Reinventing New London

Book excerpt: As the twentieth century dawned, New London, home to a dying whaling industry, was trying to reinvent itself as it had so many times before. When the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard arrived, the city got a new lease on life. That is where Reinventing New London begins, chronicling the history of the Whaling City through vivid photographs taken over the next sixty years. During that time, the nation's first submarine base and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy were established, and those who were stationed there helped to win two world wars. But just as its future seemed assured, New London found itself in ruins after the catastrophic hurricane of 1938. From the ashes of the storm, the city built a seaside resort, Ocean Beach Park, on Long Island Sound. Meanwhile, New London faced its greatest challenge ever in the changing times after World War II. As residents and businesses fled to suburbia, the city undertook a bold campaign to reinvent itself yet again, and what resulted changed New London forever.