Summer by the Seaside is a lavishly illustrated work on the origins, evolution, and gradual decline of the resort hotel phenomenon and its architecture along the New England coastline and on its offshore islands. In this indispensable, breakthrough volume, Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., the recognized expert in this popular field, examines the landmark hotels, extant and not, in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Together these hospitality enterprises helped define the upscale tourist industry and key aspects of New England social, cultural, economic, and architectural history between 1820 and 1950.

Exhaustively researched and beautifully assembled, this stunning and informative volume is the definitive work on the history of travel and tourism in coastal New England during this period.