Arcadia Publishing.

Arcadia Publishing 

420 Wando Park Boulevard, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

www.arcadiapublishing.com

Arcadia's regional titles never fail to amaze and delight: they go to great lengths to gather vintage photos from private as well as public collections, they group these photos around neighborhoods to provide an unparalleled local history of an area within a region or city, and they provide high-quality commentary which provides as much background as possible. New California titles include Katherine J. Rinehart's PETALUMA: A HISTORY IN ARCHITECTURE (0738530042, $19.99), which packs in the historic photos of early commercial and residential buildings and comes from a historian who has been actively researching and advocating for the preservation of Petaluma's historic structures for over a decade; Greta Dutcher and Stephen Rowland's ALAMEDA (0738530395, $19.99) tells of a town which began as a grass and beach peninsula adjacent to Oakland and became a major shipping port when a tidal canal made it an island; Lorri Ungaretti's SAN FRANCISCO'S RICHMOND DISTRICT (0738530530, $19.99) comes from a San Francisco historian and tour guide who has gathered vintage Richmond District photos from its early sand dune days to its modern non-rural family housing; and Walter Vielbaum, et.al.'s SAN FRANCISCO'S INTERURBAN TO SAN MATEO (0738530085, $19.99) is best of all covering the early electric commuter rail line of yesterday which rivals the BART system of today. Arcadia's achievements in California history would be remarkable enough--but the company is even more amazing when you consider there are several publishing branches producing an equal amount of high-quality regional titles in areas across the country--such as Frank Cheney and Anthony M. Sammarco's TROLLEYS UNDER THE HUB (9752409077, $19.99), gathering photos to document the history of Boston's Green Line to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the country's first subway system. From the first trolley to emerge under the Boston Common in 1897 to modern times, longtime transport historian Frank Cheney provides thorough documentation in a visual display which provides unsually clear vintage black and white photos throughout. As Arcadia identifies and produces books on many neighborhoods which don't receive the in-depth attention they deserve elsewhere, it's performing a valuable public service--and attracting a wide audience of fans. Regional libraries will find them invaluable.