Atlantic City's crowded boardwalk on a summer morning, circa 1903. Source: Library of Congress

Are We There Yet?

Americans On Vacation

06.01.18

As Americans hit the road and take to the skies for summer vacation, Joanne, Ed, and Nathan explore the ways Americans have spent their time off.

leisure; tourism; travel; vacations

Segments

Let’s All Go To The Asylum

Trent University historian Janet Miron talks to the hosts about some surprising 19th century tourist attractions – insane asylums and prisons.

asylums; prisons; tourism; vacations

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Vacation Nation

University of Virginia Historian Cindy Aron tells Ed how vacations went from being a purview of the rich, to an expectation of a rising American middle class.

middle class; tourism; vacations

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At Your Leisure

Joanne, Ed, and Nathan take some time to unpack what vacations have meant to Americans ove the years, and reminisce about their own family vacations as kids.

childhood; personal memory; tourism; vacations

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Panoramas — large, moving paintings displayed in theaters — were a popular form of 19th century entertainment. Hear what viewing one was like in this dramatic reading from Lee Sandlin’s book “Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild.”

art; tourism; vacations

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Traveling While Black

In 1936, a man named Victor Green published a guide of roadside restaurants, gas stations and lodgings that would accommodate African Americans traveling across the country. His guides became known as The Negro Motorist Green Book. Historian Susan Rugh of Brigham Young University tells the story.

Negro Motorist Green Book; tourism; vacations

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