Located on the north edge of downtown, this building originally housed the Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant. It represents an important development in the industrial mass production process spearheaded by Henry Ford with the architectural assistance of Albert Kahn. The Omaha plant was an early step in streamlining the process by accommodating all steps in automobile assembly in one building. Between 1903 and 1916, beginning at Highland Park, Kahn designed a number of this type of “all-under-one-roof” structures. Within these buildings, ... more

Niagara Falls is a group of three distinct waterfalls—Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls—on the border between the United States and Canada. The waterfalls, often described as a natural wonder, have been a major tourist attraction since the early nineteenth century. Although the U.S. government declared the area a work of “conservation” when it designated Niagara State Falls State Park a National Historic Landmark in 1966, the experience of the Falls, the islands above them, and the gorge below, are actually a designed and engineered environment, established over many years.more

The stately David Davis House, or Clover Lawn, demonstrates what a smart and ambitious person could achieve in Illinois during the second half of the nineteenth century. This textbook example of an Italianate villa, set on an expansive lawn and surrounded by gardens and service buildings, was once the center of a 1,200-acre estate on the eastern edge of Bloomington. As significant for its owner as it is for its design, this house was exceptional at the time of its construction and remains so today. more

Mammy’s Cupboard dates to a time when automotive tourism was booming and visual gimmickry lured motorists off the road and into shops and restaurants. This depiction of an enslaved African American “mammy” is rooted in the endemic racism of the time and the popular culture stereotypes of the antebellum South. The mimetic restaurant, found just south of Natchez, is still a prominent fixture on the Great River Road, which runs from Minnesota to New Orleans. more