The nineteenth and twentieth century history of Niles is presented through vintage photographs.

All aboard for this photographic journey through the unique railroad history of Niles Canyon, near the city of Fremont. The melodic wail of the steam whistle first echoed off these canyon walls in 1866 when the Western Pacific Railroad laid track into Niles as part of a planned route from San Jose to Sacramento. That was three years before the transcontinental route from Sacramento to Omaha was completed in May 1869. Four months after the driving of the Golden Spike that joined the eastern and western United States by rail, the connecting route from Sacramento to Oakland through Niles Canyon was finished--the very last leg of a rail route that truly joined the Atlantic to the Pacific waters for the first time.

Before there was a city of Fremont, there was the town of Irvington, and earlier still a busy crossroads called Washington Corners. Fields of grain once spilled over an open landscape, spurring production here of the first wheat harvesters in California. After local landowners built the Washington College of Science and Industry in the 1870s, they renamed its host town Irvington. By 1890, it boasted the largest, most advanced winery in the state and had earned the title, "Beautiful Irvington," home of gracious estates, apricot orchards, baseball, and first-class, high-bred trotters. Cows from Swiss dairy farms populated its green fields by the 1920s, and experimental airplanes dotted its blue skies soon after. In 1956, the City of Fremont absorbed Irvington, and its muddy sloughs were transformed into Central Park and lovely Lake Elizabeth.

Tired of the same old tourist traps? Whether you’re a visitor or a local looking for something different, let Northern California Off the Beaten Path show you the Golden State you never knew existed. Follow the bloodstained trail of Sam Spade and other characters from The Maltese Falcon in San Francisco; overnight at a bed-and-breakfast located inside a working lighthouse on East Brother Island; or eat at a restaurant in Castroville that specializes in artichokes cooked two dozen different ways. So if you’ve "been there, done that" one too many times, get off the main road and venture Off the Beaten Path.

Comedians of the San Francisco Bay Area changed comedy forever. From visiting acts like Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg to local favorites who still maintain their following and legacy, the Bay Area has long been a place for comedians to develop their voice and hone their stand-up skills. Popular spots included Cobb's, the Purple Onion, Brainwash, and the holy grail of San Francisco comedy during the 1980s boom, the Holy City Zoo. For over seventy years, these iconic venues and others fostered talent like Ali Wong, Moshe Kasher and the Smothers Brothers, introducing them to local crowds and the world beyond. Join comedians Nina G and OJ Patterson on a hilarious and thoughtful tour through the history of Bay Area comedy.

City Profiles USA provides key contact information for travel-related services, facilities, attractions, and events in 254 U.S. and Canadian cities. Included among the city profiles are the largest U.S. cities, other top U.S. travel destinations, the 50 state capitals, and major Canadian cities.

"The "Capitol Corridor" is the name of the Amtrak passenger train route between California's capital, Sacramento, and San Jose, the state's first capital upon admission to the Union in 1850. ... The Capitol Corridor is now an integral part of the transportation scene in Northern California. Since 1991, its equipment and infrastructure have evolved to keep pace with technology as well as the area's dynamic economic and social environment. Author and photographer Matthew Gerald Vurek has produced a geographic pictorial of the quarter-century of changes to the trains and the railroad along the Capitol Corridor."--Page 4 of cover.