Old Gray Cemetery is one of the area's most iconic landmarks. It provides an important example of planning and design, and is named after poet Thomas Gray. Join author Judy Loest as she details the history of this renowned cemetery.

Experience the architecture and colorful history of the Historic Theaters of New York’s Capital District as author John A. Miller charts the entertaining history.

For generations, residents of New York's Capital District have flocked to the region's numerous theaters. The history behind the venues is often more compelling than the shows presented in them.

John Wilkes Booth brushed with death on stage while he and Abraham Lincoln were visiting Albany. The first exhibition of broadcast television was shown at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady, although the invention ironically contributed to the downfall of theaters across the nation. A fired manager of the Green Street Theatre seized control of the theater with a group of armed men, but Albany police stormed the building and the former manager regained control.

Idlewild and SoakZone has charmed people across Western Pennsylvania and beyond since the late 1800s.

The park was developed by Pittsburgh's Mellon family as a picnic grove to boost traffic on the Ligonier Valley Rail Road. When C.C. Macdonald took the helm in 1931, rides, entertainment and other attractions came to Idlewild over the next half century, along with the adjacent Story Book Forest. After joining the Kennywood family of amusement parks, Idlewild added a Wild West town, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe and a water slide complex. Author Jennifer Sopko tells the heartwarming history of a Pennsylvania amusement park that continues to delight generations of families.

“Undoubtedly the most thorough work of its kind on this defunct Richmond institution that had occupied the same spot on Spring Street for almost 200 years. Dale is thorough in his research, digs deep for data, excavates through layers of ancient papers like an archaeologist. In the bibliography there are more than 300 sources cited. But this is much more than a work of history.”—North of the James

Thomas Jefferson developed the idea for the Virginia State Penitentiary and set the standard for the future of the American prison system. Designed by U.S. Capitol and White House architect Benjamin Latrobe, the “Pen” opened its doors in 1800.

Vice President Aaron Burr was incarcerated there in 1807 as he awaited trial for treason. The prison endured severe overcrowding, three fires, an earthquake and numerous riots. More than 240 prisoners were executed there by electric chair. At one time, the ACLU called it the “most shameful prison in America.” The institution was plagued by racial injustice, eugenics experiments and the presence of children imprisoned among adults.

Join author Dale Brumfield as he charts the 190-year history of the iconic prison.

The mountain that saved a dying town.

Long before Mount Bachelor became one of the country's largest ski areas, the booming timber mills drew workers to Oregon’s forested hills. In the early 1920s, Scandinavian immigrants started a community ski club, and their passion for the mountains created a vibrant outdoor culture centered on skiing and winter recreation. As the timber industry collapsed in the 1950s, Bend businessman Bill Healy opened a small ski hill on the slopes of Bachelor Butte. That resort, set in the heart of the Deschutes National Forest, helped turn a fading logging town into a hub for tourism and outdoor recreation.

Join author Glenn Voelz as he explores how Mount Bachelor became a vital part of the region's culture, history and economy.

Nearly two decades after it closed, the South Carolina State Hospital continues to hold a palpable mystique in Columbia and throughout the state.

Founded in 1821 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, it housed, fed and treated thousands of patients incapable of surviving on their own. The patient population in 1961 eclipsed 6,600, well above its listed capacity of 4,823, despite an operating budget that ranked forty-fifth out of the forty-eight states. By the mid-1990s, the patient population had fallen under 700, and the hospital had become a symbol of captivity, horror and chaos. Author William Buchheit details this history through the words and interviews of those who worked on the iconic campus.

Join author and longtime Cannon skier Meghan McCarthy McPhaul to learn about the history of this historic mountain that is steeped in legends and lore.

Rising at the western edge of New Hampshire's magnificently beautiful Franconia Notch State Park, the granite-domed mountain has been the playground of skiers since the 1930s. Here, the country's first down-mountain ski trail was cleared in 1933, the first aerial tramway was built on the mountain and the first professional ski patrol was established. More than a dozen members of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame--whose contributions to the sport include historic racing feats, the development of ski techniques and designing countless ski areas across the country and around the world--have called Cannon their home hill.

From the Roaring Twenties to a Rock 'N' Roll Landmark

Since it opened in 1925, the Gramercy Park Hotel has always been one of New York’s premiere cultural hotspots. Early in its history it served as the backdrop to Humphrey Bogart’s first marriage and housed a young John F. Kennedy. Soon Babe Ruth was a regular at the bar, and Joe DiMaggio was feted there. Most famous, perhaps, was the period in the 1970s, when rock ’n’ roll royalty dubbed the hotel “the Glamercy,” and acts such as the Clash, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Madonna, and more stayed “on the way up or on the way down.” The hotel’s history also includes the harrowing personal story of the Weissberg family who owned it for many years and lived there. Author Max Weissberg reveals an inside look at the hotel’s storied past as a rock ’n’ roll muse and a New York icon. 

Before there was a Los Angeles or a San Francisco, there was Spain’s first colony in upper California, El Presidio de San Diego.

Founded in 1769, this small fortress and mission was the seedling for the twenty-one missions and four presidios that followed. It was here that Franciscan priest Junípero Serra planted the first Catholic cross in what became Alta California. The nearby harbor provided a safe port for sailing ships from all over the world, ensuring a steady stream of goods and supplies. Over its many decades, the San Diego Presidio was home to Spaniards, Mexicans, Native people and, toward the end, Anglo-Americans. Its cemetery became the final resting place for many of them.

Author and historian Richard Carrico provides insights into San Diego’s beginnings.

Author Jeffrey Alan John explores the history, theories and fundamental Serpent Mound questions: What culture made it? Why? And when? Thousands of years ago, people in what would become southern Ohio encountered a vista they recognized as special. They couldn’t know that their view overlooked a 300-million-year-old crater, but as time passed, they made the plateau a resting place for generations of societies that eventually raised—with considerable planning and effort—the Great Serpent Mound, a place where history and mystery coincide. Uninhabited and overgrown when early Ohio settlers found it, the preserved effigy inspired pioneering archaeology and continues to prompt increasingly elaborate thinking. Scientists say that it measures the calendar, while theologians and mystics ponder its spiritual meaning.

Over a century of history, pride and tradition.

Armijo High School opened its doors for the first time in 1891. What began in the upstairs classrooms of Crystal Elementary School in Suisun City grew to the sprawling campus on Washington Street in order to serve the rising population of Fairfield, California. Armijo alumni have made indelible marks in numerous fields, including medicine, law, civil and military service, athletics, and the arts. Notable graduates include Noriyuki “Pat” Morita who earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid movies, New York Giants Super Bowl champion George Martin and Johnny Colla, multi-platinum recording artist with Huey Lewis and the News.

Join Tony Wade as he delves into the generations of students, parents and faculty that embody Armijo pride.

The History within a National Landmark

Prior to Wyoming becoming the forty-fourth state in the Union on July 10, 1890, the territorial legislature passed a bill authorizing the construction of a capitol at a maximum cost of $150,000. Governor Warren signed the bill on March 4, 1886, and appointed the Capitol Building Commission, which purchased a site on Hill Street, now Capitol Avenue, at a cost of $13,100. Many changes have occurred since the 1887 laying of the cornerstone. Recent renovations upgraded the capitol’s Classical style and striking gold-leaf dome. The most important room, where women’s right to vote began, has been restored to its original grandeur.

Authors Starley Talbott and Linda Graves Fabian celebrate these and other historic firsts in this history of the state capitol building.

Wolf and Dessauer documents the rich and interesting history of this chain of department stores.

Remember how it used to be at W&D? From its humble beginnings as a dry goods store in 1896, Wolf and Dessauer grew to provide customers with revolutionary services and previously unheard of amenities: personal shoppers, in-store models, escalators, an open-air French café and the magical Christmas WanDerland—home to Santa and his precious elf, Wee Willie WanD. Join Jim and Kathie Barron on this glorious return to one of the most progressive department stores in history. Relax in the tearoom with one of Edith Goodyear's California Dream Bars, don elegant couture from around the world and luxuriate in this remembrance of a beloved Fort Wayne icon.

The history of one of the most important airports in the US comes to life in over 150 historical photos.

In 1942, a stretch of Illinois prairie that had served as a battleground and a railroad depot became the site of a major manufacturing plant, producing Douglas C-54 Skymasters for World War II. Less than twenty years later, that plot of land boasted the biggest and busiest airport in the world. Many of the millions who have since passed through it have likely only regarded it as a place between cities. But for people like Michael Branigan, who has spent years on its tarmac, they know that O'Hare is a city unto itself, with a fascinating history of gangsters and heroes, mayors,  presidents and pilots.

Love to shop? The residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin were lucky to have Schuster's and Gimbels, a part of Milwaukee culture.

For well over a century, Milwaukee shoppers have had Gimbels or Schuster's on the brain. Even if they didn't crave sewing notions or prize-winning apple pies, they were watching holiday parades wind by, tuning in for Billie the Brownie's radio updates or losing themselves in front of one of the fabulous window displays. Not only were they magical places to shop but also wonderful places to work, creating the kind of community where a kid might come in to work the Christmas rush and stay for twenty-five years. Enjoy this loving trip through the history of these beloved stores, from their arrival in Milwaukee in the 1880s through the 1962 merger and beyond.

Pennsylvania Hospital became America's first voluntary hospital, opening its doors on the eve of the American Revolution no less.

On the eve of the American Revolution, Pennsylvania Hospital opened its doors as a provincial charity for the physically and mentally ill. In a matter of decades, it became not only America's first voluntary hospital, but also the home of the first apothecary, medical library and surgical amphitheatre. From its radical conception by a group of extraordinary colonists, the hospital has evolved into a world-renowned facility that treats over 225,000 patients a year. In A History of the Pennsylvania Hospital, Kristen Graham introduces the people and ideas that guided the Pennsylvania Hospital through numerous wars and social and economic crises, landing it at the forefront of healing, learning and innovation.

Department stores were a midwest institution, none more prominent in downtown Columbus Ohio than F&R Laazarus & Company.

For more than 150 years, F&R Lazarus & Company was the heart of downtown Columbus. Headed by the first family of American retailing with an eye for flair and a devotion to the customer, this uniquely midwestern institution won the hearts and minds of a community. Look to Lazarus draws on the memories of those who worked and shopped in this grand emporium to tell the unlikely story of a love affair between a city and a store. It was a love affair born of the solemn promise You can always take it back to Lazarus, no questions asked.

Read the remarkable story of one of the most unique and picturesque places in the Adirondacks, written by Sagamore's director, Beverly Bridger.

Great Camp Sagamore was built by renowned American architect William West Durant and bought by Alfred Vanderbilt in 1901 to be his family's Adirondack retreat. Vanderbilt and his wife, Margaret, welcomed family and friends, who enjoyed its sprawling grounds and elegant yet rustic buildings for decades. After Margaret's death, the camp changed hands and began to decline until it was rescued by preservationists, finally became a National Historic Landmark in 2000 after attentive restoration efforts. Today, visitors to the camp participate in maintaining its grandeur, learning about and preserving the past.

The history of the house and its grounds offers a glimpse into the private dilemmas and public struggles that mark the development of democracy and reflect the creation of the United States as a nation.  Newly renovated and restored to the era President Madison lived and entertained there, the home stands as a testament to its great proprietor's interests and tastes, and as a witness to American history.

There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places. -  Wendell Berry

This is the story of a dramatic landscape in an improbable location. Since the last continental glacier receded, the rollicking falls of the Big Sioux River were exposed as a geographical anomaly. Early inhabitants of the Northern Plains were amazed that a stair-stepping series of waterfalls existed in the midst of vast, rolling prairie. Today’s visitors marvel that this rugged, dynamic setting survives in the heart of thriving, bustling Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Environmental author Peter Carrels recounts the human activities and inclinations that first disfigured and then later rescued this distinct, unexpected landmark known today as Falls Park.

Step into the historic grandeur of a Texas icon – The Tremont House. The storied history of the Tremont House began when Texas was still an independent Republic. Since then a series of hotels bearing that illustrious name have operated as a hub of Galveston high society. Buffalo Bill, Stephen Crane, Clara Barton walked the corridors of The Tremont House, along with presidents, millionaires, actors and countless other celebrities. Having witnessed the Gilded Age, the Jazz Era and every decade in between, the hotel was reborn in the 1980s to continue its legacy of hospitality and luxury. Join author Kathleen Maca as she explores the captivating secrets and remarkable heritage of the Tremont House.

Inside the historic Cold War landmark at Vandenberg Space Force base—its technology, its people, and its military importance. Includes photos.

Situated in the sand dunes of California’s Central Coast, Space Launch Complex Ten, often called SLC-10 or “Slick Ten,” is a National Historic Landmark that commemorates a powerful Cold War legacy. Home to Vandenberg’s Space and Missile Technology Center, or SAMTEC, the facility contains the rich technological heritage of the U.S. Air Force’s space and missile launch systems.

As the only remaining Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile launch site in the world, SLC-10’s noteworthy achievements span the globe. The complex trained British Royal Air Force missileers for Project EMILY, assisted during nuclear atmospheric tests in the Pacific, and launched military weather satellites in support of the covert National Reconnaissance Program.

Former air force space and missile officer Joseph T. Page II recounts amazing stories of dedicated men and women who led the American military effort to explore space.

The largest civilian cemetery in the Southeast holds the history of famous and infamous alike.

In 1884, several leading citizens purchased 577 acres to open Atlanta's Westview Cemetery. The rolling terrain, part of which was a site in the Civil War battle of Ezra Church, became the final resting place for more than 100,000 people. Prominent locals buried here include Grant Park namesake L.P. Grant, author Joel Chandler Harris, High Museum benefactor Harriet High, Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler Sr. and Havertys founder J.J. Haverty. The cemetery's Westview Abbey mausoleum is one of the nation's largest, with more than eleven thousand crypts. Throughout its history, Westview dabbled in other business ventures, including a cafeteria, a funeral home and an ambulance service. And for decades, the cemetery's Westview Floral Company sold flowers to lot owners and local businesses, leading to its own advice column in the Atlanta Constitution. Author Jeff Clemmons traces the complete history of this treasured necropolis.

Explore the rich history and mysteries of this Preserve America Community through the eyes of the people who live there!

German Village's iconic homes, bustling businesses and other beloved sites harbor fascinating stories.

Did you know that German Village's Recreation Park, now gone, is thought to have had the first baseball concession stand? Or that the four-story Schwartz Castle was the site of two murders? Or that the popular restaurant Engine House No. 5 closed its doors after the mysterious disappearance of its owners in the Bermuda Triangle?

Longtime resident and tour guide John M. Clark goes behind the bricks of more than seventy German Village properties to explore the places and people who made the Old South End into a Columbus treasure.

Visit a Louisiana landmark that tells a big piece of the American story.

Fort Jesup was founded two centuries ago, a bulwark on the youthful nation’s western frontier. During its long run as a military post, it was visited by over one thousand soldiers and officers, many of whom would make a lasting impact on American history. The long list of luminaries includes Presidents Zachary Taylor and Ulysses S. Grant, over forty officers who would become Civil War generals, and two Surgeons General, one of whom would treat Abraham Lincoln after he was shot. Thousands of settlers also passed through on their way to Texas, using the fort as a waypoint on their journey. As citadel and stopping post, Fort Jesup played a critical role during the nation’s formative years. Author Scott DeBose shares the sprawling story of this Louisiana icon.

The Joseph Horne Company, popularly known as Horne’s, was a beloved and integral part of Pittsburghers' lives for generations.

It was the first department store in the Steel City, staking its ground at the landmark flagship store on Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street. Starting as a small dry goods store, the company expanded into a regional retail powerhouse with a reputation for selling high-quality goods in elegant spaces. Horne’s succumbed to the fate of other department stores amid changing consumer habits, and a short-lived stint as a Lazarus store was the final chapter in more than 140 years of history. The community still enjoys the tree on the corner of the former Horne's building, now Highmark, that is lit each year to usher in Pittsburgh's holiday season. Author Letitia Stuart Savage shares the history and memories of Horne’s department store.

Newport is a premier destination, but getting to the city has not always been easy.

For three centuries, ferries crossed Narragansett Bay's East Passage. That all changed on June 28, 1969, the day the Newport Bridge opened, and it closed the last remaining gap between Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands. Proponents of the bridge persevered political squabbles and delays for twenty-five years following World War II to make it a reality. The longest suspension bridge in the region incorporated several new technologies and construction techniques and changed the face of Rhode Island. Author James Ricci details the trials and tribulations that produced an iconic bridge.

A father’s grief for his son. A daughter’s grief for her father. And a love story that crossed continents and an ocean, coming to rest in a tiny New Hampshire town. This small state has more than enough heart, sending men and women to fight for freedom around the world.

New Hampshire military personnel have distinguished themselves in every war from the French and Indian War to the dusty mountains of Afghanistan. The Granite State continues to honor their sacrifices, memorializing their stories in statues, bridges, buildings and highways.

Join Kathleen and Sheila Bailey as they recount the stories behind the stones.

Join department store historian Bruce Allen Kopytek in this history of Jacobson's, a beloved Michigan institution for over 100 years. Winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award for 2012.

Reenter the marvelous stores and meet the personalities who transformed Jacobson's from its humble Reed City origins to a staple of sophistication throughout Michigan and into the rest of the country. The brainchild of a retail genius, this deluxe specialty store gave customers a peerless social, shopping and dining destination. Experience anew the refined beauty of its Williamsburg-style Grosse Pointe store, the chic designer world of its Birmingham ensemble, or the charm and allure of its original Florida branch in Sarasota, revealing the secrets which made Jake's the dazzling store it was, and why it remains so profoundly missed by anyone who entered through its solid wooden doors.