Images of America Sale

A collection of images celebrating the extravagant and historic mansions of Pittsburgh, PA.

In the 19th century, the positioning of Pittsburgh as a major manufacturing center and the subsequent rise of the area's steel industry created a wave of prosperity that prompted the beneficiaries of that wealth to construct extravagant residences. Wealthy enclaves sprang up in the city's East End, across the river in neighboring Allegheny City, and into the countryside. Pittsburgh's Mansions explores the stately homes of the area's prominent residents from the 1830s through the 1920s. Businessmen such as H.J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, and members of the Mellon family commissioned elaborate homes from the preeminent architects of their day. Firms such as Alden & Harlow, Janssen & Abbott, and Rutan & Russell left their marks on the city's landscape, often contributing iconic public buildings as well as expansive private homes. Though many of the residences have since been lost, Pittsburgh's Mansions offers a look back at the peak of the city's prominence.

The United States is considered the world's foremost refuge for foreigners, and no place in the nation symbolizes this better than Ellis Island.

Through Ellis Island's halls and corridors more than twelve million immigrants-of nearly every nationality and race-entered the country on their way to new experiences in North America. With an astonishing array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographs, Ellis Island leads the reader through the fascinating history of this small island in New York harbor from its pre-immigration days as one of the harbor's oyster islands to its spectacular years as the flagship station of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration to its current incarnation as the National Park Service's largest museum.

Falling in between the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II, the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair offered a refreshing prediction for "the World of Tomorrow."

There were exciting demonstrations of robot servants, computerized highways, color photography, and a new invention called television. Visitors could tour the latest in model homes, enjoy the marvel of air-conditioning, and watch the newest streamlined steam locomotive in action. America's largest corporations joined forces with nations from around the world to showcase the wonders of a future that was sure to come. There were also displays of past technical marvels, international culture and cuisine, and plenty of the innovative architecture that is a large part of these international expositions. Vintage photographs, most never published before, showcase what has been lauded as the most memorable world's fair of all time.

Pictorial history of the grand estates, lush landscapes, and lavish lifestyles of wealthy families like the Vanderbilts, Rogerses, Roosevelts, Dinsmores, and Millses, who made Hyde Park famous.

Hyde Park was established in 1821 as a simple and small town on the Hudson River. Its claim to fame, however, and what attracts people still to this day, are the grand estates, lush landscapes, and lavish lifestyles of some of those who lived there. Wealthy families like the Vanderbilts, Rogerses, Roosevelts, Dinsmores, and Millses built homes to match their place in society. Hyde Park was a perfect location because of its easy access to New York City, where culture and society could be found, while providing country living along the Hudson for the many outdoor pleasures the wealthy enjoyed. One part of this collection by former town historian Carney Rhinevault and current historian Shannon Butler shows the wealthy river families, whose houses were built by prominent architects and filled with treasures from abroad while others show the families who worked as coachmen, gardeners, and parlor maids who made the lifestyles of the rich possible.

The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was the largest international exhibition ever built in the United States.

More than one hundred fifty pavilions and exhibits spread over six hundred forty-six acres helped the fair live up to its reputation as "the Billion-Dollar Fair." With the cold war in full swing, the fair offered visitors a refreshingly positive view of the future, mirroring the official theme: Peace through Understanding. Guests could travel back in time through a display of full-sized dinosaurs, or look into a future where underwater hotels and flying cars were commonplace. They could enjoy Walt Disney's popular shows, or study actual spacecraft flown in orbit. More than fifty-one million guests visited the fair before it closed forever in 1965. The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair captures the history of this event through vintage photographs, published here for the first time.

Located about ninety minutes from three major metro areas - Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia - Gettysburg sits in the "fertile crescent," an area brimming with agricultural possibilities.

Founded in the 1700s by James Gettys, the little town became headline material during the Civil War, although area residents never expected to be at the forefront of that controversy. Fate, however, had its way with the town, and Gettysburg found itself on the map permanently. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower retired here, Gettysburg became the place to visit for international tourists as well as Americans. Today, the National Park Service maintains the Gettysburg National Military Park, and the town caters to its visitors. Still imbued with small-country charm, Gettysburg beckons visitors from far and wide and treats them royally.

Hershey, Pennsylvania, went from relative unknown to an American dream come true thanks in large part to the risk taken by its founder, Milton Hershey.

In 1903, successful candy-maker Milton Hershey began a new enterprise that many people thought was doomed. He planned to build the biggest chocolate factory in the world, and a town to house its employees. The location he chose, near his birthplace in rural Derry Township, Pennsylvania, was most unlike the traditional urban factory settings of the era. Hershey is the pictorial history of what happened next. Through period photographs, many of them in print for the first time, and engaging narrative, Hershey reveals how the place, the people, the industrial age, and Milton Hershey himself contributed to the success of his scheme. Hershey includes an introduction to the history of Derry Township, tracing it from Milton Hershey's birth in 1857 to his return in the early 1900s. The book follows the intertwining stories of Milton Hershey's life, the growth of his chocolate company, the development of the school for needy boys that he endowed with his entire fortune, and the evolution of his model company town. The transformation of Hershey into a tourist destination and its survival after the death of its founder in 1945 conclude this chronicle of a vision turned into reality.

Throughout the United States, there is no single major metropolitan area more closely connected to organized crime than New York City.

With the federal prohibition on alcohol in 1920, Gotham's shadowy underworld began evolving from strictly regional and often rag-tag street gangs into a sophisticated worldwide syndicate that was--like the chocolate egg crème--incubated within the confines of its five boroughs.New York City Ganglandoffers an unparalleled collection of rarely circulated images, many appearing courtesy of exclusive law enforcement sources, in addition to the private albums of notorious racketeering figures such as Charles "Lucky'? Luciano, Al "Scarface'? Capone, Joe "The Boss'? Masseria, "Crazy'? Joe Gallo, and John Gotti.

A well-known destination for family fun and amusement, Hersheypark has entertained and engaged visitors for more than 100 years.

The park was an important part of Milton S. Hershey's plans for his new model industrial town, built for the workers of the Hershey Chocolate factory. In 1903, even before the factory was completed, he set aside land to be used as a park for picnics and family outings. While originally established as a community park, it soon developed into an amusement park as thousands of people flocked to Hershey each year to visit the chocolate factory and model town. This book portrays the origin of Hershey Park, its development as a trolley park, and its successful transition to Hersheypark, a themed amusement park, at a time when many traditional parks faltered and failed. Through period photographs and engaging narrative, Hersheypark explores the growth and development of the park; the vision of its founder, Milton S. Hershey; its successes and challenges; and how the park endured and transformed itself to become one of the East Coast's leading entertainment destinations.

Take a journey on the Pennsylvania Turnpike - the "superhighway" that went from one generation's tourist destination to the ridicule of another's.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened to traffic on October 1, 1940. Built using the right-of-way and unfinished tunnels of the never completed South Pennsylvania Railroad, it was a supreme achievement of civil engineering. The new highway immediately captured the public's imagination and proved to be an unqualified success. Motorists flocked from around the country to drive on the new "superhighway," and it became a tourist destination on its lonesome. But along with that success, the seeds were planted for its eventual fall from grace. Under-engineered, poorly maintained, and the victim of premature obsolescence, the highway became the object of public scorn in little more than a generation. Only since the turn of the 21st century were real efforts made to change that perception.

Looming on the outskirts of Philadelphia County since 1906, the mental hospital commonly known as ""Byberry"" stood abandoned for 16 years before being demolished in 2006.

Like many other mental hospitals and asylums of its time, Byberry began with the best of intentions. Despite having its own self-sustaining farm, bowling alleys, barbershop, ice cream parlor, post office, and baseball team, conditions in the hospital were abysmal and even compared to Nazi concentration camps. Throughout its history, the hospital served as an educational institution for Philadelphia's medical, nursing, and psychology students; was the site of a World War II Civilian Public Service conscientious objector unit; and a volunteering hot spot for local churches, schools, and Girl and Boy Scout troops, before becoming what it is most remembered for today. At its peak in the 1960s, Byberry was home to more than 6,000 patients and employer to more than 800, but now its only residents are ghosts and the urban explorers excited to take a risk in the desiccated husk of the hospital. This book provides an unprecedented window into the good, the bad, the unusual, and the forgotten history of Byberry.

Valley Forge offers a variety of historical views and background into the site that became Pennsylvania's first state park. Highlights include Washington's Headquarters and the patriotic and inspiring Washington Memorial Chapel, as well as Revolutionary War artifacts that have found a home in Valley Forge. Thousands of books exist on the history of the American War for Independence, but few describe the events and people who have struggled to preserve that story of independence for people everywhere, as Valley Forge does.

Discover the people and places of Brooklyn from a decade of growth and prosperity in the 1920s.

Now home to approximately 2.5 million people, Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. It was during the 1920s that Brooklyn experienced some monumental changes in the early motorized world of cars, trucks, buses, and trains. In this decade, Brooklyn saw the construction of the world's largest promenade, the Coney Island Boardwalk, as well as the construction of most of the homes that still exist in Brooklyn. The 1920s also brought Brooklyn's sewers and paved roads. Slowly but surely, farms and gardens began to vanish in the name of progress. Brooklyn became a refuge for many. It offered the opportunity for peaceful living in a growing urban society.

Travel back to the beginnings of a diverse community with a rich ethnic heritage and join author Eric Ierardi in this celebration of a unique American city with a fascinating past.Brooklyn in the 1920sis sure to appeal to both residents and newcomers and will serve as a valuable tool in teaching the history of Brooklyn to future generations.

It's a conveinent-store giant in the Mid-Atlantic region today, but Wawa's history dates back to its days as an iron manufactuer over 200 years ago.

Founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865, Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Using the resources and surplus water power from the iron business, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton piece goods, including Red Star diapers. The first Wawa milk plant opened in 1902 and by the late 1950s, the Wawa Dairy had expanded its home delivery business to include over 145 routes. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964. Today, the company is familiar to many as a chain of 545 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that offers a wide selection of fresh foods, coffee, and gasoline. Wawa contains vintage images documenting the evolution of the company as it adapted to changing economic and social conditions. From the early days of iron manufacture to the opening of the first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa brings to life the many facets of one of America's top privately owned companies.

Kaufmann's Department Store was a force in Pittsburgh retail from its humble beginnings in 1871 until its merger with Federated Department Stores in 2006.

The "Big Store" downtown was a landmark shopping emporium with 12 floors of everything from cosmetics and groceries to wedding gowns and lawn mowers. Under the leadership of Edgar J. Kaufmann and his wife, Liliane, the store became a forum for exhibitions of art, cutting-edge technology, and Parisian haute couture. Generations of Pittsburghers hold fond memories of meeting friends and family under the famous Kaufmann's clock to lunch at the Tic Toc Restaurant, pick up cookies at the Arcade Bakery, or peer into the store's enchanting Christmas window displays each December.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is a monument to the nation's 16th president, a commemoration of the country's post-Civil War reunification, and a setting for national events and quiet visits.

Demands for a national memorial to Abraham Lincoln began shortly after his 1865 assassination but produced nothing substantial until the early 20th century. Elevation of Lincoln to legendary status and an extended debate over location and design finally led Congress in 1913 to approve a memorial at the west end of the National Mall. Construction took another eight years. Since its dedication in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has hosted civil rights demonstrations, presidential events, national celebrations, and day and night visits by millions of people who come to reflect upon one of the most consequential leaders in American history.

Kevin S. Schindler is a historian at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has written six books about science and history. Brian Anderson is a Washington, DC, lawyer and Ford's Theatre Society trustee who previously wrote a book about the history of Ford's Theatre. Drawing upon Washington-area museums and research libraries, Schindler and Anderson have assembled a rich collection of historical images to tell the fascinating story of this American landmark.

No other city in the United States is home to more Slovaks than Pittsburgh. Through historical photographs, Slovak Pittsburgh celebrates the rich heritage there.

It is estimated that close to 100,000 Slovak immigrants came to the area in the 1890s looking for work and the chance for a better life. The hills and valleys of this new land reminded newcomers of the farms, forests, and mountains they left behind. They lived in neighborhoods close to their work, forming numerous cluster communities in such places as Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead, Munhall, the North Side, Rankin, and Swissvale. Once settled, Slovak immigrants founded their own churches, schools, fraternal benefit societies, and social clubs. Many of these organizations still enjoy an active presence in Pittsburgh today, serving to pass on the customs and traditions of the Slovak people.

The Blizzard of 1977 is still remembered in Western New York, especially in Buffalo, which received the brunt of the storm. The blizzard occurred during the most extreme cold the area had ever seen, accompanied by some of the largest winter snowfalls on record. The blizzard struck with little warning on Friday morning, January 28, 1977, and the blowing snow and extreme cold paralyzed the Buffalo area until the first week of February. The storm made travel impossible and stranded thousands of people across the region, while snowdrifts buried houses up to the second story. This is a story not only of survival, but also of community. Neighbors helped neighbors, radio stations relayed messages and provided crucial information, and countless individuals donated their time and equipment to bring needed medicine or food to shut-ins across the region.

The blizzard occurred during the most extreme cold the area had ever seen, accompanied by some of the largest winter snowfalls on record. The blizzard struck with little warning on Friday morning, January 28, 1977, and the blowing snow and extreme cold paralyzed the Buffalo area until the first week of February. The storm made travel impossible and stranded thousands of people across the region, while snowdrifts buried houses up to the second story. This is a story not only of survival, but also of community. Neighbors helped neighbors, radio stations relayed messages and provided crucial information, and countless individuals donated their time and equipment to bring needed medicine or food to shut-ins across the region

Stunning images reveal the beauty and history of New York's Lake George located in the Adirondack Mountains.

Pioneer photographers Seneca Ray Stoddard and Jesse Sumner Wooley, along with other local professional and amateur photographers, visually recorded life at Lake George around the beginning of the twentieth century. With artistic clarity and astuteness, they created a pictorial diary of this well-known resort area, as our grandparents and great-grandparents would have known it. Many of the nearly two hundred images in Lake George have rarely been seen before and serve as more than a road map through the area's past. They capture life at natural moments. The clothing, the modes of transportation, and the recreation that were once quite common appear in page after page of breathtaking photographs and brilliant narrative. This pictorial history explores the bays and byways of the lake, its year-round residents, and the vacationers who made it their temporary home every summer. Replete with images of moments, hideaways, and people that no longer exist, Lake George is a new experience in an old familiar place.

Levittown was created in Bucks County outside of Philadelphia in 1951. As one of the largest "planned communities" in America, this book's superb collection of history and photographs illustrates the birth and growth of this unique area.

In 1951, Levittown was created in Bucks County outside of Philadelphia by builder pioneers Levitt and Sons. Dubbed the largest and "most perfectly planned" community in America, it featured single-family homes, schools, churches, shopping centers, and swimming pools. A symbol of the "American Dream," Levittown defined the phenomenon of post-World War II suburban developments, which for the first time gave working- and middle-class families the option of affordable, detached houses outside congested urban neighborhoods. Levittown was a melting pot, attracting people from cities, rural areas, and all walks of life, including many World War II veterans with young families. Houses came fully equipped with appliances and landscaping and started at $9,000. Levittown's superb collection of history and photographs illustrates the birth and growth of this unique area, explores the community that resulted, and features residents' personal memories of the golden years.

Feel the power of Lady Liberty!

The Statue of Liberty is an awesome visual journey that begins with the fantastic proposal of a French professor to give the United States a monument to commemorate the Revolutionary War alliance between the 13 colonies and France. It documents the gift's taking symbolic form of the ancient goddess of liberty and its designation as the tallest metal statue in the world. Highlights include Liberty's construction history, her changing symbolism over the years, and her use in popular advertising and political activism. Her upraised arm has saluted scores of ships as they have passed by. See how her dignity has welcomed Americans returning home from foreign parts and has given hope to newcomers seeking a fresh beginning in the land of liberty.

A significant site of United States industrial and economic history, Johnstown, Pennsylvania was a birthplace and powerhouse of iron, steel, coal, and transportation.

From its early start as a small community on the fringes of the frontier, the town became an important terminus for the Pennsylvania Mainline Canal and an early site for coal and ore mining. It also grew into a major steel and iron producer renowned around the world for its output, know-how, and quality. At one time, Johnstown's industry helped spur the national drive to become an economic and industrial superpower.