The garage—whether used for automobile storage, parking, repair, or sales—has been an American commonplace for so long that it is surprising how little attention it has drawn from scholars tracing t
When the automobile was first introduced, few Americans predicted its fundamental impact, not only on how people would travel, but on the American landscape itself. Instead of reducing the amount of w
The use of cars and trucks over the past century has remade American geography—pushing big cities ever outward toward suburbanization, spurring the growth of some small towns while hastening the de
Drawing on industry trade journals like Railway Age, this book explores the impact of the early automobile on America's railroads from 1900 to 1940 and how railroad companies became aware of, react
The American picture postcard debuted around the start of the twentieth century, creating an enthusiasm for sending and collecting postcard art that continued for decades. As a form of popular culture
In small cities and towns across the United States, Main Street hotels were iconic institutions. They were usually grand, elegant buildings where families celebrated special occasions, local clubs and
At the outset of the twentieth century the debut of the American picture postcard incited widespread enthusiasm for collecting and sending postcard art that lasted decades. In Picturing Illinois, John
Motoring unmasks the forces that shape the American driving experience—commercial, aesthetic, cultural, mechanical—as it takes a timely look back at our historically unconditional love of
