Name: Central Park
Brand: Edward J. Levine
SKU: 9780738546278
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Central Park

9780738546278

$24.99

Harper's Weekly reported in 1857 that no engineer had yet been able to present a feasible plan for Central Park and that "it may not ever happen." Their pessimism was misplaced, as Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's Greensward Plan was approved in May 1858. By 1860, visitors were enjoying the magnificent new park's naturalistic splendor. Central Park quickly became one of New York's premier attractions, featuring the menagerie, the mall, Bethesda Fountain, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the music pavilion, the casino, and the original Croton Reservoir. The northern section of the park was more reminiscent of an untamed wilderness than of an urban park. Through historic postcards, Central Park highlights this man-made green oasis at the center of a teeming metropolis.

Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

9781467142953

$24.99

Visiting the redwoods in nineteenth-century California meant coming to Big Trees Grove, now part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This forest of giants in the Santa Cruz Mountains attained fame through the 1846 exploits of explorer John Charles Frémont, whose namesake tree still stands. Saved from the logger's axe by Joseph Warren Welch in 1867, these were the first coastal redwoods preserved for public recreation. As a world-renowned resort for sixty years, Big Trees Grove hosted thousands of visitors--from picnickers to presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt. Join author Deborah Osterberg as she recounts the stories of those first visitors and the awe-inspiring landscape they preserved for future generations.

Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Harriman State Park

9780738572932

$24.99

Once home to Native Americans and mountain settlers, Harriman State Park is today a 73-square-mile wilderness and recreation area lying 30 miles north of New York City. Offering over 200 miles of hiking trails, swimming, boating, fishing, and camping, it has been an oasis for city dwellers for 100 years. During the 1800s, the land was home to hardworking farmers, miners, and woodcutters. As the new century dawned, it evolved into a park of stunning beauty. Part of the Palisades Interstate Park System, it is the second-largest state park in New York.

Cleveland National Forest

9780738558042

$24.99

On July 1, 1908, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt created the U.S. Forest Service's Cleveland National Forest. Named for pro-forest Pres. Grover Cleveland--and currently including over 460,000 acres in the mountainous backcountry of San Diego, Orange, and southwestern Riverside Counties--the Cleveland is one of the largest and oldest land-management agencies in the three-county region. During the last century, the dedicated men and women of the Cleveland have worked to establish the administrative systems, build necessary facilities and infrastructure, manage use and users, conserve resources, and protect the forest from the endemic and sometimes large and deadly wildfires, such as the infamous and destructive 2003 Cedar Fire and the October 2007 Southern California firestorms. Today the Cleveland National Forest continues to be a major tourist and outdoor recreation destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, as well as for millions of Southern California residents.

Eagle Rock Reservation

9780738511399

$24.99

Founded in 1895, the Essex County Park Commission was the first county park system in the nation. That year, the commission began its management of Eagle Rock. The reservation was designed by renowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., who also designed Central Park in New York City and the Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C. Evident characteristics of the architect within the park are the winding roads, natural blended waterways, open fields, and overlooks, all of which combine to attract thousands of visitors each year. Eagle Rock Reservation explores many interesting and little-known facts about the park. Readers are introduced to Llewellyn Haskell, the founder of nearby Llewellyn Park, who first purchased land at Eagle Rock. Seen is the trolley that once served Eagle Rock as it emerged as a popular resort area. Included are the park's view of the New York City skyline and the Hundred Steps to Eagle Rock, the same steps that were ascended by visitors nearly one hundred years ago. Also seen is a never-before-published lab note written by Thomas Edison, documenting World War I experiments he conducted for the U.S. Navy at Eagle Rock.

Summer Camps around Asheville and Hendersonville

9781467116091

$24.99

Historically, western North Carolina has been a haven for summer camps, sustaining one of the highest concentrations of summer camps in America. For generations, the natural beauty, rustic terrain, and cool climates of the southern Appalachian Mountains have attracted campers from around the world. In the last decades of the 19th century, the summer camp movement arose in the Northeast in response to industrial era concerns about the waning of traditional values and new child development theories. By the turn of the 20th century, the first residential summer camps had emerged around the popular resort towns of Asheville, Hendersonville, Brevard, Black Mountain, and Lake Lure, North Carolina. Founded on lakeshores surrounded by woodlands, these camps offered an array of activities, such as archery, canoeing, horseback riding, swimming, and woodcraft, that instilled lifelong lessons in youth and forged lasting friendships. Today, many of the same camp traditions like council rings and campfire stories are still passed along each summer. Readers will recognize familiar cabins and lakefronts with nostalgia in this collection of vintage photographs.

Summer Camps around Asheville and Hendersonville

High Uintas Wilderness

9781467160926

$24.99

Author Lynn Arave has compiled more than 190 photographs, including many vintage images from the Wasatch Mountain Club to showcase the Uinta Mountains, known as the “roof” of Utah, with elevations exceeding 13,000 feet above sea level.

These mountains, essentially “the Alps of Utah,” comprise more than 450,000 acres, with Kings Peak—13,528 feet above sea level—as the state’s tallest point.

The Uintas are also unusual because they run east-west instead of the usual north-south direction for US mountains. Besides being a significant water generator for three states, the Bear River has its headwaters here, as do the Weber, Provo, and Duchesne Rivers. Much of the Uintas are designated as a wilderness area, and the area boasts more than 1,000 natural lakes. The mountains are a popular recreation haven with superb scenery, camping, hiking, and fishing.

Lynn Arave earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Weber State University. He is an avid hiker and has ascended Kings Peak four times. He has conducted extensive research into the history of Utah and the Uintas. He is also the author of Images of America: Layton, the coauthor of Images of America: Great Salt Lake, and has written other historical books.

Cover image for High Uintas Wilderness, isbn: 9781467160926

Along Virginia's Appalachian Trail

9780738566825

$7.99

The Appalachian Trails boasts a rich history.

Idaho State Parks

9781467126168

$24.99

Idaho's state parks have been called the "jewels" of the Gem State. The story of how those jewels came to be involves political intrigue, much resistance, some philanthropy, and a touch of irony. Sen. Weldon B. Heyburn famously said that state parks were "always a political embarrassment." Idaho's first state park was named after him. Today, Idaho's 30 state parks host five million people a year. Visitors come to boat, camp, bike, climb, hike, fish, and make memories in the great outdoors. This book tells the story of Idaho's diverse state parks--from Priest Lake in Idaho's panhandle to Bear Lake in the southeast corner of the state--through a wealth of historical photographs. A variety of parks are featured, including ones that were lost, found, or never came to fruition.

Newfound Lake

9780738576657

$24.99

Newfound Lake, often referred to as "New Hampshire's best kept secret," borders the towns of Bristol, Bridgewater, Hebron, and Alexandria and has been a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and vacationers since the late 1880s. Charming cottages and inns formed around the lake to meet the needs of the growing tourism industry. In Newfound Lake, rare postcard images, primarily from the authors' private collection, transport the reader back to these special moments in time.

Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park

9780738571898

$24.99

Located on the edge of one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, the Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park is comprised of several seashore habitats found in Southern California. All are within easy walking distance of each other near the main channel of the Port of Los Angeles. They include a windswept beach and a protected harbor beach separated by one of the largest breakwaters in the world, as well as tide pools, a fishing pier, a man-made mudflat, and coastal cliffs that provide living spaces for coastal marine organisms. The combination of natural and man-made habitats here bordering the San Pedro neighborhood of the huge metropolis of Los Angeles makes this an unusual environment, representative of an urban ocean.

Glacier National Park

9780738580807

$24.99

Pres. William Howard Taft signed the bill creating Glacier National Park in 1910, and a wilderness paradise in northwestern Montana was born. This book illustrates the park's evolution, from the Great Northern Railroad days, Native American presence, lodges, chalets, and camps, to majestic scenery and wildlife--all in vintage postcards. The opening of Glacier National Park coincided with the popularity of postcards across the nation, and hence this visual documentation of Glacier's many wonders is thorough and encompassing. With the celebration of its centennial in 2010, Glacier National Park continues to provide us with one of the last best places to visit.

A History of Charleston's Hampton Park

9781609496241

$21.99

Most visitors to Charleston never venture far enough north to discover what residents claim as the most appealing public open space on the peninsula. Hampton Park is completely unexpected in this city famous for highly manicured gardens with clipped lawns, sculpted shrubs and precise designs hidden behind massive walls and iron gates. Hampton Park's naturalistic character was created as an antidote to the cramped conditions of the lower peninsula, and it still offers open fields of grass, walking trails, shade trees and overflowing flower beds. But the story is not that simple--it began more than three hundred years ago with Native Americans and involves early plantation life, Revolutionary War battles, horse racing, the Civil War, industrial development, civic spectacle, professional baseball, a zoo and disco.

Yellowstone National Park (French version)

9781467125345

$24.99

Le Parc National de Yellowstone compte parmi les lieux les plus connus dans le monde. Etabli en 1872 en tant que premier parc national au monde, des merveilles telles que l'Old Faithful Geyser et des icônes culturelles ont été préservés. Pendant quelques siècles, c'était la résidence des tribus Shoshone, Crow, Bannock, Blackfeet et d'autres tribus d'indiens natifs, mais ces groupes ont été exilés par des promoteurs du parc qui craignaient que les touristes ne visiteraient pas le parc si des indiens natifs y habitaient. Presque tout de suite après son début et à la suite de la Guerre de Sécession, Yellowstone est devenu la principale destination pour les touristes dans l'Amérique Occidental. Avant 1900, c'était devenu une réussite touristique et aujourd'hui c'est une réserve de la biosphère mondiale et un site du patrimoine mondial.

Yellowstone National Park (French version)

Saving the North Coast Redwoods

9781467157131

$24.99

The battle to preserve a natural wonder.Towering and majestic, the redwood forests of California’s North Coast once drew not visitors, but fortune-seeking timber companies. By 1917, the region had been logged for nearly 70 years and concerns arose that the rapidly disappearing redwoods could be lost. Damage wrought by logging and road construction caught the attention of Madison Grant, John Campbell Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn and the Save the Redwoods League was born. Together with the State of California and the U.S. Federal Government, the League’s efforts led to the protection of the remaining old growth redwoods, creating state and national parks to preserve them for future generations.Author Susan J.P. O’Hara recounts the story of the fight to save the world’s tallest trees.

Cover image for Saving the North Coast Redwoods, isbn: 9781467157131

Atlanta's Public Art

9781467107396

$23.99

The public art in Atlanta includes a broad range of media, subjects, styles, and artistic merit. Statuary and figurative sculpture, often in bronze, memorialize historic individuals, while contemporary sculpture includes large-scale abstract works in stone, stainless or weathering steel, and other materials. Street artists and muralists have created more than 1,000 urban murals throughout the city, including large and colorful abstract "canvases," with thematic subjects referencing sports, nature, social issues, the city's African American and Hispanic communities, and Atlanta's leadership in the civil rights movement. Some guerrilla artists began as traffickers of graffiti who tagged buildings, railroad boxcars, and underpasses, creating iconic compilations such as the Krog Street Tunnel. Street art styles embrace photo-realism, abstract expressionism, or folk, op, or pop art, with the latter inspired by fantasy, comic-strip graphics, or Goth. Native Atlantan Alex Brewer (also known as HENSE) has executed commissions from Peru to Australia, while artists from Barcelona, Rome, and Zimbabwe have contributed to Atlanta's status as an international city.

Wilhoit Springs

9781467103237

$24.99

History and legend mingle at Wilhoit Mineral Springs, a former health and recreation resort south of Molalla in Clackamas County. Although nothing remains of the rustic lodge buildings and campground today, tales of the healing soda springs enticed people to "take the waters," and indeed they did. By the late 1800s, this call for relaxation, social camaraderie, and a healthy cure escalated into a large gathering ground and community resort. The rustic getaway lured wealthy city guests from Portland, Salem, and Eugene, as well as the average local family. Wilhoit Springs Park, open to visitors today, is part riparian wilderness and part oak savannah and contains a fortress of older trees in a verdant setting. Today, people can picnic, walk through the mossy woods and meadows, and explore the lush surroundings. There are two springs, one pleasantly soda and the other highly sulfur--each is accessible today.

Cover image for Wilhoit Springs, isbn: 9781467103237

Moraine State Park

9781467125260

$24.99

Venture into flora and fauna of Pennsylvania's Moraine State Park and uncover the hidden histories behind its natural treasures.

About 20,000 years ago, the late Wisconsinan glaciation reached its maximum extent. Glacial deposits identify the moraine, or farthest area covered by the glacier. Muddy Creek was a north-flowing stream that was blocked by the south-advancing glacier, forming a huge lake that lasted until the glacier dam began to retreat. The lake rapidly drained, eventually exposing the vast Muddy Creek basin. Dr. Frank Preston envisioned recreating the ancient glacial lake and worked with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to begin the project that became 16,725-acre Moraine State Park. Its centerpiece, man-made Lake Arthur and the surrounds, provide outstanding outdoor recreation and relaxation opportunities.

Yellowstone National Park

9780738575445

$7.99

Yellowstone National Park boasts a rich history.

San Diego's Balboa Park

9780738569581

$7.99

San Diego's Balboa Park boasts a rich history.

San Francisco's Parks

9781467160155

$23.99

San Francisco was incorporated in 1850, when there was just one communal outdoor space: Portsmouth Square. The square was the literal nucleus of planning for the city, as development maps were measured from its center point. Over time, the city developed into the current metropolis with a population of around 815,000. In a reflection of that growth, 230 parks are now governed and maintained by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The variety of spaces administered by the department includes parks, playgrounds, miniparks, open spaces, and community gardens—within these, many different activities and programs are on offer. In 2017, San Francisco was cited as the nation’s first city where every resident lives within a 10-minute walk to a park; this was calculated by the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that facilitates the creation of parks and analyzes parks for the nation’s 100 largest cities.

Hamilton County Parks

9780738541143

$24.99

Hamilton County parks have long been popular destinations for a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, golf, and boating. At the same time, the parks have worked diligently to preserve wetlands, prairies, and other natural habitats. Hamilton County Parks explores a fascinating and little explored chapter of Hamilton County history. It spans more than 75 years of local history, tracing the development of the park system and the services it has provided its residents over the years. Join author Robert Earnest Miller as he tells the story of the Hamilton County parks through photographs and other visual materials from an extensive collection maintained by the staff of the Hamilton County Park District. The vast majority of these images have never been published or displayed for the public before.

Albuquerque's Parks and Open Space

9780738584706

$24.99

Albuquerque is a city of crossroads and cultures. Located at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, at the edge of the Great Plains, and in the high desert along the banks of the Rio Grande, it is the junction where historic Camino Real crosses venerable Route 66. Although officially founded as a Spanish Colonial villa in 1706, native people have lived in the Albuquerque area for over 10,000 years. Thousands of ancient petroglyphs are testimony to the endurance of today's pueblo peoples. Explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado overwintered his famed expedition here in 1540-1542. Albuquerque has been a boomtown several times, from the coming of the railroad to its role as a health mecca, and from postwar urban growth to recent sunbelt immigration. This mile-high city has always attracted outdoor enthusiasts, as this chronicle of its parks and magnificent open space system attests. Contributions of Aldo Leopold, Clyde Tingley, Harry Kinney, and many community activists have melded with native and Hispanic traditions to create a place unlike any other.

Presque Isle State Park

9780738575414

$24.99

Presque Isle State Park, a peninsula extending seven miles into Lake Erie, attracts four million visitors each year. Since the late 1800s, it has been both an ecological and recreational paradise. It is a place where visitors can enjoy solitude, reflection, and the wonders of nature in addition to the sand and sun. Since 1814, man has been struggling against the forces of nature to protect Presque Isle from the storms that move in off Lake Erie and cause destruction and erosion. Through vintage images gathered from the collections of the author, Erie County Historical Society, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and various local sources, Presque Isle State Park reflects the history and special aura of the park known as a place for all seasons.

Promised Land State Park

9780738538655

$24.99

Located in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania is a beautiful state park with the compelling name of Promised Land. It is visited by thousands annually, and many of those visitors have been coming to the park for generations. Promised Land State Park features more than 200 images that have been preserved by the state park, state agencies, historical organizations, and individuals. Through these unique images, many published here for the first time, the fascinating history of one of Pennsylvania's most popular parks is documented.

Vail and Colossal Cave Mountain Park

9780738548821

$24.99

Just 22 miles southeast of Tucson in the Sonoran Desert sits the town of Vail, colloquially known as "The Town between the Tracks," which refers to the two train tracks running through its tiny business center. The area is named for Walter L. Vail, who, with his partners, formed the sprawling Empire Ranch in 1876. Vail is also the home of Colossal Cave, a "dry cave" where visitors can view stunning formations and hear stories of Native Americans, bandits, and moviemakers. The cave served as the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the mid-1930s, when workers installed trails and lighting in the cave, constructed administration buildings, and built roads and picnic spots in the surrounding area. Colossal Cave is now united with the La Posta Quemada Ranch, a working cattle ranch since the 1870s, to form the 2,400-acre Colossal Cave Mountain Park.

Meridian Hill Park

9781467125307

$24.99

One of the most unique parks in the National Park Service is located one and a half miles north of the White House in the middle of the northwest quadrant of Washington, DC. Meridian Hill Park is a 12-acre neoclassical park reminiscent of an Italian villa garden. Prior to becoming a national park, the area had been part of an estate called Meridian Hill; home to Columbian College, precursor to George Washington University; a Civil War encampment; a seminary; and the site of nature poet Joaquin Miller's cabin. In October 1936, Meridian Hill Park officially opened. It had taken 26 years--from 1910 to 1936--to complete and cost more than $1 million to construct. When the park opened, it contained five statues and memorials (today, there are four), including one for a US president; a 13-basin water cascade created on the 75-foot natural slope; and an elaborate structure that used a newly perfected construction medium called architectural concrete. Meridian Hill Park is of cultural and historical significance and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark.

Mount Hood National Forest

9781467131209

$24.99

The Mount Hood National Forest is the closest national forest to Portland and encompasses the northern end of Oregon's Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River Gorge. Established in 1908 as the Oregon National Forest and renamed the Mount Hood National Forest in 1924, it now consists of more than a million acres. The forest is home to Oregon's tallest mountain, as well as eight designated wilderness areas covering more than 300,000 acres. The forest is also the site of the historic Timberline Lodge and old Barlow Road, the final leg of the Oregon Trail. Thousands of visitors come to the forest every year for camping, hiking, mountain climbing, fishing, skiing, mountain biking, and other recreational pursuits.

Historic Mill Creek Park

9780738539522

$24.99

HIstoric Mill Creek Park documents the fascinating, and often surprising, history of this Ohio park.

Founded in 1891 as Ohio's first park district, Mill Creek Park encompasses a unique wealth of natural and designed features that have been the backdrop for generations of family memories, spanning three centuries. A remarkable visionary, park founder Volney Rogers argued that the land itself could improve the lives of Youngstown's residents. Through fresh air for mill-weary lungs and tree laced horizons for workroom-bound spirits, he knew a park would make the community a better place for families. And he succeeded magnificently. Rogers and the nationally known landscape architects that he hired created breathtaking vistas of Lanterman's Falls and scenic gorges and designed trails, drives, and three pleasure lakes. Other park features include nature preserves, display gardens, recreational fields, a Donald Ross-designed golf course, and a legacy of historic structures. Mill Creek Park indeed has earned its legendary claim as the most beautiful urban park in America.

Denver's Washington Park

9781467130745

$24.99

In the Rocky Mountain West, Denver is considered the big city. Yet its urban core consists of numerous neighborhoods developed in the late 19th century that act today as virtual small towns. South-central Denver's Washington Park is one of those "small towns," and its name refers both to a 166-acre historic park and to the surrounding blend of residential and commercial neighborhoods. Cited as a model for new urbanism, this area serves as an enduring example of the City Beautiful movement. Touted in the late 19th century for its "rapid transit," clean air, and pure water, the area once known as Broadway Terrace, Myrtle Hill, and the Miracle Mile of South Denver continues to serve as a recreational mecca for Denverites. Over a span of 100 years, it has transformed from prairie to potato fields to "posh."

San Diego's Balboa Park

9780738547541

$24.99

Balboa Park began in 1868 when San Diego's civic leaders dedicated 1,400 prime acres to create an urban oasis. Originally the land, crisscrossed with canyons and dominated by native scrub, was called
simply "City Park." In later years, Balboa Park hosted two successful world expositions: the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition. The unique evolution of the park included occupation by the U.S. Navy, a zoo, a Native American village, and even a nudist colony. Balboa Park also suffered periods of neglect and demolition before citizens groups united to save and restore the beloved Spanish Colonial Revival buildings.

Camps of Geneva Lake

9781467115315

$24.99

Geneva Lake camps provided education, activities, spirituality, and community in a healthy environment away from the city. The first sites were located on the western shores of Geneva Lake, with Camp Collie established in 1874; seventeen more followed. Although most camps were spiritually based, they differed in what they offered and who they served. People attending the camps came from all income levels and many cultures. Adult- and family-oriented camps provided a setting for vacations or conferences, and children's camps prided themselves on fostering responsibility and solid values. Images of America: Camps of Geneva Lake highlights 18 camps in the days of woolen bathing costumes, steam yachts, and platform tents.

MacArthur Park

9781467133456

$24.99

Known as Westlake Park for its first 60 years, MacArthur Park is considered one of Los Angeles's original parks. Throughout its history, it has endured countless challenges as the neighborhood and city that surround it grew to become the current metropolis. Born out of progressive vision and drought, MacArthur Park, due to its elegant design and cultural programming, has been referred as a "civic jewel" and the West Coast version of Central Park. Like many urban parks, it has also been burdened with a negative image due to its many decades of neglect, crime, and municipal disinvestment. Today, MacArthur Park has survived as a critical green and cultural space for one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the country. More importantly, MacArthur Park has served as an authentic democratic space for local stakeholders and visitors to gather, play, and protest.