Name: Pacific Palisades
Brand: Jan Loomis
SKU: 9780738569482
Price: 17.49 USD
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Pacific Palisades

9780738569482

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

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.

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.

Pacific Coast Highway in California

9781467127516

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ghost Towns of Death Valley

9781467132275

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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.

Bodie

9780738559865

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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.

San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury

9780738559940

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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 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."

Huntington Beach, California

9780738518787

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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.

San Bernardino, California

9780738520834

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Twenty Mule Team of Death Valley

9780738595092

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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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill

9780738581583

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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.

San Francisco's North Beach and Telegraph Hill

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.

Southern California Surf Music, 1960-1966

Theatres of San Francisco

9780738530208

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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.

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.

Monterey Peninsula

9780738520803

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From the building of Hotel Del Monte in 1880 to the completion of the Pacific Coast Highway in 1937, connecting the peninsula to the redwood forests of Big Sur and San Simeon beyond, the history of the Monterey Peninsula is the story of the development of a collection of coastal communities-each with its own unique character. Captured here in over 200 vintage images is the heritage of these seaside communities and their role in the peninsula's history. The Monterey Peninsula is home to some of the most famous (and most photographed) shoreline in the world. Pictured in this book is the peninsula's golden era, explored through images that document the growth of Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Point Lobos, and Big Sur. Here you will find rare photographs of Cannery Row, the mission at Carmel, the bathhouse at Lover's Point, the bridges of the Pacific Coast Highway, the cottages of Carmel, the adobes of Monterey, and the cypress trees of Pebble Beach. Included in these pages are images from the author's collection as well as from the Monterey Public Library and Carmel's Harrison Memorial Library. Many of these have never been published.

Sacramento's Boulevard Park

9780738529554

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Perhaps more than any other Central Valley community, Sacramento is changing so rapidly as to become almost unrecognizable. New housing projects and ongoing redevelopment efforts have led to a decline in the original, elegant homes in this city. Thankfully, this is not the case in Boulevard Park! Preservationists and architectural historians have prevailed in this neighborhood to keep the Colonial Revival and Craftsman homes intact for the most part, even as the city around them grows as never before. Boulevard Park sits on the site of the old Union Park racetrack, where Edweard Muybridge's early experiments in motion picture technology (photographing Occidental, Leland Stanford's horse) were pioneered in the 1870s; the street signs here have a horse-and-carriage motif to honor those equine origins.

Frontier Village

9780738596655

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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.

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.

Gold Rush Towns of Nevada County

9780738546926

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

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.

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.

Coronado

9780738581309

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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.

Griffith Park

9780738588834

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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.

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.