Bøger i Images of America serien

Hollywood has long exerted an international influence on the global imagination. In the first half of the 20th century, Chinese American actors who aspired to a career in Hollywood found their opportunities limited to roles that propagated Asian stereotypes. Meanwhile, many Chinese roles were given to non-Asian actors playing yellowface. It has been a long, hard road for Chinese in Hollywood who have striven to build meaningful careers behind and in front of the camera. This book focuses on the contributions of Chinese and Chinese Americans to the film and television industries as well as those who lived and worked in the Hollywood area. Vintage photographs celebrate pioneers such as Anna May Wong, Tyrus Wong, Milton Quon, James Wong Howe, and many more. From the silent film era to the present, the history of Chinese in Hollywood will surpass 100 years.

Drive down almost any street in Webster Groves and one is filled with a sense of timelessness. Entire neighborhoods are in the National Register of Historic Places, and there are lovingly preserved century homes, beautiful old churches, avenues lined with gardens, and shopping districts more reminiscent of small-town America than a thriving suburb next door to the city of St. Louis. History runs deep here, as it is home to the first chapter of the Red Cross and the first Boy Scout Troop west of the Mississippi, the oldest women's organization in Missouri, the first professional fire department, and the first public library in St. Louis County. North Webster once held the only accredited high school for African American students in St. Louis County. Beginning as a site of country homes for St. Louis professionals, growing through a post-World War II boom that expanded into new neighborhoods, Webster Groves has remained true to its heritage and history.

St. Johnsbury, known to many as the transportation center of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, has a history as fascinating as it is long. Come explore this dynamic past: learn about the St. Johnsbury Trucking Company and the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum; meet the Fairbanks family, who made many significant cultural contributions to the area; and see the many architectural gems from the Victorian period on Main Street, as well as the birthplace of Dr. Bob, who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous. Most of the images that have been selected for this fascinating visual history are rare and previously unpublished, but many of them--although they may have seemed commonplace when originally taken--give us a tremendous insight into the way life was lived in the last century. As well as giving us an understanding of the important themes in St. Johnsbury's rich history, this book also shares a more intimate past by preserving scenes of ordinary folk at work and at play; of education and enterprise; and of celebrations and disasters. What shines throughout these photographs, whether they show the opulence of the Fairbanks' home or some of St. Johnsbury's young men marching off to war, is the fine Yankee spirit characteristic of the people of St. Johnsbury which can be recognized in the town's citizens even today.

"As one of America's most notorious prisons, Alcatraz has been a significant part of California's history since 1853. The small island known in sea charts by its Spanish name "Isla de los Alcatraces," or "Island of Pelicans," laid essentially dormant until the 1850s, when the US military converted the island into a fortress to protect the booming San Francisco region. Alcatraz served as a pivotal military position until the early 20th century and in 1934 was converted into a federal penitentiary to house some of America's most incorrigible prisoners. The penitentiary closed in 1963, and Alcatraz joined the National Park Service system in 1972. Since then, it has remained a popular attraction as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area."--

A Jewish community has resided in Northern Virginia for over 175 years. Communal activities began in earnest in the 1850s with the establishment of a Hebrew Benevolent Society and the first synagogue--Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria. As the community took root, it absorbed waves of immigrants from Germany and later Eastern Europe, leading to growth across the area and a wider range of Jewish practice. The new arrivals settled in towns across the area, establishing livelihoods in Arlington, Herndon, Fredericksburg, Warrenton, Culpeper, Leesburg, and Winchester. Many worked in the retail trade, selling clothes, shoes, merchandise, and scrap. The growth of the federal government and construction of the Pentagon in the 1940s brought new jobs and families to the area, and the Jewish community grew along with it. In recent decades, Northern Virginia has changed from a largely rural area to a bustling integrated extension of Washington, DC. Today, the area is home to over 120,000 Jews, surpassing the number in the older DC and Maryland communities.

Los Angeles, California, shaped the nation's culture in the 20th century with the city's bungalow style of mass middle-class housing. The style made the novelty and easy climate of Los Angeles into a force for living according to new standards of health and well-being, freedom and openness, and simple artistry. The bungalow combined the cozy appeal of Arts and Crafts design with what became the basic principles of 20th-century house architecture: earth-hugging lines, visible structure, and open floor plans emphasizing warmth, intimacy, and fluidity. While the streets and neighborhoods of the bungalowtown presented a lively panorama in which each house stood out as an individual, the bungalow was also a dream that the real estate industry sold to exploit the hunger for upward mobility that brought hundreds of thousands of new residents to the city during the three decades of the popularity of the style. Some of the neighborhoods that the developers established failed, and many homes were eventually demolished or in advanced decay. Yet today, these old houses are beautiful and comfortable homes when restored.

Symphoria, known as the Orchestra of Central New York, is one of only two musician-governed orchestras in the United States. Founded in 2012, Symphoria was created by the musicians who were disbanded when the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra went bankrupt just as it was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Over 100 years after the founding of the very first symphony orchestra in Central New York in 1921, Symphoria celebrates a new model, more modest in scope but equally ambitious in purpose: to contribute to a diverse, vibrant, equitable, and culturally rich Central New York community through the power of great music.

The San Francisco Peninsula serves as a geographic and transportation link between the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and all points north and south. As commerce increased along its highways and railroad lines from the late 19th century onward, cities and towns flourished along that corridor. Wherever commerce went, entertainment followed. Beginning with early playhouses and storefront nickelodeons, continuing through the movie palace period, the golden age of the drive-in theatre, and into the days of the multiplex, this volume of vintage photographs captures the various eras as they applied to the peninsula.

Danville, known as the City of Firsts and Birthplace of the Bluegrass, is nestled in the heart of Kentucky. Its location on a branch of the Wilderness Road, a trail blazed through frontier lands by Daniel Boone and other like-minded pioneers, allowed Danville to burgeon into a political, cultural, and educational hub in the late 18th century. Danville was settled between 1783 and 1784 by Walker Daniel, for whom the town was named. A series of constitutional conventions that led to Kentucky's statehood in 1792 were held in Danville, and the town has remained an integral piece of state history since. The images in this volume reflect the firsts for which Danville is famous: the Kentucky School for the Deaf, Centre College, the home of famed physician Ephraim McDowell, and more, as well as featuring photographs of everyday life: churches, restaurants, and businesses so fondly recalled by its citizens.

Nearly 300 years of colorful history marked by cycles of fame and notoriety have been generated for Berkeley Springs by the natural wonder of the warm mineral springs flowing in the heart of town. Formed in 1776, the town may be the only one in America established for the express purpose of caring for, feeding, and housing those who came to take the waters for their health. Bathhouses and hotels shared the landscape with mines, tanneries, and farms. A cast of characters"including presidents, industrialists, and other notables"came to bathe, own land, and enjoy the hospitality of hoteliers, bath keepers, and shop owners. Berkeley Springs reigns as the countrys first spa.

European settlers came to the area now known as Walkertown as early as the 1750s. In 1769, Robert Walker was granted a license renewal for a tavern. From 1850 through the early 20th century, the local economy was dependent on farming, lumber manufacturing, grain milling, and merchandising. Tobacco manufacturing began early in the 19th century and became a thriving industry for the Sullivan, Booe, Poindexter, and Crews families. The Roanoke & Southern Railroad began serving Walkertown in 1889, and with it, the availability of larger markets spurred the growth of industry. The Leight Lumber Company was established near the depot around 1890 and prospered by making boxes for manufacturers and lumber for construction. The Walkertown Chair Company, begun in 1903, flourished until a devastating fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1940. The Walkertown Roller Mill, built by Robah Payne in 1900, has changed hands a few times and is now the oldest continuously operating business in Walkertown.

A chance discovery on January 24, 1848, profoundly shaped the destiny of Californiaand the world. On this day, in a river valley that quickly became the town of Coloma, James W. Marshall found gold in the tailrace of a sawmill he was building for John Sutter. The discovery precipitated the largest gold rush in history, bringing an estimated 300,000 fortune-seekers from all over the world in just a few years. By 1849, Coloma mushroomed into a town of 10,000 people, most of them transient miners. Soon, the town became more permanent, with grand hotels, fine homes, and stout brick buildings. In 1857, with the moving of the county seat to Placerville, Coloma entered a period of relative slumber. By the 1870s, however, Robert Chalmers presided over the largest winery outside of the Napa Valley. Orchards and ranches proliferated. The discovery site later became a state park. By the 1970s, tourism brought in even more wealth with the advent of the white-water rafting and kayaking industry.

The Missouri State Penitentiary was established in 1833 via a bill passed by the state legislature, and the first prisoner was incarcerated in 1835. Inmates constructed the main prison building from rock quarried at the site in 1836. The penitentiary closed on September 15, 2004, and plans are in place to redevelop the site into offices for state agencies and private enterprises. The Missouri State Penitentiary was once considered one of the largest maximum-security penal institutions in the United States. After 550 serious assaults occurred inside the prison in the early 1960s, Time magazine called it the bloodiest 47 acres in America (although the walls of the penitentiary only contained 37 acres). The penitentiary had the distinction of housing some very famous individuals: boxing champion Sonny Liston learned to box there under the direction of the prison chaplain, infamous gangster Charles Arthur Pretty Boy Floyd spent time there, and James Earl Ray was an escapee when he shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Jenny or Jenny Bull Falls, as the city was fondly referred to before the railroad roared into town, was born on the backs of speculators, lumbermen, and businessmen in the mid-1840s. Pursuing wide-eyed dreams in the vast pine forests of the north woods, Jenny's population was around 200 in 1870. The worn trails of the Ojibwe/Chippewa, the area's first occupants, were transformed into logging roads, and by the time the city's name was formally changed to Merrill in 1881, the population had grown to 2,000. Nicknamed the "City of Parks" in 1903, Merrill is situated on the convergence of the Wisconsin and Prairie Rivers and features four seasons of natural beauty within the city limits. The wonder of Merrill lies in a century of traditions and in the heritage and beauty of its numerous historic buildings and places.

Manhattans past whispers for attention amongst the bustle of the citys ever-changing landscape. At Fraunces Tavern, George Washingtons emotional farewell luncheon in 1783 echoes in the Long Room. Gertrude Tredwells ghost appears to visitors at the Merchants House Museum. Long since deceased, Olive Thomas shows herself to the men of the New Amsterdam Theatre, and Dorothy Parker still keeps her lunch appointment at the Algonquin Hotel. In other places, it is not the paranormal but the abnormal violent acts by gangsters, bombers, and murderers that linger in the citys memory. Some think Jack the Ripper and the Boston Strangler hunted here. The historic images and true stories in Ghosts and Murders of Manhattan bring to life the people and events that shaped this city and raised the consciousness of its residents.

On April 22, 1889, the federal government opened the unassigned lands in central Oklahoma for settlement. Entrepreneurs, cattlemen, and farmers, all seeking new opportunities, anxiously staked their claim to town lots and 160-acre homesteads. From their tents on Norman's Main Street, businessmen started to sell their wares. Tents soon gave way to wooden shacks and, finally, two-story brick buildings. By the beginning of the 20th century, Norman was a bustling frontier town that quickly matured into a trade center, a county seat, and a university town. In the 1940s, Norman became the home of the Naval Air Technical Training Center, a naval base constructed to train navy pilots and ground support crews for World War II.