Greensboro has reinvented itself in recent decades. By the time of its 1958 sesquicentennial, Greensboro was North Carolina's second-largest city and the world's largest producer of denim. It was home to many textile companies, including the world's largest; major insurance firms; and manufacturers of other products. Greensboro holds an important place in the civil rights movement, with the sit-ins at Woolworth's department store, a site now preserved...

Founded in 1961 at Sieur de Monts Spring in Maine's Acadia National Park, the Wild Gardens of Acadia display, preserve, propagate, and label native plants in areas simulating natural plant communities. The gardens, which originated from a competition in growing native plants sponsored by the Bar Harbor Garden Club, continue to be developed and maintained by volunteers in partnership with Friends of Acadia and Acadia National Park. Each of the gardens'...

Mention "advertising," and just about everyone thinks of New York's Madison Avenue, long the center of the nation's advertising universe. The reality is that advertising is everywhere and has been almost since the inception of the nation. In St. Louis, for example, two early advertising agencies became major players on the national scene, creating advertising for multinational corporations. Browsing through this collection of old advertisements gives...

From its humble beginning in 1972 when 13 hot-air balloons ascended from an Albuquerque shopping center parking lot to a stunning annual gathering of 500-plus aeronauts, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta lives on as the most-photographed air show on the planet. As you page through this book, imagine yourself going along for the ride and soaring to new heights. Or if you prefer to keep your feet on the ground, imagine yourself strolling...

Montgomery and Berks Counties have been central to the car industry for decades, employing residents of the cities and surrounding small towns. Pottstown first came to be known as the cruising capital of the East Coast in the 1950s and held on to the title for many years. In the 1960s, hundreds would line the sidewalks to watch the hot rods and classic cars cruise down High Street. Among the circuit favorites were the Tropical Treat, Hilltop Drive-In,...

The story of Waco's modern era starts with a disaster and ends with rebirth. In 1953, a record-setting tornado swept through the city's downtown, killing 114 people and destroying a century's worth of original buildings. From the devastation came an ambitious urban renewal project, an explosion in suburban developments, and several cycles of waning and revitalization in the downtown area. Baylor University's steady growth in academic excellence and...

In May 1972, actor Fess Parker of Davy Crockett fame announced plans for a huge theme park complex in Santa Clara, California. Eventually, the Marriott Corporation joined the effort. Parker later departed, while Marriott continued with what was the corporation's largest project to date. Marriott's Great America opened its gates on March 20, 1976. It featured a variety of family and thrill rides on a grand scale plus live entertainment, including multiple...

The Texas Hill Country wineries have roots as old as any around. Texas grapes grow in soils made from ancient sea deposits, similar to the grape-growing regions of Europe. Texas wine culture arrived in the 1600s with Spanish missionaries who settled and planted vineyards in El Paso del Norte. The 1800s brought German and Italian immigrant farmers to Texas; they considered wine a staple of everyday life. In what is now America's No. 5 wine-producing...

Fifty miles north of San Francisco, the Sonoma Coast is far removed from city life. Nearly two-thirds of its coastline is state and county parks, the southern half featuring sandy beaches, coastal terraces, and the fishing port of Bodega Bay. North of the Russian River are wooded cliffs and rugged coves that are ideal for hiking and diving. The Sonoma Coast is home to people who treasure their small, independent communities and who work hard to provide...

From the early 1960s to the present, perhaps no college town in America has changed as much as Athens, Georgia. Over the course of 50 years, the city experienced desegregation at all levels of education, encountered all types of activism and demonstrations, and established an unparalleled music scene that still flourishes. Beginning in the 1980s, University of Georgia athletic teams began winning national championships and continue to do so, the 1996...