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Route 1 in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts is an unapologetic combination of historic gravity, exuberant entertainment, unexpected juxtapositions, and wonderfully kitschy roadside attractions. New England road trippers will encounter roller coasters and candlepin bowling, lobster rolls and homemade pie, colonial-era taverns and granite fortifications. An orange dinosaur overlooks the highway in Massachusetts, a neon whale casts its glow in New Hampshire, and a statue in Maine memorializes a celebrity harbor seal. Motor courts once welcomed weary travelers, and drive-in theaters entertained vacationers on starlit summer nights. A geodesic dome is dedicated to the Maine wild blueberry, and a quirky museum documents the history of the state's sardine industry. A club in Massachusetts showcased jazz greats, and a movie theater in Maine was named after a celebrated racehorse. Mile after mile, Route 1 tells a story about history, survival, loss, and change.

Take a ride through historic Massachusetts down Route 128!

Route 66 may be the most famous highway in the United States, but the country is home to countless roads ushering millions of motorists along decade after decade. Route 128 traces its origins to the late 1920s, when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works cobbled together a makeshift network of existing roads through Boston's suburbs. Between 1947 and 1956, Route 128 was reconstructed as a major regional expressway, and immediately feuled explosive growth in the region. What was once the "road to nowhere" quickly became a major commercial nexus for eastern Massachusetts and a critical link in the region's highway network. Building Route 128 vividly documents the highway's construction and its impact, drawing previously unpublished images from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and tells the story of a region forever changed.

Building the Mass Pike details the urban history and construction of old Boston, with previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives.

By 1950, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its capital city had fallen on hard times. The solution came in 1952 from one man and the road he devoted the last decade of his life to building. With the region's railroads in decline and the roads in appalling disrepair, the difficulty of moving people and goods around the state and into its largest port was taking a heavy toll on the economy. The man was William Callahan, and the road was the Massachusetts Turnpike. Building the Mass Pike tells the story of the road's planning, construction, and impact on the communities through which it passed. The book includes previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives and provides a vivid document of the largest public works project in the state's history and the firestorm of controversy that surrounded it. Written by an engineer-historian, Building the Mass Pike will appeal not only to those fascinated by the history of the Commonwealth and its capital but also to those with an interest in construction, urban history, and the politics of old Boston.

This fascinating collection of photographs brings to life a hundred years of Kennebunk's rich history and in particular the hustle and bustle of Main Street between 1869 and 1970.

Reaching more than a mile in the sky and acting as the crown of the Presidential Range, Mount Washington and the Mt. Washington Auto Road have been luring and challenging adventure seekers on foot, on bicycles, or in race cars for over 150 years. The Mt. Washington Auto Road was opened to the public in 1861 and has remained in continuous operation ever since--making this the nation's first man-made attraction. Located in the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains, the Mt. Washington Auto Road has witnessed the evolution of transportation from mountain wagons drawn by six-horse teams to the modern cars of today. Mt. Washington Auto Road documents the history of this eight-mile path to the summit of the Northeast's highest peak.

Winding through the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, the former Native American footpath known as Route 7 has long been an icon of beauty, vitality, entertainment, change, controversy, and even humor. The scenic towns and villages nestled along this historic highway have many common bonds. Stretching north from Canaan, Connecticut, to Williamstown, Massachusetts, Berkshire Route 7 provides a roadside rich in history. Artist Norman Rockwell's studio once stood proudly alongside this road; the first practical electrical transformer for alternating current was developed in a laboratory next to Route 7; legendary civil rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois was born just a block from the highway; President Theodore Roosevelt was injured in a trolley accident on a busy stretch of the road; humorist Josh Billings's large tombstone overlooks Route 7; the first woman to vote legally in the United States cast her ballot just a stone's throw from the road. As Route 7 redefined itself from dusty footpath to asphalt avenue, postcard makers and photograph takers captured the changes along the way. Old Route 7 contains more than 225 vintage images, many of which date back as far as the 1870s. Open this book and take a stroll along old Route 7. You will see many incredible sights: forgotten quarries, old drive-in movie theaters, trolley-car diners, full-service gas stations, and roadside tourist stops such as Red Bat Cave in New Ashford. Family farms, welcoming woodlands, majestic mountains, beautiful waterways, and even an occasional stately elm remain to remind us of how quickly these treasures could be lost.

Hartford is an old New England river city separated from its eastern neighbors by the Connecticut River. With the opening of the Merritt Parkway in 1940 and construction of the Wilbur Cross Parkway inviting traffic from Boston and New York, the Connecticut legislature realized a new river bridge at Hartford would be a must for local and through traffic. This became a reality in 1942, when the Charter Oak Bridge was opened to traffic. By 1948, the system of roads and highways numbered Route 15 was completed, with Hartford as its focal point. The character of the three Connecticut parkways, the Berlin Turnpike, the Hartford Bypass, and the Charter Oak Bridge is described in Route 15: The Road to Hartford.

Highway historian and retired highway engineer Larry Larned, author of Traveling the Merritt Parkway, has appeared in television and radio interviews speaking about Route 15 and the nation's early roads. Route 15: The Road to Hartford presents images from his forty years of collecting and documenting Connecticut roadside culture, architecture, and engineering. His detailed account of the road to Hartford includes personal recollections of traveling Route 15 as a youngster and studying the details along the way-the tollbooths, the bow-tied gas station attendants, the families on picnics at rest stops.

Since 1938, when the Merritt's first 7-mile section was opened to traffic, millions have shared a fascination for Connecticut's Merritt Parkway and its bridges.

A survey made in 1928 called for a two-lane macadam highway to run from Stratford to Greenwich; with $1 million of state money, construction started on the Merritt Highway in 1932. Opened for 38 miles on September 2, 1940, it became known throughout Fairfield County as the ""Queen of Parkways."" Discover the beginnings of this groundbreaking advance in American travel in Traveling the Merritt Parkway. This pictorial history preserves and pays tribute to the history of the Merritt, and explores the construction of the parkway, as well as the little-known parent highway for which the earliest bridges were constructed, including White Plains Road in the town of Trumbull.