In Search of the Golden West: The Tourist in Western America
The first transcontinental railroads brought fashionable easterners to the American West. In the 1880s and 1890s they traveled in sumptuous "palace cars" and stayed at luxury hotels. Westerners with an eye on promotion turned to what they took to be their own traditions. After 1900 a wilder West became popular; the Indian was rediscovered, and the cowboy returned to the saddle, if only during fiestas and rodeos. Increasing numbers of tourists headed for "natural curiosities" such as the sequoias of Yosemite and the geysers of Yellowstone. Then mass-produced automobiles and cheap air, rail, and bus fares changed the face of western tourism forever. In Search of the Golden West offers splendid old-time photographs and descriptions of nabobs, hucksters, naturalists, dudes, realtors, and motorists--all those who sought the reality and created the myth of the Golden West.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0803228201
ISBN13:9780803228207
Release Date:June 2010
Publisher:Bison Books
Length:304 Pages
Weight:0.75 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 6.2" x 7.9"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Going places
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Written in 1957, this is a fairly routine account of tourism in the West, which began in the 1880s (the creation of Yellowstone Park was a big boom for the industry). In a large country it was difficult to do much touring when there was no means to do so except in a horse and buggy. The expansion of the railrods, therefore, contributed greatly to getting people to visit different places not necessarily on the beaten path. Pomeroy discusses railroad travel, resort hotels, dude ranches, California, the sportsmen (hunters and fishermen), health seekers, and other factors. The book attempts to cover a bit too much ground and comes across as somewhat superficial at times because of that. A decent introduction to the topic, however.
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