Doing the town
Subtitle: the rise of urban tourism in the United States, 1850-1915
By: Catherine Cocks.
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Berkeley
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
Subjects: Tourism -- United States; Cities and towns -- United States
Description: "Tourists and travelers in the early nineteenth century saw American cities as ugly spaces, lacking the art and history that attracted thousands to the great cities of Europe. By the turn of the century, however, city touring became popular in the United States, and the era saw the rise of elegant hotels, packaged tours, and train travel to cities for vacations that would entertain and edify.

This fascinating cultural history, studded with vivid details bringing the experience of Victorian-era travel alive, explores the beginnings of urban tourism, and sets the phenomenon within a larger cultural transformation that encompassed fundamental changes in urban life and national identity.".

"Focusing mainly on New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Catherine Cocks describes what it was like to ride on Pullman cars, stay in the grand hotels, and take in the sights of the cities. Her narrative draws on innovative readings of sources such as guidebooks, travel accounts, tourist magazines, and the journalism of the era.

She uses this material to elaborate many interesting facets of urban popular culture and to show that the practice of urban tourism was an important element in the erosion of Victorian sensibilities."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.