Arcadia Publishing Inc : 7152 books

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...

Since the arrival of approximately a dozen German-Jewish immigrants in the 1840s, the Jewish community of Dayton has actively contributed to the betterment and welfare of the "Gem City." Jewish Community of Dayton recalls forgotten stories of Arthur Welsh, the first Jewish airplane pilot;...

Milwaukee is most famous for its booming brewing industry, which is directly tied to a surge in German immigration in the 1840s. These new citizens brought along their work ethic, culture, and a love for their native beverage. Not all immigrants arrived from Europe; many, like Richard Owens, came from...

The first park ranger in the world was appointed in California in 1866. Galen Clark was chosen as �Guardian of Yosemite,� at what was then Yosemite State Park, and the concept of rangers to protect and administer America�s great nature parks was born. The tradition continued in 1872 with the establishment...

In 1869, the American diet was a dreary affair. Kitchen staples included bread, potatoes, other root vegetables, and meat. Tomatoes�then called "love apples"�were an exotic fruit. A young 25-year-old Henry J. Heinz helped to change all of that. He established his company based on a single premise:...

Shaped by the Duke family�s influence and the production of bright leaf tobacco, Durham, North Carolina, over time, has transformed from the �Bull City� to the �City of Medicine.� Duke Homestead and the American Tobacco Company showcases the effect of both tobacco and the Duke family in Durham....

Chicago's extensive transit system first started in 1859, when horsecars ran on rails in city streets. Cable cars and electric streetcars came next. Where new trolley car lines were built, people, businesses, and neighborhoods followed. Chicago quickly became a world-class city. At its peak, Chicago...

Brewing in New Hampshire explores the fascinating history of the state�s beer and ale brewing industry from Colonial days, when it was home and tavern based, to today�s modern breweries. The book�s many unusual and rare illustrations document the state�s earliest brewers, including its most famous...

Chicago Motor Coach Company chronicles an era in Chicago when buses first traversed the city's park district boulevards, including the Magnificent Mile. Streetcars were not allowed on the boulevards; this situation paved the way for the first motor bus operation, Sheridan Road on the North Side, in...

Postcards are an important element of understanding our past, for they provide future generations a rare glimpse into a world that many times has disappeared under the aegis of expansion and progress. This book, containing over 200 vintage postcards, allows readers to see one of the South�s most...

Frank P. Thomas Jr., Donald J. Thomas, and Robert E. Wildman, owners of the General Equipment Company, entered into the fast-food business by opening a 15� hamburger restaurant called Burger Chef in Indianapolis in 1958. General Equipment was a manufacturer of restaurant machinery and built the equipment...