Historic Destination Guides

From coast to coast, America is filled with historic places. From battlefields and bridges, to skyscrapers and stadiums, American history is all around us. The historic destination guides for New York, Chicago and San Francisco outline some of the famous, and not so famous, historical sites to visit and explore in those cities.

Historic New York

New York has come a long way, from its origins as the humble 17th-century Dutch trading post of New Amsterdam, to its present-day status as the largest and most influential city in America. Its five boroughs--Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island--encompass an astonishing diversity of neighborhoods, ethnicities, languages, cultures and backgrounds, while its many attractions continue to beckon tourists and transplants from around the globe. Visitors to New York City today can trace the city's rich history through a variety of buildings, monuments and public spaces, including (but definitely not limited to) the destinations found on the Historic New York destination guide.

Historic Chicago

Chicago has a wealth of nicknames--"Windy City, "City that Works" and "City of Big Shoulders" among them--and has the big personality to match. Ravaged by fire in 1871, the city eventually rose from the ashes to emerge as America's "Second City," trailing only New York in population and influence until the 1980s. Now home to nearly 3 million people, Chicago has the third-largest population in the United States. It is the birthplace of the country's first skyscrapers and the first elevated train system (the famous "El"), and boasts a glorious mix of architectural styles (Romanesque and Gothic Revival, Italianate and even exotic Moorish and Egyptian). View more historic places in the Chicago Destination Guide.

Historic San Francisco

The population of this eclectic, elegant city by the bay, built on the grounds of a small Spanish mission, exploded practically overnight during the California Gold Rush of 1848, making it into the West Coast's biggest city After a major earthquake in 1906, a new and bigger San Francisco quickly rose from the rubble, hosting a successful world's fair (the Panama-Pacific Exposition) less than a decade later. Today, the city is a hub of shipping, manufacturing, transportation and technology, as well as a major banking and finance center and a magnet for tourists from around the world. From the stately Victorian-era mansions to the bustling Fisherman's Wharf to one of the country's oldest and most vibrant Chinatowns, San Francisco's rich history is visible around every corner. Explore the Historic San Francisco Destinatiion Guide for a list of more places to discover.