Texas Then And Now

By using the same locations and angles as in the original historic photographs, well-known Texas photographer Richard Reynolds retakes the images, illuminating the march of progress in the Lone Star State. Divided into six regions, the entire state is presented, from small towns to big cities and natural areas. An encapsulated history accompanies each photograph.

"A photographic tour of Texas using vintage archival images compared to the same sites as they appear today. Includes views of major cities such as Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, as well as popular tourist spots such as the Alamo"--

Texas Then and Now features the most prominent locations from around the state, comparing vintage photographs with modern views of the same scenes today. Included on these pages are many of the great Texas universities, tourist draws in Austin and Galveston, the historic oil strike at Spindletop, the old stockyards of Fort Worth, the Texas State Capitol in Austin, and the state fairgrounds in Dallas. This collection of Texas landmarks provides a vivid portrait of a dynamic and expanding state—but one that has not forgotten its rich and enduring history.Featruring sites in: Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Goliad, Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, Washington-on-the-Brazos, College Station, Waco, Hillsboro, Dallas, Fort Worth, Amarillo and El Paso.

Each of the wars fought by Texans spawned the creation of scores of military sites across the state, from the lonely frontier outpost at Adobe Walls to the once-bustling World War II shipyards of Orange. Today, although vestiges of the sites still exist, many are barely discernible, their once-proud martial trappings now faded by time, neglect, the elements and, most of all, public apathy. ?In Faded Glory: A Century of Forgotten Texas Military Sites, Then and Now, Thomas E. Alexander and Dan K. Utley revisit twenty-nine sites—many of them largely forgotten—associated with what was arguably the most tumultuous hundred-year period in a five-century span of Texas history.? Whether in the war with Mexico, the American Civil War, in clashes between Indians and the frontier army, or in two worldwide conflicts fought on foreign shores, Texas and Texans have often answered the call to arms. Beginning in 1845 and continuing through 1945, the Lone Star State and its people were fully involved in seven major conflicts. ?In this thoroughly researched and absorbing guide, Alexander and Utley recount the full story of the sites from their days of fame to the present. Comparing historic sketches, paintings, and period photographs of the original installations with recent photographs, they illustrate how time has dealt with these important places. Providing maps to aid readers in locating each site, the authors close with a resounding call for preservation and interpretation for future generations. ?The descriptions and images restore, at least in the mind’s eye, a touch of vitality and color to these forgotten and disappearing sites. Thanks to Faded Glory: A Century of Forgotten Texas Military Sites, Then and Now, both the traveler and the armchair tourist can recover a sense of these places and events that did so much to shape the military history of Texas.

This is a book of historic and contemporary photographs of Austin, Texas. Each historic photograph is paired with a contemporary view taken from the identical vantage point. Accompanying text and maps provide information relevant to each photograph.

In 1836 revolutionaries routed the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto and the nearby town took the name of the battle's victor, General Sam Houston. Since then Houston has become America's fourth largest city, and its magnificent cityscape of concrete, glass, and steel bears little resemblance to traditional Texas imagery. It was an entrepreneurial New York family who first promoted Houston's lush landscape and vast potential in the Northeast and Europe, and the town expanded from a handful of tents into a place of more than 10,000 residents by 1900. Oil was discovered nearby in 1901 and from then on Houston never looked back. Sites include City Hall, Carnegie Library, Houston Courthouse, Merchants and Manufacturers Building, Allen's Landing, Houston Chronicle, Main and Preston, Sam Houston Hotel, USS Texas, San Jacinto Monument, Congress Avenue, Houston Water Works, Hermann Building, Texas Capitol Building, Majestic Metro, Old Cotton Exchange, Gulf Building, Moorish Federal Building, Carter's Folly, Kress Building, Union Station, Esperson Building, Antioch Church, Houston Light Guard Armory, Magnolia Brewery, Grand Central Station, Rice University, Museum of Fine Arts, Hermann Park, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and Warwick Hotel.

Utilizing many sources new to publication, James L. Haley delivers a most readable and enjoyable narrative history of Texas, told through stories—the words and recollections of Texans who actually lived the state’s spectacular history. From Jim Bowie’s and Davy Crockett’s myth-enshrouded stand at the Alamo, to the Mexican-American War, and to Sam Houston’s heroic failed effort to keep Texas in the Union during the Civil War, the transitions in Texas history have often been as painful and tense as the “normal” periods in between. Here, in all of its epic grandeur, is the story of Texas as its own passionate nation. “Texas native Haley does an outstanding job of narrating the outsized and dramatic history of the Lone Star State. John Steinbeck observed, ‘Like most passionate nations, Texas has its own private history based on, but not limited by, facts.’ Cognizant of this, Haley takes pains to separate folklore from fact. He's a good storyteller, but then it's hard to go wrong with the colorful characters he has to work with: pioneer nationalists Sam Houston and Davy Crockett, Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lundy, a wagonload of liquored-up turn-of-the-century oilmen and such latter-day heroes as Lyndon Johnson, John Connally and Janis Joplin.”—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

The larger-than-life story of the Lone Star State Encapsulating the 500-year saga of the one-of-a-kind state of Texas, this interactive book takes readers from the founding of the Spanish Missions and the victory at San Jacinto to the Great Storm that destroyed Galveston and the establishment of NASA's Mission Control in Houston while covering everything in between. Texas History for Kids includes 21 informative and fun activities to help readers better understand the state's culture, politics, and geography. Kids will recreate one of the six national flags that have flown over the state, make castings of local wildlife tracks, design a ranch's branding iron, celebrate Juneteenth by reciting General Order Number 3, build a miniature Battle of Flowers float, and more. This valuable resource also includes a timeline of significant events, a list of historic sites to visit or explore online, and web resources for further study.