The Story of Silver Dollar City
A pictorial history of Branson's famous Ozark Mountain village theme park
100 Things to Do in Branson Before You Die
Branson, Missouri may simultaneously be the most fun, toe-tapping, memory-making, laugh-inducing, family-loving experience you will ever have.A gem nestled in the Ozark Mountains, visitors have been coming for over one hundred years to cruise "The Strip" and sample the best of the past and the thrills of tomorrow. It all started with a famous book - The Shepherd of the Hills (still an outdoor theater play) and continued with the award-winning 1800s theme park, Silver Dollar City. Country music and comedy soon took the stage with the Presley's and Baldnknobber shows, until today, where the Live-Entertainment Capitol of the World is home to tens of thousands of theater seats, multiple museums, culinary delights to tempt every taste, and the natural beauty of three extensive lakes. In just one vacation, you can rise to the top of the tower at Inspiration Point, plumb the depths of Marvel Cave, discover the old homestead at Lakeside Wilderness, eat a "foot" of chocolate, honk a wacky quacker, and shop an old-time five-and-dime. From outlet malls to boutique stores, Branson is also the place for bargains. When night falls, find your groove on the Branson Landing's boardwalk as the fire and fountain show blazes into the night, eat at a floating restaurant, and watch the city glow from the top of the 150-foot Ferris Wheel.You won't want to miss a moment of the excitement....unless, of course, you do. In that case, kick back in a cabin at Big Cedar Lodge and watch the sun set over Table Rock Lake. Have a late breakfast at Top of the Rock, then paddle along Taneycomo and fish for rainbow trout. Finish out the day with a lazy scenic drive and a flea market find. National forests and state parks offer hours of happy wandering with wildlife, and you just might stumble on a secret even the locals haven't found yet. Whether you yearn for city fun or country quiet, there's something for everyone here in the Ozarks.In Branson, you can have the trip you've always dreamed of.
See our collections for more amusement and theme parks.
St. Louis in Watercolor
St. Louis in Watercolor is a compilation of information about borrowed ideas and famous firsts in St. Louis architecture. St. Louis, the first major metropolitan city west of the Mississippi, is unique in its architectural heritage. The architectural history of many of the buildings are re-creations or interpretations borrowed from other well-known structures around the world. Many of the ideas for new structures are the first of their kind. Artist and historian Marilynne Bradley's love for St. Louis architecture is reflected in her watercolors as a way of preserving these former and present historic scenes in St. Louis that may not last forever. Each of her watercolors explores the subject from a different viewpoint, allowing a personal statement for each work of art.
Kansas City, Missouri : an Architectural History, 1826-1976
An architectural history of buildings, structures and historic houses in Kansas City, Missouri.
We have more on Missouri museums, art and architecture.
Discover Art, Architecture, Literature, Music, and Theater in Missouri Digital Heritage.
Moonlight Serenade to City Lights
This book chronicles the musicians and bands that entertained a generation of Americans during the 1940s and 50s. The book preserves a time when local dance halls provided the main social outlet for many rural families.
The Muny : Songs of St. Louis Summers
Built as an outdoor theater in 1916 in Forest Park, the Muny has offered lavish productions of shows, concerts, operas and ballets ever since. This book takes an historical tour of this unique venue. Features numerous color and black-and-white photographs.
See Art, Architecture, Literature, Music, and Theater in Missouri Digital Heritage.
Animals Always : 100 Years at the Saint Louis Zoo
Observing exotic creatures, petting friendly animals, and riding the train through the park--no one can forget the enchanting childhood ritual of visiting the zoo. In reality, zoo visitors experience only the tip of the iceberg--Animals Always gives readers a glimpse into the unseen work and overlooked history of the renowned Saint Louis Zoo. Now celebrating its centennial, this expansive campus of naturalistic habitats houses more than 18,000 animals and is rated America's #1 zoo by Zagat, the well-known rating agency. Overflowing with stories, photographs, and fascinating sidebars, this captivating volume covers the Zoo's rich history and its emergence as a modern-day center of research and conservation. The Saint Louis Zoo has earned its excellent reputation thanks to its forward thinking and its community support--not to mention familiar faces like Marlin Perkins and Phil the Gorilla. St. Louis was the first city in the world to support its zoo through public taxes, and the Zoo remains free to all visitors today. Mary Delach Leonard takes readers from the days when schoolchildren collected 238,400 pennies to purchase Miss Jim the circus elephant, through years of renovation and innovation, to the twenty-first-century realization of the River's Edge habitat, which elevates the concept of natural displays to a new level, and the WildCare Institute, launched in 2004 to support animal conservation centers around the world. Vintage photographs offer up animal shows and early visitors in period dress, and modern color images capture today's awe-inspiring wild exhibits. Readers are treated to behind-the-scenes anecdotes and statistics visitors are normally not privy to. In 1970, a forty-day citywide search was launched for a spitting cobra that had escaped through his enclosure's water drain. Community members sighted the fugitive in a fan belt by the side of a highway, the pulley of a home furnace, and numerous banana peels before the snake was finally found in a crawl space near his cage. A peek at the current Zoo grocery list reveals a need for 43,056 red delicious apples per year--but also 122,000 mice and 16,750 rats! Through page after page of surprises--pictures never before published and amazing historical facts--as well as anecdotes sure to stir memories, this delightful volume captures an institution that has always been one step ahead. And Jeffrey P. Bonner, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo today, gives readers a peek at what's in store for the Zoo in the not-too-distant future. Animals Always is a vibrant tribute to the Saint Louis Zoo's innovation, dedication, and long-standing commitment to the people of St. Louis.
The Missouri Botanical Garden in Madagascar
This book--a collaboration of the Garden's staff in Madagascar, Paris, and St. Louis--takes you inside the lives and work of the many dedicated individuals who make up our Madagascar Research and Conservation Program. The Garden has had a sustained research presence in Madagascar since the 1970s, and there are now over 150 local staff members associated with this program. Each one takes to heart the spirit of the five objectives of the United Nations' Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC): discovery, conservation, sustainable use, education, and capacity building, and their dedication--and that of their local community collaborators--provides the true strength of the program.
Learn more about animal and plant exhibits in Missouri, as well as Missouri wildlife.
Read Missouri Conservationist online.
Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry : Missouri's Cookbook Heritage
When is a cookbook more than just a cookbook? When it's a gateway to our culinary heritage. For well over a hundred years, Missouri's cookbooks have helped readers serve up tasty dishes to the state's tables, but these publications also document the evolution of our kitchens and households. Pot Roast,Politics, and Ants in the Pantry, a treasure trove of anecdotes and nuggets of historical information about cookery in the Show-Me State, draws from more than 150 publications to reveal Missouri's cookbook heritage and to deliver a generous sampling of recipes. Carol Fisher and John Fisher look back to manuscript cookbooks from 1821 St. Louis, then progress through the years and around Missouri before arriving at today's online recipes. Along the way, they dish out servings of kitchen medicine, household hints, and cookbook literature gleaned from the state's cache of culinary gems. From handwritten family recipe collections and mimeographed publications to glossy color editions, the texts the Fishers have obtained from libraries and historical societies as well as their own extensive cookbook collection include such curiosities as the Julia Clark Household Memoranda Book from the William Clark papers, an 1880 production by the Ladies of St. Louis called My Mother's Cookbook, Mary Foote Henderson's Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving, and Albert E. Brumley's All-Day Singin' and Dinner on the Ground. They tell how various ethnic communities raised money by creating cookbooks, how the state's Beef Council and Pork Association put recipes on the Internet, and how restaurants like the Blue Owl in Kimmswick and Stephenson's Apple Farm Restaurant near Kansas City enhanced their reputations with their own cookbooks. Festival cookbooks, company cookbooks, even cookbooks tied to world events--they're all here in one delightful book. In this vastly entertaining review, readers will learn where to find recipes for dandelion wine, mock turtle soup (requiring a large calf's head split open by the butcher), and vinegar pie--as well as the curative properties of potato water, tips for raising chickens in the basement, and even "how to cook a husband." An extensive bibliography includes information to help readers track down the books discussed and also those on their own wish lists. Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry: Missouri's Cookbook Heritage shows how, instead of being just collections of recipes, cookbooks provide history lessons, document changing food ways, and demonstrate the cultural diversity of the state. From Julia Clark's simple frontier recipes for puddings and preserves to Irma Rombauer's encyclopedic Joy of Cooking--originally self-published in Missouri--Carol Fisher and John Fisher have laid out a smorgasbord of reading pleasure for cookbook collectors, nostalgia buffs, and gourmands alike.
Savor Missouri : River Hill Country Food & Wine
Don’t miss out on the fun of eating and sipping local in Missouri! Savor Missouri: River Hill Country Food and Wine is a food and travel temptation that will lure you to the back roads to explore Missouri’s rich land and culinary diversity.
Hiking Missouri
Hiking Missouri is your complete guide to 127 of the most scenic day hikes in the state. From St. Louis to the Ozarks to Kansas City, and all trails in between, you'll experience the spectacular beauty of the Show-Me State. In this one-of-a-kind resource you'll find these features: -Detailed descriptions of every hike, in every region, including special points of interest, estimated hiking time and distance, and difficulty ratings for each trail -Phone numbers and Web sites, park hours and rules, and available facilities for 71 of the state's most scenic parks and natural areas -Easy-to-read maps for every park and trail to help you navigate your hike and locate landmarks and other points of interest -A convenient trail finder with a summary of each trail's features and available facilities Hiking Missouri brings to life the history, terrain, flora, and fauna of each area. And its descriptions of nearby recreational and sightseeing destinations ensure you won't miss anything on your trip. Hiking Missouri is your guide to enjoying the great outdoors!
Missouri's Natural Wonder Guidebook
This new guidebook includes some of Missouri's most outstanding natural features. Written and photographed by Don Kurz, who reviewed over 1,600 public lands and selected 100 special areas that bring out the very best of Missouri's natural world. In it you will find directions (including GPS coordinates), maps, descriptions, and 118 brilliant color photos to special places that you will want to visit again and again. Prairies, waterfalls, shut-ins, caves, wildlife areas, geologic features, springs, trails, swamps, nature centers, and more are featured! This handy guidebook is perfect for nature lovers, photographers, or anyone wanting to visit the Show-Me state's best scenic attractions.
Find more books on parks and outdoor activities.
St. Louis Browns
As we all know, St. Louis is the best baseball town in America, but the city's major league history is not confined to the Cardinals. For several decades, until the middle of the twentieth century, St. Louis fielded a second professional team. True, it was mostly a losing team, but it once featured a first baseman who hit .400, a legendary Negro League star, and a pitcher who would go on to throw a perfect game in the World Series. They were the St. Louis Browns--the forerunners of the current Baltimore Orioles and a part of St. Louis's rich baseball history.
From the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, to the Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs win, we have sports books for you.
View Missouri Digital Heritage's Recreation and Tourism featuring athletes, athletic events, hunting, fishing, tourism and tourist attractions.
