Referred to as ""Champion City,"" ""Home City,"" and ""City of Roses,"" Springfield's diversity andpride inspires various nicknames from its residents.First settled in 1799, Springfield quickly grew tobecome one of Ohio's most important industrial towns, the products of its great factories encirclingthe globe. Laybourne gives the reader a chance to experience what Springfield was like in the Good Old Days with fascinating scenes of its people and places—the lively downtown area, its beautiful parks, theaters and opera houses, swimming beaches, universities, bustling factories and businesses, as well as views of several buildings that no longer line the streets of downtown Springfield.