Astoria

9781467109581

$23.99

Established in 1811, Astoria, Oregon, holds claim to being the oldest US settlement west of the Rockies. After surviving devastating fires and severe economic downturns, modern Astoria--with its well-preserved historic homes and bustling downtown--is a beacon on the scenic Columbia River. Celebrating this multilayered history, author Dr. Chelsea K. Vaughn is a native of the Pacific Northwest who has called Astoria home for the past nine years. She now works as the curator for the Clatsop County Historical Society.

Brooklyn's Central Library

9781467124447

$24.99

Brooklyn, New York, is home to the Brooklyn Public Library, the fifth-largest library system in the United States, with 60 neighborhood branches serving the 2.5 million residents of the borough. The Central Library--the main hub of this far-reaching institution--has, for 75 years, occupied a prime triangle of land at Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza. Originally proposed in 1888, the unique Art Deco building with an "open book" design was not completed until 53 years later in 1941. Since then, the library has seen millions of eager readers pass through its iconic gilded doorway. While the technologies of learning have changed dramatically in the years since the Central Library opened, the mission of the institution remains the same--to ensure the preservation and transmission of society's knowledge, history, and culture, and to provide the people of Brooklyn with free and open access to information for education, recreation, and reference.

Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley Movie Theatres

9781467107242

$24.99

Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Valley and the adjacent Inland Empire, encompassing San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, boasted a wealth of movie theatres throughout the 20th century. 

Entertainment options proliferated as people flocked to both areas, which were famed for their wealth-producing citrus groves and vineyards, their position along Route 66, and their mountain and desert resorts. Residents and vacationers could enjoy films at nickelodeons, picture palaces, drive-ins, and other venues; some still operate. Due to the regions’ proximity to Hollywood and their more rural and suburban settings, local cinemas frequently held studios’ test screenings (including for Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz); audiences there thus influenced what moviegoers elsewhere watched. Film exhibition’s history there reflects cultural, social, and demographic trends in these areas and the United States.

Kelli Shapiro, PhD, is a public historian and preservationist who has lived in both regions. She holds degrees from Pomona College, Texas State University, and Brown University. She wrote the Los Angeles Conservancy’s successful California Register of Historical Resources nomination for Route 66’s Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre—as well as Historic Movie Theatres of West Virginia, another Images of America book. This book’s images came from multiple museums, archives, and collections.

Cover image for Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley Movie Theatres, isbn: 9781467107242

Lost California

9781467160605

$24.99

The postcards in this collection reflect a hidden past of California that exists now only on the page. From college gates at Stanford destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and hotels in Catalina, Santa Barbara, and Oakland ravaged by fire to giant redwoods on the coast felled by storms and much of downtown Los Angeles razed in the name of the progress, California's landscape has changed dramatically in the last 125 years. The buildings demolished in San Diego's Balboa Park after the 1915 exposition closed are shown here as is downtown San Francisco before the earthquake and fire of 1906, amusement parks that decorated waterfronts from Long Beach to Santa Monica, and city halls from Anaheim to San Jose.

Lost Columbia County, New York

9781467158008

$24.99

Columbia County Past Revealed

People have been drawn to Columbia County, New York, for years. Beyond the region’s picturesque streams, lakes and mountains, the county is filled with the magic of history. Famed pirate Captain Kidd and local Lord of the Manor Robert Livingston were once in cahoots regarding the plundering of the seas. A roaring nightclub fashioned as a ship marooned on dry land, named the Show Boat, drew legendary acts like Ella Fitzgerald and Redd Foxx in the 1930s. The hills and caves of Austerlitz feature a pond that appears to have no bottom, there have been sightings of the “Beast of the Berkshires” and the area was home to outlaws, gangs and many wishing to remain remote. Author Allison Marchese reveals the lost people, places and things of Columbia County.

Cover image for Lost Columbia County, New York, isbn: 9781467158008

Lost East Chicago and Indiana Harbor

9781467152921

$24.99

Explore the city of yesteryear

East Chicago, Indiana, was a melting pot. The Indiana Harbor neighborhood drew comparisons to Ellis Island as immigrants flocked from all over the world to work at its steel mills. Once home to more than a hundred nationalities, the “Workshop of America” made metal and many other products. Despite issues like pollution and political corruption, it earned the nickname “City of Champions,” winning state titles, sustaining a historic high school rivalry, and producing greats like Gregg Popovich and Junior Bridgeman.

Award-winning Region journalist and Lost Hammond author Joseph S. Pete explores bygone landmarks like Washington and Roosevelt High Schools, Inland Steel Christmas parties, the zoo, Taco Joe’s, the Mademoiselle Shoppe, movies palaces, the gym where Michael Jordan played his first Bulls game, and more.

Cover image for Lost East Chicago and Indiana Harbor, isbn: 9781467152921

Lost Monmouth County

9781467148757

$21.99

With desirable beach communities and nearby commuter-friendly towns, Monmouth County continues to attract new residents, while nostalgic memories of bygone landmarks, forgotten businesses and more remain in the hearts of many. The Thoroughbred horses of Lincroft are gone, but the Brookdale Farm Historic District remains preserved. The Circus Drive-In in Wall maintained an idyllic 1950s ambience for more than a half century, drawing in families with the broad grin of its iconic clown roadside sign. Opera houses of the late nineteenth century were established from Asbury Park to Red Bank, entertaining the masses in an era before movies. New Jersey historian Randall Gabrielan takes readers on a journey of lost Monmouth County.

Newberg

9781467160674

$24.99

Newberg has experienced significant growth in the last century, with a notable uptick in the 1990s. This growth can largely be attributed to increased employment and education opportunities. George Fox University along with ADEC and the ever-expanding wine industry have significantly contributed to Newberg's growth. For much of the 20th century, Newberg was removed from urban life and was simply a place people stopped on their way to the coast. Today, it is a thriving community in the heart of Oregon wine country. Manufacturing advancements in the dental industry were pioneered by the Austin family and their ADEC business. Additionally, as Newberg wines gained worldwide recognition, people began moving to the region to plant their own vineyards. The tourism industry throughout the Willamette Valley grown largely because people come to taste world class wines. Additionally, George Fox University continues to offer a top-notch education and has seen continual enrollment growth since the 1990s.

San Luis Obispo County Architecture

9781467160049

$24.99

California is rare among states and nations in having two cultural capitals--Los Angeles and San Francisco--and San Luis Obispo is smack in the middle. In the middle of nowhere or equidistant from everywhere, its architecture is a riot of variety: samples of practically every 19th- and 20th-century form; experiments by local builders; and one-offs by nationally known architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Julia Morgan, Richard Neutra, Edla Muir, and Warren Leopold ("Not A Licensed Architect" engraved on his tombstone), all without anxiety of influence from the outside. Where Santa Barbara, rebuilt after an earthquake during the City Beautiful movement, celebrates Spanish, Mission, and Moorish Revival, and Palm Springs embodies Mid-Century Modern, San Luis Obispo is California's capital of the eclectic. Wright's one Usonian office; Morgan's biggest and smallest commissions: Hearst Castle and her cab driver's daughters' playhouse; the world's only Greek Revival Streamline Moderne movie theater across from the Roman Revival PWA Moderne County Courthouse, like Ginger and Fred; the world's first industrial desalinization plant in a power plant modeled after an Egyptian Temple and sheathed in aluminum; Art Beal's bricolage Nitt Witt Ridge: all have an extraordinary story. Author James Papp is an architectural historian and writer of walking tours as well as a principal with Historicities, a cultural resources consultancy in San Luis Obispo. He is a member of the Oceano Economic Development Council Advisory Board, the Education Committee of the California Preservation Foundation, and the City of San Luis Obispo Cultural Heritage Committee.

Vanished San Francisco

9781467109215

$23.99

San Francisco is well-known for its beautiful vistas and fascinating destinations. However, many places that were once part of the San Francisco experience have vanished from the land, lost to earthquakes, fire, development, and other forces that led to their disappearance, but not from memory. Sand dunes have been replaced by buildings and streets, homes now cover previously desolate areas where cemeteries once stood, and beloved buildings are gone due to various reasons. San Francisco's lost treasures also include the popular Hamm's sign, the former two-toned foghorn, and the first insect to go extinct in the United States due to human behavior. Like most cities, San Francisco is constantly changing. Places appear and disappear, and the city grows and changes, always ready to rebuild and remake history.