For more than 100 years, Huntington Beach has been a scenic haven for locals and tourists alike. Huntington Beach has also been the subject of many postcards. After all, 'Surf City, USA' is a wonderfully picturesque place. Compelling printed images of the famous pier, downtown, the parks, people, agriculture, and businesses became some of the city's most popular souvenirs. Postcards such as these evoke the magic of long-gone summers; wistful, nostalgic glimpses of a classic Southern Califo...

He was a hardworking child actor in the early 1970s, appearing on dozens of popular films and TV programs. Then he was offered a chance to make a record and “Leif Garrett, teen idol” was born. Millions of teenage girls all over the world covered their walls with his picture. His face adorned hundreds of international magazine covers as he became one of the biggest and most desired heartthrobs in history. There were jet-setting tours, TV specials, and hit records, along with an endless supp...

Since forming in 1889, Orange County, California has become famous all over the world for being home to such popular attractions as Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But there are also many other places that helped establish the county as not just a popular tourist destination, but also home to countless cultural landmarks that served the local communities for generations.Stretching across the 34 cities that compri...

Capturing such quintessentially American pastimes as baseball and road trips in one fascinating work, the updated and expanded third edition of Chris Epting’s Roadside Baseball chronicles more than 500 important events in baseball history with detailed descriptions of the event and information on each location. Packed with historical data, trivia, photographs, and baseball lore, entries include the birthplaces of baseball legends, ballparks, museums and halls of fame, final restin...

Organized baseball in Orange County began in the late 1880s when community teams began forming among oil well workers. Around 1900, a farm boy from Kansas named Walter Johnson arrived with his family. Soon, the flame-throwing future hall-of-fame pitcher would be dominating games throughout the county as a star for Fullerton Union High School. As the popularity of baseball grew, more teams and leagues formed in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, and other cities. Connie Mack brought the ...

The Orange County Fair is one of Southern California's most anticipated summer events. From its first year in 1890 with a few livestock exhibits and horse races, the fair evolved into what is now a month-long extravaganza of rides, games and entertainment that still celebrates the importance of local agriculture. Millions of visitors have crowded the grounds over the years to enjoy the spectacle of everything from ostrich races and demolition derbies to its unique Centennial Farm and the t...

The camping trip taken by the "conservationist president" that put America's national parks on the map—from the award-winning author of Roadside Baseball.During his whirlwind 1903 tour of the western states, President Theodore Roosevelt paid his first visit to California. In between the appearances and pageantry, he embarked on three days of epic adventure in the wilderness of Yosemite with the famous and influential naturalist John Muir. A lover of the ru...

Author Chris Epting established a new genre in book publishing when a trio of titles in the early 2000s—James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America’s Pop Culture Landmarks, Elvis Presley Passed Here, and Marilyn Monroe Dyed Here—were released to critical acclaim and introduced readers to a groundbreaking travel concept: The pop culture road trip. Epting promptly followed these hugely popular and influential ti...

The 100-year history of Huntington Beach is a rich amalgam of agriculture, oil, surfing, beach culture, aerospace, and small-town America. This comparative, visual evolution of the city is crafted for both locals and tourists alike, featuring some of the most defining views ever captured of Surf City, USA'.

Baseball�s long and storied history in Los Angeles has been played at venues including the turn-of-the-century Chutes Park, which was part of an amusement park, as well as Gilmore Field, where the Hollywood Stars played, and Wrigley Field, where many movies and television shows were filmed. The 1923-vintage Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum became the Dodgers� first home in California in 1958, when they moved from Brooklyn. Greater Los Angeles also featured professional baseball at Olive Memor...

Orange County was created in 1889. Soon, wilderness evolved into farmlands and communities supported by a year-round harvest of Valencia oranges, lemons, avocados, walnuts, and more. In the 1950s, aerospace and industry expanded here, and today the county boasts more than three million people. This collection features side-by-side historic comparisons of many local institutions, from orange groves to beaches to Disneyland. Chris Epting is the author of 17 books, including Vanishing Orange ...

Anyone who has ever wondered where Dorothy's ruby slippers, George Washington's teeth, or the world's largest olive are located will be thrilled to take this journey to find hundreds of the most important items from America's popular culture. Found in such major institutions as the Smithsonian and the Basketball Hall of Fame as well as in such offbeat collections as the Sing Sing Prison Museum and the Delta Blues Museum, these pop culture treasures include the most famous-and quirkiest-ite...