Name: Pacific Coast Highway in California
Brand: Carina Monica Montoya Forsythe
SKU: 9781467127516
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Pacific Coast Highway in California

9781467127516

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

More commonly known as Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1 ribbons along or near the Pacific Ocean from Northern California at Leggett in Mendocino down to Southern California at San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Its construction began in 1913 and was done incrementally, largely because of funding issues, shortage of labor, legal challenges, deep canyons, steep mountains, solid rock, and unstable earth. A true modern marvel, its unique and extraordinary construction allows easy access to some of the country's most famous and historical places and picturesque sights. Thousands of pounds of dynamite were used to blast through granite, marble, and sandstone to build a highway following near or along the coastline. Among the 33 bridges along the route is the remarkable Bixby (Rainbow) Bridge at Big Sur. The highway wends its way through some of the most magnificent and scenic landscapes and historical places found between Ventura and Humboldt Counties, making it more than just a road. It is a destination.

Cover image for Pacific Coast Highway in California, isbn: 9781467127516

Pacific Palisades

9780738569482

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Pacific Palisades owes its name to its geography. The cliffs looming above the beach reminded the early developers of the Hudson River Palisades in New York. The name for this eventually affluent coastal enclave of the city of Los Angeles was first used in 1906 for an area of Santa Monica homes. Palisades Park in Santa Monica hugs the top of the bluff. So it must have seemed natural to name the area north of the Santa Monica Palisades Pacific Palisades. Today Pacific Palisades is synonymous with lovely homes and distinguished residents as well as rocky cliffs. Many of the photographs reproduced here have never before been published and show how the land changed from open mesas to the thriving community it is today. Pacific Palisades completes the story of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica and its neighboring rancho--the Boca de Santa Monica--and the Santa Monica Land and Water Company.

Cover of Pacific Palisades from Images of America showing a sepia group photo in front of a building

Orange County International Raceway

9781467162296

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The Orange County International Raceway (OCIR) was a dream come true for Southern California race fans. From 1967 to 1983, the raceway featured the best of the best from the world of drag racing.

All the stars of the sport flocked to OCIR just to say they raced there. Race fans from all over the United States and beyond came to experience the comforts and innovations built into Southern California’s super raceway. For spectators, the raceway offered reserved seating, electronic scoreboards, and restaurant-style food. It was also a dream come true for racers with running water in the paved pit area; shade trees; and parking for trailers, recreational vehicles, and big rigs. But eventually the land the track was built on became too valuable as the population in the area grew, and the Orange County International Raceway closed its doors for good on October 29, 1983.

Author and photographer Steve Reyes made the 10-hour round-trip drive from his Northern California home to Southern California to attend and be a part of OCIR race coverage from 1967 to 1983. His publications with Arcadia Publishing include Southern California Top Fuel Dragsters, Northern California Drag Racing, and Southern California Funny Cars.

Cover image for Orange County International Raceway, isbn: 9781467162296

Haunted Universal Studios

9781467141215

$21.99

Talented entrepreneur Carl Laemmle led and won the fight against Thomas Edison's filming monopoly and built Universal City out of the dirt of Hollywood. He created a place of wonder and imagination, and now, decades later, Universal Studios is filled with rumors of ghosts. Frank Stites, an aviator killed while performing stunts during the grand opening celebrations in 1915, is said to still roam the backlot. Lon Chaney, a silent film actor, plagues sound stage no. 28, while Alfred Hitchcock haunts Steven Spielberg's office. Lucille Ball has been spotted more than once long after her death. Authors Brian Clune and Bob Davis explore the eerie and haunting history behind this entertaining façade.

Cover image for Haunted Universal Studios, isbn: 9781467141215

Los Angeles, California

9780738508122

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Los Angeles was founded in 1781 as one of the two original Spanish pueblos in California. At the time of statehood in 1851, Los Angeles began to reconsider its "cow town" condition, and gradually transformed an American city into the magnificent metropolis we know today. Drawn from the collections of the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the Los Angeles City Archives, Jeffrey Samudio and Portia Lee record the history of a community that established itself culturally as it grew exponentially. By 1945, the small town that had begun with 28 square miles in the late 19th century had grown to 450 square miles through almost 100 annexations. Businessmen constructed a downtown streetscape whose architecture elicited envy in other cities, hotels catered to visitors with such enthusiasm that guests eventually returned with ambitious schemes of their own, and the construction of an elaborate freeway system suddenly made Los Angeles a drive-in city.

Sepia toned historic downtown Los Angeles street scene with vintage cars and a streetlamp

San Fernando Valley

9780738571577

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The Mission San Fernando was founded on September 8, 1797, as an outpost of New Spain, in the vast expanse between the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains.

Northwest over the Hollywood Hills from downtown Los Angeles, this land was developed into a vital farming and citrus breadbasket. After 1900, real estate developers began subdividing the Valley, as it is popularly known, and by 1940, communities of Los Angeles proper and new cities formed into models of suburbia: Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Burbank, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Northridge, Roscoe (Sun Valley), Tarzana, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, San Fernando, Glendale, Canoga Park, Pacoima, Toluca Lake, and Woodland Hills. The film industry built studios, location ranches, and support facilities in the valley. The aviation industries grew too, and the Hollywood, Ventura, and Golden State Freeways redrew the map. Songs, movies, and television shows have helped ingrain the Valley into L.A. lore.

Cover image for San Fernando Valley, isbn: 9780738571577

Southern Pacific in California

9780738582078

$24.99

The Southern Pacific Railroad is California's railroad. As the Central Pacific, it bored and blasted its way east from Sacramento, across the towering High Sierra, meeting with the Union Pacific at Promontory, Utah, completing the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and profoundly changing the growing United States. By the early 20th century, the Southern Pacific was a rail colossus, stretching from San Francisco Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Yet the Southern Pacific remained essentially Californian. Its rail lines gave muscle to the lovely California coast, the fertile San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys, and the timber industry of the north coast. Yet for all its might and majesty, for many Californians the Southern Pacific was a smaller, more intimate part of the fabric of their daily lives.

Cover of Southern Pacific in California from Images of Rail with a mountain landscape and a locomotive

Cerro Gordo

9780738595207

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High in the Inyo Mountains, between Owens Valley and Death Valley National Park, lies the ghost town of Cerro Gordo. Discovered in 1865, this silver town boomed to a population of 3,000 people in the hands of savvy entrepreneurs during the 1870s. As the silver played out and the town faded, a few hung on to the dream. By the early 1900s, Louis D. Gordon wandered up the Yellow Grade Road where freight wagons once traversed with silver and supplies and took a closer look at the zinc ore that had been tossed aside by early miners. The Fat Hill lived again, primarily as a small company town. By the last quarter of the 20th century, Jody Stewart and Mike Patterson found themselves owners of the rough and tumble camp that helped Los Angeles turn into a thriving metropolis because of silver and commercial trade. Cerro Gordo found new life, second to Bodie, as California's best-preserved ghost town.

Vintage sepia cover photo of Cecile Page Vargo and Roger W. Vargo outside a wooden office at Cerro Gordo

San Francisco, California

9780738518718

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On January 30, 1847, the small harbor village of Yerba Buena was rechristened "San Francisco." As the Gold Rush quickly propelled the population to over 50,000, fortunes made in the silver Comstock lode and the railroad transformed the area into the financial and cultural center of the West. Captured here in over 200 vintage images are the life and times of the city's earliest residents and their livelihoods. Spanning the mid-1800s through the early decades of the 20th century, this book offers a visual account of early life in San Francisco, from family outings at Golden Gate Park, to the images of San Franciscans rebuilding their city after the devastating Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Also pictured are the joyous occasions, including the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915, the openings of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges, and the 1939 World's Fair. Early views of the city's landmarks capture the magic of the Bay area, such as the Ferry Depot, Nob Hill, turn of the century Chinatown, and Fisherman's Wharf.

Book cover San Francisco California from Images of America with a vintage streetcar on a busy city street.

Hollywoodland

9780738574783

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Established by real estate developers Tracy E. Shoults and S. H. Woodruff in 1923, Hollywoodland was one of the first hillside developments built in Hollywood. Touting its class and sophistication, the neighborhood promoted a European influence, featuring such unique elements as stone retaining walls and stairways, along with elegant Spanish, Mediterranean, French Normandy, and English Tudor styled homes thoughtfully placed onto the hillsides. The community contains one of the world's most recognizable landmarks, the Hollywood sign, originally constructed as a giant billboard for the development and reading "Hollywoodland." The book illustrates the development of the upper section of Beachwood Canyon known as Hollywoodland with historic photographs from Hollywood Heritage's S. H. Woodruff Collection as well as from other archives, institutions, and individuals.

Hollywoodland Images of America cover featuring a sepia photo of the Hollywood sign on a hillside with two workers on the ridge.

Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort

9781467162784

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Since 1950, Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort has been celebrated as a family-run, family-loved destination. It is the closest snow to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley. Many generations have learned to ski and snowboard on these slopes. There are multiple runs for all levels within the ski area and breathtaking views to enjoy with each turn. Ski legends have been and still are instructors here. An Olympian was raised here. Many people have called Dodge Ridge their happy place and a second home. It is a unique resort that is mighty in the hearts of outdoor enthusiasts. Now it is a year-round destination that includes mountain biking, hiking, and disc golf as the owners continue to expand family fun and fond memories. Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort operates in the Stanislaus National Forest under a special use permit from the US Forest Service.

Tricia O’Brien is also the author of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, San Francisco’s Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights, San Francisco Giants, and Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Through photographs and stories from locals, O’Brien shows the resort’s evolution from raw forest land to a year-round recreation playground.

Cover image for Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort, isbn: 9781467162784

San Diego and Arizona Railway

9780738581484

$24.99

Surveyors called the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A) "The Impossible Railroad" because of its jagged, mountainous, and brutal desert route. The financier and driving force behind building this binational 148-mile rail connection to the east from San Diego, California, was businessman John D. Spreckels. Because of his perseverance, the jinxed 1907-1919 construction overcame a series of disasters, including the Mexican Revolution, a prolonged lawsuit, floods, World War I, labor shortages, a tunnel cave-in, and a lethal pandemic. Once up and running, the line was intermittently in and out of service and later sold and renamed the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. While "The Impossible Railroad" still faces constant challenges and partial closures, freight and trolley service currently operate on its right-of-way, and tourist excursions are offered at its Campo, California, depot.

San Diego and Arizona Railway The Impossible Railroad cover with a steam locomotive and passenger cars on a track

California Tiki

9781467138222

$23.99

After World War II, suburbs proliferated around California cities as returning soldiers traded in their uniforms for business suits. After-hours leisure activities took on an island-themed sensuality that bloomed from a new fascination with Polynesia and Hawaii. Movies and television shows filmed in Malibu and Burbank urged viewers to escape everyday life with the likes of Gidget and Hawaiian Eye. Restaurants like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's sprang up to answer the demand for wild cocktails and even wilder décor. The culture—a strange hodgepodge of idols, torches, lush greenery and colorful drinks—beckoned men and women to lose themselves in exotic music and surf tunes. Authors Jason Henderson and Adam Foshko explore the state's midcentury fascination with all things Tiki.

Cover image for California Tiki, isbn: 9781467138222

Sierra Railway

9781467115308

$24.99

The Sierra Railway is one of the most intact steam railroads in the United States. It is operated today by California State Parks to interpret and celebrate the importance of steam railroading in California history. Located in the Gold Rush town of Jamestown, in Tuolumne County, the railway began operations in 1897 and played an important role in developing the economy of Tuolumne and adjoining Calaveras County. While nearly all other steam short-line railroads in the United States were dismantled in the 1950s, the Sierra line has survived in a remarkably complete condition. The railway was a big hit among railfans, who flocked to it as early as the 1930s and in increasing numbers in the 1950s. Now operated as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, the steam operation of the railroad is very much alive.

Cover image for Sierra Railway, isbn: 9781467115308

Bodie

9780738559865

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Nestled amongst the sage-covered, windswept hills of California's Eastern Sierra is the site of one of the most notorious mining towns of the Old West. In 1859, gold was discovered in the treeless hills northeast of Mono Lake. By 1879, Bodie was a metropolis of nearly 10,000 souls and was briefly the third-largest city in California. Excitement was short-lived, however, and word soon spread that the mines had reached peak production. An exodus began, but contrary to popular belief, Bodie was never totally abandoned. People continued living in this curious and beautiful place throughout the 1950s, and in 1962, the California State Parks system purchased the town site. Now stabilized against the elements, Bodie is today known as the largest unrestored ghost town in the West.

Cover image for Bodie, isbn: 9780738559865

Railroads of Death Valley

9780738574790

$21.99

Railroads have played an important part in the history of Death Valley. The Pacific Coast Borax Company first used the Death Valley Railroad to transport its ore to market and then to transport Death Valley tourists to its Furnace Creek Resort. "Death Valley Scotty's" leap to national fame came as a direct result of his chartering a private train to break the Los Angeles to Chicago speed record. The Carson & Colorado Railroad on the west and the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad on the east provided support to Death Valley's mining activity, its associated boomtowns, and early tourism.

Cover of Railroads of Death Valley with a sepia train crossing a desert and rugged rock formations

Hollywood on the Santa Monica Beach

9781467160735

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Since pioneer filmmakers arrived on its shoreline in the early 20th century, the Santa Monica beach has been a popular location for the making of movies and television productions. Its enchanting beauty led studio moguls, producers, and celebrities to build beach houses there, creating what became known as "Hollywood's Playground." The sand and shore of the Santa Monica beach became a favored site for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, and Cary Grant. It was on this beach that the Academy Awards were conceived, the movie The Wizard of Oz sprang forth, and a young Pres. John F. Kennedy stunned beachgoers with a surprise ocean swim without the protection of Secret Service agents. In 1962, the beach became the center of the universe as the site of President Kennedy's "Western White House," where the visitors included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Monroe, and--famously--"anyone who was anyone."

Vintage sepia cover photo with a group of beachgoers and a large black title plaque reading Hollywood on the Santa Monica Beach

San Francisco Landmarks

9780738595801

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San Francisco is one of the most recognized and beloved cities in the United States, brilliantly illustrated through a visual history of 493 designated local, state, and national landmarks. San Francisco's attributes speak to us through stunning topography, the arts, and a unique array of architectural styles. The city inherited the imprint left by the Spanish with Mission Dolores, by the Gold Rush with Jackson Square, and by 20th-century entrepreneurs with the Bank of Italy. The period from the 1920s to 1950s brought a growing cosmopolitan metropolis with such landmarks as the Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Golden Gate Bridge. Residents and visitors want to know why there is a monument in the neighborhood park and why the delightful Victorians next door have a historic plaque by their front steps. Each landmark embodies the characteristics of the surrounding community and the history of the "City by the Bay."

Book cover San Francisco Landmarks depicting the Golden Gate Bridge in a sepia-toned harbor scene.

Newport Beach's Balboa and Balboa Island

9780738555751

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The village of Balboa lies on the eastern half of a 4-mile-long peninsula, a natural barrier that protects the neighboring Balboa Island from Pacific storms. Both the village and the island have constituted a sun-soaked paradise for residents and vacationers from all over the world for more than a century. Famous for luxury homes, miles of beautiful, sandy beaches, and one of the largest pleasure harbors on the West Coast, Balboa has enjoyed a colorful history filled with backroom gambling, midnight deliveries during Prohibition, and frequent visits from Hollywood's biggest stars. Such legends as John Wayne, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall spent many a day sailing Balboa's harbor and many nights enjoying its justifiably famous nightlife of dance halls, restaurants, and clubs. Balboa and Balboa Island represent all of the extremes, perhaps best exemplified in the quaintness of today's city of Newport Beach, an Orange County enclave where great wealth commingles with the carefree charm of a barefoot community.

Cover of Newport Beach's Balboa and Balboa Island with vintage swimmers posing on the beach.

Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County

9780738546926

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Nevada County is webbed with some of the richest veins of goldbearing quartz in the world. First discovered in 1849 as placer gold washed into creek beds, hydraulic miners later used massive jets of water to melt mountains and free the precious metal. Rich lodegold districts such as Grass Valley and Nevada City were the most productive in California, and innovations such as hydraulic mining began here and spread throughout the nation. Whimsical names like You Bet, Red Dog, Rough and Ready, French Corral, and Blue Tent hint at the colorful beginnings of dozens of camps that grew from wild and chaotic tent towns to bustling young communities, complete with schools, churches, and businesses. Boomtowns North San Juan, North Bloomfield, and Columbia propelled Nevada County to the head of the state's economy by 1900 and hundreds of miles of gold-bearing quartz veins continued to be tapped in underground tunnels for another 50 years or more.

Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County book cover with a sepia photo of miners and townspeople.

Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966

9781467133203

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Dick Dale & the Del-Tones began holding weekend dances at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California, in the summer of 1960. Over the next year and a half, Dale developed the sound and style that came to be known as surf music. The result was the development of more powerful guitar amplifiers, a dramatic increase in the sales of Fender guitars and amplifiers, and a shift from New York to West Coast recording studios. More and more people were drawn to the sport of surfing, which became an important part of teen beach culture at the time. Even landlocked teenagers were captured by the moment, carrying surfboards atop their woodies in Phoenix or bleaching their hair blonde in St. Paul. For hundreds of thousands of kids, though, the attraction was not the connection to surfing; it was the connection to the music pioneered by Dick Dale.

Cover image for Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966, isbn: 9781467133203

The Twenty Mule Team of Death Valley

9780738595092

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The image of 20 mules hauling a train of wagons was once as popular as the golden arches are today. Everyone knew what it meant. It was the trademark of Pacific Coast Borax's most famous product, a laundry additive called Twenty Mule Team Borax. The company's advertising was dependent on one important fact: the connection between the Twenty Mule Team and America's most notorious desert, Death Valley. From 1883 to 1888, teams of mules and wagons hauled borax out of the famed valley on the California-Nevada border. During those years, the teams were not famous; they were just a common means of transportation. After all, it was not the first time 20 mules hauled borax and it was not the longest or the most treacherous path. So what happened? How did this common form of transportation (the big-rig truck of its day) become transformed into an American icon? That is the story of this book.

Sepia book cover depicting a mule train crossing a desert on Death Valley with the title The Twenty Mule Team of Death Valley

Hollywood 1940-2008

9780738559230

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Since World War II, Hollywood has fought and won that same war many times, won the West even more often--plus got the girl--and laughed like crazy, too. The postwar era in the dream factory was a prosperous time of expansion and wealth through the 1970s, decline in the 1980s, and rebirth in the new century. Vintage photographs from the rare collections of Hollywood Heritage and Bison Archives depict the municipal, business, residential, and entertainment industry growth in Hollywood proper, from 1940 until the beginning of the 21st century. This companion volume to Arcadia Publishing's Early Hollywood completes the pictorial saga of the world's most renowned storytelling capital. These images depict the rise of the television industry, changes along Hollywood Boulevard, and movers and shakers whose visions and influence have made Hollywood the entertainment industry's Mecca.

Cover image for Hollywood 1940-2008, isbn: 9780738559230

Griffith Park

9780738588834

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Carved from the former Spanish land grant known as Rancho Los Feliz, Griffith Park, a rugged, 4,300-acre wilderness located in the heart of Los Angeles, has been the principal playground for Angelenos for over a century. Since 1896, when the land was donated to the city by controversial philanthropist Col. Griffith J. Griffith, generations of weekenders have picnicked, camped, golfed, ridden horses, hiked, bicycled, and played ball in the park. To this day, visitors still climb aboard its mini-train and merry-go-round and explore its zoo, museums, amphitheater, and world-famous observatory. The park, which lies in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, has been a frequent filming site for legendary movies like Back to the Future, Birth of a Nation, and Rebel Without a Cause.

Images of America Griffith Park book cover featuring the Griffith Observatory domes and a line of parked cars

Early Hollywood

9780738547923

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The image of Hollywood often translates as some otherworldly dreamscape filled with fantastic lives and fantasy fulfillment. The real deal was carved from the Southern California desert as an outpost northwest of Los Angeles. The movie industry arrived when tumbleweeds were not simply props and actual horsepower pulled the loads. Everyday workers, civic management, and Main Street conventionalities nurtured Hollywood's growth, as did a balmy climate that facilitated outdoor photography and shooting schedules for filmmakers. Splendid vintage photographs from the renowned collections of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and Bison Archives illustrate Hollywood's businesses, homes, and residents during the silent-film era and immediately after, as the Great Depression led up to World War II. These images celebrate Hollywood before and after its annexation into the city of Los Angeles in 1910 and its subsequent ascension as the world's greatest filmmaking center.

Cover image for Early Hollywood, isbn: 9780738547923

San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill

9780738581583

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

North Beach and Telegraph Hill are among San Francisco's most charming and historic districts. In the early years, Mexican and Spanish settlements dotted the beach and the hill, but the area was heavily developed during California's Gold Rush as gold seekers flooded the city. Later, European immigrants added many layers of unique character. North Beach was home to A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America), and in the 1950s, the Beat Generation evolved from the creative character of this artistic neighborhood. Charming cottages and architectural gems, such as famed landmark Coit Tower, decorate the slopes down to the bay, delighting residents and tourists alike. Many cafés and restaurants offer delicious foods, while the breathtaking views provide food for the soul.

Cover image for San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill from the Images of America series.

Northern California's Lost Coast

9781467125444

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

The Lost Coast is one of the last undeveloped stretches of the California coastline, with mountains that rise thousands of feet from the sea. Located approximately 200 miles north of San Francisco, this remote area of pristine beauty is comprised of jagged cliffs, rocky shorelines, and black sand beaches. It is the only significant stretch of California without a highway. Rich in natural resources, the area was once a haven for Native Americans such as the Coast Yuki, Sinkyone, Mattole, and the Wiyot. Now it is a secluded landscape with a few isolated towns surrounded by conservation areas. The famed Lost Coast Trail begins in northern Mendocino County in the Sinkyone Wilderness and continues up into Humboldt County and the King Range National Conservation Area. During the 1800s, the Lost Coast bustled with logging settlements and mill towns. After logging wound down, those towns disappeared, and only remnants of their existence remain. From Westport north to Ferndale, this book showcases historical photographs from libraries, historical societies, and residents.

Cover image for Northern California's Lost Coast, isbn: 9781467125444

San Bernardino, California

9780738520834

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Strategically located about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, San Bernardino was colonized in 1851 as an expansion outpost for the Mormon Church. Today, it is the county seat for the largest county in the United States. Captured here in over 200 vintage photographs is the history of this Southern California city and its role in the state's development for more than two centuries. Many famous, as well as infamous, faces have passed through the area, contributing to the rich history of the region, including Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, President Lyndon Johnson, and early explorer Jedediah Smith. Featuring images from the San Bernardino Historical Society, this book brings readers back in time to the city's earliest development, from early Native American settlements, through the Mission period, the Mexican Rancho era, the arrival of Mormon families, the impact of the railroads, and up to the challenges of the 20th century.

Cover image for San Bernardino, California, isbn: 9780738520834

Alameda

9780738559537

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Through its many incarnations, Alameda has never lost its charm and ability to draw people from all walks of life. Originally a peninsula inhabited by Native Americans, it was purchased by Don Luis Peralta in 1818 and developed into a bedroom community of San Francisco. Alameda became an island in 1902, and a short time later, it was a new home to many refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The Neptune Beach amusement park attracted tourists who enjoyed the bathing, beaches, and rides, making Alameda the Coney Island of the West. Modern transportation carried people and cargo in and out on ferries, trains, ships, and planes, which landed at the busy Airdrome. The creation of the Naval Air Station in 1938 and World War II made Alameda a military town. The 1990s brought Alameda back to its first purpose, as a small town amongst big cities, its streets lined with graceful Victorians and with a diverse and lively population.

Cover image for Alameda, isbn: 9780738559537

Huntington Beach, California

9780738518787

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Incorporated in 1909, Huntington Beach remained a sleepy seaside town until the city's legendary oil boom in the 1920s. Wells sprang up overnight, and in less than a month, the city's population more than doubled. As the area developed culturally through the decades, the once tiny farming community increased its size with 25 miles of annexations to become one of Southern California's major tourist destinations. Pictured here in nearly 200 vintage photographs is the evolution of this small seaside village into a classic, Southern California beach city, known as Surf City to nearly a million tourists a year. Showcased here are images acquired from city records, including shots of the famous Huntington Beach Pier as it evolved over the century, rare amateur photos of one of the largest gushers in city history, vintage beach scenes, rarely seen historic aerial views, images of the turn of the century "Tent City," the infamous flood of 1938, and nostalgic shots of the Saltwater Plunge.

Cover image for Huntington Beach, California, isbn: 9780738518787

Roaring Camp Railroads

9781467129961

$24.99

In 1963, Norman Clark officially opened Roaring Camp to the public. Since then, it has become a popular and well-known destination for tourists and rail buffs from around the world who wish to visit and ride on its 100-year-old steam trains. Isaac Graham, who constructed the first powered sawmill and the first whiskey distillery in the American West, settled the area in the 1840s. Graham was notorious for his boisterous antics, and his settlement became known as a wild and roaring camp. Clark arrived in the area in the mid-1950s with $25 in his pocket and the dream of preserving a piece of early California. Clark's dream included a plan to construct an 1880s railroad town, complete with an authentic narrow-gauge logging railway. Over the last 50 years, Clark's dream has been continued and expanded, now incorporating two railroads, one of which dates to 1875.

Cover image for Roaring Camp Railroads, isbn: 9781467129961

Whittier

9781467134293

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

When Quaker colonists arrived in Southern California in 1887 to establish their ideal city of dreams between the San Gabriel River and the base of the Puente Hills, this land already had a storied past. It was once a place where native Tongvans gathered, the site of Spanish land grant holder Manuel Nieto's rancho, and home to the mansion of the last governor of Alta California, Pío Pico. Named by the early settlers after the abolitionist poet, Ye Friendly Towne grew from a small colony of Quaker pioneers to a bustling center for the production of citrus, walnuts, and avocados. After incorporation in 1898, Whittier also became a flourishing suburb connected to Los Angeles via the Pacific Electric trolley; the home of Whittier College, celebrated for its academics and the mascot Johnny Poet; and home to several notable Americans, including the 37th president of the United States.

Cover image for Whittier, isbn: 9781467134293

The Pomo of Lake County

9780738556048

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Secure in their isolated valley until the arrival of the white man, the Native Americans of Lake County and their ancestors lived for more than 12,000 years in this temperate Eden of abundance. The anthropologist who labeled them all by one name was mistaken though; the Pomo were actually 72 independent villages, or tribelets, that spoke at least seven distinct and mutually unintelligible languages. Theirs was a culture without war, without tyranny, without greed--until the Gold Rush. Like native plant seeds, they have blown and been carried and have taken root again and again. Though their history far predates the camera, the artifacts, stories, and historical images collected from this region and its inhabitants can portray, in part, their joy and pain and their powerful ability to change and endure.

Cover of a history book The Pomo of Lake County showing Native dancers in ceremonial dress

Yreka Western Railroad

9780738574301

$24.99

The city of Yreka was determined to have a railroad. When the Southern Pacific Railroad decided in 1883 to bypass Yreka, the citizens constructed their own railroad known as the Yreka Railroad Company. This railroad managed to eke out a living over the next few decades. In the 1930s, the railroad was reincorporated as the Yreka Western Railroad. By the mid-1930s, the railroad went bankrupt and was forced into receivership, and a new manager was put in charge. Through perseverance of the new manager, the railroad began to grow and prosper. By the late 1970s, the railroad once again started to decline, but as in the past, it managed to hold on. In 1986, the railroad started an excursion train known as the Blue Goose, and steam locomotive No. 19 was added in 1989. Throughout all the hardships, the railroad still continues today and has been given the nickname the Little Railroad that Refuses to Die.

Cover image for Yreka Western Railroad, isbn: 9780738574301

Logging Railroads of Humboldt and Mendocino Counties

9780738596211

$24.99

Locomotive steam whistles echo no more in the forests of the north California coast. A century ago, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties had more than 40 railroads bringing logs out of the forest to mills at the water's edge. Only one single railroad ever connected to the outside world, and it too is gone. One railroad survives as the Skunk Train in Mendocino County, and it carries tourists today instead of lumber. Redwood and tan oak bark were the two products moved by rail, and very little else was hauled other than lumberjacks and an occasional picnic excursion for loggers' families. Economic depressions and the advent of trucking saw railroads vanish like a puff of steam from the landscape.

Book cover depicting a logging railroad yard with stacked log cars and a forest backdrop for Logging Railroads of Humboldt and Mendocino Counties

Marysville

9780738547374

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Known as the "Gateway to the Goldfields," Marysville was once one of California's largest and most prosperous cities during the gold rush era; millions of dollars in gold were shipped from Marysville to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. The community began in 1842 when Theodor Cordua purchased land for a livestock ranch near the junction of the Yuba River and the Feather River, the major waterway from Sacramento. By 1851, the city of 10,000 was incorporated and named after Mary Murphy, a survivor of the ill-fated Donner Party and wife of Charles Covillaud, one of the city founders. The citizens of Marysville prospered during those days and built magnificent homes in Gothic Victorian, Queen Anne, Greek Revival, Edwardian, Italianate, and Eastlake styles, as well as brick commercial buildings, mills, ironworks, machine shops, and factories. Although many have now been lost to fire, flood, and redevelopment, the city still retains much of its early charm.

Marysville Images of America book cover with a vintage street scene and a horse-drawn wagon.

Riverboats of Northern California

9780738574967

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

California's mighty rivers served as the state's early superhighways. Riverboats transported countless tons of supplies, workers, and settlers from the coast to inland gold rush colonies and everywhere in between. Majestic sidewheelers and sternwheelers burning coal, wood, and oil plied the waterways of the delta, as well as the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Napa Rivers, and the lesser-known routes of the Sonoma and Petaluma. Starting with the Sitka in 1847, boats such as the Captain Weber, Jacinto, Fort Sutter, T.C. Walker, and J.R. McDonald ruled the rivers, visiting such ports as Courtland, Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco, Marysville, Firebaugh, Yuba City, and Rio Vista.

Vintage sepia cover of Riverboats of Northern California featuring a steam paddleboat on a river

Chico

9780738530574

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Over time, the land of the Mechoopda Indians, where elk herds grazed on blue-stemmed grass, became Rancho Arroyo Chico, the land chosen by California pioneer John Bidwell for his stately creekside mansion. Bidwell later founded the town of Chico with its wooden plank sidewalks
and iron-front and brick commercial buildings. Today Chico is a dynamic modern city with its own California State University, a wide, tree-lined Esplanade, and--thanks to the legacy of Annie Bidwell--the eighth-largest municipal park in the nation.

Cover image for Chico, isbn: 9780738530574

Theatres of San Francisco

9780738530208

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

You read the sad stories in the papers: another ornate, 1920s, single-screen theatre closes, to be demolished and replaced by a strip mall. That's progress, and in this 20-screen multiplex world, it's happening more and more. Only a handful of the 100 or so neighborhood theatres that once graced these streets are left in San Francisco, but they live on in the photographs featured in this book. The heyday of such venues as the Clay, Noe, Metro, New Mission, Alexandria, Coronet, Fox, Uptown, Coliseum, Surf, El Rey, and Royal was a time when San Franciscans thronged to the movies and vaudeville shows, dressed to the hilt, to see and be seen in majestic art deco palaces. Unfortunately, this era has passed into history despite the dedicated efforts of many neighborhood preservation groups.

Cover image for Theatres of San Francisco, isbn: 9780738530208

Paramount Studios

9781467134941

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Pictures--beginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930s--was told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E.J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 1940-2000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War II--a successful era for the studio--which was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history.

Paramount Studios 1940–2000 book cover with the Paramount Pictures gate and palm trees.

Frontier Village

9780738596655

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

In the late 1950s, businessman Joe Zukin Jr. had a dream of building an amusement park with a Wild West theme in Santa Clara County. His dream was realized with the 1961 opening of Frontier Village on the former grounds of the Hayes Mansion in south San Jose. Among the trees rose a fantasy frontier town complete with a Main Street, where hourly gunfights always ended with the bad guys being carted off to Boot Hill. Visitors could relax in the town square or ride the train around the park. Guests could paddle an Indian war canoe, ride in a stagecoach, or venture into the interior of a haunted mine. Frontier Village was a safe and clean place that welcomed children and their families. Encroaching subdivisions and changing economic conditions forced the park to close in 1980, but to this day, fond memories of the park continue to live on in everyone who ever visited or worked in Frontier Village.

Frontier Village book cover with a sepia photo of a horse drawn stagecoach carrying passengers

Sacramento Northern Railway

9780738530529

$24.99

The Sacramento Northern Railway was once a critical interurban link between California's northern Central Valley communities, the state capital, and the Bay Area. Running through orchards, farmland, swamps, and cities, this electric railway began its life in 1905. Service eventually ran from Chico to Oakland, but after the Bay Bridge opened in 1939, the 186-mile route started in San Francisco's Financial District, crossed the bridge on the lower deck, ran through Contra Costa County towns like Moraga, Lafayette, and Pittsburg, across the Suisun straits on the massive rail ferry Ramon (which could hold an entire train), and into Sacramento, the halfway point. From there, the train continued through rolling hills and farms on to Marysville, and finally to Chico before making its return journey. The Sacramento Northern soldiered on until World War II, but eventually the growing car culture, along with competing diesel railroads, undid this splendid line. Interurban passenger service ended in 1941, and the various lines were gradually abandoned or dieselized. Today a 22-mile segment of the route remains in operation at the Bay Area Electric Railway Museum in Solano County.

Book cover for Sacramento Northern Railway featuring vintage electric locomotives on a railroad

The Mojave Desert

9780738502199

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

A vast land of mineral wealth, eerie beauty, and countless contrasts, the Mojave Desert joined the Union of the United States on September 5, 1850, and became part of the new San Bernadino County three years later. A massive, parched region, its varied terrain rolls eastward from the Antelope Valley to the Colorado River. The nation's highest temperature on record occurred in this region; on the other extreme, the freezing winters here shroud the land in ice and snow. This thirsty expanse climbs to over 4,000 feet, with a great number of different wildlife forms making their homes among the hills. Featuring over 200 evocative and illustrative images, The Mojave Desert is an entertaining and educational source of information about the area and its unique history.

Vintage family portrait on the Mojave Desert book cover featuring a man, woman, two children, and a dog

Manzanar

9780738558080

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

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

Manzanar book cover from Images of America featuring a desert road lined with power poles

San Jose's Historic Downtown

9780738529226

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

San Jose is the Capital of the Silicon Valley, the high-rise, economic engine of advanced technology. Yet it was once a verdant valley, inhabited by wildlife, waterfowl, and the native Ohlone people. The Spanish who founded California's first civilian settlement here in 1777 named it for Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the Spanish Expedition. Their farms fed the soldiers at the Monterey and San Francisco presidios, beginning an agricultural industry that thrived for nearly 200 years. Although serving briefly as California's first state capital, for many decades downtown was the somewhat sleepy commercial center of the Santa Clara Valley. A housing and population expansion that began in the 1950s exploded with San Jose's rebirth as a technological mecca.

Cover image for San Jose's Historic Downtown, isbn: 9780738529226

Los Angeles's Bunker Hill

9781609495466

$21.99

When postwar movie directors went looking for a gritty location to shoot their psychological crime thrillers, they found Bunker Hill, a neighborhood of fading Victorians, flophouses, tough bars, stairways and dark alleys in downtown Los Angeles. Novelist Raymond Chandler had already been there exploring the real-life mean streets that his hardboiled detective, Philip Marlowe, prowled in the writer's exacting prose. But the biggest crime was going on behind the scenes, run by the city's power elite. And Hollywood just happened to capture it on film. Using nearly eighty photos, writer Jim Dawson enlarges the record of L.A. history with this grassroots investigation of a vanished place.

Book cover for Los Angeles Bunker Hill with large gold lettering on a black background

Growing Up in Long Beach

9781626193581

$21.99

How quickly the memories fade of local and favorite hangouts that once helped define Long Beach. In this collection, Tim Grobaty remembers growing up in the fast-growing new neighborhoods of East Long Beach, the beloved places downtown that were part of the city's mid-twentieth-century fabric and a few obscure spots in the margins. Long Beach's memory lane includes the dearly departed restaurants the Golden Lantern in Los Altos and Rusty's in the Wrigley District, the Circle and Los Altos Drive-Ins, great concerts of the 1970s in the arena and auditorium and the shoppers' paradises of Uncle Al's Toy Korral in the Plaza and Buffum's downtown. Join Press-Telegram columnist Tim Grobaty as he records Long Beach residents' recollections and taps his own boomer-years memories.

Cover image for Growing Up in Long Beach, isbn: 9781626193581

Nevada City

9780738530628

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Vibrant and captivating Nevada City began as a gold-mining camp called Deer Creek Dry Diggins. The large gravel deposits alongside this creek reportedly delivered a pound of pay dirt a day by the fall of 1849, when A. B. Caldwell's general store opened to supply this haphazard collection of tents. By March 1850, somewhere between 6,000 and 16,000 boisterous souls called it home, and the new town was christened "Nevada," meaning "snow covered" in Spanish. After 1861, townsfolk took to adding "City" to the name, to avoid confusion with the new state whose Comstock silver strike drained off many Nevada City residents.
Seven fires burned early Nevada City to the ground,
sparking a fashion for brick architecture that is evident
in many of the 93 downtown structures listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.

Cover image for Nevada City, isbn: 9780738530628

Mount Lowe Railway

9780738547534

$24.99

Opened with great fanfare on July 4, 1893, the Mount Lowe Incline Railway was hailed as Earth's Grandest Mountain Ride. Built by Civil War balloonist Thaddeus S. C. Lowe and railroad engineer David J. Macpherson in the mountains above Altadena and Pasadena in Los Angeles County, this funicular was operated for 43 years and served nearly four million passengers from around the world. Where else could one find four hotels, an observatory, the world's largest searchlight, a dance hall, miniature golf, a zoo, horseback riding, tennis, and snowcapped peaks, all within a day's journey from the Pacific Ocean and downtown Los Angeles? The San Gabriel Mountains continue to be a great natural resource and recreational escape for many Angelenos, but the spectacular railway lives on only in these vintage photographs.

Cover image for Mount Lowe Railway, isbn: 9780738547534

South Pasadena

9780738547480

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

South Pasadena is a small city among giants, sandwiched between the great metropolis of Los Angeles and its nationally famous namesake neighbor, Pasadena. Described as a modernday Mayberry and a Norman Rockwell painting come to life, South Pasadena thoroughly represents the very idea of "Main Street America." The city's 40year fight against the I710 Freeway extension is legendary in suburban efforts to maintain cultural identity. "South Pas," as residents know it, was named five times on the National Historic Register's top10 list of "Most Endangered Places." The city's resistance to outside forces threatening to erode the rich heritage captured in these evocative images has made this "little guy" municipality a giant in the historicpreservation battle.

South Pasadena book cover from Images of America showing a sunlit street scene with a garden and pedestrians.

Avila Beach

9781467130738

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

For more than 100 years, Avila Beach has represented the best of what California's Central Coast has to offer. Inhabitants of Avila have, since before its inception as a town, borne witness to the many changing faces and cultures representing the California landscape. Its earliest inhabitants were the Chumash Indians, who populated the Central Coast until the arrival of the Spanish missions. Later, the San Miguelito Rancho land grant was awarded to Don Miguel Avila, for whom the town itself was named. Avila eventually became a thoroughfare for the fishing industry. Other industries prospered as well, notably due to the ingenuity of early pioneer John Harford, who was instrumental in the development of numerous piers at Avila and at Port San Luis. The access to the sea allowed the region to benefit from the steamer ships that serviced California's coast.

Avila Beach cover featuring a dramatic sea statue on a rocky pedestal by the shore.

Coronado

9780738581309

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

During the 1880s, a great land boom was sweeping California. Two visionary entrepreneurs, Elisha Babcock and H. L. Story, imagined Coronado as a resort and brought their dream to reality by luring the wealthy and famous to their exclusive red-roofed hotel on the beach. John D. Spreckels continued to build upon that dream, leaving a legacy through his many gifts to the city. The U.S. Navy has played a prominent role in Coronado's development, with North Island officially known as the birthplace of naval aviation, and later, with U.S. Navy SEALs stationed at Naval Amphibious Base. Coronado and North Island are surrounded by water and only accessible by the peninsular Silver Strand and the iconic Coronado-San Diego Bay Bridge. This creates a small town atmosphere with a unique combination of cosmopolitan beach resort and navy town, rich in history.

Cover image for Coronado, isbn: 9780738581309

Ghost Towns of Death Valley

9781467132275

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Although the Death Valley area is sparsely populated, it once was home to a good many towns, some of which not only have disappeared from the desert but also from history. Even though the name "Death Valley" itself evokes dark and foreboding images devoid of life, there was a surprising number of towns that did exist in or near the 3.4 million acres that comprise Death Valley National Park. Many had the amenities of larger cities, and some thrived before being deserted and melting back into the desert. The visual record of many of these towns and their occupants is featured in this book.

Cover of Ghost Towns of Death Valley with a sepia photo of two boys in hats and a dark title panel.

Yosemite Valley Railroad

9780738581118

$24.99

The Yosemite Valley Railroad was constructed as a badly needed conveyance to Yosemite Valley in the days before the automobile. Visitation to Yosemite had been small, and the federal government wished to introduce the new park system to the public. A railroad through the Merced River Canyon from Merced was the answer to the challenging terrain. Thousands of acres of virgin timber forest and other natural resources along the way supported the building and operation of this rail line. From l906 until World War II, timber, gold, barium, limestone, freight, and visitors rode the rails to Yosemite National Park on this line.

Cover image for Yosemite Valley Railroad, isbn: 9780738581118

Lake Arrowhead

9780738529189

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Legend has it that the remarkable scar on the southern face of the mountain was formed when the Great Spirit fired an arrow at healing hot springs along the baseline, to mark the spot for the Pauite and Serrano Indians. From the floor of the San Bernardino Valley, the "arrowhead" can be seen from up to 50 miles away. The once-named "Little Bear Valley" was populated mostly by loggers for a time, but in the 1920s, the area was reimagined as a getaway spot. Tourists and Hollywood stars flocked to the lakefront hotels and homes, and the lake became a year-round destination for skiing, hiking, shopping, and dining.

Lake Arrowhead book cover showing a sepia lakeside scene with three people and a white dog by trees.

California Agriculture

9781467161619

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

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.

Cover image for California Agriculture, isbn: 9781467161619

Growing Up in Vacaville

9781467157681

$24.99

Fiesta Days parades, Saturday nights at the Vacaville Theatre, and Bulldogs and Wildcats everywhere.

Exquisite food coupled with the wonder and whimsy of the world-famous Nut Tree restaurant. Beating the heat at The Blue Lagoon Waterslide Park or getting lost in the giant maze, The Wooz. Trips to the burger joints on “Hamburger Hill” while the scent of dehydrating onions from the Basic Vegetable Products plant wafted through the air. Savoring Vasquez Deli burritos with the radio station tuned to KUIC. Celebrating with hometown heroes Super Bowl Champion Jarrett Bush, World Series MVP Jermaine Dye and iconic rock band Papa Roach.

Author and accidental historian Tony Wade leads this vivid tour through bygone Vacaville.

Cover image for Growing Up in Vacaville, isbn: 9781467157681

Old Sacramento and Downtown

9780738531236

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The discovery of gold launched an unprecedented rush of humanity to California's Sierra foothills. Many of those miners and minerals flowed as naturally as the waterways into a settlement that grew where the American and Sacramento Rivers meet. The Sacramento River, the main traffic artery between the mines and San Francisco Bay, was soon flanked by a burgeoning Embarcadero and commercial district that became Sacramento City in 1849. Paddlewheel riverboats, like the New World, carried goods,
passengers, and great wealth. Besting all jealous rivals, Sacramento became the state capital, and a wealthy merchant's residence was transformed into the governor's mansion. Today downtown and Old Sacramento, a 28-acre
state historic district, are thriving, graced by such treasures as the restored State Capitol Building, the art deco Tower Bridge, and scores of historic structures and attractions like the Leland Stanford Mansion and the California State Railroad Museum.

Old Sacramento and Downtown book cover in sepia tones showing a streetcar on a tree lined street with the Capitol dome in the distance.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

9780738531229

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

A local poet once described Carmel-by-the-Sea, with its haunting pines, fog, and white sand, as our inevitable place. The area had been inhabited for more than 3,000 years when Fr. Junipero Serra chose the site for his mission
headquarters in 1771. The romantic name, Carmel-by-the-Sea, was the gift of a group of women real estate developers, later used in advertising lots for brain workers at in-door employment. Many Stanford and UC Berkeley professors, artists, writers, and musicians left a lasting legacy here in their art and in their rejection of largescale commercial development. Although impoverished artists may no longer afford to live here, many residents and millions of sojourners still consider the lovely village packed with galleries and eateries their inevitable place.

Cover image for Carmel-by-the-Sea, isbn: 9780738531229

Malibu

9780738576145

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Malibu offers the best in Southern California living. This small town is situated close to Los Angeles and Hollywood, but far enough away from the traffic and stress of big-city life. All the clichés of Southern California come true in Malibu: the swimming pools, movie stars, paparazzi, and fancy cars. It's the land of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But Malibu is also a beautiful, quiet, and surprisingly rural beachfront community. In a desirable location going back to the time of the Chumash Indians, the peace and environment of Malibu have been protected by city fathers with a vision. This is the California Riviera, a thin slice of la dolce vita located between the Santa Monica Mountains and the deep blue sea.

Cover image for Malibu, isbn: 9780738576145

Fresno

9780738596204

$24.99

Fresno was founded in 1872 in the middle of the vast, fertile San Joaquin Valley and quickly became the financial and social center of California. From the infinite amount of agricultural products to lumber, oil, water, and electrical power, the city thrived upon the multitude of natural resources that were abundantly available in the area. As the county seat, it was the political and cultural center of central California. Shown in this volume are postcards of the city in its heyday.

Cover image for Fresno, isbn: 9780738596204

Children's Fairyland

9781467124164

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Five years before the birth of Disneyland, Children's Fairyland opened on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland, a 10-acre storybook theme park designed to immerse young children in the world of stories and imagination. Over the years, Fairyland has amused and engaged generations of children and inspired similar storybook parks (including Walt Disney's) around the country. This is the story of Oakland's Fairyland, the little park with an enduring impact. It is a place where books, theater, animals, gentle rides, and creative play offer an alternative to highly commercial and technological entertainments. Through archival photographs, keepsakes, and remembrances, Children's Fairyland offers a behind-the-scenes tour of this remarkable and enchanting place.

Cover of Children's Fairyland from Images of America showing a parade around a vintage train ride.

Tehachapi

9780738555607

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

An "unusual name for an unusual place," Tehachapi is actually a Southern Paiute description for the convergence of the Mojave Desert and the wetlands of California's southern Central Valley. In 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad used the Tehachapi Valley to link Northern and Southern California rail lines near the thriving dual communities of Williamsburg and Greenwich. These hamlets were known by the area's ranchers, farmers, loggers, miners, merchants, and outlaws as Old Tehachapi and New Tehachapi. The railroad created its own town, Summit Station, which informally became known as Tehachapi after it outlived both early settlements. These raw frontier outposts eventually evolved into the anchor city of southern Kern County, surviving droughts, floods, fires, and a devastating 1952 earthquake.

Tehachapi Images of America book cover in sepia tones with men posing with bottles in a dusty town.

Big Bear

9780738531113

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

California’s Big Bear received its name from a perhaps unsurprising story— from an early encounter with a group of bears.

In 1845, Benjamin Davis Wilson--the future first mayor of Los Angeles and the grandfather of Gen. George S. Patton--led a 20-man posse into the San Bernardino Mountains in search of Native American raiding parties that had been attacking Riverside ranches. But what they found in a particular high-altitude valley were, instead, large and furry. Wilson's men soon roped 11 bears, bringing the creatures into camp, and the valley the Serrano Indians knew as Yuhaviat, or Pine Place, received a new map designation. Wilson named a nearby body of water Big Bear Lake (now Baldwin Lake, with the present-day, man-made lake co-opting the bruin moniker). Today, at elevations between 6,000 and 9,000 feet, the city of Big Bear Lake is an hour and a half from Los Angeles and a million miles from the rat race, where hiking, sports, and the absence of exertion thrive in a vacation atmosphere.

Cover image for Big Bear, isbn: 9780738531113

Grass Valley

9780738546971

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Grass Valley was named for its spring-fed meadows, but its history springs from deep below the soil. An immeasurable wealth of gold lay in ancient river courses, embedded in quartz, or scattered capriciously in surface gravel. Vibrantly entrepreneurial since its inception, Grass Valley echoed with the roar of stamp mills crushing gold-bearing quartz 24 hours a day, every day, for decades. Its mines produced $350 million, and millions more are thought to be buried beneath the modern city. Grass Valley's wealth drew flamboyant stars like Lola Montez and gold-camp-urchin-turned-star Lotta Crabtree. It was here that philosopher Josiah Royce was born and Cherokee writer Yellow Bird (John Rollin Ridge) lived his final days. Grass Valley was often the subject of Alonzo Delano's tales of the gold rush, and more recently, it was the setting and inspiration for Wallace Stegner's best seller Angle of Repose.

Historic Grass Valley street scene with horse drawn wagon and shoppers on a downtown avenue.

San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury

9780738559940

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

At the turn of the 20th century, the Haight-Ashbury first gained prominence as the gateway to Golden Gate Park; six decades later, it would anchor the worldwide cultural revolution that blossomed in the 1960s. Though synonymous with peace, love, and living outside the mainstream, its history goes back long before the Summer of Love. Starting as a dairy farm in San Francisco's Outlands, the area saw a building boom of Queen Anne country homes for well-heeled San Franciscans and served as a refuge for victims of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Through world wars, industrial and cultural revolutions, the dot-com boom, and beyond, the Haight-Ashbury has one of the most fascinating histories of any place, anywhere. Here is the story of a vibrant neighborhood that attracts throngs of visitors, while maintaining a core community of families, young people, and long-timers.

San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury book cover depicting a street march with banners and a peace symbol in sepia tones

Mt. Baldy

9780738559995

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Visible throughout the entire Los Angeles Basin, Mt. Baldy, originally known as Mt. San Antonio and affectionately referred to as "Old Baldy," is the tallest peak in the majestic San Gabriel Mountains. Approximately 49 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, Mt. Baldy first gained popularity during the Great Hiking Era--the decades before and after the turn of the 20th century--when visitors traveled up San Antonio Canyon to hike, camp, fish, and hunt. Before outdoor recreation became fashionable, the resource-rich area was a haven for gold miners and businessmen who sought their fortunes in the steep and rugged terrain. Despite natural disasters in recent decades, the mountain community continues to receive record numbers of visitors to its rustic lodges, state-of-the-art ski facilities, and superb hiking areas. The community of Mt. Baldy Village, once known as Camp Baldy, is a quaint and picturesque locale that includes a post office, volunteer fire department, school, church, visitor's center, and resort accommodations.

Mt Baldy book cover showing five riders on horses in front of a wooden fence and a camp sign in the background.

Compton

9780738595399

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Compton is a city of myth and misunderstandings. Today, it is known as the city of "hip-hop dreams and gangsta fantasies." Its history, however, is not as well known. Compton was originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant. The area was deeded as a wedding gift, lost in foreclosure, then sold to F.P.F. Temple and F.W. Gibson at a sheriff's sale. Ultimately, it was settled in 1867 by former forty-niners from Stockton. Given its location halfway between the harbor and Los Angeles, the "Hub City" has seen many pivotal events: the dawn of flight at the 1910 international air meet, the 1933 earthquake, floods, white flight, factory shut-downs, decline, and now a new beginning at the start of the 21st century.

Sepia-toned cover of Compton showing a bustling early 20th century downtown street with shops and pedestrians.

California's Highway 99

9781467132138

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The portion of California's Highway 99 between Modesto and Bakersfield presents a fascinating and nostalgic environment. The highway has a unique charm and character that are significant to California natives, visitors, and those who have moved to the California Central Valley over the past century. This roadway has never been upscale or presumptuous but is truly egalitarian. This book is a pictorial and textual history of the highway itself, the cities and towns along the highway, and other locations in Northern California that evoke the same nostalgic feelings. Presented here are images taken in the region before Highway 99 was officially established. It includes images that were captured over the past century of Giant Orange juice stands, vintage signs, historical buildings, and other attractions that are part of the heritage. The author's hope is to entertain, provoke thought, and provide glimpses into obscure slivers of history.

Cover image for California's Highway 99, isbn: 9781467132138

Emerald Bay and Desolation Wilderness

9781467128186

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Emerald Bay sparkles as a diamond within the jeweled landscape known as Lake Tahoe. Designated a California State Park in 1953 and a National Natural Landmark in 1968, Emerald Bay is one of the most photographed landscapes in the Sierra, featuring California's first underwater park, dramatic Eagle Falls, and Lake Tahoe's only boat-in camp. Vikingsholm, nestled within the southwestern edge of the bay, is a 38-room mansion that is a dramatic example of historic Scandinavian architecture. A small stone teahouse steeped in fanciful lore is perched atop Emerald Bay's Fannette Island. The Desolation Wilderness, established in 1969, is one of the most popular wilderness-designated areas in the United States. The geographic area of the wilderness is just less than 100 square miles, includes 130 lakes scattered throughout the alpine topography, and contains countless waterfalls and streams intersecting the hiking trails and granite landscapes.

Book cover for Emerald Bay and Desolation Wilderness from Images of America, featuring a sepia landscape and a black red bordered title plaque

Lake County

9780738530307

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The slopes of a cooled volcano, Mount Konocti, reflect in the waters of Clear Lake, the oldest lake in North America. Home to Pomo Indians for millennia, the region's first immigrants settled near Kelseyville. Mendocino and Napa Counties vied for ownership of Clear Lake, but disputes ended when a new county formed in 1861. The serene, natural landscape, plentiful mineral hot springs, and remote location attracted thousands of visitors to large resorts like Bartlett, Harbin, and Seigler Springs. Prizefighters came from all over the nation, including Gentleman Jim Corbett and John L. Sullivan, who trained at separate local resorts for their 1892 title bout. Tourists and residents traveled in style on the steamer, City of Lakeport. Lake County towns like Lakeport, Lower Lake, Kelseyville, Upper Lake, and Middletown based their economy on agriculture and orchard crops as well as tourism and recreation, but this ancient lake remained and remains at the heart of all.

Lake County Images of America cover showing a sepia lakeside scene with mountains and a dock

Roseville

9780738570297

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Long before white settlers arrived around 1849, the Maidu of Nisenan Indians, as they were sometimes called, were living in the vicinity of today's Roseville. Known for its gently rolling hills and beautiful old oak trees, the area had many new arrivals during the Gold Rush. Many came to try their luck, but some came looking for land, not gold, and so stayed here. By 1864, the first several miles of the Central Pacific Railroad reached Roseville (then known as Grider's), cementing its long-standing rail heritage. In 1909, the citizens voted to incorporate, and the sleepy little town became Placer County's largest city, with today's population surpassing 105,000. It is uncertain, but many agree Roseville is so called because of an abundance of wild roses in the region.

Cover image for Roseville, isbn: 9780738570297

San Francisco's Presidio

9780738529868

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What was once home to the native tribe known as the Ohlone, and functioning as guardian of the San Francisco Bay under Spanish, Mexican, and American flags, the Presidio has served as outpost as well as cultural barometer of the vast changes this country and the state of California have seen. For almost a century and a half, the U.S. military transformed these grounds into a logistical centerpiece for every American conflict and created a pioneering airfield for early flight experiments. The Presidio served as the headquarters for the Western Defense Command during World War II and until its closure in 1994. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area then embraced a unique opportunity to develop the Presidio into a mixed-use area where it once again became an influential icon as development tackled various social, cultural, and environmental issues to point northern California into a new century while simultaneously tracing this country's past.

Book cover for San Francisco's Presidio featuring a vintage military crew posing beside a cannon.

Lindsay

9781467115728

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A picturesque town nestled among the wildflower-covered foothills of the Sierras, Lindsay is the epitome of the ideal California life—one of health, wealth and sunshine. Lindsay became the heart of the state's second gold rush, when large-scale farming became popular, by hitting the mother lode with oranges. With over 16 citrus packinghouses, people initially came to Lindsay to seek their fortune. The success of the citrus groves attracted not only many skilled Japanese farmers but also many immigrants who were new to the trade. By the 1920s, Lindsay's most famous crop became Lindsay Ripe Olives. Lindsay is a town of surprising inventions and innovations that revolutionized agriculture, citrus farming, irrigation, and especially the olive industry.

Cover image for Lindsay, isbn: 9781467115728

San Francisco's Transgender District

9781467162654

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San Francisco’s Transgender District, six blocks in the Tenderloin, was founded in 2017 by three black trans women. The first trans and gender nonconforming residents in the area were two-spirit residents of the Ramaytush Ohlone territory. After the founding of San Francisco, trans individuals continued to live, perform, advocate, and gather in the area.

Some members of the trans community gained fame and fortune in local vaudeville theaters and performing in drag. Others regularly navigated issues with the police, landlords, and local businesses. The 1906 earthquake dramatically reshaped the neighborhood when Market Street was destroyed. José Julio Sarria, local clergy, “Screaming Queens,” the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Ms. Billie Cooper, and many others helped the trans community find glitter in the ashes and recover from hardship. The Transgender District includes the site of the first trans and queer uprising at Compton’s Cafeteria and Glide Memorial Church, the site of the first transgender support group in the United States.

Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer, an activist, award-winning historian, and finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in transgender nonfiction, leads regular walking tours of the district. Images in this book come from his personal collection, museums, archives, and local photographers.

Cover image for San Francisco's Transgender District, isbn: 9781467162654

Lost Gas Stations of San Mateo County

9781467161794

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Discover the history San Mateo County's gas stations through this collection of historic photographs.

The years following the 1906 earthquake saw a migration from the city to the suburbs, farms, and orchards of the San Francisco Peninsula’s San Mateo County. Mobility on the peninsula came in the form of streetcars, trains, and buses but was soon dominated by the automobile. Beginning in the late 1920s through the 1990s, the peninsula was inundated with automobile service stations, or gas stations, where smartly dressed station attendants practically ran to one’s car to fill the tank, check oil and tire pressure levels, and clean the windshield. At the peak, the small city of San Carlos had 23 stations. Today, it has only five.

Bruce C. Cumming enjoyed a 42-year-long career in California law enforcement, serving as police chief of Menlo Park and Morgan Hill. Cumming has had an interest in all things automotive and currently owns several vintage autos and collects petroleum memorabilia. Nicholas A. Veronico is the author or coauthor of more than 45 books on art history, aviation, military, and transportation subjects. Together, they have sourced many rare, never-before-seen photographs from various county archives and private collections to document how car culture on the peninsula has changed over the years.

Cover image for Lost Gas Stations of San Mateo County, isbn: 9781467161794

Glendale:

9780738531076

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The Second World War changed Glendale in the same way that it overhauled many cities in Southern California, with new war-related industries requiring more workers in bigger facilities. Many men and women of the armed forces decided to make Glendale their home after the war. The
population stabilized in the 1960s, but a new wave of development swept through Glendale as it became surrounded by freeways, as the Galleria mall was built, and as Brand Boulevard became a center of commerce. The city's cultural composition also changed when more Latinos, Armenians, Asians, and other distinct peoples began to make Glendale home, boosting Los Angeles County's third most populous city over the 200,000 brink. The year 2006 marked the city's centennial and the bicentennial of Jose Maria Verdugo's Rancho San Rafael, from which the city grew.

Book cover with a wide Glendale street view and mountains in the distance behind vintage cars

Conejo Valley

9780738580395

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The amorphous Conejo Valley today encompasses the southeastern portion of Ventura County in and around Thousand Oaks, including Newbury Park and Lake Sherwood, near where the I-101 exits Los Angeles County at Westlake Village on its way west and north. Human history in the Conejo Valley dates back to the hunting and gathering days of the Chumash Native Americans. The short Spanish and Mexican periods added a few adobe buildings, erected for respites taken by vaqueros and later cattle rustlers on these rolling grasslands north of the coastal Santa Monica Mountains. In the 19th century, a grand hotel was constructed, and a stage route was established. Grain farmers tried to tame the thirsty hills of the Conejo Valley before the arrival of scenic neighborhoods and malls after World War II.

Conejo Valley book cover showing a sepia photo of women in a tall grass field beneath a decorative title banner

University of California, Davis

9780738596990

$24.99

More than a century ago, the University of California established the University Farm at Davis to showcase the achievements of its thriving College of Agriculture and to train students in the practical arts of farming. Since enrolling its first students in 1908, UC Davis has evolved into a world-class university offering a full spectrum of studies. UC Davis research over the decades has had far-reaching impacts, including innovations in viticulture and enology that have improved winemaking around the world. Colorful traditions like Picnic Day celebrate the depth and breadth of this historic institution and show off its handsome campus. Most pictures in this book come from the university archives, with some images from the McCurry and Eastman collections and others taken by the distinguished photographer Ansel Adams.

Book cover for University of California, Davis The Campus History Series with students in a classroom photo.

Vallejo

9780738529097

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Founded as California's state capital in 1850 and named for one of the state's pre-eminent native sons, General Mariano Vallejo, the city of Vallejo has a favored location on the eastern interior of San Francisco Bay. Protected from wind, fog, and possible invasion by sea, Mare Island, just off Vallejo's shoreline, was the United States Navy's first base in the Pacific in 1854. Mare Island Navy Yard grew to meet the challenge of every major conflict in the country, reaching its apex during World War II and ending its military life producing nuclear submarines. The sunny sloping streets of Vallejo lengthened and became more populous in tandem with the Yard, expanding in bursts and nearly tripling its population in the 1940s. In recent years the city and its institutions have survived a wrenching urban and economic redevelopment process, now building on the creative strengths of its historic downtown and colorfully diverse population to forge a Vallejo for the new millennium.

Vallejo Images of America cover showing a hillside town and a large Vallejo title

The California Delta

9780738547879

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Welcome to the delta--California style! Over 1,000 miles of waterways lure sportsmen, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts to the largest estuary in the western United States, surpassed nationally only by the Mississippi River Delta. For generations, the promise of lazy summer days has beckoned travelers to cruise the mighty Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Along with vacationers, however, agricultural users and commercial vessels from around the globe share in the California Delta's bounty. Over 23 million Californians rely on the delta watershed for drinking water, and diversions sustain the largest agricultural industry in the nation. The small towns dotting the sloughs from Collinsville to Stockton to Walnut Grove tell of a simpler time, while today's delta faces such challenges as wildlife-habitat restoration, water rights, housing development, and politics. Complicating these issues, aging levees throughout the low-lying region threaten a disaster of national proportions--and with that prospect, the very future of the California Delta.

Cover image for The California Delta, isbn: 9780738547879

San Francisco

9780738529875

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The "real" San Francisco lies below the streets, sidewalks, and buildings, hidden from view. This famous city is known for its beautiful setting of water, trees, hills, and beaches, but relatively few people know of its true natural state. Before it
was built up and paved over, the earth here was a diverse ecosystem of creeks, marshes, sand dunes, estuaries, and densely forested hills. Over this landscape roamed elk, rabbit, bears, bobcat, and mountain lion, and the now-crowded bayfront teemed with mollusks, otters, dolphins, and whales, while huge flocks of birds blocked out the sun overhead. Today, only about two percent of the city's natural areas remain as they were.

San Francisco A Natural History book cover in sepia tones with an old cityscape and curved red title banner

Sacramento

9781467103466

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Going back to its Native American origins, Sacramento has withstood flood, fire, and plague to honestly earn the moniker Urbs Indomita or Indomitable City. Such grit—enhanced by an unmatched embrace of diversity and the strength that comes with it—has powered the Sacramento area's role as gold rush epicenter, railroading Goliath, purveyor of hydroelectric power, world war and Cold War arsenal, agricultural hub, and policy center for one of the nation's most innovative states. Truly, the impact of the Capital City extends so much farther than the Central Valley. It is through exploring the pages within that the reader will truly understand why, as stated by Sacramento historian and developer Gregg Lukenbill, America may have been born in Philadelphia, but the American West was born in Sacramento.

Cover image for Sacramento, isbn: 9781467103466

The Key System

9780738547220

$24.99

It is difficult now to imagine San Francisco Bay without bridges, but not too long ago, a complex system of ferries and trains helped span the waters in an elegant way. The Key System was a huge portion of this network; it was part of businessman "Borax" Smith's method to attract San Francisco workers to live in the cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and Piedmont, where he dealt in real estate. The Southern Pacific Railroad was the Key System's fierce competitor, then later an ally, before it was vanquished. Thousands of commuters rode the system for years, until a ridership decline eventually doomed the Key when bridges finally crisscrossed the bay.

Cover of The Key System San Francisco and the Eastshore Empire with a vintage train crossing a bridge over water

Lake Tahoe's West Shore

9780738588919

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First sighted by John C. Fremont and Charles Preuss in 1844, the "Lake of the Sky" beckons to pioneers and adventurers today as it has through history. Author Mark Twain, popular lecturer George Wharton James, industrialist Duane Bliss, and film star Elizabeth
Taylor all found inspiration in its secluded sylvan beaches. Washoe tribal members held Dá'o' a ga ("Edge of the Lake") as their paradise until lumber demands for the Comstock Lode all but stripped the dense forests. Gradually, lakefront property became private retreats and hostelries catering to tourists happily arriving from around the world for winter skiing, summer boating, and holidays.

Lake Tahoe's West Shore book cover showing a sepia toned lakeside boardwalk with visitors

Westwood

9780738569109

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Don Maximo Alanes was awarded a land grant from the king of Spain in 1843 known as El Rancho San Jose de Buenos Aires, stretching east-west from what is now Sawtelle Boulevard to Beverly Hills, and from Sunset to Pico Boulevards. Preserved into the 20th century under state senator John Wolfskill's ownership, the rancho was sold to Broadway Department Store founder Arthur Letts for $100 an acre in 1920 for estates he called Holmby Hills after his British birthplace. His son-in-law Harold Janss developed Westwood Hills in the southern tracts. Letts, a former trustee of the Los Angeles State Normal School, which became UCLA, agreed in 1925 to deed 375 acres of the hilly ranch land north of Wilshire Boulevard to the college. Janss developed a university town-style commercial village of 26 Spanish Revival buildings, some with towers and neon signs that remain icons of today's Westwood Village.

Westwood Images of America book cover featuring a sepia street scene in Westwood Village with palm trees and vintage cars

Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway

9780738559599

$24.99

With a schedule regulated by the tides and the needs of chickens, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway operated for 81 years as a delightfully quirky egg-hauling enterprise. Modern electric railroad technology paired with ancient low-tech steamboats made possible the overnight shipping of fresh produce to a voracious San Francisco market. The railroad helped Petaluma earn the moniker "the egg basket of the world." Incorporated in 1903, the railroad provided efficient train service to this fertile farm region. The famous botanist Luther Burbank located his experimental farm near Sebastopol and proclaimed it is nature's "chosen spot of all the earth." The railroad survived the devastating 1906 earthquake, opposition from three larger railroads, the Great Depression, and fierce auto-truck competition. The corporation was, mercifully, abandoned in 1984, and most of the rails were removed by 1988. Happily, recent plans call for a tourist trolley to operate over a portion of surviving Petaluma tracks.

Cover image for Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, isbn: 9780738559599

Bishop

9780738581835

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Located in the stark landscape of Eastern California's Owens Valley, Bishop is situated between two of the highest mountain ranges of the contiguous United States. Native Americans had been in the region since antiquity, and white settlers began to filter in after many battles with the Paiutes and Shoshones. Bishop was named after Sam Bishop, who drove cattle into the area and settled along Bishop Creek. Many more farmers and ranchers followed. To the south, Los Angeles was growing too, tapping the Owens River for a gravity-fed aqueduct for its residents; thus began the Los Angeles–Owens Valley Water Conflict.

Cover image for Bishop, isbn: 9780738581835

Vista

9780738559391

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The vast California land grants of the mid-1800s have long since been divided, yet Vista remains "The Home of the Ranchos." Two imposing adobe ranch houses that served as the earliest centers of northern San Diego County social and business life now stand fully restored as focal points for educational and cultural events. Until 1926, Vista's rich soil and near-perfect climate lacked one critical element: an adequate, reliable water supply. The formation of Vista Irrigation District resulted in the celebrated arrival of an ample supply of water and marked the commencement of an agricultural empire. Vista was soon the avocado capital of the world, with citrus, field, and flower crops flourishing as well. The home-building surge following World War II led to its incorporation as a city in 1963, which enhanced Vista's ongoing reputation as a thriving, family-oriented community that excels today in commercial, recreational, and cultural endeavors.

Cover image for Vista, isbn: 9780738559391

Catalina Island

9780738529196

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Throughout its history, the 76-square-mile island of Catalina has played host to Native Americans, smugglers, otter hunters, ranchers, miners, entrepreneurs, vacationers, movie stars, and nature enthusiasts. William Wrigley Jr. (of chewing-gum fame) bought the island in 1919 and later constructed the recognizable casino building, which was never used for gambling but did become one of the best-known ballrooms in America. In the 1970s, the Wrigley family deeded 88 percent of the island to the Catalina Island Conservancy, which protects the natural state of the island and her inhabitants. Today nearly one million tourists visit annually to take in the fishing, parasailing, glass-bottomed tour boating, scuba diving, cycling, camping, galleries, shopping, and dining.

Cover image for Catalina Island, isbn: 9780738529196

San Francisco's Market Street Railway

9780738569598

$7.99

San Francisco's Market Street Railway boasts a rich history.

Vintage sepia postcard cover depicting a trolley on San Francisco Market Street with hills and buildings.

Cardiff-by-the-Sea

9780738569512

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Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a beautiful Southern California coastal town nestled between the San Elijo Lagoon to the south and rolling hills to the east. Known simply by locals as Cardiff, it was named by Esther M. Cullen, who arrived from Boston in 1910 with her husband, J. Frank Cullen, a man determined to transform the swampy expanse of fertile farmland into a coastal playground and town. During the 1920s, the town evolved quickly into a bustling community with a school district, post office, train station, and water irrigation district. The independent character of today's residents can be gleaned throughout the history of the area, from Cullen's determination to build a town in a region thought to be unsuitable for inhabitation, to the citizens' battle in the 1980s to retain autonomy as the town was incorporated into a larger city. Today Cardiff-by-the-Sea is one of five communities comprising the city of Encinitas and is proud of the small-town atmosphere first cultivated by the pioneering spirit of its early settlers.

Book cover of Cardiff-by-the-Sea featuring a man standing in a small boat on the shore.

Theatres in Los Angeles

9780738555799

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Los Angeles and the movies grew up together, and a natural extension of the picture business was the premium presentation of the product--the biggest, best, and brightest theatres imaginable. The magnificent movie palaces along Broadway in downtown Los Angeles still represent the highest concentration of vintage theatres in the world. With Hollywood and the movies practically synonymous, the theatres in the studios' neighborhood were state-of-the-art for showbiz, whether they were designed for film, vaudeville, or stage productions. From the elegant Orpheum and the exotic Grauman's Chinese to the modest El Rey, this volume celebrates the architecture and social history of Los Angeles's unique collection of historic theatres past and present. The common threads that connect them all, from the grandest movie palace to the smallest neighborhood theatre, are stories and the ghosts of audiences past waiting in the dark for the show to begin.

Theatres in Los Angeles book cover featuring a crowded street and a glowing theater marquee.

Palm Springs

9780738559827

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Nestled beneath the San Jacinto Mountains in an oasis of palm trees is a mineral hot springs. For thousands of years, this was the winter home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the original inhabitants of this harsh desert region. A U.S. government survey party discovered the spring in 1853 and identified the area located at the base of "two bunches of palms." In 1884, Judge John McCallum of San Francisco purchased land near the springs for $800 and built the first adobe structure, which still stands today. Stage lines and railroads provided transportation through the area, bringing in visitors year-round. Dr. Welwood Murray built the first Palm Springs Hotel, and in 1909, Nellie Coffman built The Desert Inn, which would become famous as a tourist attraction. This was the beginning of the area's major industry. Today Palm Springs is still a destination for visitors throughout the year and home to a growing population of permanent residents.

Palm Springs Images of America book cover showing a sepia group portrait on a stairway

San Francisco's Bernal Heights

9780738547411

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San Francisco's Bernal Heights is a hilltop village tucked away in the southern part of the city. Freeways and urban thoroughfares now bound the neighborhood, once defined by the swamps and creeks of the original Mexican land grant. The legacy of Potrero Viejo, or old pasture, and the farms of the 19th and 20th centuries have developed into today's passion for the preservation of open space. From the 1860s legend of Widow O'Brien's cow to the 1970s fight that saved the hill's crest from development, Bernal residents have tirelessly guarded their environment. An unofficial coyote mascot reigns over one of San Francisco's few remaining wild areas.

Book cover of San Francisco's Bernal Heights showing a sepia photograph of a large crowd with a rider on horseback in the foreground.

Eagle Rock

9780738582160

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Eagle Rock has grown from an open farming community, populated by a few hundred souls, into a busy and diverse neighborhood of Los Angeles. The incorporation of Eagle Rock City in 1911 began the political process necessary to sustain and service this expanding community. The Eagle Rock City that was annexed by Los Angeles in 1923 was much smaller than the area included by the City of Los Angeles in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council in 2002. The town grew through the century by attracting the loyalty of people living in then-outlying areas. Eagle Rock: 1911-2011 continues the exploration begun in the Images of America volume Eagle Rock, detailing this expansion and the community's everyday life and interaction with the city and the world.

Eagle Rock 1911 2011 cover from Images of America showing a family on a hillside with a large rock formation.

West Hollywood

9780738528502

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

West Hollywood, which began as Sherman, a rail yard town, played an integral role in creating the "Hollywood" film industry while it grew up alongside the fashionable Beverly Hills to house the service industries needed by these wealthy neighbors. During Prohibition, the still unincorporated area was the site of the entertainment industry's watering holes and gambling parlors, and nicknames such as the "Sinful Drag," "The Adult Playground," and "Hollywood's Soul" were bestowed upon West Hollywood's world-famous Sunset Strip, where today's visitors can still dance in the footsteps of legends like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. As time marched on, the predominantly renter, Jewish, gay, and senior citizen residents of the progressive-minded area determined to step out of the shadows of nearby communities and create a city of their own, an effort that caused some controversy but resulted in the incorporation of West Hollywood in 1984. Since incorporation West Hollywood has been a beacon of hope, drawing refugees from Russia and around the world to its tolerant streets.

West Hollywood Images of America cover depicting a busy vintage street scene with signs and pedestrians

The Owens Valley

9780738595931

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

The Owens Valley is a bold and beautiful land where rugged alpine peaks tower over the deep trough of high desert that John Muir called "a country of wonderful contrasts." Inhabiting a rich and complex past are native people, miners, cattlemen, farmers, and city builders who laid claim, often violently, to its resources. By 1913, Owens River water was flowing south through the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and from the long and bitter conflicts that followed emerged an Owens Valley future far removed from the agrarian Eden envisioned by 19th-century pioneers. Today, unparalleled recreational opportunities draw millions of visitors annually to this "long brown land" even as reminders of a quintessential Western past linger in its open vistas, epic landscape, and enduring traditions.

Vintage Owens Valley book cover showing workers by a wooden canal with mountains in the distance and the name Jane Wehrrey

CAL FIRE

9781467116527

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Since the establishment of the California State Board of Forestry in 1885, the mission of the California Division of Forestry has been to protect and preserve natural resources via a focus on resource management and protection of valuable watersheds. From the beginning, pioneers within the communities of San Bernardino County were actively involved in protecting their homes from the ravages of wildfire. In August 1930, San Bernardino County entered into a contract with the state to provide fire suppression and prevention on nonfederal lands within the county. The cooperative services agreement evolved to provide municipal fire protection services from both paid and volunteer staff. In addition to responsibilities within San Bernardino County, in the late 1980s the State Responsibility Area land within Inyo and Mono forestry units were consolidated under the San Bernardino, California Department of Forestry, Ranger Unit.

Cover image for CAL FIRE, isbn: 9781467116527

Silicon Valley

9780738570938

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Nestled at the south end of San Francisco Bay, there lies a fertile valley. Cradled by the ancient Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain ranges, the region spans much of the Santa Clara Valley, curling north from Menlo Park into Palo Alto. At its eastern gateway lies Milpitas and in the south is the Evergreen area, in the shadow of Mount Hamilton. The heart of the valley is San Jose. For many years, each spring, fruit trees produced flower blossoms as far as the eye could see. After World War II, veterans returned home, attended local engineering schools, and quickly became engaged in electronics and aeronautics development. The discovery of semiconductors and computer and Internet technologies radically altered the area, sped its momentum, and earned it its title—the Silicon Valley—now arguably the world's preeminent center for technological advances. Like the seismic waves that created the region, the valley's economic peaks and plunges have shaped the lives of its residents, but they continue to look to the future, developing new technologies to advance mankind.