In Portrait of a City Pauley highlights his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, during a period of rapid social and technological change between the 1890s and 1920s. Pauley examines a multitude of important aspects of daily life, including the modernization of homes, public and private transportation, education, the status of women, and entertainment.

Bruce F. Pauley highlights his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, to study larger trends that affected daily life during a period of rapid social and technological change between the 1890s and 1920s.