Arcadia Publishing: 7502 books

In 1906, the downtown area of Los Angeles was fundamentally a small town when Charles Von der Ahe opened his little Groceteria on the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets using $1,200 in savings. It was a neighborhood store that catered to the needs of local families, where Von der Ahe pioneered �cash...

Made To Order: The Sheetz Story traces the fascinating history of Sheetz, Inc., a regional convenience retailer that battled the odds and cemented its name among the acclaimed ranks of America's most successful private companies. From its humble dairy store origins in Pennsylvania, Sheetz became a convenience-store...

For almost 100 years, the slogan "Harris" Has It" set a standard for quality merchandise, selection, and personal service. Starting in 1905 with only 25 feet of frontage at its original San Bernardino store, this partnership of three immigrant brothers grew into a corporation of nine stores, with the...

The Emporium��California�s Largest, America�s Grandest Store��was a major shopping destination on San Francisco�s Market Street for a century, from 1896 to 1996. Shoppers flocked to the mid-price store with its beautiful dome and bandstand. Patrons could find anything at the Emporium, from...

The story of Foley�s began in Ireland in the late 1800s when William L. Foley set sail for America. Ambition led him to Houston, where he opened a store and hired his two nephews, Pat C. and James. The nephews quickly felt an entrepreneurial urge to run their own store, so their uncle gave them $2,000...

Girl Scouting came to Washington, DC, in June 1913 when Juliette Gordon Low decided her new girls� empowerment movement needed a national headquarters. Although the headquarters moved to New York City in 1916, the council in Washington, DC, is still actively involved in the programs. Girl Scouts of...

In 1890, D. E. Frederick arrived in Seattle and, joined soon after by Nels Nelson, started what would become one of the Northwest�s best-loved and well-regarded stores. For more than 100 years, Frederick & Nelson was much more than just a department store to the people of Seattle�it was an icon....

Herbst Department Store held sway on Fargo's Broadway for nearly 90 years. In 1887, a young merchant named Isaac Herbst came to Fargo to seek his fortune. He proved to be a dynamic salesman, and by 1892 he had founded Herbst Department Store. The business was destroyed a year later in the Great Fire...

Thalhimers was founded in Richmond in 1842 by German Jewish immigrant William Thalhimer as a humble dry goods store. It expanded over the years to become a 26-store chain across the Southeast under the leadership of William�s great-grandson, William B. Thalhimer Jr. It boasted the latest in clothing,...

Pittsburgh Jazz documents the almost forgotten magic created in the city of Pittsburgh by a host of artists, uptown inner city streets, and jazz joints that served patrons from a menu packed full of delightful music. The magical improvised songs, compositions, and unique styles of hundreds of those who...

Blues was once described as the devil�s music. It eventually became some of the most beloved American music that was embraced by a global audience. Originating in African American communities in the South in the late 1800s, it was inspired by gospel and spiritual music sung by field hands and sharecroppers...

The Keswick Theatre, located just outside Philadelphia, opened in 1928 in an era when four thousand similar structures were in various stages of design and construction across the country. Vaudeville was in its final days and film was just being born. Designed by acclaimed architect Horace Trumbauer,...

The MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program was created at the University of Washington in 1968 as one of the nation's first physician assistant (PA) programs. A joint project of the Washington State Medical Association and the University of Washington School of Medicine, MEDEX was designed to meet...

Mercy Flights--America's first not-for-profit air ambulance service--was created in 1949 in direct response to the polio epidemic and medical transportation problems in Southern Oregon and Northern California. At that time, two small general hospitals provided basic medical care for the community...