front cover of The Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch
Fact & Symbol
W. Arthur Mehrhoff
University of Wisconsin Press, 1992
Like the nation that it symbolizes, the bold arch of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial poses enormous contradictions. It is a simple, classical architectural form constructed with the most sophisticated modern engineering. It is a national historic site created by demolishing nearly forty blocks of historic riverfront buildings. It is the perfect place to examine critical, historic tensions in American culture.
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front cover of The Genesis of Reno
The Genesis of Reno
The History of the Riverside Hotel and the Virginia Street Bridge
Jack Harpster
University of Nevada Press, 2016
Over 157 years ago—before there was a Reno, Nevada; before there was a state of Nevada; and even before there was a Nevada Territory—there was a bridge over the Truckee River at a narrow, deeply rutted cattle and wagon trail that would one day become Virginia Street. There was also a small rustic inn and tavern occupying a plot of ground at the southern end of the log-and-timber bridge, catering to thirsty cowboys, drovers, and miners. The inn and the bridge were the first two structures in what would one day be a bustling metropolitan area, and to this day they still form the nucleus of the city. The Genesis of Reno traces their history up to the present day. The 111 year-old concrete bridge that was replaced in 2016 by a magnificent new structure was honored for its longevity and unique character with placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
 
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front cover of The Georgia Florida Contest
The Georgia Florida Contest
Martha C. Searcy
University of Alabama Press, 1985

Almost from the time of Georgia’s settlement by Oglethorpe in 1733, both Georgians and Carolinians had made periodic unsuccessful attempts to conquer the Spanish Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine; and during the American Revolution (in 1776, 1777, and 1778) the rebels tried without success to take the fortification, which was then a British stronghold. Each of the three expeditions was less successful than the preceding one, and between the formal campaigns vicious partisan warfare between loyalists and rebels devastated much of the area between the Altamaha and St. Johns rivers.

This book presents a detailed history of the three Georgia-Florida campaigns. Indecisive and lacking the glamour of either the contemporary campaigns in the North, or the later campaigns in the South, they appeared isolated from the mainstream of the revolutionary struggle. The rebels were handicapped by divided command, personal quarrels, difficult terrain, and miserable weather. While Searcy emphasizes the military aspects of the period, she also treats the conflict between civil and military authorities, the effects of war on the civilian populace, and the interaction of economic matters with military affairs. Her work clarifies the importance of these military activities in the subsequent British strategy in the occupation of Georgia and the Carolinas.

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front cover of Gothic Pride
Gothic Pride
The Story of Building a Great Cathedral in Newark
Regan, Brian
Rutgers University Press, 2012
Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart is one of the United States’ greatest cathedrals and most exceptional Gothic Revival buildings. Rising from Newark’s highest ground and visible for miles, it spectacularly evokes its historic models. Gothic Pride sets Sacred Heart in the context of American cathedral building and, blending diverse fields, accounts for the complex circumstances that produced it.

 Calling upon a wealth of primary sources, Brian Regan describes in a compelling narrative the cathedral’s almost century-long history. He traces the project to its origins in the late 1850s and the great expectations held by the project’s prime movers—all passionate about Gothic architecture and immensely proud of Newark—that never wavered despite numerous setbacks and challenges. Construction did not begin until 1898 and, when completed in 1954, the cathedral became New Jersey’s largest church—and the most expensive Catholic church ever built in America. During Pope John Paul II’s visit to the United States in 1995, he celebrated evening prayer at the Cathedral. On that occasion, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was elevated to a basilica to become the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

 Meticulously researched, Gothic Pride brings to life the people who built, contributed to, and worshipped in Sacred Heart, recalling such remarkable personalities as George Hobart Doane, Jeremiah O’Rourke, Gonippo Raggi, and Archbishop Thomas Walsh. In many ways, the cathedral’s story is a lens that lets us look at the history of Newark itself—its rise as an industrial city and its urban culture in the nineteenth century; its transformation in the twentieth century; its immigrants and the profound effects of their cultures, especially their religion, on American life; and the power of architecture to serve as a symbol of community values and pride..

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front cover of Grant Park
Grant Park
The Evolution of Chicago's Front Yard
Dennis H. Cremin
Southern Illinois University Press, 2013
On November 4, 2008, when president-elect Barack Obama celebrated his victory with more than one hundred thousand supporters in Chicago, everyone knew where to meet. Long considered the showplace and cultural center of Chicago, Grant Park has been the site of tragedy and tension, as well as success and joy. In addition to serving as the staging grounds for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession through the city, the park has been the setting for civil rights protests and the 1968 Democratic National Convention demonstrations. The faithful attended the open-air mass of Pope John Paul II in Grant Park, and fans gathered there to cheer for the Chicago Bulls after their championship wins. The long park overlooking the beautiful waters of Lake Michigan has played an active part in Chicago and U. S. history.
 
In 1836, only three years after Chicago was founded, Chicagoans set aside the first narrow shoreline as public ground and declared it “forever open, clear, and free. . . .” Chicago historian and author Dennis H. Cremin reveals that despite such intent, the transformation of Grant Park to the spectacular park it is more than 175 years later was a gradual process, at first fraught with a lack of funding and organization, and later challenged by erosion, the railroads, automobiles, and a continued battle between original intent and conceptions of progress. Throughout the book, Cremin shows that while Grant Park’s landscape and uses have changed throughout its rocky history, the public ground continues to serve “as a display case for the city and a calling card to visitors.” Amply illustrated with maps and images from throughout Chicago’s history, Grant Park shows readers how Chicago’s “front yard” developed into one of the finest urban parks in the country today.

2014 Illinois State Historical Society Book of the Year
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front cover of Guide to Chicago's Twenty-First-Century Architecture
Guide to Chicago's Twenty-First-Century Architecture
Chicago Architecture Center and John Hill
University of Illinois Press, 2021
Exploring a new century of architecture in the Windy City

Chicago's wealth of architectural treasures makes it one of the world's majestic cityscapes. Published in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Center, this easy-to-use guide invites you to discover the new era of twenty-first-century architecture in the Windy City via two hundred architecturally significant buildings and spaces in the city and suburbs. Features include:
  • Entries organized by neighborhood
  • Maps with easy-to-locate landmarks and mass transit options
  • Background on each entry, including the design architect, name and address, description, and other essential information
  • Sidebars on additional sites and projects
  • A detailed supplemental section with a glossary, selected bibliography, and indexes by architect, building name, and building type

Up-to-date and illustrated with almost four hundred color photos, the Guide to Chicago's Twenty-First-Century Architecture takes travelers and locals on a journey into an ever-changing architectural mecca.

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front cover of A Guide to Tucson Architecture
A Guide to Tucson Architecture
Anne M. Nequette
University of Arizona Press, 2002
Tucson is a city rich in architectural heritage spanning three cultures, with a history of human settlement that makes it one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the United States. Hispanic barrios, American architectural forms, and remnants of a prehistoric Native American past give Tucson a unique and eclectic identity unlike any other city. This book is a comprehensive, richly illustrated guide to Tucson's significant historic and contemporary architectural resources—not only buildings, but ruins, open spaces, landscapes, and other elements that define the city’s built environment. It captures all facets of Tucson’s architecture, from one-of-a-kind homes on Main Avenue and historic downtown buildings to destination resorts in the Catalina Foothills and other modern structures. In this book readers will find:
- walking and driving tours of fourteen areas, complete with maps, beginning with central neighborhoods such as Barrio Historico and Armory Park and moving on to the rapidly expanding outlying areas
- annotated descriptions of individual structures—residences, schools, churches, government buildings, offices, commercial establishments, and others—enhanced by more than 120 photographs
- profiles of prominent Tucson architects, including Henry Trost, Josias Joesler, and Judith Chafee
- a guide to architectural styles found in Tucson—with examples—and a glossary of terms. A Guide to Tucson Architecture is the only book to offer such an extensive guided tour of one of America's favorite destination cities, capturing both its historic character and its dynamic growth. Through it, readers will appreciate the holistic balance of influences that has created Tucson's unique architectural expression and that defines its modern identity.
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