All Titles

The first comprehensive photographic record of Boston's most conspicuous immigrant group - the Irish.

A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis the fruit of years of tireless research by prize-winning author Dennis P. Ryan. Within these pages are rare and handsome images unearthed from innumerable local libraries, historical societies and museums, parish rectories and Catholic charitable institutions, the archives of religious congregations, major Boston and diocesan newspapers, private family collections, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Beginning with the horrifying famine of the 1840s in Ireland and concluding four generations later with the election of John F. Kennedy as president, A Journey through Boston Irish Historyis a sweeping, poignant portrait of the children of the Gael and the city they transformed politically, socially, and culturally.

Ryan takes us through the corridors and wards of hospitals and orphanages that were established by the Irish to care for their own. Powerful images supplied by the Mathew Brady Collection at the Library of Congress recount the exploits of the celebrated Massachusetts Ninth Irish Regiment during the American Civil War. Within these pages, we are also invited to discover the vibrant personalities of pugilist John L. Sullivan, William Henry Cardinal O'Connell, as well as the irrepressible Mayor James Michael Curley.

A look into one of America's most unique places, the famous Coney Island and Astroland theme park.

Coney Island is a unique New York City neighborhood and a place of exciting innovation, where the roller coaster and the hot dog were introduced to the world, the glow of a million bare lightbulbs at Luna Park dazzled early visitors, and rocket rides at Astroland fueled intergalactic fantasies. Coney Island served as the pressure valve for New York, drawing millions to its famous beach on sweltering weekends. Astroland Park, created at the dawn of the space age, was the vision of Dewey and Jerome Albert. They transformed the three-acre Feltman's Restaurant property, one of Coney Island's oldest attractions, into a futuristic amusement park that would anchor the amusement zone for the next half century. The park's ambitious opening in 1962 mirrored the wide-eyed optimism of the early 1960s and helped Coney Island survive the closure of the venerable Steeplechase Park.

The historic Great Lakes Naval Training Station was authorized as a "training ship on land" in 1904.

The base opened on July 1, 1911, and the first class of 300 U.S. sailors graduated four months later in a grand ceremony attended by Pres. William H. Taft as guest of honor. It has since sent to the fleet over four million sailors, serving the nation through all the conflicts of the 20th century. Today Great Lakes is the sole remaining navy boot camp in the United States. Anchored by the stately Building One, the entire 43-building complex was designated as Great Lakes Naval Training Station on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This book, with over 200 vintage images, explores its colorful and important history.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours was an iconic restaurant chain that originated in Portland, Oregon. Originally opened by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy in 1963, the family-friendly chain would become known for classic ice cream sundaes and birthday party celebrations. The restaurants were designed using a turn-of-the-20th-century theme with a marble-topped soda fountain, Tiffany lamps, and waiters dressed in colorful vests and skimmer hats. While continuing to open new stores in Portland, Farrell and McCarthy developed a franchise program to expand Farrell’s into other cities in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.

Patrick J. Baker worked at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours in Greendale, Wisconsin, from 1981 to 1985 and later became an investor in Farrell’s when the chain was revived from 2003 to 2019. Taken from numerous personal interviews and correspondence with Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy, Baker shares the history of the chain up to the 1972 sale to the Marriott Corporation. This book uses photographs from the author’s extensive collection of images of the Farrell’s in Oregon, which were commissioned by Farrell and McCarthy in the 1960s.

Discover within these pages little-known facts about the USS Albany, the U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution, and the WWII destroyer, USS Cassin Young.

The photographs in this exciting new volume illustrate the history of the Charlestown Navy Yard from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. Founded in 1800, the yard was oneof the first military shipyards in the United States.Charlestown Navy Yard celebrates the life of the yardthrough one hundred years of photographs, showing thedramatic changes that took place during the transition from wood to steel ships. Charlestown Navy Yard's history is preserved in these images, which include rare views of buildings past and present and snapshots of shipyard workers in the Ropewalk, on the ships, and in the Forge Shop where die-lock chain was developed.

Billed as New York's answer to Disneyland, innovative Freedomland opened on June 19, 1960.

Designed by Marco Engineering of Los Angeles for the International Recreation Corporation, Freedomland transformed a former landfill, lowlands, and farms into an exciting theme park in the shape of the United States. Through photographs, Freedomland recalls boat rides on the Great Lakes, putting out a fire in Chicago, dancing under the stars at the Moon Bowl, or taking a train ride all the way to San Francisco. Entering Freedomland was like walking into a history book of America for both young and young at heart. Open for five seasons, Freedomland gave its guests and cast members memories that have lasted a lifetime.

See how Rhode Island's hard-shell clam industry came about and remains as popular as ever to this day.

Steamships once plied the waters of Narragansett Bay, carrying thousands of guests to feasts of clams prepared in every way imaginable at scenic spots like Rocky Point and Crescent Park. After hurricanes and pollution destroyed Rhode Island's soft-shell clam and oyster beds, the quahog became the state's favorite bivalve, and Rhode Islanders took to their automobiles and drove to the beach for clam cakes and chowder at the shacks and chowder houses that carried on the old traditions. Quahogging remains a major business in Rhode Island, where men and women continue to make a living from the sea. The long lines at take-out windows attest that the future of Rhode Island's clam shacks is secure as they successfully balance changing tastes with time-honored recipes.

More than 100 years ago, visionary men recognized the attractiveness and potential of this land along the shores of St. Andrews Bay.

Previously known under such names like Park Resort, Floriopolis, and Harrison, Panama City was named such because a straight line between Chicago and the capital of the Central American country of Panama intersected the Florida town, and Panama City became the closest developed port on the mainland to the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Nothing would have been possible, however, without the hard work and investment of the town's founders. A local newspaper once reported that such men "saw that nature had dealt kindly with that section of the country and that with properly directed effort a great future awaited it.'? After more than 100 years, nature's kindness to those who reside on these shores is apparent. This volume pays tribute to Panama City by recognizing the places, events, and most importantly, the individuals who have inspired its success.

Founded in 1653, the town of Huntington is situated on what is known as the Gold Coast of Long Island.

The incorporated villages within the town are Huntington Bay, Lloyd Harbor, Asharoken, and Northport. Huntington has always attracted a population that has created a foundation of diversity. Settlement-era properties, castles of the Victorian period, and main streets still adorn the town as witnesses of the people who lived here and a community that is still thriving. A few of the castles and mansions that once existed in the town have disappeared, some by wear and tear and others through neglect. Still others have been converted into academic institutions and museums. Around Huntington Village shares photographs that give meaning to the events in the lives of the people who lived here.

The city of Bloomington and Indiana University were linked from the start, grew together and still share joys and sorrows 180 years after their founding.

The many vintage photographs in this pictorial history bring to life both historical ambiance and transformation in town and gown from the late 1800s to the present. When Monroe County was organized in southern Indiana in 1818, hilly, thickly-wooded Bloomington became the county seat. The first courthouse was a log cabin, and 30 families made up the town. Six years later, when Bloomington's population had increased to 500, Indiana's first public institution of higher learning opened with 10 students and a single professor. It would grow to become Indiana University, and start building its present campus in 1884. Bloomington prospered during these decades through the presence of IU, as many as 40 industries, and its growing production of limestone. The town's Beaux Arts courthouse building (1907) and IU's wooded central campus form Bloomington's signature twin landmarks. Around them lie many distinctive neighborhoods, a now-extensive campus with Big Ten sports arenas, and a picturesque countryside that draws bicyclists from across the nation.