Bookmarks
Showing Bookmarks 1 to 2 of 2
-
Caption: "California Here We Come. Donner Monument. In Our Home State Again After Five Months Tour. October 7, 1934." William and Grace McCarthy took this photograph of the Pioneer Monument when they arrived back in California after a five month road trip to the East Coast. The Pioneer Monument, featuring a pair of pioneers with their two children looking west, was first dedicated on June 6, 1918 to commemorate those who emigrated to California in the mid 1800s. Today, the monument and surrounding area is known as Donner Memorial State Park. The park was established in memory of the ill-fated Donner Party, a group of emigrants whose wagon train was caught in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the winter of 1846-47. The Pioneer Monument's stone pedestal stands twenty-two feet high, the height of the snow that the party had to contend with. Of the eighty-seven people in the wagon train, only forty-eight survived to be rescued the following spring. Some of the survivors are said to have resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.
Date: 10/7/1934
-
Caption: "Coney Island, Sunday Crowd. New York. Aug. 19, 1934." Very crowded beach scene on New York's Coney Island. The construction of several resort hotels on the island in the 1870s and 1880s encouraged construction of amusement parks to provide tourist destinations. Coney Island has hosted several large amusement parks over the years, including one of the world's first roller coasters (built in 1884). Numerous smaller attractions were available as well. The island's popularity peaked in the World War II era, but despite some decline is still a world-renowned recreation area.
Date: 8/19/1934