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Art Deco, daring and almost defiant in its optimism, reflected the spirit of a restless time. Bursting forth in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, an age when there seemed to be no limits, this new art form was both elegant and modern. Cincinnati is fortunate to have three stunning examples of this unique style: the sophisticated Hilton Netherland Plaza hotel, the overwhelming Cincinnati Times-Star Building, and the Union Terminal. Beyond these giants, the Greater Cincinnati region is studded with many other breathtaking examples of Art Deco, from a water tower decorated with Christmas lights to stunning neighborhood theaters and apartment buildings to mythological creatures guarding a Masonic temple in northern Kentucky. There is no doubt that Art Deco is alive and well in Cincinnati, so grab a hip flask of bathtub gin, put on some Glenn Miller, and explore the elegance and history of Cincinnati Art Deco.

Throughout Chicago, historic mansions built by legendary architects were the homes to characters just as great and whose impact is still felt today.

Chicago is known throughout the world for its architecture. Although many people are familiar with the city's skyscrapers and public buildings, they often overlook or are unaware of Chicago's mansions that are located throughout the city. These mansions represent Chicago's past and its future, and it can even be said that they are the very embodiment of Chicago and its architecture. These fashionable residences were built to make a statement, and what better way to have done this than to employ the leading architects of the time to design them. These architects included men such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Hobson Richardson, Daniel Burnham, and John Wellborn Root. While the city's mansions are significant because of who built them, they are just as important because of who lived in them. Many of these mansions were built for Chicago's elite businessmen and captains of industry-men who represented old money, new money and big money. Just as important were the families of these men and the other residents who came to live in these mansions-for they left a legacy of their own that contributed to the city's history.

Downtown Cleveland is home to many architectural landmarks that define this proud city on Lake Erie.

Most famous is Terminal Tower, the "grand dame'? of Cleveland skyscrapers, which was also the tallest office building outside of New York City from 1930 until 1967. Other notable high-rises such as the BP building, Key Tower, and the new Federal Courthouse with its distinctive lighted cornice also dominate the city's beautiful skyline. Almost more than the buildings themselves, Cleveland's architectural prowess lies in the details--the terracotta "starburst'? motif on the exterior of the Standard Building, the extensive metal decorative work inside the gargoyle-encircled atrium of the Arcade, and the immense stained-glass dome of the Cleveland Trust Rotunda.

The city of Kearney was founded in 1871 under the name Kearney Junction. Rev. D.N. Smith and Moses S. Sydenham were tasked with the job of choosing a townsite. In 1873, after much debate, the small railroad stop was named Kearney. Over the years, the town continued to grow; it really began to boom in 1886, when the Frank family completed construction on an electric power plant, ushering in an unprecedented era of construction and business in the small town. By 1889, over 700 homes had been built in the area. The allure of commerce and real estate drew many investors from the East to Kearney, where they developed neighborhoods filled with impressive mansions. Today, these homes stand as landmarks and testimonies to the historic figures who built Kearney from the ground up.

Initially dominated by simple renditions of East Coast architecture, Milwaukee developed from three pioneer settlements, those of Solomon Juneau, Byron Kilbourn, and George Walker--three hubs from which three villages radiated outward into one city. Following the Civil War, Milwaukee's growth at the onset of the Industrial Era afforded the city a fanciful array of Victorian streetscapes. The 1890s followed with an era of ethnic architecture in which bold interpretations of German Renaissance Revival and Baroque designs paid homage to Milwaukee's overwhelming German population. At the turn of the century, Milwaukee's proximity to Chicago influenced the streetscape with classicized civic structures and skyscrapers designed by Chicago architects. World War I and the ensuing anti-German sentiment, as well as Prohibition, inevitably had adverse effects on "Brew City." By the 1920s, Milwaukee's architecture had assimilated to the national aesthetic, suburban development was on the rise, and architectural growth would soon be stunted by the Great Depression.

Lincoln's predecessor, Lancaster, formed in 1863 on the east bank of Salt Creek around a proposed Methodist female seminary. Though a building was erected, the school failed to materialize. When Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, the village of Lancaster was chosen as its first capital, and the name was changed to Lincoln. Although lacking mineral resources, a navigable stream, a railroad, or even a minimal population, the village steadily grew and prospered from its 30 original inhabitants to its present population of more than 260,000. At the time of its origins, critics claimed, "Nobody will ever go to Lincoln who does not go to the legislature, the lunatic asylum, the penitentiary, or some of the state institutions." Images of America: Lincoln's Early Architecture traces the city's growth, including three state capitols and the University of Nebraska, into a modern city of diverse people, events, and businesses.

John D. Rockefeller's Cleveland roots stretched across the oil-drenched banks and murky flats of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland and ended in the wooded sanctuary at Forest Hill. Six miles east of Public Square, Forest Hill was the Rockefeller family's country estate and summer home for four decades. It had formal gardens, greenhouses, a lake and lily pond, a golf course, a horse track, and acres of farmland. In the early 1900s, tourists and local residents rode the streetcar out Millionaires' Row to East Cleveland, where they peered through the imposing iron gates scrolled with an R to peek at the gatekeeper's lodge, the manicured lawns, and the road that led to the mansion atop the hill. Unfortunately, in 1917, Forest Hill burned to the ground. Because so many records, mementos, and photographs perished, the estate remains as shrouded in secrecy today as it did during its lifetime. Forest Hill: The Rockefeller Estate unveils the story of the estate, how it evolved and changed over the years, and how its legacy continues.