<p>The Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa is a resort hotel which is located outside of Bedford, Pennsylvania. Established in 1806, it is one of the last and best-preserved of 19th-century resort hotels based around mineral springs.</p><br>
<p>The hotel was documented in 2005 by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The resort is part of the Omni Hotels & Resorts brand, based out of Dallas, Texas.</p><br>
<p>A portion of the resort property, including the hotel, golf course, and spring areas, was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1984.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1796, Nicholas Shauffler discovered a high mineral content in the natural freshwater springs located on the property of Fredrick Naugel, outside of Bedford, Pennsylvania. These springs were reputed to have &#39;healing powers" by the Native Americans who had come to this spot to drink from and bathe in the waters for centuries. Doctor John Anderson, then practicing in the town of Bedford, purchased the land containing the springs in 1798 and proceeded to build bathing facilities for his patients; thus starting the tradition of people traveling to experience the waters of the Bedford springs and setting the foundation for what is today Bedford Springs Resort, an upscale destination, located just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.</p><br>
<p>The popularity and reputation of the Dr. Anderson&#39;s treatments grew throughout the early 19th Century and by 1809, there were three buildings on the site, including The Stone House, Crockford and a precursor to the Evitt House. According to a travelogue by Joshua Galpin in 1809, these buildings included a "large frame lodging house and several smaller ones for families – warm and cold baths and a billiard room." In 1824, Bedford Springs was hailed as the "Montpelier of America" in a column in the July edition of the National Gazette & Library Register, which noted with praise the waters, accommodations, activities, food and wine. The popularity of the resort benefited from the emphasis on outdoor life in the mid-nineteenth century as east coast American cities became increasingly industrialized and polluted, and from the establishment of stops in Bedford for the B&O and Pennsylvania Railroads beginning in 1872, providing easy accessibility from cities such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City.</p><br>
<p>Bedford Springs became an attraction for politicians, and, in addition to serving as the "Summer White House" for President James Buchanan from 1857 to 1861, also served as a getaway and meeting place for other presidents such as William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor, as well as a multitude of senators and congressmen, and their families. The first transatlantic cable sent from England to the United States was received by President Buchanan at the hotel on August 12, 1858.</p><br>
<p>The decades of the 1870s through the 1890s, the "golden age" of Americas grand resorts, saw the "resort gold standard" set at Bedford Springs. A series of colorful spring houses, bridges, and gates dotted the expansive grounds, and a "serpentine trail" led party excursions from one spring to the next. In the beginning of the 20th century, as medicine and health-awareness advanced, the validity of the Springs healing powers decreased slightly, but the hotel still flourished, and in 1905, a major renovation of the complex included a monumental double-decked colonnade, which connected the hotels main dining room to a columned pavilion at the Magnesia Springs across Shobers Run, as well as a new building with a spring-fed indoor pool, reportedly the first such facility in the United States at the time it was built.</p><br>
<p>In the 1930s, the hotel&#39;s resident physician, Dr. William E. Fitch, established the "Bedford Cure," a health regimen that required a three-week stay at the resort, which still operated successfully throughout the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II, the hotel and its grounds were used by the USA Navy as the Naval Training School (Radio) and then later as a detention center for interned Japanese diplomats.</p><br>
<p>The decade of the 1950s saw numerous improvements and renovations to the property, including the installation of modern environmental controls and sprinkler systems. Bedford Springs was also open year-round for the first time in 1950. The hotel continued to operate for the next three decades, highlighted by then California Governor Ronald Reagan&#39;s stay in 1975, making him the seventh current, former or future president to spend time at Bedford Springs. However tastes in leisure travel had changed significantly over the years and the property eventually shut its doors in 1986. Two years later, a flash flood severely damaged several buildings at Bedford Springs and the site fell into disrepair. Even so, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Then in 1998, the property was purchased by Bedford Resort Partners Limited for $8 million and the massive undertaking of restoring Bedford Springs to its former prestige began.</p><br>
<h2>The springs</h2><br>
<p>The Bedford Springs were believed to have various and diverse medicinal values due to each springs unique mix of minerals. The "Bedford Cure" required the patient to imbibe each type of water (or a specific type of water depending on the individuals ailment) on a daily basis during their three-week stay. Examples of the unique springs and their uses are "Magnesium Spring," used for stomach ailments, the "Iron Spring," which was prescribed for iron deficiencies and healthy bones, the "Black Spring" which was used primarily to irrigate the golf course; and the "Sweet Spring" the waters of which were the most palatable. An eighth spring, named the Eternal Spring was discovered in 2006, during the expansion and renovation of the resort.</p><br>
<h2>The restored resort</h2><br>
<p>The hotel re-opened for overnight guests on July 12, 2007. The hotel buildings were completely restored and renovated, and additional wings added. In January 2009, the resort was purchased by Omni Hotels, a luxury hotel brand that operates properties across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The restored resort is a 216-room hotel with 4 suites, golf course, spa, and conference facility. The spa wing accommodates additional rooms and a full-service spa. The hotel contains a 130-seat restaurant along with a fully restored colonial-style tavern in the Stone House, with original, massive stone walls and beams dating to 1806.</p><br>
<p>The revitalized resort also contains a new outdoor pool and a complete restoration of the original indoor pool. The resort offers outdoor activities including a network of hiking trails to nearby Rainsburg and Buchanan State Forest, bicycling, off-road Segways, UTVs, cross-country skiing, fly fishing, river rafting, carriage rides and day excursions to many of Bedfords famous historic sites and beautiful covered bridges.</p><br>
<h2>Golf course</h2><br>
<p>The resort&#39;s golf course was originally designed by Spencer Oldham in 1895 and is one of the oldest courses in the United States. In 1901, head professional Charles Thorn worked to improve the course by rebuilding greens and tee boxes and installing an irrigation system using the natural springs found in the area as a water source.</p><br>
<p>In 1912, A.W. Tillinghast redesigned the course bringing it down to 9 holes. In 1923, Donald Ross redesigned the course again and brought it back to 18 holes. During the resorts extensive restoration, the golf course was brought back to the design that Donald Ross created in 1923.</p><br>
<p>As part of the resorts relaunch, an extensive renovation of the Tillinghast/Ross course was undertaken. The historical course had suffered over time from sediment filling in the margins of the waterways, and from "modern" approaches to landscape in the 1950s, which tried to "tidy-up" the creek edges with a "mown-lawn" approach. The renovation of the course, renamed the Bedford Springs Old Course, restored the natural spring bed with native grasses and other natural materials indigenous to the flood plain. Befitting the courses siting next to Shobers Run, there are water features apparent at nearly every hole.</p><br>
<h2>The spa</h2><br>
<p>Fed by the recently discovered eighth spring, the Springs Eternal Spa is a 30,000 ft&sup2; spa and salon that pays homage to what has historically made Bedford Springs such an alluring destination. The spa&#39;s signature treatment, called The Bedford Baths, is a ritual of immersing the body alternatively in hot and cool pools and soaking in herb-infused steam from the mineral-rich springs.</p><br>
<p>The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw&#39;s Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million specimens, is the second largest in North America, behind that of the New York Botanical Garden. The Index Herbariorum code assigned to the herbarium is MO and it is used when citing housed specimens.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The land that is currently the Missouri Botanical Garden was previously the land of businessman Henry Shaw.</p><br>
<p>Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>In 1983, the botanical garden was added as the fourth subdistrict of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District.</p><br>
<p>The garden is a center for botanical research and science education of international repute, as well as an oasis in the city of St. Louis, with 79 acre of horticultural display. It includes a 14 acre Japanese strolling garden named Seiwa-en; the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory; a childrens garden, including a pioneer village; a playground; a fountain area and a water locking system, somewhat similar to the locking system at the Panama Canal; an Osage camp; and Henry Shaws original 1850 estate home. It is adjacent to Tower Grove Park, another of Shaw&#39;s legacies.</p><br>
<p>For part of 2006, the Missouri Botanical Garden featured "Glass in the Garden", with glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly placed throughout the garden. Four pieces were purchased to remain at the gardens. In 2008 sculptures of the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle were placed throughout the garden. In 2009, the 150th anniversary of the garden was celebrated, including a floral clock display.</p><br>
<p>After 40 years of service to the garden, Dr. Peter Raven retired from his presidential post on September 1, 2010. Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson replaced him as President.</p><br>
<p>In 2024, the Tower Grove House was added to the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Records show that in 1855, four people enslaved by Shaw escaped the house and crossed the Mississippi River with help from Mary Meachum. A woman, Esther, and her three children were captured immediately after crossing. Shaw placed a bounty on Jim Kennerly, who had escaped.</p><br>
<h3>Leaders of the garden</h3><br>
<p>Henry Shaw (founder) until his death in 1889</p><br>
<p>William Trelease, director, 1889 to 1912</p><br>
<p>George Thomas Moore, director, 1912 to 1953</p><br>
<p>Edgar Anderson, director, 1954 to 1957</p><br>
<p>Frits Warmolt Went, director, 1958 to 1963</p><br>
<p>, director, 1965 to 1971</p><br>
<p>Peter H. Raven, director, 1971 to 2006; president and director, 2006 to 2010</p><br>
<p>Peter Wyse Jackson, president, appointed 2010</p><br>
<p>Lúcia G. Lohmann, president and director, starting January 2, 2025</p><br>
<h2>Cultural festivals</h2><br>
<p>The garden is a place for many annual cultural festivals, such as the Japanese Festival and the Chinese Culture Days by the St. Louis Chinese Culture Days Committee. During this time, there are showcases of the culture&#39;s botanics as well as cultural arts, crafts, music and food. The Japanese Festival features sumo wrestling, taiko drumming, koma-mawashi top spinning, and kimono fashion shows. The garden is known for its bonsai growing, which can be seen all year round but is highlighted during the multiple Asian festivals.</p><br>
<h2>Gardens</h2><br>
<p>Major garden features include:</p><br>
<p>Tower Grove House (1849) and Herb Garden – Shaw&#39;s Victorian country house, designed by prominent local architect George I. Barnett in the Italianate style</p><br>
<p>Victory of Science over Ignorance – marble statue by Carlo Nicoli, a copy of the original (1859) by Vincenzo Consani in the Pitti Palace, Florence</p><br>
<p>Linnean House (1882) – reputedly the oldest continually operated greenhouse west of the Mississippi River; originally Shaw&#39;s orangery, in the late 1930s converted to house mostly camellias</p><br>
<p>Gladney Rose Garden (1915) – circular rose garden with arbors</p><br>
<p>Climatron (1960) and Reflecting Pools – world&#39;s first geodesic dome greenhouse, designed by architect and engineer Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc; lowland rain forest with approximately 1500 plants</p><br>
<p>English Woodland Garden (1976) – aconite, azaleas, bluebells, dogwoods, hosta, trillium, and others beneath the tree canopy</p><br>
<p>Seiwa-en Japanese Garden (1977) – 14 acre chisen kaiyu-shiki (wet strolling garden) with lawns and path set around a 4 acre central lake, designed by Koichi Kawana; the largest Japanese Garden in North America</p><br>
<p>Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden (1995) – designed by architect Yong Pan; features (gifts from sister city Nanjing) a moon gate, lotus gate, pavilion, and Chinese scholar&#39;s rocks from Lake Tai</p><br>
<p>Blanke Boxwood Garden (1996) – walled parterre with a fine boxwood collection</p><br>
<p>Strassenfest German Garden (2000) – flora native to Germany and Central Europe and a bust of botanist and Henry Shaw&#39;s scientific advisor George Engelmann (sculpted by Paul Granlund)</p><br>
<p>Biblical garden featuring date palm, pomegranate, fig and olive trees, caper, mint, citron and other plants mentioned in the Bible</p><br>
<p>Ottoman garden with water features and xeriscape</p><br>
<h3>Popular culture</h3><br>
<p>Douglas Trumbull, the director of the 1972 science fiction classic film Silent Running, stated that the geodesic domes on the spaceship Valley Forge were based on the Missouri Botanical Garden&#39;s Climatron dome.</p><br>
<h2>Butterfly House</h2><br>
<p>Missouri Botanical Garden also operates the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield. The Butterfly House includes an 8,000 ft2 indoor butterfly conservatory as well as an outdoor butterfly garden.</p><br>
<h2>EarthWays Center</h2><br>
<p>The EarthWays Center is a group at the Missouri Botanical Garden that provides resources on and educates the public about green practices, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainability matters.</p><br>
<h2>Shaw Nature Reserve</h2><br>
<p>The Shaw Nature Reserve was started by the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1925 as a place to store plants away from the pollution of the city. The air in St. Louis later cleared up, and the reserve has continued to be open to the public for enjoyment, research, and education ever since. The 2,400 acre reserve is located in Gray Summit, Missouri, 35 mi away from the city.</p><br>
<h2>The Plant List</h2><br>
<p>The Plant List is an Internet encyclopedia project to compile a comprehensive list of botanical nomenclature, created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Plant List has 1,040,426 scientific plant names of species rank, of which 298,900 are accepted species names. In addition, the list has 620 plant families and 16,167 plant genera.</p><br>
<h2>Living Earth Collaborative</h2><br>
<p>In September 2017 the Missouri Botanical Garden teamed up with the St. Louis Zoo and Washington University in St. Louis in a conservation effort known as the Living Earth Collaborative. The collaborative, run by Washington University scientist Jonathan Losos, seeks to promote further understanding of the ways humans can help to preserve the varied natural environments that allow plants, animals and microbes to survive and thrive.</p><br>
<h2>Sponsorship</h2><br>
<p>Monsanto had donated $10 million to the Missouri Botanical Garden since the 1970s, which named its 1998 plant science facility the Monsanto Center. The center has since been renamed to the Bayer Center following Monsanto&#39;s acquisition by Bayer.</p><br>
<h2>Publications</h2><br>
<p>Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden</p><br>
<p>Harvard Yard is the oldest and among the most prominent parts of the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The yard has a historic center and modern crossroads and contains most of the freshman dormitories, Harvard&#39;s most important libraries, Memorial Church, several classroom and departmental buildings, and the offices of senior university officials, including the President of Harvard University.</p><br>
<p>The Yard grew over the centuries around Harvard College&#39;s first parcel of land, purchased in 1637.</p><br>
<p>Today it is a grassy area of 22.4 acre bounded principally by Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Street, Broadway, and Quincy Street. Its perimeter fencingprincipally iron, with some stretches of brickhas twenty-seven gates.</p><br>
<h2>Subdivisions</h2><br>
<p>The center of the Yard, known as Tercentenary Theatre, is a wide grassy area bounded by Widener Library, Memorial Church, University Hall, and Sever Hall. Tercentenary Theatre is the site of annual commencement exercises and other convocations.</p><br>
<p>The western third of Harvard Yard, which opens onto Peabody Street (often mistaken for nearby Massachusetts Avenue) at Johnston Gate and abuts the center of Harvard Square to the south, is known as the Old Yard. Most of the freshman dormitories cluster around the Old Yard, including Massachusetts Hall (1720), Harvard&#39;s oldest building and the second-oldest academic building in the United States. Massachusetts Hall also houses the offices of the President of Harvard University.</p><br>
<p>The original Harvard Hall in the Old Yard housed the College library, including the books donated by John Harvardall but one of which were destroyed when the building burned in 1764. Rebuilt in 1766, the current Harvard Hall now houses classrooms.</p><br>
<p>Across the Old Yard from Johnston Gate is University Hall (1815), whose white-granite facade was the first to challenge the red-brick Georgian style until then ascendant; between its twin west staircases stands the John Harvard statue. University Hall contains major administrative offices, including those of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Dean of Harvard College.</p><br>
<h2>Buildings</h2><br>
<p>Libraries in the Yard are Widener Library, its connected Pusey Library annex, Houghton Library for rare books and manuscripts, and Lamont Library, the main undergraduate library. Classroom and departmental buildings include Emerson Hall, Sever Hall, Robinson Hall, and Boylston Hall. The Harvard Bixi, a Chinese stele with inscribed text, is located near Widener.</p><br>
<p>The freshman dormitories of Harvard Yard include the upper levels of Massachusetts Hall, and Wigglesworth Hall, Weld Hall, Grays Hall, Matthews Hall, Straus Hall, Mower Hall, Hollis Hall, Stoughton Hall, Lionel Hall, Holworthy Hall, Canaday Hall, and Thayer Hall.</p><br>
<p>Nestled among Mower, Hollis, Lionel, and Stoughton Halls is Holden Chapel, home of the Holden Choirs. Nearby is Phillips Brooks House, dedicated to student service to the community.</p><br>
<p>Administrative buildings in the Yard include the aforementioned University Hall and Massachusetts Hall; Loeb House, on the east side of the Yard; and Wadsworth House, on the south side. Loeb House is the home of Harvard&#39;s governing bodies: the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers. Wadsworth House houses the Harvard University Librarian and the Office of the University Marshal, among others. Lehman Hall, at the southwestern corner of the Yard, provides administrative services for students who live off-campus.</p><br>
<h2>Images</h2><br>
<p>Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery is a historic cemetery located near Cabot in northern Lonoke County, Arkansas and is near the site of a Confederate military camp Camp Hope , where 1,500 Confederate soldiers died during an epidemic during the fall of 1862. Camp Nelson Cemetery is located on Rye Drive, just off Cherry Road, just off Mt. Carmel Road in north Lonoke County about 2 miles east of Cabot.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Camp Hope was established in the spring of 1862 as a central staging point in central Arkansas for Confederate troops gathering from Texas and Arkansas. The camp was renamed for Brigadier General Allison Nelson, commander of the 10th Texas Infantry Regiment, after he died there in October 1862.</p><br>
<p>During the fall of 1862, an epidemic of measles, typhoid fever, mumps, and other diseases ran rampant through the troops congregated there. Brigadier General Nelson was among the approximately 1,500 Arkansas and Texas soldiers who died from disease-related conditions during a two-month period, from early October to early December. The majority of these soldiers were buried in unmarked graves in the surrounding area. The camp was abandoned by the end of 1862.</p><br>
<p>In 1905, Confederate veterans located 429 graves and reinterred the remains on land donated for a cemetery near the original camp site. They placed 429 limestone markers, all marked "Unknown Soldier CSA", and erected a 12-foot obelisk to memorialize those buried here. Improperly maintained after the death of the last Civil War Veterans, the site was ultimately overtaken by forest undergrowth.</p><br>
<p>The cemetery was reclaimed before the end of the century, however, after local high school teachers, members of the Cabot High School Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Future Farmers of America students, and other area residents embarked on a restoration project during the 1980s with state funding. Renovations included clearing and leveling the land, replacing the fence and gate, and replacing the markers with new United States government headstones. The state appropriation for upkeep ended in the late 1990s leaving the cemetery maintenance up to interested residents. The Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.</p><br>
<h2>Photo gallery</h2><br>
<p>Entry Gate.JPG</p><br>
<p>Cemetery Plaque.JPG</p><br>
<p>Confederates.JPG</p><br>
<p>Confederate Cemetery Cabot Arkansas.JPG</p><br>
<p>All graves are Unknown Soldier CSA.JPG</p><br>
<p>The Beauvoir estate, built in Biloxi, Mississippi, along the Gulf of Mexico, was the post-war home  of the former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis. The National Park Service designated the house and plantation as a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<p>Samuel Dorsey, a planter, purchased the estate in 1873. After Dorsey died in 1875, his widow, Sarah Dorsey, learned that Davis was facing difficulties. Dorsey invited Davis to visit the plantation, offering him a cottage near the main house where he could live and work on his memoirs. Davis ended up living there the rest of his life with his wife, Varina Davis, and his youngest daughter, Varina Anne Davis (known as "Winnie").</p><br>
<p>Ill with cancer in 1878, Dorsey remade her will, bequeathing Beauvoir to Jefferson Davis and making Winnie the residuary legatee, inheriting after her father died. The three Davises lived at Beauvoir until Jefferson Davis died in 1889. Varina and Winnie moved to New York City in 1891.</p><br>
<p>After Winnie died in 1898, Varina Davis inherited the plantation. Davis sold it in 1902 to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans with the stipulation that it be used as a Confederate States Army veterans home and later as a memorial to her husband. Barracks were built nearby, and the property was used as such a home until 1953, with the death of the last Confederate veteran in Mississippi. At that time, the main house was adapted as a house museum. In 1998, a library was completed and opened on-site.</p><br>
<p>Beauvoir survived Hurricane Camille in 1969. The main house and library were badly damaged, and other outbuildings were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The house was restored and reopened while work continued on the library.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The name "Beauvoir" means "beautiful to view". When Davis lived there, Beauvoir consisted of approximately 608 acre. Cedars, oaks, and magnolia trees surrounded the house, which once had an orange grove behind it. The home faces the Gulf of Mexico, and Spanish moss hangs from many of the large old trees on the property. Oyster Bayou, a freshwater impediment and bay-head swamp once connected directly to the Mississippi Sound, runs across the property behind the main house from West to East. This body of water is fed by natural artesian springs on the grounds. The northeast portion of the estate is the site of a primitive, pre-urban hardwood forest with an environment similar to what existed in the area during the 1800s.</p><br>
<p>Today, the site is approximately 52 acre in size). It is located across US Highway 90 from Biloxi Beach. The compound now consists of a Louisiana-raised summer cottage-style residence, a botanical garden, a former Confederate veterans home, a modern gift shop, a Confederate Soldier Museum, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum, various outbuildings, and a historic Confederate cemetery, which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier. Five of seven of these buildings were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, and replicas are being planned. Current proposals envision restoring Oyster Bayou to its original environmental state, although this area suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Beauvoir was built by James Brown, a planter and entrepreneur, in 1848 and was completed in 1852. In 1873 the property was sold to Frank Johnston and soon thereafter to Samuel and Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey. They operated the plantation to cultivate cotton. Sarah Dorsey was a novelist and historian who wrote a biography of the Louisiana wartime governor, Henry Watkins Allen. It has been considered a prominent example of Lost Cause literature. Born and reared in Natchez, Mississippi, she was part of the prominent Percy family in the South. After her husband, who was older, died in 1875, the widow Dorsey lived in the main house with her half-brother Mortimer Dahlgren.</p><br>
<p>In 1876, having heard of Jefferson Davis&#39; financial and personal difficulties, Dorsey invited Davis to stay at Beauvoir. She made a cottage available to him and assisted him in writing his memoir, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881), by organizing, taking dictation, and encouraging him.</p><br>
<p>Davis accepted Dorsey&#39;s invitation and moved into the cottage now known as the Library Pavilion on the plantation grounds in 1877. Later, his wife Varina joined him.</p><br>
<p>Davis arranged to purchase the property in 1879 for $5500 (~$ in ) to be paid in three installments. In 1878, Dorsey had rewritten her will as she knew she was dying; she bequeathed the plantation to Davis and his daughter. Dorsey died in 1879.</p><br>
<p>Davis and Varina moved into the main house with their youngest daughter, Winnie. She was single as they had refused to let her marry into the family of a Yankee abolitionist. Davis lived in the home until his death in December 1889. Varina Davis remained on the property while writing her book Jefferson Davis: A Memoir (1890). She and her daughter Winnie moved to New York City in 1891.</p><br>
<p>Dorsey had provided that, after Davis&#39; death, Beauvoir would go to his daughter. At her death in 1898, the property was inherited by Varina Howell Davis. In 1902, she sold much of the property to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) to be used as a home for Confederate veterans and widows and later as a memorial to her husband. The SCV built a dozen barracks buildings, a hospital, and a chapel behind the main house. From 1903 to 1957, approximately 2,500 veterans and their families lived at the home. Many veterans were buried in a cemetery on the property.</p><br>
<p>In 1941 the main house opened for public tours. Eventually, a Confederate Museum was opened on the site. Over the next few decades, a Jefferson Davis Gallery, gift shop, the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier, and the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum were established on the grounds.</p><br>
<p>In 1969 the home survived Hurricane Camille. It needed some repairs and restoration after flooding.</p><br>
<p>In 1998 the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans opened the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library. It contains the personal library and papers of Jefferson Davis, a biographical exhibit, and a theater and lecture hall.</p><br>
<h3>Hurricane Katrina</h3><br>
<h4>Damage assessment</h4><br>
<p>On August 29, 2005, the main building was severely damaged, losing its newly refurbished galleries (porches) and a section of its roof, but not destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Biloxi-Gulfport area head-on. The Clarion-Ledger reported on August 31 that Beauvoir was "virtually demolished," overstating the damage. The storm destroyed the Hayes Cottage, the Library Pavilion, a barracks replica, the Confederate Museum, and the director&#39;s home. The storm gutted the first floor of the Davis Presidential Library. Approximately 35% of the collection was lost.</p><br>
<p>Although the extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina required a massive restoration project for Beauvoir, the publicity caused detailed USA Government photos of the building to become widely available, revealing some architectural details and part of the internal structure of the original construction.</p><br>
<p>At the Beauvoir entranceway, above the door and left-side window, dentil molding appears along the lintel of the door and window. The internal construction of the building is also revealed, seen in exposed areas of the structure, such as the basement red-brick pillars or the wooden wall frames, with wooden latticework backing the external plaster covering. The exterior shell of Beauvoir was protected by six fireplaces surrounding the house&#39;s core. Of those six brick fireplaces reinforcing the outside walls, only one of six rooftop chimneys collapsed during the hurricane. Five of the six fireplaces retained sufficient structural integrity to keep the walls of the building from falling away while underwater.</p><br>
<p>On the back, west wing of Beauvoir, behind a front-yard tree, the green storm shutters survived the floating debris that battered the entrance. The shutters protected the glass panes despite the 24-foot (8-m) storm surge that submerged the area. Whole sections of the Beauvoir home have remained intact to preserve many of the original construction details and windows (as seen in the photograph excerpts, at right).</p><br>
<h4>Restoration – buildings</h4><br>
<p>Since thousands of homes in Mississippi were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, construction work was diverted to all state disaster areas. Restoration of Beauvoir proceeded slowly. However, as it is a USA National Historic Landmark, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials approved Federal support for the repair and rebuilding of the Beauvoir complex.</p><br>
<p>With various federal, state, and private organizations financial assistance and individual contributions, restoring Beauvoir Mansion started in early 2006. On June 3, 2008, Jefferson Davis 200th Birthday, Beauvoir Mansion was fully restored and reopened for public tours. The mansion was restored to its original condition when Jefferson and Varina Davis lived there.</p><br>
<p>In the winter of 2009, Daviss library and Hayess cottage were rebuilt and open for public tours.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum opened in June 2013. Many artifacts were recovered and were restored or repaired from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.</p><br>
<p>In addition to the Presidential Library, the historic kitchen behind the Beauvoir mansion was reconstructed.</p><br>
<p>Funding for the renovation included $17.2 million from state and federal sources.</p><br>
<h4>Restoration – collections</h4><br>
<p>About 60% of the collections are estimated to be salvageable. Before Katrina, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library maintained a collection of 12,000 books on United States history, southern history, and history of the American Civil War. The library also maintained collections of photographs, personal letters, manuscripts, envelopes, postcards, newspaper clippings, records of Confederate heritage organizations such as the United Confederate Veterans and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and records from the veterans home that once was present on the grounds. Most of these records survived except those on display in the two museums.</p><br>
<p>Civilian volunteers and the Mississippi Army National Guard assisted with salvage. Unfortunately, the room storing much of the authentic china and artifacts was adjacent to the gift shop, with replicas of the originals. Both rooms were destroyed, so sifting through the debris and identifying the genuine relics was very difficult.</p><br>
<h2>Today</h2><br>
<p>Beauvoir is owned and operated by the Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans. Smithsonian magazine reported in 2018 that the museum communicates the Lost Cause perspective, including characterizing slavery as a positive institution and minor factor in the Civil War. It also reports that the State of Mississippi gives an annual grant of $100,000 (~$ in ) for maintenance.</p><br>
<h3>Activities</h3><br>
<p>Before the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, annual events included the Spring Pilgrimage in March, Confederate Memorial Day in April, the Fall Muster in October, and Candlelight Christmas in December. As of 2018, the Fall Muster is described as the "highlight" of the calendar.</p><br>
<p>Visitors to the site were presented with a biographical film on the life of Jefferson Davis narrated by an actor portraying Davis&#39;s long-time friend, Iowa Senator George Wallace Jones.</p><br>
<h2>Designations</h2><br>
<p>The home and grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Beauvoir was also designated as a National Historic Landmark and a Mississippi Historical Landmark.</p><br>
<p>Nine-Mile Prairie  is a 230 acre tract of conserved tallgrass prairie in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. Except for one small portion of it that was farmed as recently as the 1950s, Nine-Mile Prairie has never been plowed . As such, it is one of the largest areas of virgin tallgrass prairie in the state of Nebraska. A 228-acre portion has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as Nine-Mile Prairie, since 1986.</p><br>
<p>The area was previously owned by the Department of Defense and served as part of a fenced buffer zone around a World War II era bomb storage depot. It was later sold to the City of Lincoln, then from 1966 on managed by the Lincoln Airport Authority, then in 1983 transferred to the University Foundation.</p><br>
<p>Nine-Mile Prairie is now administered by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university uses it for a variety of research and recreational purposes, especially for studies of prairie ecology. Research on this prairie began in the 1920s when Professor John Ernest Weaver and his students started using it for their studies of prairie plant ecology.</p><br>
<p>In addition to prairie grasses, some of which including big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) can grow as tall as six feet, the site supports a range of prairie trees, including cottonwoods and honey locust. Invasive sumac plants and (in the absence of fire) eastern juniper trees require control to preserve the original prairie ecology. A total of 392 species of vascular plants and 80 species of birds have been observed at Nine Mile Prairie. Notable species include the federally threatened prairie white fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara) and the rare regal fritillary butterfly (Speyeria idalia), and it is home to bluebirds and white-tailed deer; herds of bison would have also passed through the site when it was open prairie until the mid-19th century.</p><br>
<p>Conway Cemetery Historic State Park, officially the Conway Cemetery State Park, is the final resting place of James S. Conway, first governor of Arkansas, and his wife, Mary J. Conway. It is a 11.5 acre Arkansas state park in Lafayette County. No recreational or visitors&#39; amenities are available at the state park.</p><br>
<h2>Description and administrative history</h2><br>
<p>The Conway-Johnson family dominated Arkansas politics from territorial days until the American Civil War. James Sevier Conway was the first governor of Arkansas, serving from 1836 to 1840. He began many basic state programs, such as banks, roads, and prisons. Conway retired to his plantation near Bradley, where he died in 1855. Several other prominent figures in early Arkansas politics were buried in the cemetery, including USA Senator Ambrose Hundley Sevier.</p><br>
<p>Locals succeeded in acquiring state protection of the site with the passing of legislation acquiring the site in 1975. After receiving listing on the National Register of Historic Places two years later, the cemetery was given to the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism on March 27, 1984. After paving of a parking lot and addition of picnic tables, the park was admitted to the park system in 1986. The park encompasses the old homesite and family cemetery of the Conway family.</p><br>
<p>Fairhaven  was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham and remains a historic neighborhood.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Fairhaven area is situated on the south side of Bellingham, and borders Bellingham Bay on the west and Western Washington University on the northeast.</p><br>
<p>Since 1989, Fairhaven has been the southernmost terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System, Alaskas state run ferry system. The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is also the departure point for summer passenger ferry service to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada operated by Victoria/San Juan Cruises. Nearby is Fairhaven Station, a small transportation hub which serves as Bellinghams Amtrak Cascades station stop as well as the Greyhound bus depot. Connections can be made to local taxis or local transit. Whatcom Transportation Authority recently upgraded Fairhaven&#39;s bus service to every 15 minutes as part of its.</p><br>
<p>Fairhaven also plays outdoor movies every weekend during the summer at the Pickford Outdoor Cinema in Fairhaven&#39;s historical district.</p><br>
<h3>Historical district</h3><br>
<p>In the center of the Fairhaven area is the Fairhaven Historical District, which features a seasonal farmers market as well as numerous restaurants and shops. The district is a popular tourist destination. All newly constructed buildings are required to conform in outward appearance to the communitys traditional 19th-century style as defined by Bellingham Municipal Code, Design Review District, section 20.26.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Daniel Jefferson Harris (aka Dirty Dan) arrived in the Bellingham Bay area in 1853 or 1854, and befriended John Thomas, who had filed a land claim along Padden Creek. He helped Thomas start a cabin there, but Thomas died before the cabin was finished. Dan finished the claim on the land and the patented was issued in 1871. He also acquired several surrounding properties and named this area Fairhaven, from the native name see-see-lich-em, meaning safe port or fair haven (possibly also from a town in Maine that may or may not have been his birthplace). He platted the town in 1883, and started selling lots. As his fortune improved so did his appears and reputation, allowing him to marry in 1885. In 1888, he sold most of his property in Fairhaven to Nelson Bennett and left for California. Nelson Bennett, along with Charles Larrabee, who arrived in 1890, formed the Fairhaven Land Company, mostly financed by Larrabee, determined to grow Fairhaven into a major city. They promoted the land rich in natural resources, good weather, and endless possibilities, causing the population to grow from around 150 in 1889 to 8000 at the end of 1890. Part of that increase was due to the purchase by the Fairhaven Land Company of a tiny settlement called Bellingham, tucked between Sehome and Fairhaven, which had a post office starting in 1883.</p><br>
<p>Fairhaven, like many other coastal Washington cities, competed with other Washington cities for the position of terminal city of the Great Northern Railroad, but that title ultimately fell on Seattle. During this period of competitiveness, which lasted from the late 1870s through mid-1880s, Fairhaven adopted its iconic 19th century style and took on an aesthetic appeal to architecture and design. Even after it was decided that Seattle would house the Great Northern Railroad terminal, population and aesthetically-minded construction continued to boom until the late 1890s. Fairhaven was officially incorporated on May 13, 1890.</p><br>
<p>During the speculative frenzy of the 1890s, the grand Fairhaven Hotel was built to attract railroad tycoons to choose Fairhaven as the west coast terminus of transcontinental railways. The railways never came, but the imposing remnant of the old hotel stood until a fire and demolition in 1953.</p><br>
<p>On October 27, 1903, citizens of Fairhaven and citizens of a neighboring city on Bellingham Bay, Whatcom City, voted to consolidate into one city named Bellingham. On December 28, 1903, the new city of Bellingham was officially established.</p><br>
<p>In 1903, Fairhaven received a grant to build the area&#39;s first Carnegie-funded library on 12th Street. The library continues to operate as a branch of the Bellingham Public Library system.</p><br>
<p>Fairhaven is also known for its historical ties to salmon canning, and from the late 1800s through to the 1940s was the home of numerous salmon canning operations, employing as many as 4,500 workers in the area. In the 1940s, the Pacific American Fisheries was headquartered in Fairhaven, and was known as the largest salmon canning operation in the world.</p><br>
<p>The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only building designed primarily by Le Corbusier in the United States—he contributed to the design of the United Nations Secretariat Building—and one of only two in the Americas . Le Corbusier designed it with the collaboration of Chilean architect Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente at his 35 rue de Sèvres studio; the on-site preparation of the construction plans was handled by the office of Josep Lluís Sert, then dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He had formerly worked in Le Corbusier&#39;s atelier and had been instrumental in winning him the commission. The building was completed in 1962.</p><br>
<h2>Commission</h2><br>
<p>During the mid-1950s, the idea of creating a place for the visual arts at Harvard began to take shape. A new department dedicated to the visual arts was created, and the need for a building to house the new department arose. A budget was set for $1.3 million, and the proposal was included in a Harvard fundraising program. The project immediately elicited a response from Harvard alumnus Alfred St. Vrain Carpenter and his wife Helen Bundy Carpenter. The couple, whose son Harlow had just attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design, donated $1.5 million for the proposed design center. The donation propelled the project forward, and the Committee for the Practice of Visual Arts began to look for an architect to undertake the project. Originally, the committee had recommended that the building be designed by "a first rate American architect" who would be in the company of Charles Bulfinch and Walter Gropius, among others. However, José Luis Sert, who was at the time Dean of the Graduate School of Design and chairman of the committee suggested that his friend and previous collaborator, Le Corbusier, be asked to design the building. Delayed due to scheduling and payment conflicts, Le Corbusier eventually accepted and made his first of two visits to Cambridge in 1959.</p><br>
<h2>Design and construction</h2><br>
<p>Because the Carpenter Center was to be his only building in America, Le Corbusier felt it should be a synthesis of his architectural principles and therefore incorporated his Five Points into its design. He took it as a particular challenge, determined that it should make a positive impact both on its surroundings—Georgian style houses—and in its mode of operation. He proposed to take pedestrians from all parts of the campus through the building, so that even though they might not be intending to visit it, they would see and thus partake in the artistic activities going on within it.</p><br>
<p>After much debate, a site was chosen between Quincy and Prescott Streets, abiding by the original proposal for the building. The allotted space was quite small, so the completed building presents itself as a compact, roughly cylindrical mass bisected by an S-shaped ramp on the third floor. Le Corbusiers earliest design showed a much more pronounced ramp that further separated the two parts of the central mass. However, the early design created the problem of too much disruption of the central mass. This problem auditorium reconciled by using a pinwheel effect so that in the finally executed design, the two halves meet at a vertical core that houses an elevator. The concrete ramp is cantilevered from this central spine and stands atop a few pilotis. The landing at the top of the ramp is located in the core of the building and leads to various studios and exhibition spaces seen through glass windows and doors, providing views into the buildings instructional and displaying functions without interrupting the activities in progress.</p><br>
<p>The exterior of the Carpenter Center presents itself very differently from different angles. From Prescott Street looking toward the curved studio space, one can see the brise-soleil that are placed perpendicular to the direction of the central portion of the ramp, making only their narrow ends visible from the street. The Quincy Street view, however, reveals ondulatoires on this studios exterior curve, which interfere with the buildings curve less than the brise-soleil do on the opposite side. On the ramp from Quincy street just before entering the building, one sees grids of square and rectangles of the windows, brise-soleils, and studio spaces, rather than the curves of the two halves of the building.</p><br>
<h2>Later history</h2><br>
<p>The building now houses the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (formerly Visual and Environmental Studies) of the university, and is the venue for screenings by the Harvard Film Archive.</p><br>
<p>Le Corbusier never actually saw the building. He was invited to the opening ceremony, but he declined the invitation on account of his poor health.</p><br>
<p>The French artist Pierre Huyghe explored the creation of the building in his 2004 work This Is Not A Time For Dreaming.</p><br>
<p>The Second Baptist Church, located at 441 Monroe Street within Greektown in Detroit, Michigan, is the oldest African-American church in the Midwestern United States. listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The church was organized in March 1836 by 13 former slaves who left the First Baptist Church due to discrimination. Second Baptist was Detroits seventh major church. With the Detroit River and Canadas border only a thousand yards away, the Second Baptist Church quickly undertook the mission of helping free slaves and constructed a room under the sanctuary where escaping slaves stayed until they could continue their journey. Church leaders assisted in creating the Amherstburg Baptist Association and the Canadian Anti-Slavery Baptist Association, each of which were abolitionist groups in Canada. From its founding until the end of the Civil War, the church served as a "station" on the Underground Railroad, hosting some 5,000 slaves before their eventual departure to Canada.</p><br>
<p>Second Baptist also opened the city&#39;s first school for black children in 1839, and in 1843 and 1865 hosted a "State Convention of Colored Citizens" to petition the Michigan government for Negro Suffrage. Ralph Bunche, who later became the first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, was baptized in the church. Second Baptist was instrumental in the formation of over 30 other African-American churches.</p><br>
<h2>Building</h2><br>
<p>The current building was erected in 1914 and contains three floors. It replaced an earlier structure which was destroyed by fire. Additions to the building were made in 1926 and 1968 and flank the original structure. The 1914 and 1926 buildings are brick with Gothic Revival accents in limestone.</p><br>
<p>The footprint of the 1914 building is rectangular with a gabled roof. The facade is dominated by a large lancet window with wood tracery. Below the window twin entrance doors inside gothic arches are framed by a crenellated parapet.</p><br>
<p>The 1968 addition is in the Brutalist style and has four floors by Nathan Johnson. Horizontal bands of windows wrap the second and third floors with fourth floor windows set into a grille of precast concrete. Below the windows of the second and third floors are precast concrete panels that also wrap the structure. The flat roof extends several feet on all sides to form a broad cornice.</p><br>
<h2>Current status</h2><br>
<p>The Second Baptist Church is a member of the predominantly black Progressive National Baptist Convention and of the predominantly white American Baptist Churches in the USA. Reverend Lawrence W. Rodgers is the Senior Pastor, the 24th person to hold that position at Second Baptist.</p><br>
<p>Angels Flight is a landmark and historic narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named Olivet and Sinai, that run in opposite directions on a shared cable. The tracks cover a distance of 298 ft over a vertical gain of 96 ft.</p><br>
<p>The funicular has operated on two different sites, using the same cars and station elements. The original location, with trackage along the side of Third Street Tunnel and connecting Hill Street and Olive Street, operated from 1901 until 1969, when its site was cleared for redevelopment.</p><br>
<p>The current location opened half a block south of the original location in 1996, mid-block between 3rd and 4th Streets, with tracks connecting Hill Street and California Plaza.</p><br>
<p>Before the 2013 service suspension, the cost of a one-way ride was 50 cents (25 cents for Metro pass holders). Although it was marketed primarily as a tourist novelty, it was frequently used by local workers to travel between the Downtown Historic Core and Bunker Hill. In 2015, the executive director of the nearby REDCAT arts center described the railroad as an important "economic link," and there was pressure for the city to fund and re-open the railroad. After safety enhancements were completed, Angels Flight reopened for public service in August of 2017, charging $1 for a one-way ride (50 cents for TAP card users).</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Original location</h3><br>
<p>Angels Flight funicular was built as the "Los Angeles Incline Railway" in 1901, with financing from J. W. Eddy. It began at the west corner of Hill Street at Third, and ran for two blocks uphill (northwestward) to its Olive Street terminus. The service consisted of two vermillion "boarding stations" and two cars, named Sinai and Olivet, alternately pulled up the steep incline by metal cables powered by engines at the upper Olive Street station. The downhill car descended by gravity alone. An archway labeled "Angels Flight" greeted passengers on the Hill Street entrance, which became the official name of the railway in 1912 when the Funding Company of California purchased it from its founders.</p><br>
<p>The original Angels Flight was a conventional funicular, with both cars connected to the same haulage cable and no track brakes in case of cable failure; a separate safety cable would be activated in a break. It operated for 68 years with a good safety record, with three notable incidents: a derailment with a single female passenger in 1913, a sleeping salesman being dragged several yards by a car in 1937, and a sailor walking up the tracks being killed in 1943.</p><br>
<p>A total of seven companies operated the railroad at its original location. In 1912 Colonel Eddy sold it to the Funding Company of Los Angeles, which sold it to Continental Securities Company in 1914. Robert W. Moore, an engineer for Continental Securities, and the railway’s general manager since 1914, purchased the line in 1946. In 1952, Moore retired, and sold Angels Flight to Lester B. Moreland, an electrical engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Byron Linville, a prominent banker at Security First National Bank. Moore had gotten to know Moreland and Linville over his many years and believed the pair were earnest about preserving the history of the railway and capably maintaining its operation. The following year Morelands family bought out Linvilles interest and became sole stockholder. In 1962 condemnation proceedings instigated by Los Angeles forced Moreland to sell to the city, whose redevelopment agency hired Oliver & Williams Elevator Company to run the line until it was shut down on May 18, 1969. Dismantling began the following day, and the cars were hauled off to a warehouse. The railroad&#39;s arch, station house, drinking fountain, and other artifacts were taken to an outdoor storage yard in Gardena, California.</p><br>
<p>In November 1952, the Beverly Hills Parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West erected a plaque to commemorate fifty years of service by the railway. The plaque reads:</p><br>
<p>In 1962, the citys new Cultural Heritage Board (today its Cultural Heritage Commission) designated five sites it regarded as "threatened" as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, with Angels Flight listed as No. 4.</p><br>
<p>Angelsflight1903.jpgLow end view of the original Angels Flight with the 3rd Street Tunnel and an observation tower.</p><br>
<p>AngelsFlight.jpgLow end view of the original Angels Flight with the 3rd Street Tunnel, 1960.</p><br>
<p>Joseph M. Cooper operates Angels Flight in Los Angeles, Calif., 1960.jpgJoseph M. Cooper operating an Angels Flight car, 1960.</p><br>
<p>SidKastnerAngelsFlight.jpgSid Kastner standing on Sinai in front of "The Bandstand," where the two funicular cars were stored, 1969.</p><br>
<h3>Dismantling</h3><br>
<p>The railway was closed on May 17, 1969 (or May 18), when the Bunker Hill area underwent a controversial total redevelopment, which destroyed and displaced a community of almost 22,000 working-class families who were renting rooms in architecturally significant but run-down buildings; the demolished residences were replaced with a contemporary mixed-use district of high-rise commercial buildings and modern apartment and condominium complexes. Both of the Angels Flight cars, Sinai and Olivet, were then placed in storage at 1200 S. Olive Street, Los Angeles. This was the location of Sid and Linda Kastners United Business Interiors. At this location, the Kastners maintained "The Bandstand," a private museum. The Bandstand featured antique, coin-operated musical instruments where one of the cars (Sinai) was on display in the museum. Olivet was stored in the garage of the building. They were stored at this location for 27 years at no charge in anticipation of the railways restoration and reopening, which according to the city&#39;s Redevelopment Agency, was originally slated to take place within two years.</p><br>
<h3>Reconstruction</h3><br>
<p>After being stored for 27 years, the funicular was rebuilt and reopened by the newly formed Angels Flight Railway Foundation on February 24, 1996, half a block south of the original site. Although the original cars, Sinai and Olivet, were used, a new track and haulage system was designed and built—a redesign which had unfortunate consequences five years later. As rebuilt, the funicular retained its general 300 ft length and approximately 33% grade.</p><br>
<p>As with the original line, car movement was controlled by an operator inside the upper station house, who was responsible for visually determining that the track and vehicles were clear for movement, closing the platform gates, starting the cars moving, monitoring the operation of the funicular cars, observing car stops at both stations, and collecting fares from passengers. The cars themselves did not carry any staff members. Angels Flight was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 13, 2000.</p><br>
<h3>2001 accident</h3><br>
<p>On February 1, 2001, Angels Flight had a serious accident when car Sinai, approaching the upper station, instead rolled downhill uncontrollably, and collided into Olivet near the lower station. The accident killed an 83-year-old man, injured his wife and seven others, and caused serious damage to the funicular.</p><br>
<p>The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted an investigation into the accident, and determined that the probable cause was the improper design and construction of the funicular drive, and the failure of the various regulatory bodies to ensure that the railway system conformed to initial safety design specifications and known funicular safety standards. The NTSB further remarked that the company that designed and built the drive, control, braking, and haul systems, Lift Engineering/Yantrak, was no longer in business, and that the whereabouts of the company&#39;s principal was unknown.</p><br>
<p>Unlike the original design, which had a safety cable, track brakes, and the cars connected to one-another to counter-balance their loads, the new arrangement used a separate haulage system for each car, with its drive motor connected to its service brake by a gear train. When Sinai&#39;s gear train failed it had no service brake or balancing load, either of which would have prevented the accident. Compounding this, emergency brakes that acted on the rim of each haulage drum were inoperative on both cars due to inadequate maintenance. The NTSB was unable to identify another funicular worldwide that operated without either a safety cable or track brakes.</p><br>
<p>Records indicate that the emergency brake had been inoperative for 17 to 26 months following the mis-installation of a normally closed hydraulic solenoid valve in place of a normally open one, which had burned out.</p><br>
<p>During the period that the emergency braking system was not operating, the braking system was tested daily &ndash; using a faulty methodology which engaged the service brake and emergency brake simultaneously, leaving no way to tell if the emergency brake was functioning without looking at the brake pads or hydraulic pressure gauges during the test. It was always performed with the Sinai car traveling uphill, which meant that when the power was cut and the brakes applied (as part of the test), Sinais momentum caused the car to continue moving uphill a short distance (slackening the cable) and then to roll back from gravity, jerking the cable tight.</p><br>
<p>If the emergency brakes had been functional, they would have caught the car when the cable snapped tight, but without them the force of the daily jerk caused by the test was directed through the gear train&#39;s spline (that ultimately failed) and then to the service brake. In addition, it was found that the original design called for the spline to be made of AISI 1018 steel on one drawing and of AISI 8822 steel on a different one, but it is unlikely that this ambiguity in the design contributed to the accident. However, regular analysis of gear box oil-samples was discontinued in May 1998, despite the company contracted to perform the tests advising that the rising particulate level in the samples warranted more frequent testing.</p><br>
<p>Besides the design failures in the haulage system, the Angels Flight setup was also criticized by the NTSB for the lack of gates on the cars and the absence of a parallel walkway for emergency evacuation.</p><br>
<h4>Evaluation</h4><br>
<p>The death and injuries could have been avoided if any one of the following had taken place:</p><br>
<h3>Repair</h3><br>
<p>On November 1, 2008, both of the repaired and restored Angels Flight cars, Sinai and Olivet, were put back on their tracks, and on January 16, 2009, testing began on the railway. On November 20, 2009, another step in the approval process was achieved. Finally, on March 10, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the safety certificate for the railroad to begin operating again.</p><br>
<p>The new drive and safety system completely replaced the faulty system that was the cause of the fatal 2001 accident. Like the original Angels Flight design and most traditional funicular systems, the new drive system incorporates a single main haulage cable, with one car attached to each end. Also like the original design, a second safety cable is utilized. To further enhance safety, unlike the original design, each car now has a rail brake system, as a backup to the main backup emergency brakes on each bull-wheel. Another added safety feature is an independent evacuation motor to move the cars should the main motor fail for any reason.</p><br>
<h3>Reopening and temporary closing</h3><br>
<p>Angels Flight reopened to the public for riding on March 15, 2010, and local media covered the event with interest. Only a month after re-opening, Angels Flight had had over 59,000 riders. It connected the Historic Core and Broadway commercial district with the hilltop Bunker Hill California Plaza urban park and the Museum of Contemporary Art – MOCA. The cost of a one-way ride at that time was 50 cents (25 cents with TAP card).</p><br>
<p>On June 10, 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered Angels Flight to immediately cease operations due to wear on its cars&#39; fifteen-year-old wheels. Inspectors determined they needed replacing. The railway reopened on July 5, 2011, after eight new custom-made wheels were installed.</p><br>
<h3>2013 accident</h3><br>
<p>On September 5, 2013, one car derailed near the middle of the guideway. One passenger was on board the derailed car, and five passengers were on board the other car. Although there were no injuries, passengers had to be rescued from the cars by firefighters. The brake safety system had been "intentionally" bypassed using a small tree branch. A 2014 brief by the NTSB said that the “probable cause of the September 5, 2013, accident was the intentional bypass of the funicular safety system with Angels Flight management knowledge; and Angels Flight management continuation of revenue operations despite prolonged, and repeated, unidentified system safety shutdowns.” The NTSB also noted a problem with the basic design: “The car body and the wheel-axle assembly are not articulated.” The passing section of the track involves a short turning section, which allows the cars to pass each other. The axles did not turn to follow the track, resulting in the wheel flanges grinding against the rail, causing excessive wheel wear. This problem, combined with safety system problems which caused unwanted track brake deployment, resulted in a derailment.</p><br>
<h3>2017 reopening</h3><br>
<p>Plans to bring the railway back into service began in January 2017. Safety upgrades were made to the doors of the cars, and an evacuation walkway was added adjacent to the track. These enhancements were made by ACS Infrastructure Development and SENER through an agreement with Angels Flight Railway Foundation, in exchange for a share of the funicular&#39;s revenue over the next three decades. Angels Flight reopened for public service on August 31, 2017.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<h3>Film, television, and video</h3><br>
<p>Angels Flight has appeared in more than 100 films. Angels Flights earliest appearance on film is believed to be Their Ups and Downs (1914), starring Eddie Lyons, Victoria Forde, and Lee Moran. Other early appearances include: Good Night, Nurse! (1916), All Jazzed Up (1920), The Impatient Maiden (1932), The Unfaithful (1940), Hollow Triumph (1948), M (1951), The Turning Point (1952), Cry of the Hunted (1953), Bunker Hill: A Tale of Urban Renewal (1956), The Exiles (1961), The Money Trap (1965), Angels Flight (1965), and They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968). It appeared as a landmark rather than an active filming location in the Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), Criss Cross (1949), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Indestructible Man (1956), and The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963). Angels Flight Railway (1969) and The Last Day of Angels Flight (1969) both center on the railway&#39;s closure in 1969. It closed again in 2013, but reopened for a single day to serve as a filming location for La La Land (2016), after which safety officials barred it from use as a filming location. It was reopened for public use in 2017, and can be seen in The Saint.</p><br>
<p>The railway is present in a 1953 episode of Boston Blackie, and in the only color episode of the original Perry Mason, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist" in 1966.</p><br>
<p>Other television show appearances include: in the 1969 episode "Narcotics DR-21" of Dragnet, The Biggest Loser (2010), The Bold and the Beautiful (2010), and in the Runaways episode "Old School" (2018). The original Angels Flight is featured in the Perry Mason remake (2020).</p><br>
<p>Angels Flight appears as an interactive component of the video games Tony Hawk&#39;s American Wasteland (2005) and L.A. Noire (2011).</p><br>
<h3>Literature, visual arts, and music</h3><br>
<p>The first book to be named Angels Flight in reference to the railway was Don Ryans 1927 novel. It is used by characters in Raymond Chandlers The King in Yellow (1938) and The High Window (1942); in Michael Connellys 1999 Angels Flight; and in Nick Carters 1967 The Red Guard. The railway is illustrated and at the center of events in Piccolos Prank by Leo Politi. Millard Sheets 1931 oil painting Angels Flight, which shows two young women on the looking down from the upper platform, is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art&#39;s permanent collection.</p><br>
<p>David Woodard composed "An Elegy for Two Angels" (2001) in honor of Leon Praport, the sole person killed in the 2001 accident. Praports wife, who survived the derailing, received an autographed score. The furnicular is referenced in "L.A. (My Town)" by Four Tops (1970), "Strange Season" by Michael Penn (1992), and "Aquatic Mouth Dance" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (2022). The music video for "Icy" (2019) by ITZY contains dance scenes inside the Angels Flight. Michael Penns album Free-for-All (2019) shows Angels Flight on the cover.</p><br>
<p>Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the crowded burial ground on the New Haven Green. The first private, nonprofit cemetery in the world, it was one of the earliest burial grounds to have a planned layout, with plots permanently owned by individual families, a structured arrangement of ornamental plantings, and paved and named streets and avenues. By introducing ideas like permanent memorials and the sanctity of the deceased body, the cemetery became "a real turning point... a whole redefinition of how people viewed death and dying", according to historian Peter Dobkin Hall. Many notable Yale and New Haven luminaries are buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, including 14 Yale presidents; nevertheless, it was not restricted to members of the upper class, and was open to all.</p><br>
<p>In 2000, Grove Street Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark.</p><br>
<p>Today, it is managed by Camco Cemetery Management.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Establishment (1796)</h3><br>
<p>For the first 160 years of permanent settlement, New Haven residents buried their dead on the New Haven Green, the town&#39;s central open space and churchyard. Stones date back to the 17th century and include gravestones include markers by the Thomas Johnson Shop, William Stanclift, John Gaud, William Holland, Caleb Lamson, Michael Baldwin, Joseph Johnson, Thomas Spellman, Thomas Gold, David Miller, and the New Haven Ritter Shop. In 1794–95, a yellow fever plague swept the town. The increased demand for burial space prompted James Hillhouse, a businessman and USA Senator, to invite other prominent families in the town to establish a dedicated burial ground on farmland bordering the town. In 1796, thirty-two families purchased a tract just north of Grove Street, the tract was enclosed by a wooden fence, which was prone to rotting and needed to be replaced frequently. At first consisting of 6 acre, the cemetery was quickly subscribed and thereafter expanded to nearly 18 acre.</p><br>
<p>In 1821, the monuments on the green were removed to the Grove Street Cemetery.</p><br>
<h3>Gateway and fence construction (1845–49)</h3><br>
<p>Completed in 1845, the entrance on Grove Street is a brownstone Egyptian Revival gateway, designed by the New Haven architect Henry Austin with carving executed by sculptor Hezekiah Augur, both of whom are buried at the cemetery. The style, popular in New England in that era, was chosen to reinforce the antiquity of the site. The lintel of the gateway is inscribed "The Dead Shall Be Raised." The quotation is taken from 1 Corinthians 15.52: "For the trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed." Supposedly, Yale President Arthur Twining Hadley said of the inscription, "They certainly will be, if Yale needs the property."</p><br>
<p>In 1848–49, the perimeter of the cemetery was surrounded on three sides by an 8 ft stone wall.</p><br>
<h3>Historic landmark</h3><br>
<p>The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.</p><br>
<h3>Conflict over perimeter fence</h3><br>
<p>In 2008, Yale announced plans to construct two new residential colleges just north of the cemetery. In 2009, university administrators and affiliates suggested to the cemetery proprietors that an additional gate be constructed in the north section of the historic wall that surrounds the burial ground to permit pedestrians to walk through the cemetery from the main Yale campus to the planned new colleges. In addition, the proprietors considered a proposal brought forward by one proprietor that would replace portions of the stone sections of the wall bordering Prospect Street with iron fencing similar to that already running along the cemetery&#39;s southern border on Grove Street. The proposal, withdrawn following a public meeting, included architectural and landscaping designs by Yale Architecture School Dean Robert A.M. Stern.</p><br>
<h2>Notable burials and memorials</h2><br>
<p>James Rowland Angell (1869–1949), President of Yale University</p><br>
<p>Kanichi Asakawa (1873–1948), historian.</p><br>
<p>Jehudi Ashmun (1794–1828), religious leader, and social reformer, agent of the African Colonization Society</p><br>
<p>Hezekiah Augur (1791–1858), wood carver, sculptor and inventor.</p><br>
<p>Henry Austin (1804–1891), architect, designed the gate of the cemetery, Yale&#39;s College Library (which became Dwight Hall), and several mansions on Hillhouse Avenue.</p><br>
<p>Alice Mabel Bacon (1858–1918), women educator (niece of Delia Bacon)</p><br>
<p>Delia Bacon (1811–1859), originator of the proposition that Francis Bacon wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare</p><br>
<p>Leonard Bacon (1802–1881), clergyman and abolitionist (father of Alice Mabel Bacon and brother of Delia Bacon)</p><br>
<p>Charles Montague Bakewell (1867–1957), politician</p><br>
<p>Roger Sherman Baldwin (1793–1863), Governor of Connecticut</p><br>
<p>Simeon Baldwin (1761–1851), Mayor of New Haven</p><br>
<p>Simeon E. Baldwin (1840–1927), Governor of Connecticut</p><br>
<p>Ida Barney (1886–1982) noted female American astronomer</p><br>
<p>Ebenezer Bassett (1833–1908), African-American educator and diplomat; US Ambassador to Haiti</p><br>
<p>John Bassett (1652–1714), captain of the trainband; deputy to the General Court (legislature) of Connecticut Colony</p><br>
<p>Lyman Beecher (1775–1863), abolitionist, father of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher</p><br>
<p>Nathan Beers (1763–1861), paymaster to Connecticut troops in the American Revolution</p><br>
<p>Hiram Bingham I (1789–1869), Hawaiian missionary and clergyman.</p><br>
<p>James Bishop (d. 1691), Secretary, Lieutenant Governor and Deputy Governor of New Haven Jurisdiction.</p><br>
<p>Eli Whitney Blake (1795–1886), manufacturer and inventor of the stone crusher. His brother, Philos, invented the corkscrew.</p><br>
<p>William Whiting Boardman (1794–1871), politician.</p><br>
<p>Edward Gaylord Bourne (1860–1908), historian and educator. Leader in the American Historical Association.</p><br>
<p>Phineas Bradley (1745–1797), soldier. Captain, commander of the artillery defending New Haven, July 5, 1779</p><br>
<p>William H. Brewer (1828–1910), scientist. Helped found the Yale Forestry School; co-founder, with Samuel William Johnson, also buried here, of the first USA Agricultural Experiment Station.</p><br>
<p>James Brewster (1788–1866), founder of Brewster & Co. industrialist and railroad promoter.</p><br>
<p>Kingman Brewster Jr. (1919–1988), President of Yale University</p><br>
<p>William Bristol (1779–1836), Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Walter Camp (1859–1925), football coach known as the "Father of American Football".</p><br>
<p>Leverett Candee (1795–1863), Industrialist. First practical use of Goodyear&#39;s vulcanization of rubber</p><br>
<p>Arthur E. Case (1894–1946), professor and author</p><br>
<p>Jedediah Chapman (d. 1863), Civil War Union Army Officer killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.</p><br>
<p>Thomas Clap (1703–1767), Rector & President of Yale College – buried in the City Burial Ground on the Green, stone later moved here.</p><br>
<p>Harry Croswell (1778–1848), Crusading political journalist and Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in New Haven</p><br>
<p>David Daggett (1764–1851), United States Senator, mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Naphtali Daggett (1727–1780), clergyman, President pro tempore of Yale College.</p><br>
<p>George Edward Day (1814–1905), Bible revisor</p><br>
<p>Jeremiah Day (1773–1867), President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Amos Doolittle (1754–1832), silversmith, engraver of Revolutionary scenes. "The Revere of Connecticut."</p><br>
<p>Timothy Dwight IV (1752–1817), President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Timothy Dwight V (1829–1916), President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Amos Beebe Eaton (1806–1877), Civil War Union Army Brigadier General.</p><br>
<p>Theophilus Eaton (1590–1657), a founder of New Haven, first Governor of New Haven.</p><br>
<p>Henry W. Edwards (1779–1847), USA Representative, USA Senator, and Governor of Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Pierpont Edwards (1750–1826), Delegate to the Continental Congress.</p><br>
<p>Jeremiah Evarts (1781–1831), scholar, writer and missionary executive. Editor of the ‘’Panoplist’’ and the ‘’Missionary Herald’’.</p><br>
<p>Henry Farnham (1836–1917), prominent New Haven merchant and philanthropist.</p><br>
<p>George Park Fisher (1827–1902), historian and theologian</p><br>
<p>Andrew Hull Foote (1806–1863), naval officer who ended the rum ration in the United States Navy.</p><br>
<p>A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938–1989), baseball commissioner, President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Josiah Willard Gibbs Sr. (1790–1861), professor at Yale Divinity School who first spoke with the mutineers of the Amistad.</p><br>
<p>Josiah Willard Gibbs Jr. (1839–1903), scientist, "Father of Thermodynamics"</p><br>
<p>Chauncey Goodrich (1790–1860), Yale professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Charge.</p><br>
<p>Elizur Goodrich (1761–1849), mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Charles Goodyear (1800–1860), inventor of vulcanized rubber.</p><br>
<p>Alfred Whitney Griswold (1906–1963), President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Arthur Twining Hadley (1856–1930), Dean of Yale Graduate School when women were first admitted. President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Henry Baldwin Harrison (1821–1901), Governor of Connecticut</p><br>
<p>James Hillhouse (1754–1832), real estate developer, politician, and treasurer of Yale. Namesake of Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven.</p><br>
<p>James Mason Hoppin (1820–1906), professor of religion and art.</p><br>
<p>Leverett Hubbard (1725–1795), soldier, physician and apothecary.</p><br>
<p>David Humphreys (1752–1818), Aide de Camp to General George Washington</p><br>
<p>Charles Roberts Ingersoll (1821–1903), Governor of Connecticut</p><br>
<p>Colin Macrae Ingersoll (1819–1903), United States Representative from Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll (1789–1872), United States Minister to Russia, mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Eli Ives (1779–1861), professor of Medicine</p><br>
<p>Chauncey Jerome (1793–1868), mayor of New Haven, clockmaker</p><br>
<p>Nathaniel Jocelyn (1796–1881), portrait painter and engraver.</p><br>
<p>Samuel William Johnson (1830–1909), Yale professor, co-founder of the Agricultural Experiment Station Movement with William H. Brewer (also buried here)</p><br>
<p>James Kingsley (1778–1852), professor of Hebrew, Greek and Ecclesiastical History at Yale.</p><br>
<p>John Gamble Kirkwood (1907–1959), chemist.</p><br>
<p>Charlton Miner Lewis (1866–1923), Yale professor and author.</p><br>
<p>Elias Loomis (1811–1889), mathematician and astronomer.</p><br>
<p>Daniel Lyman (1718–1788), Surveyor, Deputy to the General Court, Court Referee, Justice of the Peace and caretaker of the State&#39;s public records.</p><br>
<p>Samuel Mansfield (1717–1775), first sheriff of New Haven</p><br>
<p>Othniel Charles Marsh (1831–1899), paleontologist.</p><br>
<p>Henry Czar Merwin (1839–1863), Civil War Union Army Officer killed at the Battle of Gettysburg</p><br>
<p>Glenn Miller (Alton G. Miller), one of several fan-placed, private cenotaphs – (1904–1944), Jazz bandleader, trombonist.</p><br>
<p>Dr. Timothy Mix (1711–1779), Colonial soldier who died on a British prison ship.</p><br>
<p>John Michael Montias (1928–2005), economist and art historian</p><br>
<p>Jedidiah Morse (1761–1826), clergy,"Father of American Geography". Father of Samuel F. B. Morse.</p><br>
<p>Theodore T. Munger (1830–1910), clergyman.</p><br>
<p>Hubert Anson Newton (1830–1896), meteorologist and mathematician.</p><br>
<p>George Henry Nettleton (1874–1959), author.</p><br>
<p>Denison Olmsted (1791–1859), Professor of Medicine and Natural Philosophy at Yale. One of the first to see Halley&#39;s Comet in 1835.</p><br>
<p>Lars Onsager (1903-1976), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, a legendary theoretical chemist, distinguished professor of chemistry at Yale.</p><br>
<p>Norman Holmes Pearson (1909–1975), Yale American Studies professor and World War II spy.</p><br>
<p>Samuel Peck (1813–1879), 19th-century photographer, artist, businessperson, photo case manufacturer, and gallery owner.</p><br>
<p>Jaroslav Pelikan (1923–2006), Scholar in the history of Christianity, Christian theology and medieval intellectual history.</p><br>
<p>Timothy Pitkin (1766–1847), politician, United States Representative from Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Noah Porter (1811–1892), clergyman, President of Yale College</p><br>
<p>Joel Root (1770–1847), traveller, author.</p><br>
<p>Charles Seymour (1885–1963), President of Yale University</p><br>
<p>George Dudley Seymour (1859–1945), Attorney, antiquarian, historian, author, and city planner</p><br>
<p>Joseph Earl Sheffield (1793–1882), merchant, founder of Sheffield Scientific School.</p><br>
<p>Roger Sherman (1721–1793), important founding father, the only person to have signed all four basic documents of American sovereignty, the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. Today his grave is the center of this colonial city&#39;s Independence Day festivities.</p><br>
<p>Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864), pioneer in scientific education.</p><br>
<p>Benjamin Silliman Jr. (1816–1885), Yale chemist and geologist. First suggested some practical uses for petroleum.</p><br>
<p>Aaron Skinner (1800–1858), civic figure and supervisor of improvements to Grove Street Cemetery</p><br>
<p>Nathan Smith (1770–1835), United States Senator from Connecticut.</p><br>
<p>Ezra Stiles (1727–1795), President of Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Henry Randolph Storrs (1787–1837), jurist.</p><br>
<p>Titus Street (1786–1842), businessman and civic figure</p><br>
<p>Alfred Howe Terry (1827–1890), Civil War Union Army Major General.</p><br>
<p>Beatrice Tinsley (1941-1981), British-born New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist. First female professor of astronomy at Yale University.</p><br>
<p>Ithiel Town (1784–1844), architect and civil engineer. Inventor of the lattice truss bridge.</p><br>
<p>Martha Townsend (1753–1797), first interment in Grove Street Cemetery</p><br>
<p>William Kneeland Townsend (1849–1907), jurist</p><br>
<p>Henry H. Townshend (1874–1953), proprietor and historian of Grove Street Cemetery.</p><br>
<p>Timothy Trowbridge (1631–1734), merchant, soldier and politician.</p><br>
<p>Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill (1799–1879), children&#39;s book author</p><br>
<p>Alexander C. Twining (1801–1884), inventor of first practical artificial ice system.</p><br>
<p>Decius Wadsworth (1768–1821), Army Engineer, Chief of Ordnance (US Army).</p><br>
<p>Noah Webster (1758–1843), lexicographer, dictionary publisher.</p><br>
<p>Nathan Whiting, soldier, Colonel in the Seven Years&#39; War.</p><br>
<p>Eli Whitney (1765–1825), inventor of the cotton gin.</p><br>
<p>Theodore Winthrop (1828–1861), Major, United States Army. First New Haven victim of the Civil War.</p><br>
<p>Melancthon Taylor Woolsey (1717–1758), colonel in the Colonial Army.</p><br>
<p>Theodore Dwight Woolsey (1812–1889), abolitionist, President of Yale.</p><br>
<p>David Wooster (1711–1777), Buried in Danbury, Connecticut but memorialized at Grove Street Cemetery. Major General, 7th in rank below Washington.</p><br>
<p>Mary Clabaugh Wright (1917–1970), educator and historian, first woman to become a full professor at Yale.</p><br>
<p>Colonial National Historical Park is a large national historical park located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia operated by the National Park Service. It protects and interprets several sites relating to the Colony of Virginia and the history of the United States more broadly. These range from the site of the first English settlement at Jamestown, to the battlefields of Yorktown where the British Army was defeated in the American Revolutionary War. Over 3 million people visit the park each year.</p><br>
<h2>Units</h2><br>
<h3>Colonial Parkway</h3><br>
<p>The park includes the Colonial Parkway, a scenic 23 mi parkway linking the three points of Virginia&#39;s Historic Triangle: Jamestown and Yorktown and running through the historic district of Colonial Williamsburg. The Colonial Parkway is located in James City County, York County, and the city of Williamsburg.</p><br>
<h3>Jamestown</h3><br>
<p>The park includes the original site of Jamestown, known in modern times as Historic Jamestowne in James City County at the southern end of the Colonial Parkway. It encompasses the area of Jamestown Island, including the Jamestown Glasshouse. Adjacent to it is the Commonwealth of Virginia&#39;s complementary attraction known as Jamestown Settlement.</p><br>
<h3>Yorktown Battlefield</h3><br>
<p>The park operates the Yorktown Battlefield at the eastern end of the Colonial Parkway in York County at Yorktown. The Thomas Nelson House was built around 1724 and served as Cornwallis&#39;s headquarters during the final battle of the Revolutionary War.</p><br>
<p>The battlefield was the site of the British defeat. Both the house and the historic siege earthworks were restored in 1976. The Moore House is where surrender negotiations took place in 1781, located in the eastern part of the park.</p><br>
<p>Nearby are the state-operated American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Yorktown Riverwalk Landing area.</p><br>
<h3>Green Spring Plantation</h3><br>
<p>William Berkeley held the colonial governorship during the longest periods of any individual. He used his Green Spring Plantation as an experimental farm to develop sources of income for the colony other than cultivated tobacco and traded furs.</p><br>
<h3>Cape Henry Memorial</h3><br>
<p>The Cape Henry Memorial is at the site of the landing of Captain Christopher Newport and the Jamestown colonists in 1607. It is located in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia at Cape Henry. It open to the public and is located off USA Route 60 on the Navy&#39;s Joint Expeditionary Base East.</p><br>
<h2>Administrative history</h2><br>
<p>Colonial National Monument was authorized on July 3, 1930. It was established on December 30, 1930. On June 5, 1936, it was redesignated a National Historical Park. The cemetery at Yorktown was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933.</p><br>
<p>Jamestown National Historic Site is co-owned by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) and administered by the NPS, and was designated on December 18, 1940. Preservation Virginia owns 22 acre containing the remains of the original 1607 fort. The National Park Service owns the remaining 1,178 acre of the island which contains the archeological remains of the expanded town and its island plantation sites.</p><br>
<p>As with all historical areas administered by the National Park Service, Colonial National Historical Park and Jamestown National Historic Site are listed on the National Register of Historic Places of the USA Department of the Interior.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia. Its 301 acre historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, when the city was the capital of the Colony of Virginia; 17th-century, 19th-century, and Colonial Revival structures; and more recent reconstructions. The historic area includes three main thoroughfares and their connecting side streets that attempt to suggest the atmosphere and the circumstances of 18th-century Americans. Costumed employees work and dress as people did in the era, sometimes using colonial grammar and diction.</p><br>
<p>In the late 1920s, the restoration of colonial Williamsburg was championed as a way to celebrate patriots and the early history of the United States. Proponents included the Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin and other community leaders; the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now called Preservation Virginia), the Colonial Dames of America, the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations; and John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.</p><br>
<p>Along with Jamestown and Yorktown, and the Colonial Parkway, Colonial Williamsburg is part of the Historic Triangle in Virginia, The site was once used for conferences by world leaders and heads of state. In 1960, it was designated a National Historic Landmark District.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>The core of Colonial Williamsburg runs along Duke of Gloucester Street and the Palace Green that extends north and south perpendicular to it. This area is largely flat, with ravines and streams branching off on the periphery. Duke of Gloucester Street and other historic area thoroughfares are closed to motorized vehicles during the day, in favor of pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers, dog walkers, and animal-drawn vehicles.</p><br>
<p>Surviving colonial structures have been restored as close as possible to their 18th-century appearance, with traces removed of later buildings and improvements. Many of the once missing colonial structures were reconstructed on their original sites beginning in the 1930s. Animals, gardens, and dependencies add to the environment, such as kitchens, smokehouses, and privies. Some buildings and most gardens are open to tourists, with the exception of buildings serving as residences for Colonial Williamsburg employees, large donors, the occasional city official, and sometimes College of William & Mary associates.</p><br>
<p>Prominent buildings include the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol, the Governors Palace (all reconstructed), the Courthouse, the Wythe House, the Peyton Randolph House, the Magazine, and the independently owned and functioning Bruton Parish Church (all originals). Colonial Williamsburgs portion of the historic area begins east of the College of William & Mary&#39;s College Yard.</p><br>
<p>Four taverns have been reconstructed for use as restaurants and two for inns. There are craftsmens workshops for period trades, including a printing shop, a shoemaker, a blacksmith, a cooperage, a cabinetmaker, a gunsmith, a wigmaker, and a silversmith. There are merchants selling tourist souvenirs, books, reproduction toys, pewterware, pottery, scented soap, etc. Some houses are open to tourists, including the Peyton Randolph House, the Geddy House, the Wythe House, and the Everard House, as are such public buildings as the Courthouse, the Capitol, the Magazine, the Public Hospital, and the Public Gaol. Former notorious inmates of the Gaol include pirate Blackbeards crew who were kept there while they awaited trial.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg operations extend to Merchants Square, a Colonial Revival commercial area designated a historic district in its own right. Nearby are the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, operated by Colonial Williamsburg as part of its curatorial efforts.</p><br>
<h2>History of Williamsburg</h2><br>
<p>The Jamestown statehouse housed Virginias government in the 1600s, but it burned on October 20, 1698. The legislators consequently moved their meetings to the College of William & Mary in Virginia at Middle Plantation, putting an end to Jamestowns 92-year history as Virginia&#39;s capital. In 1699, a group of College of William & Mary students delivered addresses during graduation exercises endorsing proposals to move the capital to Middle Plantation, ostensibly to escape the malaria and the mosquitoes at the Jamestown Island site. Interested Middle Plantation landowners donated some of their holdings to advance the plan.</p><br>
<p>Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg by Governor Francis Nicholson in honor of William III of England. Nicholson said that "clear and crystal springs burst from the champagne soil" of Williamsburg. He had the city surveyed and a grid laid out by Theodorick Bland taking into consideration the brick College Building and the then decaying Bruton Parish Church buildings. The grid seems to have obliterated all but the remnants of an earlier plan that laid out the streets in the monogram of William and Mary, a W superimposed on an M. The main street was named Duke of Gloucester after the eldest son of Queen Anne. Nicholson named the street north of it Nicholson Street, for himself, and the one south of it Francis Street.</p><br>
<p>For 81 years of the 18th century, Williamsburg was the center of government, education, and culture in the Colony of Virginia. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, James Madison, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, and others furthered the forms of British government in the Commonwealth of Virginia and later helped adapt its preferred features to the needs of the new United States. The government moved to Richmond on the James River in 1780, under the leadership of Governor Thomas Jefferson, to be more central and accessible from western counties and less susceptible to British attack. There it remains today.</p><br>
<h2>History of Colonial Williamsburg</h2><br>
<p>With the seat of government removed, Williamsburg&#39;s businesses floundered or migrated to Richmond, and the city entered a long, slow period of stagnation and decay, although the town maintained much of its 18th-century aspect. It was captured by General George McClellan in 1862 and garrisoned during the Civil War, so the town escaped the devastation experienced by other Southern cities.</p><br>
<p>Williamsburg relied for jobs on The College of William & Mary, the Courthouse, and the Eastern Lunatic Asylum (now Eastern State Hospital); it was said that the "500 Crazies" of the asylum supported the "500 Lazies" of the college and town. Colonial-era buildings were modified, modernized, neglected, or destroyed. Development that accompanied construction of a World War I gun cotton plant at nearby Penniman and the coming of the automobile blighted the community, but the town kept its appeal to tourists. By the early 20th century, many older structures were in poor condition, no longer in use, or were occupied by squatters.</p><br>
<h3>Dr. Goodwin and the Rockefellers</h3><br>
<p>The Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin became rector of Williamsburgs Bruton Parish Church in 1903 for the first of two periods. He was born in 1869 at Richmond to a Confederate veteran and his well-to-do wife and reared in rural Nelson County at Norwood. He was educated at Roanoke College, the University of Virginia, the University of Richmond, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. He first visited Williamsburg as a seminarian sent to recruit William & Mary students. He became rector at age 34 of the Bruton Parish Church that was riven by factions. He helped harmonize the congregation and assumed leadership of a flagging campaign to restore the 1711 church building. Goodwin and New York ecclesiastical architect J. Stewart Barney completed the church restoration in time for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Americas Anglican Church at nearby Jamestown, Virginia, in 1907. Goodwin traveled the East Coast raising money for the project and establishing philanthropic contacts. Among the 1907 anniversary guests was J. P. Morgan, president of the Episcopal church&#39;s General Convention meeting that year in Richmond.</p><br>
<p>Goodwin accepted a call from wealthy St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York in 1908, and pastored there until his return in 1923 to Williamsburg to become a College of William & Mary fund-raiser and religious studies professor, as well as pastor of Yorktowns Episcopal church and a chapel at Toano. He had maintained his Williamsburg ties, periodically visiting the graves of his first wife and their son, using William & Mary&#39;s library for historical research, and vacationing. He saw the ongoing deterioration of colonial-era buildings.</p><br>
<p>He renewed his connections with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, whose membership included prominent and wealthy Virginians, and he helped to protect and repair the Magazine. He and other William & Mary professors saved the John Blair House from demolition to make way for a gasoline station, and they turned it into a faculty club. In 1924, the college launched a building and fund-raising drive, and Goodwin adopted Barneys proposal for saving other houses in the historic section of the town for use as student and faculty housing. He worked for two years to interest individuals such as Henry Ford and organizations such as the Dames of Colonial America to invest. He eventually obtained the support and financial commitment of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the wealthy son of the founder of Standard Oil. Rockefellers wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller also played a role. Goodwin returned to the Bruton Parish pulpit in 1926, keeping his college positions.</p><br>
<p>Rockefellers first investment in a Williamsburg house had been a contribution to Goodwins acquisition of the George Wythe House for next-door Bruton Churchs parish house. Rockefellers second investment was the purchase of the Ludwell–Paradise House in early 1927. Goodwin persuaded him to buy it on behalf of the college for housing in the event that Rockefeller should decide to restore the town. Rockefeller had agreed to pay for college restoration plans and drawings. He later considered limiting his restoration involvement to the college and an exhibition enclave, and he did not commit to the town&#39;s large scale restoration until November 22, 1927.</p><br>
<p>Rockefeller and Goodwin initially kept their acquisition plans secret because they were concerned that prices might rise if their purposes were known, quietly buying houses and lots and taking deeds in blank. Goodwin took Williamsburg attorney Vernon M. Geddy, Sr. into his confidence, without exposing Rockefeller as silent partner. Geddy did much of the title research and legal work related to properties in what became the restored area. He later drafted the Virginia corporate papers for the project, filed them with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and served briefly as the first president of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.</p><br>
<p>That much property changing hands was noticed by newspaper reporters. After 18 months of increasingly excited rumors, Goodwin and Rockefeller revealed their plans at county and town meetings on June 11 and 12, 1928. The purpose was to obtain the consent of the citizens and enlist them in the project. The restoration project required a new high school and two public greens. The city retained ownership of its streets, an arrangement that forestalled later proposals to raise revenue by charging an admission fee.</p><br>
<p>Some townsmen had qualms. Major S. D. Freeman, retired Army officer and school board president, said, "We will reap dollars, but will we own our town? Will you not be in the position of a butterfly pinned to a card in a glass cabinet, or like a mummy unearthed in the tomb of Tutankhamun?" To gain the cooperation of people reluctant to sell their homes to the Rockefeller organization, the restoration offered free life tenancies and maintenance in exchange for ownership. Freeman sold his house outright and moved to Virginia&#39;s Middle Peninsula.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration and reconstruction</h3><br>
<p>Rockefeller management decided against giving custody of the project to the state-run college, ostensibly to avoid political control by Virginias Democratic Byrd Machine, but they restored the schools Wren Building, Brafferton House, and President&#39;s House. Colonial Williamsburg pursued a program of partial re-creation of some of the rest of the town. It featured shops, taverns, and open-air markets in a colonial style.</p><br>
<p>The first lead architect in the project was William G. Perry of Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, with Arthur Asahel Shurcliff as the chief landscape architect. An Advisory Board of Architects was selected to provide guidance for the project. Prominent architects who served on the advisory board included Robert P. Bellows, Fiske Kimball, A. Lawrence Kocher, Philip N. Stern, Merril C. Lee, W. Duncan Lee, Marcellus E. Wright Sr., Edmund S. Campbell, Orin M. Bullock Jr., and R. E. Lee Taylor.</p><br>
<p>During the restoration, the project demolished 720 buildings that postdated 1790, many of which dated from the 19th century. Some decrepit 18th-century homes were demolished, leading to some controversy. The Governor&#39;s Palace and the Capitol building were reconstructed on their sites with the aid of period illustrations, written descriptions, early photographs, and informed guesswork. The grounds and gardens were almost all recreated in authentic Colonial Revival style.</p><br>
<p>The Capitol is a 1930s beaux arts approximation of the 1705 building at the east end of the historic area. It was designed by the architectural firm Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, who had it rebuilt as they thought it should have been, not as it was, despite objections and archaeological evidence to the contrary. The modern reconstruction is off-center, its floorplan is skewed, and its interior is overly elaborate.</p><br>
<p>The 1705 original was an H-shaped brick statehouse with double-apsed, oarsmen-circular southern facades, but it burned in the 1740s and was replaced by an H-shaped rectangular edifice.</p><br>
<p>In the second building, Patrick Henry protested against the Stamp Act and first spoke against King George. George Mason introduced the Virginia Bill of Rights there, and from it Virginia&#39;s government instructed its delegates to the Second Continental Congress to propose national independence. Its likeness only exists in a period woodcut and in architectural renderings considered but shelved by the Restoration.</p><br>
<p>The present building was dedicated with a ceremonial meeting of the Virginia General Assembly on February 24, 1934. Virginia&#39;s state legislators have reassembled for a day every other year in the Capitol.</p><br>
<p>Of the approximately 500 buildings reconstructed or restored, 88 are labelled original. They include outbuildings such as smokehouses, privies, and sheds. The foundation reconstructed the Capitol and Governors Palace on their 18th-century foundations and preserved some below-ground 18th-century brickwork, classifying them as reconstructions. It rebuilt William & Marys Wren Building on its original foundation, which burned four times in 230 years and was much modified; it saved some above-ground brickwork and classified the result as original.</p><br>
<p>On the western side of the city, beginning in the 1930s, retail shops were grouped under the name Merchants Square to accommodate and mollify displaced local merchants. Increasing rents and tourist-driven businesses eventually drove out all the old-line community enterprises except a dress shop. One of the last to be forced out was a locally popular drugstore complete with lunch counter.</p><br>
<h3>Outlying landscapes and viewsheds</h3><br>
<p>Beginning in the earliest period of the restoration, Colonial Williamsburg acquired acreage in Williamsburg and the two counties which adjoin it, notably to the north and east of the historic area to preserve natural views and facilitate the experience of as much of the late 18th-century environment as possible. This was described as a "rural, wooded sense of arrival" along corridors to the historic area.</p><br>
<p>In 2006, announcing a conservation easement on acreage north of the Visitor Center, Colonial Williamsburg President and Chairman Colin G. Campbell said its restrictions protected the view and preserved other features: "This viewshed helps to set the stage for visitors in their journey from modern day life into the 18th-century setting. At the same time, this preserves the natural environment around Queens Creek and protects a significant archaeological site. It is a tangible and important example of how the Foundation is protecting the vital greenbelt surrounding Colonial Williamsburgs historic area for future generations". The Colonial Parkway, which includes a tunnel running beneath the historic area, was planned and is maintained to reduce modern intrusions.</p><br>
<p>Near the principal planned roadway approach to Colonial Williamsburg, similar design priorities were employed for the relocated USA Route 60 near the intersection of Bypass Road and North Henry Street. Prior to the restoration, USA Route 60 ran down Duke of Gloucester Street through town. To shift the traffic away from the historic area, Bypass Road was planned and built through farmland and woods about a mile north of town. Shortly thereafter, when Route 143 was built as the Merrimack Trail (originally designated State Route 168) in the 1930s, the protected vista was extended along Route 132 in York County to the new road, and two new bridges were built across Queen&#39;s Creek.</p><br>
<p>Goodwin, who served as a liaison with the community, as well as with state and local officials, was instrumental in such efforts. Nevertheless, some in the Rockefeller organization, regarding him as meddlesome, gradually pushed Goodwin to the periphery of the Restoration and by the time of his death in 1939 Colonial Williamsburgs administrator, Kenneth Chorley of New York, was indiscreetly at loggerheads with the local reverend. Goodwins relationship with Rockefeller remained warm, however, and his interest in the project remained keen. Colonial Williamsburg dedicated its headquarters in 1940, naming it The Goodwin Building.</p><br>
<p>About 30 years later, when Interstate 64 was planned and built in the 1960s and early 1970s, from the designated "Colonial Williamsburg" exit, the additional land along Merrimack Trail to Route 132 was similarly protected from development. Today, visitors encounter no commercial properties before they reach the Visitor&#39;s Center.</p><br>
<p>In addition to considerations regarding highway travel, Williamsburg&#39;s brick Chesapeake and Ohio Railway passenger station was less than 20 years old and one of the newer ones along the rail line, it was replaced with a larger station in Colonial style that was located just out of sight and within walking distance of the historic area, on the northern edge of Peacock Hill.</p><br>
<p>Farther afield was Carters Grove Plantation. It was begun by a grandson of wealthy planter Robert "King" Carter. For over 200 years, it had gone through a succession of owners and modifications. In the 1960s after the death of its last resident, Ms. Molly McRae, Carters Grove Plantation came under the control of Winthrop Rockefellers Sealantic Foundation, which gave it to Colonial Williamsburg as a gift. Archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume discovered in its grounds the remains of 1620s Wolstenholme Towne, a downriver outpost of Jamestown. The Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology Museum, built just above the site, showcased artifacts from the dig. Colonial Williamsburg operated Carters Grove until 2003 as a satellite facility of Colonial Williamsburg, with interpretive programs. The property has since been sold.</p><br>
<h4>Kingsmill</h4><br>
<p>Between Carters Grove and the Historic District was the largely vacant Kingsmill tract, as well as a small military outpost of Fort Eustis known as Camp Wallace (CW). In the mid-1960s, CW owned land that extended from the historic district to Skiffes Creek, at the edge of Newport News near Lee Hall. Distant from the historic area and not along the protected sight paths, it was developed in the early 1970s, under CW Chairman Winthrop Rockefeller.</p><br>
<p>Rockefeller, a son of Abby and John D. Rockeller Jr., was a frequent visitor and was particularly fond of Carter&#39;s Grove in the late 1960s. He became aware of some expansion plans elsewhere on the Peninsula of his St. Louis-based neighbor, August Anheuser Busch, Jr., head of Anheuser-Busch. By the time Rockefeller and Busch completed their discussions, the biggest changes in the Williamsburg area were underway since the restoration began 40 years before. Among the goals were to complement Colonial Williamsburg attractions and enhance the local economy.</p><br>
<p>The large tract consisting primarily of the Kingsmill land was sold by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Anheuser-Busch for planned development. The Anheuser-Busch investment included building a large brewery, the Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park, the Kingsmill planned resort community, and McLaws Circle, an office park. Anheuser-Busch and related entities from that development plan comprise the area&#39;s largest employment base, surpassing both Colonial Williamsburg and the local military bases.</p><br>
<h3>Late 20th century</h3><br>
<p>With its historic significance to American democracy, it and the surrounding area was the site of a summit meeting of world leaders, the first World Economic Conference in 1983, and hosted visiting royalty, including King Hussein of Jordan and Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Queen Elizabeth II paid two royal visits to Williamsburg during her reign, once in October 1957 and again, in May 2007, both to celebrate the anniversaries of the founding of nearby Jamestown.</p><br>
<h2>Colonial Williamsburg today</h2><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is an open-air assemblage of buildings populated with historical reenactors (interpreters) who explain and demonstrate aspects of daily life in the past. The reenactors work, dress, and talk as they would have in colonial times.</p><br>
<p>While there are many living history museums (such as Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, Old Salem in Winston-Salem, or Castell Henllys in the UK), Colonial Williamsburg is unusual for having been constructed from a living town whose inhabitants and post-Colonial-era buildings were removed. Also unlike other living history museums, Colonial Williamsburg allows anyone to walk through the historic district free of charge, at any hour of the day. Charges apply only to those visitors who wish to enter the historic buildings to see arts and crafts demonstrations during daylight hours, or attend scheduled outdoor performances such as the Revolutionary City programs.</p><br>
<p>The Visitor Center near the Colonial Parkway features a short film, Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot, which debuted in 1957. Visitors may park at the Visitor&#39;s Center, as automobiles are restricted from the restored area. Wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus service is provided to stops around the perimeter of the Historic District of Williamsburg, as well as Jamestown and Yorktown, during the peak summer season.</p><br>
<p>The costumed interpreters have not always worn Colonial dress. As an experiment in anticipation of the Bicentennial, in summer 1973 the hostesses were dressed in special red, white, and blue polyester knit pantsuits. This confused and disappointed visitors, so the experiment was dropped at the end of summer, and for the Bicentennial, docents wore historical costumes.</p><br>
<p>Many reenactments by Colonial Williamsburg&#39;s historical interpreters wearing period costumes are posted online. In addition to simple period reenactments, Colonial Williamsburg, at various times, features themes, including the founding of Williamsburg, occupation by British forces, or visits from Colonial leaders of the day, including General George Washington.</p><br>
<p>Some of the costumed interpreters work with animals. The Colonial Williamsburg Rare Breed Program helps to preserve and showcase animals that would have been present during the colonial period. John P. Hunters book on the topic, Link to the Past, Bridge to the Future: Colonial Williamsburgs Animals, explains the importance of, as well as details how interpreters are a part, of this program.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is a partly pet-friendly destination. Leashed pets are permitted in specific outdoor areas and may be taken on shuttle buses, but are not permitted in buildings except the visitor center.</p><br>
<h3>Grand Illumination</h3><br>
<p>The Grand Illumination is an outdoor ceremony and mass celebration involving the simultaneous activation of thousands of Christmas lights each year on the first Sunday of December. The ceremony, Goodwin&#39;s idea, began in 1935, loosely based on a colonial (and English) tradition of placing lighted candles in the windows of homes and public buildings to celebrate a special event, such as the winning of a war or the birthday of the reigning monarch. The Grand Illumination also has incorporated extravagant fireworks displays, loosely based on the 18th-century practice of using fireworks to celebrate significant occasions.</p><br>
<h3>Educational outreach</h3><br>
<p>In the 1990s, Colonial Williamsburg implemented the Teaching Institute in Early American History, and Electronic Field Trips. Designed for elementary and middle/high school teachers, the institute offers workshops for educators to meet with historians, character interpreters, and to prepare instructional materials for use in the classroom. Electronic Field Trips are a series of multimedia classroom presentations available to schools. Each program is designed around a particular topic in history and includes a lesson plan as well as classroom and online activities. Monthly live broadcasts on local PBS television stations allow participating classes to interact with historical interpreters via telephone or internet.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, Colonial Williamsburg launched iCitizenForum.com. A mix of historical documents and user-generated content such as blogs, videos, and message boards, the site aims to prompt discussion about the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Preservation of the Founding Fathers&#39; ideals in light of recent world events is a focus of the site.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg hired former NBC journalist Lloyd Dobyns to produce the early podcasts for the museum usually interviewing staff about their specialties. Podcast interviews continued by others after his retirement.</p><br>
<h3>John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library</h3><br>
<p>The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library is considered the "intellectual center of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation." The library houses special collections including:</p><br>
<p>Rare books from the 15th to 20th centuries</p><br>
<p>Original manuscripts from the 17th to 20th centuries</p><br>
<p>18th-century British and American newspapers</p><br>
<p>Reproduction maps of the Williamsburg region</p><br>
<p>Reproductions of manuscripts from the 17th to 19th centuries in a variety of formats.</p><br>
<p>The library also has a visual resources collection, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation corporate archives, media collections, and photo reproduction and licensing services. The library publishes a quarterly newsletter in digital format, as well as a podcast.</p><br>
<h3>Merchandising</h3><br>
<p>Colonial American craft items, some manufactured abroad, are sold in historic area stores. Many shops sell such items as floral and herbal soaps, knitted hats, and handcrafted toys made from wood and clay.</p><br>
<h2>Management</h2><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is owned and operated as a living museum by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the non-profit entity endowed initially by the Rockefeller family and over the years by others, notably Reader&#39;s Digest founders Lila and DeWitt Wallace, and Philadelphia publisher Walter Annenberg.</p><br>
<p>The major goal of the restoration was to re-create the physical colonial environment and to facilitate education about the origins of the idea of America, which was conceived during the decades before the American Revolution. In this environment, Colonial Williamsburg strives to tell the story of how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality.</p><br>
<p>Cliff Fleet, former President of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, was appointed president and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 2019. Mitchell Reiss, former President of Washington College, was the Foundations president and CEO from 2014 to 2019. Reiss succeeded Colin G. Campbell, who held the position for 14 years. Thomas F. Farrell II was Chair of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundations Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2016 and served on the Board from 2006 to 2018.</p><br>
<h3>Attendance</h3><br>
<p>Attendance at Colonial Williamsburg peaked in 1985 at 1.1 million visitors. After years of lower attendance, it began to rebound somewhat with the Jamestown 2007 celebration and the Revolutionary City programs of live, interactive street theater between reenactors and audience members, which began in 2006.</p><br>
<p>Since its lowest point in 2004, total attendance has climbed about 10 percent total over the following years, according to a report in July 2008. During 2008, CW&#39;s hospitality revenue increase of 15 percent was much stronger than the ticket sale gain of 5 percent, reflecting how the hospitality revenue is not always coming from CW historic area tourists, according to an official.</p><br>
<h3>Financial challenges</h3><br>
<p>Persistent operating deficits challenge the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Income comes from attendance and merchandising, but is lost at hospitality properties. Other funds come from investments of the endowments and a fundraising operation that occupies half of the foundations four-story headquarters. Financially focused efforts in recent years have primarily concentrated on cost containment and stimulating attendance and hospitality revenues. The foundation has also sold some property assets that were no longer essential to its core mission, including most of its formerly owned properties on nearby Peacock Hill, which has the local distinction of having formerly been home to Georgia OKeeffe, Mayor Polly Stryker, and Dr. Donald W. Davis, founder of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.</p><br>
<p>In 2017, due to losses, Colonial Williamsburg former President Mitchell Reis outsourced management of commercial operations of their hotels, 19 retail stores, and three golf courses.</p><br>
<h4>Land divestment</h4><br>
<p>In 2003, as CW attendance and operating revenues continued to drop, Carters Grove was closed to the public while its mission and role in CWs programs were redefined. After the sale, officials belatedly determined Carters Grove was paying for itself, one of the bright spots in its troubled balance sheet. Later in 2003, Hurricane Isabel seriously damaged Carter&#39;s Grove Country Road, which had linked the estate to the historic area, a distance of, bypassing commercial and public roadways. Colonial Williamsburg shifted some of the interpretive programs to locations contiguous to the historic area in Williamsburg, including the ersatz farm Great Hopes Plantation next to its Visitor Center.</p><br>
<p>The foundation announced in late 2006 that Carters Grove would be sold under restrictive conditions. In a front-page article December 31, The New York Times reported that the foundation, struggling because of dwindling attendance and insufficient endowment for upkeep, would be offering the Carters Grove mansion and grounds for sale to a private purchaser, possibly as soon as January 2007. The foundation justified the sale, in part, by saying it wanted to concentrate on its 18th-century core—as opposed to such attractions as the reconstruction of a 17th-century village on the site—a position at odds with its later, and subsequently undone, decision to assume management of 17th-century historic Jamestowne. The Times said that the dilemma of historic museums and houses is that there are too many of them, upkeep is too expensive, and fewer people are visiting them.</p><br>
<p>In December 2007, the Georgian-style mansion and were acquired for $15.3 million by CNET founder Halsey Minor, whose announced plans to use the property as a private residence and a center for a Thoroughbred horse breeding program. The conservation easement on the mansion and 400 of the is co-held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Some local residents lamented CWs decision to sell Carters Grove; others stated relief that it would remain largely intact, no small matter in one of the fastest developing counties in Virginia. There was general agreement, however, that the transaction was a disaster for the foundations management and reputation. In 2011, Halsey Minor stopped making payments, and was foreclosed on by CW after a lengthy legal battle and some deterioration of the house and grounds. In 2014, CW repurchased Carters Grove from the bankruptcy court, and sold it to a new private investor.</p><br>
<p>In addition to the large sale of surplus land of the old Kingsmill plantation to Anheuser Busch in the 1970s and the more recent sale of Carter&#39;s Grove, the foundation has also sold outlying tracts of land not considered fundamental to its mission, as well as multiple now-privately owned homes in Peacock Hill.</p><br>
<p>One of these is a tract along historic Quarterpath Road north of State Route 199 and south of USA Route 60 east of the historic area. In 2005, it was the City of Williamsburg&#39;s largest undeveloped tract under single ownership". Observers have noted that, while most of the Quarterpath land will be developed, the previously vacant land will include park and recreational facilities, and Redoubt Park, dedicated to preserving some of the battlegrounds from the Battle of Williamsburg that occurred on May 5, 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.</p><br>
<p>A portion of the Carrs Hill Tract in York County, north and west of Bypass Road and State Route 132, was also sold. Developments thereon were restricted under the terms of sale so as to not negatively impact the vista available to motorists approaching Colonial Williamsburg. In February, 2007, a developer announced that 313 homes were planned to be built on of the historic tracts, but these plans were scrapped due to the Great Recessions impact on the greater town economy. CW had earlier announced that it had donated three conservation easements to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy on of the Carrs Hill tract land west of Route 132 in York County.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>The closest commercial airport is Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport 25–30 minutes driving distance away. Williamsburg is midway between two larger commercial airports, Richmond International Airport and Norfolk International Airport, each about an hour&#39;s distance away.</p><br>
<p>Amtrak offers a passenger rail service stop at Williamsburg, as does Greyhound and Carolina Trailways with intercity buses.</p><br>
<p>Williamsburg is adjacent to east–west Interstate 64 and the parallel USA Route 60 passes through the city. A third road, State Route 143, also extends east to Newport News and Hampton, ending at Fort Monroe. From Richmond, Interstate 295, and other points west, many visitors approach via State Route 5, a scenic byway which passes many of the James River Plantations, or from the south via State Route 10, State Route 31 and the Jamestown Ferry. The Virginia Capital Trail is available for bicycles and pedestrians along the Colonial Parkway and Virginia Route5.</p><br>
<p>Williamsburg is served by non-automobile driving alternatives. The area has a central intermodal transportation center and Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA), a public transit bus system which operates a network of local routes.</p><br>
<h2>Criticism and controversy</h2><br>
<h3>The 1920s and 1930s</h3><br>
<p>Some residents of Williamsburg, including Major S. D. Freeman and Cara Armistead, questioned the 1928 transfer of public lands (as compared to private properties). In January 1932, the large marble Confederate Civil War monument was removed from Palace Green, where it had stood since 1908, and placed in the Cedar Grove Cemetery, on the outskirts of town. This was disagreeable to some citizens who supported the colonial reconstruction. The case went to court, and eventually the monument was moved to a new site east of the then-new courthouse. For many years, the memorial rested in Bicentennial Park, just outside the Historic Area. In July 2020 the city council voted unanimously to remove it, and it was returned to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in August 2020.</p><br>
<h3>Issues of "accuracy" and "authenticity"</h3><br>
<p>The approach to restoration and preservation taken by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has long been subject to criticism.</p><br>
<p>Goodwin was troubled by what he perceived as encroaching commercialization. Among his parting words of advice to Colonial Williamsburg&#39;s management were: "If there is one firm guiding and restraining word which should be passed on to those who will be responsible for the restoration in the future, that one word is integrity. A departure from truth here and there will inevitably produce a cumulative deterioration of authenticity and consequent loss of public confidence. Loyalty demands that this principle of integrity be adhered to".</p><br>
<p>One of the foundations in-house publications concedes that "Colonial Williamsburg bears the burden of criticism that the restored town appears too neat and clean, too spick-and-span, and too manicured to be believable". Ada Louise Huxtable, an architecture critic, wrote in 1965: "Williamsburg is an extraordinary, conscientious and expensive exercise in historical playacting in which real and imitation treasures and modern copies are carelessly confused in everyones mind. Partly because it is so well done, the end effect has been to devalue authenticity and denigrate the genuine heritage of less picturesque periods to which an era and a people gave life".</p><br>
<p>All of the restored houses were improved with electricity, plumbing, and heating by 19th- and 20th-century residents and later by Colonial Williamsburg. They have also been furnished with stoves, air conditioners, refrigerators, and bathrooms by today&#39;s residents or the foundation. Plaster, woodwork, flooring, siding and roofs were replaced.</p><br>
<p>In 1997, anthropologists Eric Gable and Richard Handler discussed Colonial Williamsburg as an attraction which catered to Americas upper/middle to high-level affluent socioeconomic classes. Their report mentions instances where some of Colonial Williamsburgs employees often straddle expectations of maintaining authenticity of the museums programs while still in-authentically creating products to sell in the museums gift shops. A more harsh interpretation is that of University of Virginia Professor of Architectural History Richard Guy Wilson, author of Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, who described Colonial Williamsburg as "a superb example of an American suburb of the 1930s, with its in-authentically tree-lined streets of Colonial Revival houses and segregated commerce". All of these reproaches have led many critics to label Colonial Williamsburg and its Foundation a "Republican Disneyland".</p><br>
<p>Among the answers to these criticisms is that "Colonial Williamsburg&#39;s Historic Area is a compromise between historical authenticity and common sense, between brutal realism and gentle ambiance, between being a moment in time in the eighteenth century and being nearly three hundred years old". Critics assert that setting "historical authenticity" against "common sense" is a false dichotomy and that commercial and proprietary factors are what are really at issue. Of course archaeological and historical research is an ongoing process at Colonial Williamsburg, and as new information surfaces, reconsideration is often prompted and changes made accordingly.</p><br>
<p>In March 2016, the foundation&#39;s new president and chief executive officer, Mitchell Reiss, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Colonial Williamsburg aimed to be "accurate-ish."</p><br>
<h3>African Americans</h3><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg has been criticized for neglecting the role of free African Americans in colonial life, in addition to those who were slaves. When it first opened in the 1930s, Colonial Williamsburg had segregated dormitories for its reenactors. African Americans filled historical roles as servants, rather than free people as in the present day. In a segregated state, Colonial Williamsburg allowed the entry of Blacks, but Williamsburg-area hotels denied them accommodation, and state law forbade Black people from eating with white people in such public facilities as the restored taverns and from shopping in nearby stores.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg offered some of the earlier public accommodations on an integrated basis. In the 1970s, in reaction to increasing scorn of its one-sided portrayal of colonial life, Colonial Williamsburg increased its number of African American interpreters who played slaves. This was parodied by a sketch that aired on Saturday Night Live, which showed a reenactor abusing his accuracy by being racist to employees. In 1994, it added slave auctions and slave marriages; the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference later protested. One controversial example was the “Publick Times” program, a reenactment of a slave auction staged in October 1994. The event was widely publicized by news outlets such as The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times. While some members of the public applauded the reenactment as a reflection of the reality of slavery in the American colonies, others criticized the program for using a slave auction as a source of entertainment.</p><br>
<p>In 1981, Colonial Williamsburg added a program to explain slavery and its role in Colonial America, but this "Other Half Tour," which is composed by the Foundations African American and Interpretation Programs Department (AAIP), provides a different form of historical interpretation than does its counterpart tour, "The Patriots Tour," thus creating a marked dichotomy between how visitors are expected to interpret history at the museum.</p><br>
<p>In recent years, Colonial Williamsburg has expanded its portrayal of 18th-century African Americans to include free Blacks as well as slaves. Examples of these expanded portrayals in the Revolutionary City program include Gowan Pamphlet, a former slave who became a free landowner and Baptist minister, Edith Cumbo, a free Black woman, Matthew Ashby, a free Black man who eventually purchased the freedom of his family, and a number of other enslaved men and women who were part of the Williamsburg community during the Revolutionary period. A re-created Great Hopes Plantation represents a middling plantation, not one owned by the wealthy, in which working-class farmers worked alongside their slaves. Their lives were more typical of colonial Virginians in general than the lives of the wealthier planters, their families, and slaves.</p><br>
<h2>Depictions/references in pop culture</h2><br>
<p>A short film called The Bill of Rights in 1939 depicting the 1st Virginia Convention. Created by Warner Bros. It is currently available on the 2007 DVD release of Allegheny Uprising (1939).</p><br>
<p>The Howards of Virginia filmed on location.</p><br>
<p>Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, an orientation film created for the Visitor Center.</p><br>
<p>Felicity: An American Girl Adventure; not filmed in Colonial Williamsburg, but takes places in-story. A special feature on the DVD contains Felicity actress Shailene Woodley and her co-star visiting Colonial Williamsburg.</p><br>
<p>Episode 1 of season 3 of Mister T takes place in Colonial Williamsburg.</p><br>
<p>KaBlam! season 4 episode 3, "Holdeth the Pickle, Holdeth the Lettuce" takes place in Colonial Williamsburg.</p><br>
<p>Several locations were used throughout the miniseries George Washington.</p><br>
<p>Certain locations such as the Public Gaol are used in John Adams to represent 18th century locations in Massachusetts.</p><br>
<p>Pontiac&#39;s War</p><br>
<p>Bradstreet&#39;s Expedition</p><br>
<p>The War of 1812</p><br>
<p>Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river&#39;s eastern bank at its mouth on Lake Ontario. Youngstown, New York, later developed nearby.</p><br>
<p>The British took over the fort in 1759 during the French and Indian War. Although the United States ostensibly was ceded the fort after it gained independence in the American Revolutionary War, the British stayed until 1796. Transfer to the USA came after signing of the Jay Treaty that reaffirmed and implemented the legal border with British Canada. Although the US Army deactivated the fort in 1963, the Coast Guard continues to have a presence. A non-profit group operates the fort and grounds as a state park and preserves it in part as a museum and site for historical re-enactments. It is also a venue for special events related to the region&#39;s history.</p><br>
<h2>Origin</h2><br>
<p>René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, built the first fortified structure, called Fort Conti, in 1678. In 1687, the Governor of New France, the Marquis de Denonville, replaced it with a new fort. He named it Fort Denonville and posted a hundred men as a garrison under the command of Capt. Pierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes. The winter weather and disease was severe, and all but twelve died by the time a relief force returned from Montreal. The government decided in September 1688 to abandon the post and had the stockade pulled down.</p><br>
<p>Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire was dispatched to the Seneca people, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League, to obtain permission to build a French post on the banks of the river. He spoke to several chiefs in 1720, explaining his pleasure was always great when he visited them but that he would do it more spontaneously if he had a dwelling place. Considering that he was of the tribe since his turbulent captivity and his "adoption", the chiefs agreed he had the right to build a dwelling where they chose. Joncaire and eight men dispatched from Fort Frontenac built a trading post, called Magasin Royal or Maison de la Paix (Royal Store or House of Peace) on the right bank of the river (going downstream). The name was intended to emphasize the French peaceful intent, to exchange goods for furs here.</p><br>
<p>In 1726, French engineer Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry built a two-story Maison à Machicoulis or "Machicolated House" on the site to replace the old fort. In 1755 the French expanded the fort to its present size in response to the armed confrontation that started between French and British colonial interests as part of the Seven Years&#39; War in Europe. In North America, British colonists called this the French and Indian War; both sides cultivated Native American allies.</p><br>
<p>The name used today, "The French Castle", was not used until the 19th century.</p><br>
<h2>British and American control</h2><br>
<p>The fort was a strategic site in the French and Indian War. It fell to the British after they conducted a nineteen-day siege in July 1759, which was called the Battle of Fort Niagara. The French relief force sent to relieve the besieged garrison was ambushed at the Battle of La Belle-Famille. The posts commander, Pierre Pouchot, surrendered the fort to the British commander, Sir William Johnson, who initially led the New York Militia. The Irish-born Johnson became the expeditions leader after General John Prideaux literally lost his head; he stepped in front of a mortar being test-fired during the siege. The British controlled the fort for the next thirty-seven years before they handed it over to the Americans after the Revolutionary War.</p><br>
<p>Fort Niagara served as the Loyalist base in New York during the American Revolutionary War for Colonel John Butler and his Butlers Rangers, a provincial military unit. Lt. Col. William Stacy, a high-ranking officer of the Continental Army, was captured by Butlers Rangers in their attack on Cherry Valley, New York. He was held captive at Fort Niagara during the summer of 1779. Niagara became notorious for drinking, brawling, whoring, and cheating. Crude taverns, stores, and bordellos sprouted on "the Bottom", the riverside flat below the fort.</p><br>
<p>Though the British ceded Fort Niagara to the United States after the Treaty of Paris ended the American War of Independence in 1783, the region remained effectively under British control for thirteen years. Only after signing of the Jay Treaty did American forces occupy the fort in 1796. In the interim, United Empire Loyalists fleeing persecution in the new US were given land grants, typically 200 acre per inhabitant in Upper Canada, and some were partly sustained in the early years by aid from the fort&#39;s military stores.</p><br>
<p>During the War of 1812, the forts guns sank the Provincial Marine schooner Seneca on November 21, 1812. British forces captured the fort on the night of December 19, 1813, in retaliation for the Americans burning of Niagara, formerly called Newark, nine days earlier. Newark had been renamed Niagara in 1796. The British held the fort until they relinquished it under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. It has remained in US custody ever since.</p><br>
<p>Nine currently active battalions of the Regular Army (4-1 FA, 1-2 Inf, 2-2 Inf, 1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf, 4-3 Inf, 1-4 Inf, 2-4 Inf and 3-4 Inf) are derived from American units (Leonards Company, 1st Regiment of Artillery, and the old 14th, 19th and 22nd Infantry Regiments) that were at Fort Niagara during the War of 1812. 52 (Niagara) Battery Royal Artillery (Holcrofts Company, 4th Battalion Royal Artillery), Royal Scots and a number of other British units that fought at the Capture of Fort Niagara still exist today. A number of other units that served in the Fort in the War of 1812 (such as 20 Battery Royal Artillery (Caddy&#39;s Company, 4th Battalion Royal Artillery)) also endure.</p><br>
<h2>Later use</h2><br>
<p>The name "Old Fort Niagara" is associated with the fort today; it does not refer to its age but to distinguish the colonial-era fortress from its more modern namesake. In the post-Civil War era, the "New Fort Niagara" was built outside the original walls of the fort. The military abandoned the use of masonry forts in this era, having found that masonry fared poorly under bombardment. They built the new fort in the newer style of a military camp.</p><br>
<p>The new Fort Niagara had a 1,000-yard rifle range, access to rail lines, and access to the industrial areas of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York. Fort Niagara trained troops for the Spanish–American War. The United States was preparing for entry into World War I in June 1917, so the post began an officer training school which included Daniel W. Hand and Charles W. Ryder as instructors.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, Fort Niagara was an induction center before it became a prisoner of war camp for 1,200 German soldiers captured in the North African Campaign. After the war, the fort provided temporary housing for returning veterans.</p><br>
<p>During the Korean War, the fort was a headquarters for anti-aircraft artillery and later Nike missiles. The Niagara Falls Defense Area originally formed the northern half of the USA Army Anti-Aircraft Command defenses in western New York State. After the amalgamation of the Niagara Falls and Buffalo Defense Areas, the Army Air Defense Command Post moved to Lockport Air Force Station in Cambria, New York.</p><br>
<p>Formations directing US defenses included the 2nd Artillery Group (Air Defense), which had its headquarters at Fort Niagara from March 1958 to December 1961, superseded by the 31st Artillery Brigade (Air Defense), 101st Artillery Group, and 18th Artillery Group. The only battalion in the region was the 44th Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion, superseded by the 1st Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment on September 1, 1958.</p><br>
<p>The USA Army officially deactivated Fort Niagara in 1963. The 1/4 ADA moved to the Seattle Defense Area, where it was active from September 1972 to April 1974. Military presence on the site continues with the United States Coast Guard operating at "The Bottoms". Fort Niagara is considered one of the longest continuously run military bases within the boundaries of the United States, from French control in 1726 to the present day.</p><br>
<p>A formal operating license between Old Fort Niagara Association and the USA War Department in 1931 established rights of the non-profit to preserve and operate the fort. In 1949, Congress transferred Father Millet Cross National Monument to the State of New York, now a small memorial at Fort Niagara. In 1960, the fort was among the first sites to be designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of Interior&#39;s National Park Service.</p><br>
<h2>Today</h2><br>
<p>The renovated Fort Niagara now serves as Fort Niagara State Park and museum. It is often the site of historical reenactments of 18th-century battles that took place here. It is also a venue for period dances, fundraisers, and other special events (such as public displays, and shows relating to the history of the fort and the surrounding area). Fort Niagara is also designated as a State Historic Site, known as Old Fort Niagara State Historic Site.</p><br>
<p>Fort Niagara was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960, as "Old Fort Niagara".</p><br>
<h2>Haunting legend</h2><br>
<p>Some believe the site is haunted by a headless French soldier who was beheaded during a duel. It is said he wanders the grounds looking for his head.</p><br>
<p>Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada , is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan, the castle was built between 1919 and 1947. Today, Hearst Castle is a museum open to the public as a California State Park and registered as a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark.</p><br>
<p>George Hearst, William Randolph Hearsts father, had purchased the original estate in 1865 and Camp Hill, the site for the future Hearst Castle, was used for family camping vacations during Hearsts youth. In 1919, William Randolph inherited some $11,000,000 and estates including the land at San Simeon. He used his fortune to further develop his media empire of newspapers, magazines and radio stations, the profits from which supported a lifetime of building and collecting. Within a few months of the death of his mother, Phoebe Hearst, he had commissioned Julia Morgan to build "something a little more comfortable up on the hill", the genesis of the present castle. Morgan was an architectural pioneer; "America&#39;s first truly independent female architect", she was the first woman to study architecture at the School of Beaux-Arts in Paris, the first to have her own architectural practice in California and the first female winner of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. She worked in close collaboration with Hearst for over twenty years, and the castle at San Simeon is her best-known creation.</p><br>
<p>In the Roaring Twenties and into the 1930s, Hearst Castle reached its social peak. Originally intended to be a family home for Hearst, his wife Millicent and their five sons, by 1925 Hearsts marriage was effectively over and San Simeon became his domain and that of his mistress, the actress Marion Davies. Their guest list included many of the Hollywood stars of the period; Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable all visited, some on multiple occasions. Political luminaries encompassed Calvin Coolidge and Winston Churchill while other notables included Charles Lindbergh, P. G. Wodehouse and Bernard Shaw. Visitors gathered each evening at Casa Grande for drinks in the assembly room, dined in the refectory and watched the latest movie in the theater before retiring to the luxurious accommodation provided by the guest houses of Casa del Mar, Casa del Monte and Casa del Sol. During the days, they admired the views, rode, played tennis, bowled or golfed and swam in the "most sumptuous swimming pool on earth". While Hearst entertained, Morgan built; the castle was under almost continual construction from 1920 until 1939, with work resuming after the end of World War II until Hearsts final departure in 1947.</p><br>
<p>Hearst, his castle and his lifestyle were satirized by Orson Welles in his 1941 film Citizen Kane. In the film, which Hearst sought to suppress, Charles Foster Kanes palace Xanadu is said to contain "paintings, pictures, statues, the very stones of many another palace – a collection of everything so big it can never be cataloged or appraised; enough for ten museums; the loot of the world". Welless allusion referred to Hearsts mania for collecting; the dealer Joseph Duveen called him the "Great Accumulator". With a passion for acquisition almost from childhood, he bought architectural elements, art, antiques, statuary, silverware and textiles on an epic scale. Shortly after starting San Simeon, he began to conceive of making the castle "a museum of the best things that I can secure". Foremost among his purchases were architectural elements from Western Europe, particularly Spain; over thirty ceilings, doorcases, fireplaces and mantels, entire monasteries, paneling and a medieval tithe barn were purchased, shipped to Hearsts Brooklyn warehouses and transported on to California. Much was then incorporated into the fabric of Hearst Castle. In addition, he built up collections of more conventional art and antiques of high quality; his assemblage of ancient Greek vases was one of the world&#39;s largest.</p><br>
<p>In May 1947, Hearst&#39;s health compelled him and Marion Davies to leave the castle for the last time. He died in Los Angeles in 1951. Morgan died in 1957. The following year, the Hearst family gave the castle and many of its contents to the State of California and the mansion was opened to the public in June 1958. It has since operated as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument and attracts about 750,000 visitors annually. The Hearst family retains ownership of the majority of the wider estate of and, under a land conservation agreement reached in 2005, has worked with the California State Parks Department and American Land Conservancy to preserve the undeveloped character of the area; the setting for the castle which Bernard Shaw is said to have described as "what God would have built if he had had the money".</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Early history: to 1864</h3><br>
<p>The coastal range of Southern California has been occupied since prehistoric times. The indigenous inhabitants were the Salinans and the Chumash. In the late 18th century, Spanish missions were established in the area to convert the Native American population. Mission San Miguel Arcángel, one of the largest, opened in what is now San Luis Obispo county in 1797. By the 1840s, the mission had declined and the priests departed. In that decade, the governors of Mexican California distributed the mission lands in a series of grants. Three of these were Rancho Piedra Blanca, Rancho Santa Rosa and Rancho San Simeon. The Mexican–American War of 1846–1848 saw the area pass into the control of the United States under the terms of the Mexican Cession. The California gold rush of the next decade brought an influx of American settlers, among whom was the 30-year old George Hearst.</p><br>
<h3>Buying the land: 1865–1919</h3><br>
<p>Born in Missouri in 1820, Hearst made his fortune as a miner, notably at the Comstock Lode and the Homestake Mine. He then undertook a political career, becoming a senator in 1886, and bought The San Francisco Examiner. Investing in land, he bought the Piedra Blanca property in 1865 and subsequently extended his holdings with the acquisition of most of the Santa Rosa estate, and much of the San Simeon lands. In the 1870s George Hearst built a ranch house on the estate, which remains a private property maintained by the Hearst Corporation, and the San Simeon area became a site for family camping expeditions, including his young son, William. A particularly favored spot was named Camp Hill, the site of the future Hearst Castle. Years later Hearst recalled his early memories of the place. "My father brought me to San Simeon as a boy. I had to come up the slope hanging on to the tail of a pony. We lived in a cabin on this spot and I could see forever. Thats the West – forever." George Hearst developed the estate somewhat, introducing beef and dairy cattle, planting extensive fruit orchards, and expanding the wharf facilities at San Simeon Bay. He also bred racehorses. While his father developed the ranch, Hearst and his mother traveled, including an eighteen-month tour of Europe in 1873, where Hearsts lifelong obsession with art collecting began.</p><br>
<p>At George Hearsts death in 1891, he left an estate of $18 million to his widow including the California ranch. Phoebe Hearst shared the cultural and artistic interests of her son, collecting art and patronizing architects. She was also a considerable philanthropist, founding schools and libraries, supporting the fledgling University of California, Berkeley, including the funding of the Hearst Mining Building in memory of her husband, and making major donations to a range of womens organizations, including the YWCA. During this period, probably in the late 1890s, Mrs Hearst encountered Julia Morgan, a young architecture student at Berkeley. On Phoebe Hearsts own death in 1919, Hearst inherited the ranch, which had grown to and of coastline, as well as $11 million. Within days, he was at Morgans San Francisco office.</p><br>
<h3>Morgan and Hearst: "a true collaboration"</h3><br>
<p>Julia Morgan, born in 1872, was forty-seven when Hearst entered her office in 1919. Her biographer Mark A. Wilson has described her subsequent career as that of "Americas first independent full-time woman architect". After studying at Berkeley, where she worked with Bernard Maybeck, in 1898 she became the first woman to win entry to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Passing out from the École in 1902, Morgan returned to San Francisco and took up a post at the architectural practice of John Galen Howard. Howard recognized Morgans talents, but also exploited them – "... the best thing about this person is, I pay her almost nothing, as it is a woman" – and in 1904, she passed the California architects&#39; licensing examination, the first woman to do so, establishing her own office at 456 Montgomery Street in 1906. During her time with Howard, Morgan was commissioned by Phoebe Hearst to undertake work at her Hacienda del Pozo de Verona estate at Pleasanton. This led to work at Wyntoon and to a number of commissions from Hearst himself; an unexecuted design for a mansion at Sausalito, north of San Francisco, a cottage at the Grand Canyon, and the Los Angeles Examiner Building.</p><br>
<p>In 1919, when he turned up at Morgans office, Hearst was fifty-six years old and the owner of a publishing empire that included twenty-eight newspapers, thirteen magazines, eight radio stations, four film studios, extensive real-estate holdings and thirty-one thousand employees. He was also a significant public figure: although his political endeavors had proved largely unsuccessful, the influence he exerted through his very direct control of his media empire attracted fame and opprobrium in equal measure. In 1917, one biographer described him as "the most hated man in the country". The actor Ralph Bellamy, a guest at San Simeon in the mid-1930s, recorded Hearsts working methods in a description of a party in the assembly room: "the party was quite gay. And in the midst of it, Mr Hearst came in. There was a (teletype machine) just inside and he stopped and he read it. He went to a table and picked up a phone. He asked for the editor of (his) San Francisco newspaper and he said, Put this in a two-column box of the front pages of all the newspapers tomorrow morning. And without notes he dictated an editorial".</p><br>
<p>Morgan and Hearsts partnership at San Simeon lasted from 1919, until his final departure from the castle in 1947. Their correspondence, preserved in the Julia Morgan archive in the Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, runs to some 3,700 letters and telegrams. Victoria Kastner, Hearst Castles in-house custodian, has described the partnership as "a rare, true collaboration" and there are many contemporary accounts of the closeness of the relationship. Walter Steilberg, a draughtsman in Morgans office, once observed them at dinner; "The rest of us could have been a hundred miles away; they didnt pay any attention to anybody... these two very different people just clicked". Thomas Aidala, in his 1984 history of the castle, made a similar observation: "seated opposite each other, they would discuss and review work, consider design changes, pass drawings back and forth... seemingly oblivious of the rest of the guests".</p><br>
<h3>Having a ball: 1925–1938</h3><br>
<p>Hearst and his family occupied Casa Grande for the first time at Christmas, 1925. Thereafter, Hearsts wife, Millicent, went back to New York, and from 1926 until they left for the last time in 1947, Hearsts mistress Marion Davies acted as his chatelaine at the castle. The Hollywood and political elite often visited in the 1920s and 1930s. Among Hearsts guests were Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. Churchill described his host, and Millicent Hearst and Davies, in a letter to his own wife; "a grave simple child – with no doubt a nasty temper – playing with the most costly toys... two magnificent establishments, two charming wives, complete indifference to public opinion, oriental hospitalities". In another letter to Clementine, Churchill dismissed criticism of San Simeon; “his house is rudely described as Monte Carlo Casino on top of the Rock of Gibraltar - but it is better than this.” Weekend guests were either brought by private train from Glendale Station north of Los Angeles, and then by car to the castle, or flew into Hearsts airstrip, generally arriving late on Friday evening or on Saturday. Cecil Beaton wrote of his impressions during his first visit for New Year&#39;s Eve in 1931: "we caught sight of a vast, sparkling white castle in Spain. It was out of a fairy story. The sun poured down with theatrical brilliance on tons of white marble and white stone. There seemed to be a thousand statues, pedestals, urns. The flowers were unreal in their ordered profusion. Hearst stood smiling at the top of one of the many flights of garden steps".</p><br>
<p>Guests were generally left to their own devices during the day. Horse-riding, shooting, swimming, golf, croquet and tennis were all available, while Hearst would lead mounted parties for picnics on the estate. The only absolute deadline was for cocktails in the assembly room at 7.30 on Saturday night. Alcohol was rationed; guests were not permitted to have liquor in their rooms, and were limited to one cocktail each before dinner. This was due not to meanness on Hearsts part but to his concerns over Daviess alcoholism, though the rule was frequently flouted. The actor David Niven later reflected on his supplying illicit alcohol to Davies; "It seemed fun at the time to stoke up her fire of outrageous fun and I got a kick out of feeling I had outwitted one of the most powerful and best informed men on earth, but what a disloyal and crummy betrayal of (him) and what a nasty potential nail to put in her coffin". Dinner was served at 9.00 in the refectory. Wine came from Hearsts 7,000-bottle cellar. Charlie Chaplin commented on the fare; "dinners were elaborate, pheasant, wild duck, partridge and venison" but also the informality, "amidst the opulence, we were served paper napkins, it was only when Mrs Hearst was in residence that the guests were given linen ones". The informality extended to the ketchup bottles and condiments in jars which were remarked on by many guests. Dinner was invariably followed by a movie; initially outside, and then in the theater. The actress Ilka Chase recorded a showing in the early 1930s; "the theater was not yet complete – the plaster was still wet – so an immense pile of fur coats was heaped at the door and each guest picked one up and enveloped himself before entering...Hearst and Marion, close together in the gloom and bundled in their fur coats, looked for all the world like the big and baby bears". Movies were generally films from Hearsts own studio, Cosmopolitan Productions, and often featured Marion Davies. Sherman Eubanks, whose father worked as an electrician at the castle, recorded in an oral history: "Mr Hearst would push a button and call up to the projectionist and say Put on Marions Peg o My Heart. So Ive seen Peg o My Heart about fifty times. This is not being critical. Im simply saying thats the way it was". Chase noted that this repetition tended to "put a slight strain on the guests&#39; gratitude".</p><br>
<p>In 1937, Patricia Van Cleeve married at the castle, the grandest social occasion there since the visit of President and Mrs Coolidge in February 1930. Ken Murray records these two events as the only occasions when formal attire was required of guests to the castle. Van Cleeve, who married the actor, Arthur Lake, was always introduced as Marion Davies favorite niece. It was frequently rumored that she was in fact Davies and Hearsts daughter, something she herself acknowledged just before her death in 1993. In February 1938, a plane crash at the San Simeon airstrip led to the deaths of Lord and Lady Plunket, who were traveling to the castle as Hearst&#39;s guests, and the pilot Tex Phillips. The only other passenger, the bobsledding champion, James Lawrence, survived.</p><br>
<h3>The specter at the feast: Hearst, Welles and Xanadu</h3><br>
<p>Hearst Castle was the inspiration for Xanadu, and Hearst himself the main model for Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welless 1941 film Citizen Kane. Having made his name with the Mercury Theatre production of The War of the Worlds in 1938, Welles arrived in Hollywood in 1939 to make a film version of Joseph Conrads novel, Heart of Darkness for RKO Pictures. That film was not made and Welles began a collaboration with the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz on a screenplay originally entitled American. The film tells the stories of Kane, a media magnate and aspiring politician, and of his second wife Susan Alexander, a failed opera singer driven to drink, who inhabit a castle in Florida, filled with "paintings, pictures, statues, the very stones of many another palace – a collection of everything so big it can never be cataloged or appraised; enough for ten museums; the loot of the world". Filming began in June 1940 and the movie premiered on 1 June 1941. Although at the time Welles, and RKO, denied that the film was based on Hearst, his long-time friend and collaborator, John Houseman was clear, "the truth is simple: for the basic concept of Charles Foster Kane and for the main lines and significant events of his public life, Mankiewicz used as his model the figure of William Randolph Hearst". Told of the films content before its release – his friends, the gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons having attended early screenings – Hearst made strenuous efforts to stop the premiere. When these failed, he sought to damage the films circulation by alternately forbidding all mention of it in his media outlets, or by using them to attack both the movie and Welles. Hearsts assault damaged the film at the box office, and harmed Welles subsequent career. Since its inception in 1952 through to 2012, the Sight and Sound Critics&#39; Poll voted Citizen Kane the greatest film of all time in every decade of polling. On 9 March 2012, the film was screened in the movie theater at Hearst Castle for the first time as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.</p><br>
<h3>Depression, death and after: 1939–present</h3><br>
<p>By the late 1930s the Great Depression and Hearsts profligacy had brought him to the brink of financial ruin. Debts totaled $126 million. He was compelled to cede financial control of the Hearst Corporation, newspapers and radio stations were sold, and much of his art collection was dispersed in a series of sales, often for considerably less than he had paid. Hearst railed against his losses, and the perceived incompetence of the sales agents, Parish-Watson & Co.: "they greatly cheapened them and us, (he) advertises like a bargain basement sale. I am heartbroken". Construction at Hearst Castle virtually ceased. After Pearl Harbor the castle was closed up and Hearst and Davies moved to Wyntoon which was perceived to be less vulnerable to enemy attack. They returned in 1945 and construction on a limited scale recommenced, finally ending in 1947. In early May of that year, with his health declining, Hearst and Davies left the castle for the last time. The pair settled in at 1007 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. Hearst died in 1951, his death abruptly severing him from Davies, who was excluded from the funeral by Hearsts family – "For thirty-two years I had him, and they leave me with his empty room". In 1950 Julia Morgan closed her San Francisco office after a career of forty-two years. Ill health circumscribed her retirement and she died, a virtual recluse, in early 1957.</p><br>
<p>In 1958 the Hearst Corporation donated Hearst Castle, its gardens, and many of its contents, to the state of California. A dedicatory plaque at the castle reads: "La Cuesta Encantada presented to the State of California in 1958 by the Hearst Corporation in memory of William Randolph Hearst who created this Enchanted Hill, and of his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who inspired it". The castle was opened to the public for the first time in June 1958. Hearst Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1972, and became a United States National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976. Hearst was always keen to protect the mystique of his castle. In 1926, he wrote to Morgan to congratulate her after a successful party was held on the hill: "those wild movie people said it was wonderful and that the most extravagant dream of a movie picture fell far short of this reality. They all wanted to make a picture there but they are NOT going to be allowed to do this...". Commercial filming at the castle is still rarely allowed; since 1957 only two projects have been granted permission. Stanley Kubricks 1960 film Spartacus used the castle to stand in as Crassus villa, and in 2014, Lady Gaga&#39;s music video for "G.U.Y." was filmed at the Neptune and Roman Pools.</p><br>
<p>On February 12, 1976, the Casa del Sol guesthouse was damaged by a bomb. The device was placed by allies of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), in retaliation for Patty Hearst, Hearsts granddaughter, testifying in court at her trial for armed robbery, following her kidnapping by the SLA in 1974. On December 22, 2003, an earthquake occurred with its epicenter some three miles north of the castle. With a magnitude of 6.5, it was the largest earthquake recorded at San Simeon - the very limited structural damage which resulted was a testament to the quality of the castles construction. Since its opening, the castle has become a major California tourist attraction, attracting over 850,000 visitors in 2018. Recent changes to the tour arrangements now allow visitors time to explore the grounds independently, at the conclusion of the conducted tours. The Hearst family maintains a connection with the castle, which was closed for a day in early August 2019 for the wedding of Amanda Hearst, Hearst&#39;s great-granddaughter.</p><br>
<p>The castle closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many projects and repairs that would have been impossible to undertake with the castle open to tourists were completed during the closure. The castle reopened on May 11, 2022.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<h3>Design</h3><br>
<p>Hearst first approached Morgan with ideas for a new project in April 1919, shortly after the death of his mother had brought him into his inheritance. His original idea was to build a bungalow, according to Walter Steilberg, one of Morgans draftsmen who recalled Hearsts words from the initial meeting: "I would like to build something up on the hill at San Simeon. I get tired of going up there and camping in tents. Im getting a little too old for that. Id like to get something that would be a little more comfortable".</p><br>
<p>Within a month, Hearsts original ideas for a modest dwelling had greatly expanded. Discussion on the style began with consideration of "Jappo-Swisso" themes. Then the Spanish Colonial Revival style was favored. Morgan had used this style when she worked on Hearsts Los Angeles Herald Examiner headquarters in 1915. Hearst appreciated the Spanish Revival but was dissatisfied with the crudeness of the colonial structures in California. Mexican colonial architecture had more sophistication, but he objected to its abundance of ornamentation. Thomas Aidala, in his 1984 study of the castle, notes the Churrigueresque influence on the design of the main block, "flat and unembellished exterior surfaces; decorative urges are particularized and isolated, focused mainly on doorways, windows (and) towers". The 1915 Panama–California Exposition in San Diego held the closest approximations in California to the approach Hearst desired. But his European tours, and specifically the inspiration of the Iberian Peninsula, led him to Renaissance and Baroque examples in southern Spain that more exactly suited his tastes. He particularly admired a church in Ronda, Spain and asked Morgan to model the Casa Grande towers after it. In a letter to Morgan dated December 31, 1919, Hearst wrote, "The San Diego Exposition is the best source of Spanish in California. The alternative is to build in the Renaissance style of southern Spain. We picked out the towers of the church at Ronda... a Renaissance decoration, particularly that of the very southern part of Spain, could harmonize well with them. I would very much like to have your views on... what style of architecture we should select." This blend of Southern Spanish Renaissance, Revival and Mediterranean examples became San Simeon&#39;s defining style; "something a little different than other people are doing out in California". The architectural writers Arrol Gellner and Douglas Keister describe Casa Grande as "a palatial fusion of Classicism and Mediterranean architecture... transcended the Mission Revival era and instead belonged to the more archaeological Period Revival styles that gained favor after the Panama–California Exposition of 1915".</p><br>
<p>Hearst Castle has a total of 42 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield and, during Hearsts lifetime, the worlds largest private zoo. Hearst was an inveterate rethinker who would frequently order the redesign of previously agreed, and often built, structures: the Neptune Pool was rebuilt three times before he was satisfied. He was aware of his propensity for changing his mind; in a letter dated 18 March 1920, he wrote to Morgan; "All little houses stunning. Please complete before I can think up any more changes". As a consequence of Hearsts persistent design changes, and financial difficulties in the early and later 1930s, the complex was never finished. By late summer 1919, Morgan had surveyed the site, analyzed its geology, and drawn initial plans for Casa Grande. Construction began in 1919 and continued through 1947 when Hearst left the estate for the last time. During the early years of construction, until Hearsts stays at San Simeon became longer and more frequent, his approval for the ongoing design was obtained by Morgan sending him models of planned developments. By the late 1920s the main model, designed by another female architect Julian C. Mesic, had become too large to ship and Mesic and Morgan would photograph it, hand color the images, and send these to Hearst.</p><br>
<h3>Construction</h3><br>
<p>The castles location presented major challenges for construction. It was remote; when Morgan began coming to the estate for site visits in 1919, she would leave her San Francisco office on Friday afternoon and take an eight-hour, 200-mile (320 km) train journey to San Luis Obispo, followed by a fifty-mile (80 km) drive to San Simeon. The relative isolation made recruiting and retaining a workforce a constant difficulty. In the early years, the estate lacked water, its limited supplies coming from three natural springs on Pine Mountain, a peak seven miles (11 km) east of Hearst Castle. The issue was addressed by the construction of three reservoirs and Morgan devised a gravity-based water delivery system that transported water from the nearby mountain springs to the reservoirs, including the main one on Rocky Butte, a knoll less than a mile southeast from Hearst Castle. Water was of particular importance; as well as feeding the pools and fountains Hearst desired, it provided electricity, by way of a private hydroelectric plant, until the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation began service to the castle in 1924. The climate presented a further challenge. The proximity to the coast brought strong winds in from the Pacific Ocean and the sites elevation meant that winter storms were frequent and severe.</p><br>
<p>Water was also essential for the production of concrete, the main structural component of the houses and their ancillary buildings. Morgan had substantial experience of building in steel-reinforced concrete and, together with the firm of consulting engineers Earl and Wright, experimented in finding suitable stone, eventually settling on that quarried from the mountain top on which the foundation platform for the castle was built. Combining this with desalinated sand from San Simeon Bay produced concrete of exceptionally high quality. Later, white sand was brought in from Carmel. Material for construction was transported either by train and truck, or by sea into a wharf built in San Simeon Bay below the site. In time, a light railway was constructed from the wharf to the castle, and Morgan built a compound of warehouses for storage and accommodation for workers by the bay.</p><br>
<p>Brick and tile works were also developed on site as brick was used extensively and tiling was an important element of the decoration of the castle. Morgan used several tile companies to produce her designs including Grueby Faience, Batchelder, California Faience and Solon & Schemmel. Albert Solon and Frank Schemmel came to Hearst Castle to undertake tiling work and Solons brother, Camille, was responsible for the design of the mosaics of blue-and-gold Venetian glass tile used in the Roman pool and the murals in Hearsts Gothic library.</p><br>
<p>Morgan worked with a series of construction managers; Henry Washburn from 1919 to 1922, then Camille Rossi from 1922, until his firing by Hearst in 1932, and finally George Loorz until 1940. From 1920 to 1939, there were between 25 and 150 workmen employed in construction at the castle.</p><br>
<h3>Costs</h3><br>
<p>The exact cost of the entire San Simeon complex is unknown. Kastner makes an estimate of expenditure on construction and furnishing the complex between 1919 and 1947 as "under $10,000,000". Thomas Aidala suggests a slightly more precise figure for the overall cost at between $7.2 and $8.2 million. Hearsts relaxed approach to using the funds of his companies, and sometimes the companies themselves, to make personal purchases made clear accounting for expenditure almost impossible. In 1927 one of his lawyers wrote, "the entire history of your corporation shows an informal method of withdrawal of funds". In 1945, when the Hearst Corporation was closing the Hearst Castle account for the final time, Morgan gave a breakdown of construction costs, which did not include expenditure on antiques and furnishings. Casa Grandes build cost is given as $2,987,000 and that for the guest houses, $500,000. Other works, including nearly half a million dollars on the Neptune pool, brought the total to $4,717,000. Morgans fees for twenty-odd years of almost continuous work, came to $70,755. Her initial fee was a 6% commission on total costs. This was later increased to 8.5%. Many additional expenses, and challenges in getting prompt payment, led her to receive rather less than this. Kastner suggests that Morgan made an overall profit of $100,000 on the entire, twenty-year, project. Her modest remuneration was unimportant to her. At the height of Hearsts financial travails in the late 1930s, when his debts stood at over $87 million, Morgan wrote to him, "I wish you would use me in any way that relieves your mind as to the care of your belongings. There never has been nor will there be, any charge in this connection, an honor and a pleasure".</p><br>
<h3>Plan of the castle complex</h3><br>
<h3>Casa del Mar</h3><br>
<p>Casa del Mar, the largest of the three guest houses, provided accommodation for Hearst himself until Casa Grande was ready in 1925. He stayed in the house again in 1947, during his last visit to the ranch. Casa del Mar contains 5,350 square feet (546 m) of floor space. Although luxuriously designed and furnished, none of the guest houses had kitchen facilities, an omission that sometimes irritated Hearsts guests. Adela Rogers St. Johns recounted her first visit: "I rang and asked the maid for coffee. With a smile, she said I would have to go up to the castle for that. I asked Marion Davies about this. She said W. R. (Hearst) did not approve of breakfast in bed." Adjacent to Casa del Mar is the wellhead (Pozzo) from Phoebe Hearsts Hacienda del Pozo de Verona, which Hearst moved to San Simeon when he sold his mother&#39;s estate after her death in 1919.</p><br>
<h3>Casa del Monte</h3><br>
<p>Casa del Monte was the first of the guest houses, originally entitled simply Houses A (del Mar), B (del Monte) and C (del Sol), built by Morgan on the slopes below the site of Casa Grande during 1920–1924. Hearst had initially wanted to begin work with the construction of the main house but Morgan persuaded him to begin with the guest cottages because the smaller structures could be completed more quickly. Each guest house faces the Esplanade and appears as a single story at its front entrance. Additional stories descend rearward down the terraced mountain side. Casa del Monte has of living space.</p><br>
<h3>Casa del Sol</h3><br>
<p>The decorative style of the Casa del Sol is Moorish, accentuated by the use of antique Persian tiles. A bronze copy of Donatellos David stands atop a copy of an original Spanish fountain. The inspiration for the fountain came from an illustration in a book, The Minor Ecclesiastical, Domestic and Garden Architecture of Southern Spain, written by Austin Whittlesey and published in 1919. Hearst sent a copy to Morgan, while retaining another for himself, and it proved a fertile source of ideas. The size of the house is 3,620 square feet (242 m). Morgans staff were responsible for the cataloguing of those parts of Hearsts art collection which were shipped to California and an oral record made in the 1980s indicates the methodology used for furnishing the buildings at San Simeon. "We would set (the object) up and then I would stand with a yardstick to give it scale. Sam Crow would take a picture. Then we would give it a number and I would write a description. These were made into albums. When Mr Hearst would write and say I want a Florentine mantel in Cottage C in Room B, and four yards of tiles&#39;, then we would look it up in the books and find something that would fit."</p><br>
<h3>Casa Grande</h3><br>
<p>Construction of Casa Grande began in April 1922. Work continued almost until Hearst&#39;s final departure on May 2, 1947, and even then the house was unfinished. The size of Casa Grande is 68,500 square feet (5,634 m). The main western facade is four stories, the entrance front, inspired by a gateway in Seville, is flanked by twin bell towers modeled on the tower of the church of Santa Maria la Mayor. The layout of the main house was originally to a T-plan, with the assembly room to the front, and the refectory at a right angle to its center. The subsequent extensions of the North and South wings modified the original design. As elsewhere, the core construction material is concrete, though the façade is faced in stone. In October 1927 Morgan wrote to Arthur Byne; "We finally took the bull by the horns and are facing the entire main building with a Manti stone from Utah." Morgan assured Hearst that it would be "the making of the building". A cast-stone balcony fronts the second floor, and another in cast-iron the third. Above this is a large wooden overhang or gable. This was constructed in Siamese teak, originally intended to outfit a ship, which Morgan located in San Francisco. The carving was undertaken by her senior carver Jules Suppo. Sara Holmes Boutelle suggests Morgan may have been inspired by a somewhat similar example at the Mission San Xavier del Bac in Arizona. The façade terminates with the bell towers, comprising the Celestial suites, the carillon towers and two cupolas.</p><br>
<p>The curator Victoria Kastner notes a particular feature of Casa Grande, the absence of any grand staircases. Access to the upper floors is either by elevators or stairwells in the corner turrets of the building. Many of the stairwells are undecorated and the plain, poured concrete contrasts with the richness of the decoration elsewhere. The terrace in front of the entrance, named Central Plaza, has a quatrefoil pond at its center, with a statue of Galatea on a Dolphin. The statue was inherited, having been bought by Phoebe Hearst when her son was temporarily short of money. The doorway from the Central Plaza into Casa Grande illustrates Morgan and Hearsts relaxed approach to combining genuine antiques with modern reproductions to achieve the effects they both desired. A 16th-century iron gate from Spain is topped by a fanlight grille, constructed in a matching style in the 1920s by Ed Trinkeller, the castles main ironmonger.</p><br>
<p>The castle made use of the latest technology. Casa Grande was wired with an early sound system, allowing guests to make music selections which were played from a Capehart phonograph located in the basement, and piped into rooms in the house through a system of speakers. Alternatively, six radio stations were available. The entire estate was also equipped with 80 telephones, operated through a PBX switchboard, which was staffed 24 hours a day, and ran under the exclusive exchange Hacienda. Fortune recorded an example of Hearsts delighting in the ubiquitous access the system provided - "(a guest) fell to wondering how a ball game came out while seated by a campfire with Mr Hearst, a days ride from the castle. Ill tell you volunteers Mr Hearst and, fumbling with the rock against which he was leaning, pulls from there a telephone, asks for New York, and relieves his guests curiosity".</p><br>
<h4>Assembly room</h4><br>
<p>The assembly room is the main reception room of the castle, described by Taylor Coffman, in his 1985 study, Hearst Castle: The Story of William Randolph Hearst and San Simeon, as "one of San Simeons most magnificent interiors". The fireplace, originally from a Burgundian chateau in Jours-lès-Baigneux, is named the Great Barney Mantel, after a previous owner, Charles T. Barney, from whose estate Hearst bought it after Barneys suicide. The mantel had been acquired for Barney by society architect Stanford White and Kastner notes the major influence of White&#39;s style on a number of rooms at Hearst Castle, in particular the assembly room and the main sitting room in Casa del Mar. The ceiling is from an Italian palazzo. A concealed door in the paneling next to the fireplace allowed Hearst to surprise his guests by entering unannounced. The door opened off an elevator which connected with his Gothic suite on the third floor. The assembly room, completed in 1926, is nearly 2,500 square feet in extent and was described by the writer and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans as looking like "half of Grand Central station".</p><br>
<p>The room held some of Hearst&#39;s best tapestries. These include four from a set celebrating the Roman general Scipio Africanus, designed by Giulio Romano, and two copied from drawings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting The Triumph of Religion. The need to fit the tapestries above the paneling and below the roof required the installation of the unusually low windows. The room has the only piece of Art Nouveau decorative art in the castle, the Orchid Vase lamp, made by Tiffany for the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1889. Bought by Phoebe Hearst, who had the original vase converted to a lamp, Hearst placed it in the assembly room in tribute to his mother.</p><br>
<h4>Refectory</h4><br>
<p>The refectory was the only dining room in the castle, and was built between 1926 and 1927. The choir stalls which line the walls are from the La Seu dUrgell Cathedral in Catalonia, Spain, and the silk flags mounted on the walls are Palio banners from Siena, Italy. Hearst originally intended a "vaulted Moorish ceiling" for the room but, finding nothing suitable, he and Morgan settled on the Italian Renaissance example, dating from around 1600, which Hearst purchased from a dealer in Rome in 1924. Victoria Kastner considered that the flat roof, with life-size carvings of saints, "strikes a discordant note of horizontality among the vertical lines of the room". The style of the whole is Gothic, in contrast to the Renaissance approach adopted in the preceding assembly room. The refectory is said to have been Morgans favorite interior within the castle. The design of both the refectory and the assembly room was greatly influenced by the monumental architectural elements, especially the fireplaces and the choir stalls used as wainscoting, and works of art, particularly the tapestries, which Hearst determined would be incorporated into the rooms. The central table provided seating for 22 in its usual arrangement of two tables, which could be extended to three or four, on the occasion of larger gatherings. The tables were sourced from an Italian monastery and were the setting for some of the best pieces from Hearst&#39;s collection of silverware. One of the finest is a wine cooler dating from the early 18th century and weighing 14.2 kg by the Anglo-French silversmith David Willaume.</p><br>
<h4>Library</h4><br>
<p>The library is on the second floor, directly above the assembly room. The ceiling is 16th century Spanish, and a remnant is used in the librarys lobby. It comprises three separate ceilings, from different rooms in the same Spanish house, which Morgan combined into one. The fireplace is the largest Italian example in the castle. Carved from limestone, it is attributed to the medieval sculptor and architect Benedetto da Maiano. The room contains a collection of over 5,000 books, with another 3,700 in Hearsts study above. The majority of the library collections were sold at sales at Parke-Bernet at 1939 and Gimbels in 1941. The sales saw the disposal of some of the best items, including sets, often signed, of first editions by Charles Dickens, Hearsts favorite author. The library is also the location for much of Hearsts important holding of antique Greek vases.</p><br>
<h4>Cloisters and the Doge&#39;s Suite</h4><br>
<p>The cloisters form a grouping of four bedrooms above the refectory and, along with the doges suite above the breakfast room, were completed in 1925–1926. The doges suite was occupied by Millicent Hearst on her rare visits to the castle. The room is lined with blue silk and has a Dutch painted ceiling, in addition to two more of Spanish origin, which was once the property of architect Stanford White. Morgan also incorporated an original Venetian loggia in the suite, refashioned as a balcony. The suite leads on to Morgan&#39;s inventive North and South Duplex apartments, with sitting areas and bathrooms at entry level and bedrooms on mezzanine floors above.</p><br>
<h4>Gothic suite</h4><br>
<p>The gothic suite was Hearsts private apartment on the third floor. He moved there in 1927. It comprises the gothic study or library and Hearsts own gothic bedroom and private sitting room. The ceiling of the bedroom is one of the best Hearst bought; Spanish, of the 14th century, it was discovered by his Iberian agent Arthur Byne who also located the original frieze panels which had been detached and sold some time before. The whole was installed at the castle in 1924. The space originally allocated for the study was too low to create the impression desired by Morgan and Hearst, a difficulty Morgan surmounted by raising the roof and supporting the ceiling with concrete trusses. These, and the walls, were painted with frescoes by Camille Solon. Light was provided by two ranges of clerestory windows. The necessity of raising the roof to incorporate the study occasioned one of the few instances where Hearst hesitated, "I telegraphed you my fear of the cost...I imagine it would be ghastly", and Morgan urged further changes and expense. The result vindicated Morgan. The study, completed in 1931, is dominated by a portrait of Hearst at age 31, painted by his life-long friend, Orrin Peck.</p><br>
<h4>Celestial suites</h4><br>
<p>The celestial bedrooms, with a connecting, shared, sitting room, were created between 1924 and 1926. The bell towers were raised to improve the proportions of the building, and the suites constructed in the spaces created below. The relatively cramped spaces allowed no room for storage, and en-suite bathrooms were "awkwardly squeezed" into lower landings. Ludwig Bemelmans, a guest in the 1930s, recalled; "there was no place to hang your clothes, so I hung mine on wire coat hangers that a former tenant had left hanging on the arms of two six-armed gold candelabra, the rest I put on the floor". The sitting room contains one of the most important paintings in Hearst&#39;s collection, Bonaparte Before the Sphinx (1886) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. The suites are linked externally by a walkway, the celestial bridge, which is decorated with elaborate tiling.</p><br>
<h4>North and South wings</h4><br>
<p>The north, or billiard, and the south, or service, wings complete the castle and were begun in 1929. The north wing houses the billiard room on the first floor, which was converted from the original breakfast room. It has a Spanish antique ceiling and a French fireplace and contains the oldest tapestry in the castle, a Millefleur hunting scene woven in Flanders in the 15th century. The spandrel over the doorcase is decorated with a frieze of 16th century Persian tiles depicting a battle. The 34 tiles originate from Isfahan and were purchased by Hearst at the Kevorkian sale in New York in 1922. The theater, which leads off the billiard room, was used both for amateur theatricals and the showing of movies from Hearst&#39;s Cosmopolitan Studios. The theater accommodated fifty guests and had an electric keyboard that enabled the bells in the carillon towers to be played. The walls are decorated in red damask, which originally hung in the assembly room, and feature gilded caryatids.</p><br>
<p>The upper stories of the north wing were the last to be worked upon and were never completed. Activity recommenced in 1945 and Morgan delegated the work to her assistant, Warren McClure. Many of the rooms are unfinished but Aidala considers that the bathrooms in the wing represent "first-rate examples of streamline design. The service wing contains the kitchen. The hotel-scale units and worktops are constructed in Monel Metal, an expensive form of nickel alloy invented in 1901. The wing contains further bedroom suites, a staff dining room and gives entry to the 9,000-square-foot basement which contained a wine cellar, pantries, the boiler plant which heated the main house, and a barber/hairdressing parlour, for the use of Hearst&#39;s guests.</p><br>
<h3>Planned but uncompleted elements</h3><br>
<p>Hearst and Morgan intended a large ballroom or cloister to connect the North and South wings at the rear of Casa Grande and unify the whole composition but it was never undertaken. In 1932, Hearst contemplated incorporating the reja (grille) he had acquired from Valladolid Cathedral in 1929 into this room. He described his vision in a letter to Morgan dated that year; "A great ballroom and banqueting hall, that is the scheme! Isn&#39;t it a pippin." The letter was signed "Sincerely, Your Assistant Architect". Other structures that did not develop beyond drawings and plans included two more guest houses, in English and Chinese architectural styles.</p><br>
<h2>Collections</h2><br>
<p>Hearst was a voracious collector of art, with the stated intention of making the castle "a museum of the best things that I can secure". The dealer Joseph Duveen, from whom Hearst bought despite their mutual dislike, called him the "Great Accumulator". His robust approach to buying, particularly the purchase and removal of entire historic structures, generated considerable ill-feeling and sometimes outright opposition. His deconstruction and removal of the 14th century Bradenstoke Priory in England led the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to organize a campaign which used language so violent that its posters had to be pasted over for fear of a libel suit. Hearst sometimes encountered similar opposition elsewhere. In 1919 he was writing to Morgan about; "the patio from Bergos (sic) which, by the way, I own but cannot get out of Spain". The dismantling of a monastery in Sacramenia, which Hearst bought in its entirety in the 1920s, saw his workmen attacked by enraged villagers. Hearst&#39;s tardiness in paying his bills was another less attractive feature of his purchasing approach; in 1925 Morgan was obliged to write to Arthur Byne, "Mr. Hearst accepts your dictum – cash or nothing".</p><br>
<p>Some of the finest pieces from the collections of books and manuscripts, tapestries, paintings, antiquities and sculpture, amounting to about half of Hearsts total art holdings, were sold in sales in the late 1930s and early 1940s, when Hearsts publishing empire was facing financial collapse, but a great deal remains. His art buying had started when he was young and, in his tested fashion, he established a company, the International Studio Arts Corporation, as a vehicle for purchasing works and as a means of dealing with their export and import. The curator Mary Levkoff divides the collection into four parts, the antiquities, the sculptures, the tapestries and the paintings, of which she considers the last of least significance. In 1975, the Hearst Corporation donated the archive of Hearst&#39;s Brooklyn warehouses, the gathering point for almost all of his European acquisitions before their dispersal to his many homes, to Long Island University. As of 2015, the university has embarked on a digitization project which will ultimately see the 125 albums of records, and sundry other materials, made available online.</p><br>
<h3>Antiquities</h3><br>
<p>The ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities are the oldest works in Hearsts collection. The oldest of all are the stone figures of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet which stand on the South Esplanade below Casa Grande and date from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, approximately 1550 to 1189 BC. Morgan designed the pool setting for the pieces, with tiling inspired by ancient Egyptian motifs. In the courtyard of Casa del Monte is one of a total of nine Roman sarcophagi collected by Hearst, dated to 230 AD and previously held at the Palazzo Barberini, which was acquired at the Charles T. Yerkes sale in 1910. The most important element of the antiquities collection is the holding of Greek vases, on display in the second-floor library. Although some 65 vases were purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after Hearsts death, those which remain at the castle still form one of the worlds largest groups. Hearst began collecting vases in 1901, and his collection was moved from his New York homes to the castle in 1935. At its peak, the collection numbered over 400 pieces. The vases were placed on the tops of the bookshelves in the library, each carefully wired in place to guard against vibrations from earthquakes. At the time of Hearsts collecting, many of the vases were believed to be of Etruscan manufacture, but later scholars ascribe all of them to Greece.</p><br>
<h3>Sculptures</h3><br>
<p>Hearst often bought multiple lots from sales of major collections; in 1930 he purchased five antique Roman statues from the Lansdowne sale in London. Four are now in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and one in the Metropolitan. He collected bronzes as well as marble figures; a cast of a stone original of Apollo and Daphne by Bernini, dating from around 1617, stands in the Doge&#39;s suite.</p><br>
<p>In addition to his classical sculptures, Hearst was content to acquire 19th century versions, or contemporary copies of ancient works; "if we cannot find the right thing in a classic statue we can find a modern one". He was a particular patron of Charles Cassou and also favored the early 19th century Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen whose Venus Victorious remains at the castle. Both this, and the genuinely classical Athena from the collection of Thomas Hope, were displayed in the Assembly room, along with the Venus Italica by Antonio Canova. Other works by Thorvaldsen include the four large marble medallions in the Assembly room depicting society&#39;s virtues. Two 19th century marbles are in the anteroom to the Assembly room, Bacchante, by Frederick William MacMonnies, a copy of his bronze original and Pygmalion and Galatea by Gérôme. A monumental statue of Galatea, attributed to Leopoldo Ansiglioni and dating from around 1882, stands in the center of the pool on the plaza in front of Casa Grande.</p><br>
<h3>Textiles</h3><br>
<p>Tapestries include the Scipio set after Giulio Romano in the assembly room, two from a set telling the Biblical story of Daniel in the morning room, and the millefleur hunting scene in the Billiard room. The last is particularly rare, one of only "a handful from this period in the world". Hearst also assembled and displayed an important collection of Navajo textiles at San Simeon, including blankets, rugs and serapes. Most were purchased from Herman Schweizer, who ran the Indian Department of the Fred Harvey Company. Originally gathered at Hearst&#39;s hacienda at Jolon, they were moved to Wyntoon in 1940 before being brought to San Simeon and finally being donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1942. Hearst was always interested in pieces that had historical and cultural connections to the history of California and Central and Latin America; the North Wing contains two Peruvian armorial banners. Dating from the 1580s, they show the shields of Don Luis Jerónimo Fernández Cabrera y Bobadilla, Count of Chinchón and viceroy of Peru. Nathaniel Burt, the composer and critic evaluated the collections at San Simeon thus; "Far from being the mere kitsch that most easterners have been led to believe, full of real beauties and treasures".</p><br>
<h3>Paintings</h3><br>
<p>The art collection includes works by Tintoretto, whose portrait of Alvisius Vendramin hangs in the Doges suite, Franz Xaver Winterhalter who carried out the double portraits of Maximilian I of Mexico and his empress Carlota, located in Casa del Mar and two portraits of Napoléon by Jean-Léon Gérôme. Hearsts earliest painting, a Madonna and Child from the school of Duccio di Buoninsegna, dates from the early 14th century. A gift from his friend, the editor Cissy Patterson, the painting hangs in Hearsts bedroom. Portrait of a Woman, by Giulio Campi, hangs in a bedroom in the north wing. In 1928 Hearst acquired the Madonna and Child with Two Angels, by Adriaen Isenbrandt. The curator Taylor Coffman describes this work, which hangs in the Casa del Mar sitting room, as perhaps "San Simeons finest painting". In 2018, a previously unattributed Annunciation in the assembly room was identified as a work of 1690 by Bartolomé Pérez.</p><br>
<h2>Gardens and grounds</h2><br>
<p>The Esplanade, a curving, paved walkway, connects the main house with the guest cottages; Hearst described it as giving "a finished touch to the big house, to frame it in, as it were". Morgan designed the pedestrianized pavement with great care, to create a coup de théâtre for guests, desiring "a strikingly noble and saississant effect be impressed upon everyone on arrival". Hearst concurred: "Heartily approve. I certainly want that saississant effect. I dont know what it is but I think we ought to have at least one such on the premises". A feature of the gardens are the lampposts topped with alabaster globes; modeled on "janiform hermae", the concept was Hearsts. The Swan lamps, remodeled with alabaster globe lights to match the hermae, were designed by Morgans chief draftsman, Thaddeus Joy. Others whose ideas and approach influenced Hearst and Morgan in their landscaping include Charles Adams Platt, an artist and gardener who had made a particular study of the layout and planting of Italian villas; Nigel Keep, Hearsts orchardman, who worked at San Simeon from 1922 to 1947, and Albert Webb, Hearst&#39;s English head gardener who was at the hill during 1922–1948.</p><br>
<h3>Neptune Pool</h3><br>
<p>The Neptune pool, described by Ginger Wadsworth in her biography of Morgan as "the most sumptuous swimming pool on earth", is located near the edge of the hilltop and is enclosed by a retaining wall and underpinned by a framework of concrete struts to allow for movement in the event of earthquakes. The pool is often cited as an example of Hearsts changeability; it was reconstructed three times before he was finally satisfied. Originally begun as an ornamental pond, it was first expanded in 1924 as Millicent Hearst desired a swimming pool. It was enlarged again during 1926–1928 to accommodate Cassous statuary. Finally, in 1934, it was extended again to act as a setting for a Roman temple, in part original and in part comprising elements from other structures which Hearst transported from Europe and had reconstructed at the site. The tiling was undertaken by Solon and Schemmel.</p><br>
<p>The pool holds 345,000 gallons of water and is equipped with seventeen shower and changing rooms. It was heated by oil-fired burners. In early 2014, the pool was drained due to drought conditions and leakage. After a long-term restoration project to fix the leaking, the pool was refilled in August 2018. The restoration of the pool was recognized with a Preservation Design Award for Craftsmanship from the California Preservation Foundation in 2019. The pool is well-supplied with sculpture, particularly works by Charles Cassou. His centerpiece, opposite the Roman temple, is The Birth of Venus. An even larger sculptural grouping, depicting Neptune in a chariot drawn by four horses, was commissioned to fill the empty basin above the Venus. Although carved, it was never installed.</p><br>
<h3>Roman Pool</h3><br>
<p>The Roman pool, constructed under the tennis courts, provided an indoor alternative to the Neptune pool. Originally mooted by Hearst in 1927, construction did not begin until 1930 and the pool was not completed until 1935. Hearst initially wanted the pool to be fed by salt-water but the design challenges proved to be insuperable. A disastrous attempt to fulfill Hearst&#39;s desires by pouring 20 tons of washed rock salt into the pool saw the disintegration of the cast-iron heat exchanger and pump. Inspiration for the mosaic decoration came from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. The tiles are of Murano glass, with gold-leaf, and were designed by Solon and manufactured in San Francisco. Although a pool of "spectacular beauty", it was little used being located in a less-visited part of the complex.</p><br>
<h3>Pergola and zoo</h3><br>
<p>Two other major features of the grounds were the pergola and the zoo. The pergola, an ornamental bridleway, runs to the west of Casa Grande. Comprising concrete columns, covered in espaliered fruit trees, Morgan ensured that it was built to a height sufficient to allow Hearst, "a tall man with a tall hat on a tall horse", to ride unimpeded down its mile-long length. Plans for a zoo, to house Hearst&#39;s large collection of wild animals, were drawn up by Morgan and included an elephant house and separate enclosures for antelopes, camels, zebras and bears. This was never constructed, but a range of shelters and pits were built, sited on Orchard Hill.</p><br>
<h2>Estate</h2><br>
<p>Hearst Castle is located near the town of San Simeon, California, approximately from both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and from San Luis Obispo at the northern end of San Luis Obispo County. The estate itself is five miles (eight km) inland atop a hill of the Santa Lucia Range at an altitude of. The region is sparsely populated because the Santa Lucia Range abuts the Pacific Ocean, which provides dramatic vistas but offers few opportunities for development and hampers transportation. The surrounding countryside remains largely undeveloped. The castle&#39;s entrance is approximately five miles north of Hearst San Simeon State Park.</p><br>
<p>At the height of Hearsts ownership, the estate totaled more than 250,000 acres. W. C. Fields commented on the extent of the estate while on a visit; "Wonderful place to bring up children. You can send them out to play. They wont come back till theyre grown". The gardens and terraces immediately surrounding the castle total roughly 22 acres (88305 sqm),. Some 23 miles to the north of the castle, Morgan constructed the Milpitas Hacienda, a ranchhouse that acted as a trianon to the main estate, and as a focus for riding expeditions. In 1957, the castle and its contents, with 120 acres of the gardens, were transferred to the guardianship of the California State Parks Department. In 2005, the wider setting for the castle was protected by a conservation arrangement between the department, American Land Conservancy and the Hearst Corporation which aimed to preserve the undeveloped character of the coast. Years earlier, the writer Henry Miller had described the Big Sur area as "the California that men dreamed of... the face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look". Millers comment echoes an earlier observation on San Simeon made by Bernard Shaw; "This is what God would have built if he had had the money". The agreement reached between the state and the family has not been without controversy. The deal, which saw the Hearst family receive $80 million in cash together with $15 million in state tax credits in exchange for ceding development rights on the majority of the estate, has been criticized as being too generous to the Hearsts, and for restricting public access to the estate. The deals sponsors disagreed, Mike Chrisman, Californias then Secretary for Resources, describing the agreement as "a landmark effort... and a big deal for the state, for Hearst Corp. and the family and the public".</p><br>
<h2>Appreciation</h2><br>
<p>As with Hearst himself, Hearst Castle and its collections have been the subject of considerable criticism. From the 1940s the view of Hearst and Morgans most important joint creation as the phantasmagorical Xanadu of Orson Welless imagination has been commonplace. Although some literary depictions were gently mocking; P. G. Wodehouses novel of 1953, Ring for Jeeves, published in America in 1954 as The Return of Jeeves, has a character describe her stay, "I remember visiting at San Simeon once, and there was a whole French Abbey lying on the grass&quot others were not. John Steinbecks unnamed description was certainly of Hearst; "Theys a fella, newspaper fella near the coast, got a million acres. Fat, sof fella with little mean eyes an a mouth like a ass-hole". The writer John Dos Passos went further, explicitly referencing Hearst in the third volume of his 1938 USAA trilogy. "The emperor of newsprint retired to his fief of San Simeon where he built an Andalusian palace and there spends his last years amid the relaxing adulations of screenstars, admen, screenwriters, publicity-men, columnists, Until he dies, a spent Caesar grown old with spending." The English architectural writer Clive Aslet was little more complimentary about the castle. Disliking its "unsympathetic texture (of) poured concrete", he described it as "best seen from a distance". The unfinished, and unresolved, rear façade of Casa Grande has been the subject of particular negative comment; Carleton Winslow and Nicola Frye, in their history from 1980, suggest the flanking north and south wings "compete rather disastrously" with the central doges suite block. Others questioned the castles very existence; the architect Witold Rybczynski asking, "what is this Italian villa doing on the Californian Coastal Range?... a costly piece of theatrical décor that ignores its context (and) lacks meaning". Hearsts collections were similarly disparaged, the art historian William George Constable echoed Joseph Duveen when he assessed Hearst as "not a collector but a gigantic and voracious magpie".</p><br>
<p>Later decades after Hearsts death have seen a more sympathetic and appreciative evaluation of his collections, and the estate he and Morgan created to house them. The director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas Hoving, although listing Hearst only at number 83 in his evaluation of Americas top 101 art collectors, wrote, "Hearst is being reevaluated. He may have been much more of a collector than was thought at the time of his death". The curator Mary Levkoff, in her 2008 study, Hearst the Collector, contends that he was, describing the four separate "staggeringly important" collections of antique vases, tapestries, armor and silver which Hearst brought together, and writing of the challenge of bringing their artistic merit to light from under the shadow of his own reputation. Of Morgan&#39;s building, its stock has risen with the re-evaluation of her standing and accomplishments, which saw her inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2008, become the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2014, and to have an obituary in The New York Times as recently as 2019. The writer John Julius Norwich recorded his personal recantation after a visit to the castle; "I went prepared to mock; I remained to marvel. Hearst Castle (is) a palace in every sense of the word". Victoria Kastner, for many years the in-house historian of Hearst Castle and author of a number of books on its design and history, concludes her history of the castle with an assessment of San Simeon as "the quintessential twentieth-century American country house".</p><br>
<p>The Soo Locks  are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the USA state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year, despite being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.</p><br>
<p>The locks share a name (usually shortened and anglicized as Soo) with the two cities named Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario and in Michigan, located on either side of the St. Marys River. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks. A railroad bridge crosses the St. Marys River just upstream of the highway bridge.</p><br>
<p>The first locks were opened in 1855. Along with the Erie Canal, constructed in 1824 in central New York State, they were among the great infrastructure engineering projects of the antebellum United States. The Soo Locks were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.</p><br>
<h2>United States locks</h2><br>
<p>The USA locks form part of a canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Canal. The entire canal, including the locks, is owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which provides free passage. The first iteration of the USA Soo Locks was completed in May 1855; it was operated by the state of Michigan until transferred to the USA Army in 1881.</p><br>
<h3>Locks</h3><br>
<p>The configuration consists of two parallel lock chambers.Starting at the Michigan shoreline and moving north toward Ontario, these are:</p><br>
<p>The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943. It is long, wide, and deep. This is large enough to handle ocean-going vessels ("salties") that must also pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. The first vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley. Per 33 CFR § 207.440 (v), "The maximum overall dimensions of vessels that will be permitted to transit MacArthur Lock are 730 feet in length and 75 feet in width, except as provided in paragraph (v)(1) of this section." Per USA Army Corps of Engineers, Sault St Marie, the length of the ship is restricted to 730’ due to the southwest wall alignment entering and exiting the MacArthur Lock.</p><br>
<p>The Poe Lock, built in 1896. The first vessel to pass through was the USA Army Corps of Engineers tug USS Hancock. The original Poe Lock was engineered by Orlando Poe and, at long and wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896. The lock was re-built in 1968 to accommodate larger ships, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened and made passage of such ships possible to the Great Lakes. It is now long, wide, and deep. It can take ships carrying of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lake freighters used on the Upper Lakes. The first passage after the rebuild was by the Phillip R. Clarke in 1969.</p><br>
<h3>Former locks</h3><br>
<p>The State Lock, built between 1853 and 1855. The State of Michigan was given land by the federal government to construct a lock after copper and iron ore was discovered on Lake Superior. The lock consisted of two chambers back-to-back to bridge the difference in water level. This lock was long, wide, and deep. The State Lock was replaced by the original Poe Lock.</p><br>
<p>The Weitzel Lock, was built between 1873 and 1881 directly south of the State Lock, and was the first lock to be operated by the federal government. At long, wide, and deep, it was the longest lock in the world upon its completion. It was decommissioned in 1919, and was eventually replaced by the MacArthur Lock in 1943.</p><br>
<p>The Davis Lock, built in 1914. At the time of its completion, the Davis Lock was the longest lock in the world at long, and was also wide and deep.</p><br>
<p>The Sabin Lock, built in 1919. It was constructed as a twin lock to the Davis Lock, and named after Louis Sabin, who served as the Detroit District Engineer. It was officially decommissioned in 2010 at the same time as the Davis Lock.</p><br>
<h3>New lock</h3><br>
<p>A new lock is under construction and is slated to be completed by 2030. Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009. The lock will be equal in size to the Poe Lock and will provide much needed additional capacity for the large lake freighters. The new lock replaces two locks (Davis Lock and Sabin Lock), which were obsolete and used infrequently. In May 2020, construction on Phase One of the replacement of the Sabin Lock was started.</p><br>
<p>North of the new lock is an additional channel with a small hydroelectric plant, which provides electricity for the lock complex.</p><br>
<h3>Engineers Day</h3><br>
<p>The USA Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, operates the Soo Locks Visitors Center and viewing deck for the public. On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed to go behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the USA Soo Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House. During this event, visitors are able to get close enough to touch ships passing through the two regularly operating locks. Other than on that day, because the locks are United States Federal property under command of the USA Army Corps of Engineers, unauthorized personnel and civilians are restricted from the locks under threat of fines or imprisonment for trespassing.</p><br>
<h2>Canadian lock</h2><br>
<p>The first lock to be built in the St. Marys River was on the Canadian side in 1798 by the Northwest Fur Company to facilitate the fur trade. The Canadian lock is used for recreational and tour boats; major shipping traffic uses the USA locks.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C., built in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the American Revolution, a founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, and the nation&#39;s third president.</p><br>
<p>Built between 1939 and 1943, the memorial features multiple quotes from Jefferson intended to capture his ideology and philosophy, known as Jeffersonian democracy, which was staunchly supportive of American republicanism, individual rights, religious freedom, states&#39; rights, virtue, and prioritized and valued what he saw as the undervalued independent yeoman. Jefferson was simultaneously deeply skeptical of cities and financiers and hostile to aristocracy, elitism, and corruption. He is widely considered among the most influential political minds of his era and one of the most consequential intellectual forces behind both the American Revolution and the American Enlightenment.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson Memorial is built in neoclassical style and is situated in West Potomac Park on the shore of the Potomac River. It was designed by John Russell Pope, a New York City architect, and built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain. Construction on the memorial began in 1939 and was completed in 1943, though the bronze statue of Jefferson was not completed and added until four years after its dedication and opening, in 1947. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon, whose designer was Apollodorus of Damascus, and to Jeffersons own design for the rotunda at the University of Virginia as inspirations for the memorials aesthetics.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson Memorial and the White House form anchor points to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Washington Monument, initially intended to be built at the intersection of the White House and the Jefferson Memorial&#39;s site, was ultimately built farther east because the ground at that location was deemed too soft and swampy.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson Memorial is a designated national memorial and is managed by the National Park Service of the USA Department of the Interior&#39;s National Mall and Memorial Parks division. In 1966, the Jefferson Memorial was named to the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, it ranked fourth on the "list of America&#39;s favorite architecture", published by the American Institute of Architects.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Early considerations</h3><br>
<p>The site ultimately selected for the Jefferson Memorials construction was appealing at least partly because it was located directly south of, and in view of, the White House. By 1901, the Senate Park Commission, in the McMillan Plan, proposed building a Pantheon-like structure on the site that would host "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory of some individual shall be honored by a monument of the first rank may be left to the future," but no action was taken by Congress on the commissions recommendation.</p><br>
<p>The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped facilitate and expand recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water, which made the Tidal Basin, also known as Twining Lake, suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, opened in May 1918, operating as a "Whites Only" facility until 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid addressing the question of whether it should be racially integrated. The same year, a design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. The winning design, submitted by John Russell Pope, consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. Like the McMillan Plan in 1901, the plan was never funded by Congress or acted upon.</p><br>
<h3>Funding and authorization</h3><br>
<p>Another opportunity for the Jefferson Memorials development emerged in 1934, when then President Franklin Roosevelt, who came to admire Jefferson after reading a book on Jefferson by his friend Claude G. Bowers, inquired with the Commission of Fine Arts about erecting a memorial to Jefferson. Roosevelt included plans for the Jefferson Memorial in the Federal Triangle project, which was then under construction. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boyland followed Roosevelts lead, urging Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to explore the memorials development. Boylan was appointed the Commissions first chairman, and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for the Jefferson Memorial.</p><br>
<p>The following year, in 1935, the Commission chose John Russell Pope as architect for the Jefferson Memorial. Pope had served previously as architect for the National Archives Building and the original West Building of the National Gallery of Art. He prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the Anacostia River at the end of East Capitol Street; one at Lincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the National Archives administration building; and one was situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site of those proposed and completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission, which encompassed the region including the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol and from the White House to the Tidal Basin site. Pope designed a large pantheon-like structure designed to be situated on a square platform, flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.</p><br>
<h3>Construction</h3><br>
<p>Construction on the Jefferson Memorial began December 15, 1938. The cornerstone was laid roughly eleven months later, on November 15, 1939, by Roosevelt himself. By this point, Pope had died in 1937 and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, assumed leadership for the Jefferson Memorials construction. At the request of the Commission of Fine Arts, a slightly more conservative design for the memorial was agreed upon. The memorials cost was approximately $3 million.</p><br>
<p>Construction commenced amid some opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the proposed design and site for the memorial. Additionally, some Washingtonians opposed the proposed location for it because it did not align with LEnfants original plan for the city, and many established elm and cherry trees, including rare stock donated by Japan in 1912,</p><br>
<p>In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned Jefferson statue to be placed in the center of the memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six, Rudulph Evans was chosen as the main sculptor, and Adolph A. Weinman was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the memorial&#39;s entrance.</p><br>
<p>Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the memorial landscape, which featured a simple design within a circular driveway including primarily Evergreen trees with limited flowering trees or shrubs. The design was perceived as too thin, so white pines and some other plantings were later added before the memorials dedication in 1943. In the 1970s, nearly three decades after the memorials opening, additional changes to Olmsteds landscaping were implemented. But in 1993 and 2000, attempts to restore the integrity of Olmsteds initial design were made. Roosevelt ordered trees be cut so that the Jefferson Memorial was clearly visible from the White House; additional tree pruning was also completed to create an unobstructed view between the Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.</p><br>
<p>On April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jeffersons birthday, the Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated and opened by Roosevelt. At the time, Evans statue had not yet been finished due to material shortages that emerged during World War II. Instead, the memorial opened with a temporary plaster cast statue similar to the bronze statue that Evans ultimately completed four years later, in 1947. The statue&#39;s cast was developed by Roman Bronze Works in New York City.</p><br>
<h3>Following history</h3><br>
<p>On October 15, 1966, in recognition of the Jefferson Memorial&#39;s historical and artistic significance, the Jefferson Memorial was named to the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>On September 2, 2020, there was a task force known as the District of Columbia Facilities and Commemorative Expressions (DCFACES), created in a response to the George Floyd protests by Washington D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser, who published a report which recommended "renaming, relocating or adding context to dozens of monuments, schools, parks and buildings in because of their namesakes participation in slavery or racial oppression". In the report, “DCFACES” had advised Mayor Bowser to request and convince the USA federal government to "remove, relocate, or contextualize" the Jefferson Memorial due to Thomas Jefferson&#39;s ownership of slaves.</p><br>
<h2>Description and features</h2><br>
<h3>Exterior</h3><br>
<p>The Jefferson Memorial is composed of circular marble steps, a portico, a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and a shallow dome. The building is open to the elements. It has a diameter of approximately 165 ft.</p><br>
<p>The memorial is constructed with white Imperial Danby marble taken from Vermont, which rests on a series of granite and marble-stepped terraces. A flight of granite and marble stairs and platforms, flanked by granite buttresses, leads up to the memorial from the Tidal Basin to a portico with a triangular pediment.</p><br>
<p>The pediment features a sculpture by Adolph Alexander Weinman depicting the Committee of Five, the five members of the committee charged with drafting the USA Declaration of Independence. In addition to Jefferson, who was the primary author, committee members included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. A cornice with an egg and dart molding surrounds this pediment, and below that is a plain frieze.</p><br>
<h3>Interior</h3><br>
<p>The memorial&#39;s interior has a 19 ft tall, bronze statue of Jefferson developed by sculptor Rudulph Evans. The statue was added four years after the dedication. Among many Jefferson quotes inside the memorial, one of the most prominently situated are those inscribed in the frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." This sentence is taken from a letter written by Jefferson on September 23, 1800, to Benjamin Rush in which Jefferson defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.</p><br>
<p>On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the United States Declaration of Independence:</p><br>
<p>We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.</p><br>
<p>The inscription uses the word "inalienable", as appears in Jefferson&#39;s draft rather than "unalienable" as ultimately appeared in the final Declaration.</p><br>
<p>On the panel of the northwest interior wall is a quote from the 1777 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which excludes the quote&#39;s final sentence and is taken from an August 28, 1789, letter Jefferson wrote to James Madison:</p><br>
<p>Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.</p><br>
<p>The Jefferson quotes from the panel on the northeast interior wall come from multiple sources. The first, which begins "God who gave us life gave us liberty" is from A Summary View of the Rights of British America. The second, third, and fourth sentences are from Notes on the State of Virginia. The fifth quote, which begins "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free" is from Jefferson&#39;s autobiography. The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from a letter of August 13, 1786, to George Wythe. The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to George Washington:</p><br>
<p>God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.</p><br>
<p>The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is excerpted from Jefferson&#39;s July 12, 1816, letter to Samuel Kercheval:</p><br>
<p>I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.</p><br>
<p>A lower level of the structure contains a gift shop and a museum focusing on Jefferson&#39;s life and political career.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The monument is located in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., on the shore of the Potomac Rivers Tidal Basin. The park is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry blossom trees, which pre-dated the memorials construction and were a 1912 gift from the people of Japan.</p><br>
<p>Although the Jefferson Memorial is geographically removed from other buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and Washington Metro, the memorial plays host to many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, and ranks highly among destinations for visitors to the city each year.</p><br>
<p>The Teatro Yagüez in Puerto Rico is a historic building that today is a performing arts theater. It is located at Candelaria Street,  and Dr. Basora Streets, in the city of Mayagüez. The theater building consists of the Lucy Boscana Hall and the Roberto Cole Cafe Theater.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>It was originally erected by Francisco Maymón Palmer in 1909. Maymóns parents emigrated to Puerto Rico from Italy in the 19th century. They settled in the town of San German. Early in the 20th century Francisco tried to build a theatre in the town of San German but was unable due to the existing religious culture then, which considered a theatre as a "bad influence on the local population. Maymón was an entrepreneur by vocation, having travelled to Europe and the United States in his 20s, and he would not be stopped. He moved to the nearby city of Mayaguez where he established himself as one of the pioneers of the industry of cinematography in the island of Puerto Rico, introducing this new form of Visual Art early in the beginning of the 20th century by showing silent films throughout the nearby towns and becoming the exclusive distributor for Nicholas Power Co. movie projectors throughout the Caribbean islands. The Nicholas Power Company was located in New York. With the help of his business partners Mr. Jose Rahola and Mr. Fundador Vargas, he imported movies from the Pathé Company in Europe, showing them in town centers (plazas) under the stars and at the old Mayaguez Municipal Theater (Teatro Municipal). The latter no longer exists, as it was destroyed in the 1918 earthquake that hit the city and was never rebuilt, hence the Teatro Yagüez became the city&#39;s preferred gathering place for opera, plays, concerts, and silent movies.</p><br>
<p>Francisco purchased the land where the Yaguez sits today around 1905. The construction of the first Teatro Yagüez building began around 1907; The formal inauguration was in 1909. Materials such as the cement was imported from Germany, interior ceilings from Italy, tiles and carpets from Spain. An architectural jewel, the Teatro Yagüez began as a neo-baroque style Opera House, years later turning into a silent movie theater. Incorrectly described as art deco style, however, the art deco movement developed years after the theater&#39;s first construction and later reconstruction.</p><br>
<p>Maymón suffered a great loss, when on June 19, 1919, a fire destroyed his beloved Teatro Yagüez. The World Almanac and Book of Facts states that 150 people died in the fire, although the records are vague and mostly sensationalist. According to the evidence, investigations after the fire exonerated him of all culpability, and indeed pointed the finger at local entities (namely the Municipal government body at the time), who had an interest in the location (the land) where the Teatro Yagüez stood, and who indeed, tried to purchase the land after the fire, and being unable to purchase it, attempted to expropriate it but without any success. However, there was never any evidence, only accusations and theories never proven. 100 years later, a new theory came forth, the most likely suspect of that fire was the nitrate films stored in a closet inside the theatre. The Teatro Yagüez was finally rebuilt and re-inaugurated on March 21, 1921 after a lawsuit between Francisco Maymón and the Municipal Council of the city, in which Francisco Maymón prevailed.</p><br>
<p>"The current building was the product of one of the most brilliant architects of the era, who designed the new theater after the June 1919 fire."</p><br>
<p>Francisco Maymons son and daughter, Miguel A. Maymón Camuñas, and Petra Maymón Cernuda inherited the Teatro Yagüez in 1954 after Franciscos passing. In 1959, Miguel purchased his sister&#39;s share in the Yagüez, becoming sole proprietor of the Teatro Yagüez.</p><br>
<p>In 1976, the USA government sent a Bicentennial Commission to Puerto Rico, who declared the Teatro Yagüez a landmark. Under the administration of Benjamin Cole, the municipality of Mayagüez purchased the Yagüez in 1980 and restored it to its original magnificence in 1984. It was listed on the USA National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and on the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones in 2003.</p><br>
<p>The Teatro Yaguez has been fully restored and is in use today. It remains as a beautiful reminder of the history of theater and arts of the early 20th century in Puerto Rico. Its stage and auditorium were renamed as Lucy Boscana Hall in December 2008, in tribute to the Mayagüez-born actress and teacher.</p><br>
<p>Maymón named the Teatro Yagüez: La Catedral Del Arte Sonoro. (The Cathedral of Sonorous Art), a nickname that has prevailed to this day as the Yaguez is visually and architecturally, a Cathedral.</p><br>
<p>The Reed Gold Mine is located in Midland, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and is the site of the first documented commercial gold find in the United States. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark because of its importance and listed on the National Register of Historic Places</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1799, Conrad Reed, the son of farmer and former Hessian soldier John Reed (né Johannes Reidt) born June 6, 1757, found a 17-pound yellow "rock" in Little Meadow Creek on the family farm in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. For three years, the rock served as a bulky doorstop. In 1802, a jeweler from Fayetteville identified the rock as a large gold nugget. He told John Reed to name his price. Reed, not understanding the true value of gold, asked for what he thought was the hefty price of $3.50, or a weeks worth of wages. The large nuggets true value was around $3,600.</p><br>
<p>About 1803, John Reed organized a small gold mining operation. Soon afterward a slave named Peter found a 28-pound nugget. Reed continued with placer mining for a number of years. In 1831 he began underground mining. John Reed died at age 88 on May 28, 1845, rich from the gold found on his property.</p><br>
<p>Some years later, the American Civil War decreased mining activity because of labor and resources being pulled into the war. The last large nugget uncovered by placer mining was discovered in 1896. The last underground mining took place at the Reed Mine in 1912. To handle the large amount of gold found in the region and state from the 19th into the early 20th century, the Charlotte Mint was built in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina.</p><br>
<p>Today, the Reed Mine is a state historic site that belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and open to the public. Visitors can tour a museum with extensive displays about North Carolina gold mining. In addition, they can explore several hundred feet of restored gold mine tunnels.</p><br>
<h2>About John Reed</h2><br>
<p>Johannes Reith, a Hessian soldier from Raboldshausen, Germany, served during the American Revolution in Company C (Col. Friedrich von Porbeck) of the Garrison Regiment von Wissenbach. On June 21, 1782 he deserted his post outside Savannah, Georgia and took his arms and equipment. He left the British army and came to settle in the lower part of North Carolina.</p><br>
<p>He went to upper Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, later Cabarrus County, where he settled in the ethnic German community. He Anglicized his name to John Reed. Later he married Sarah Kiser, daughter of Peter Kiser and Fanny Garmon.</p><br>
<p>The Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville House was built near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1827. Subsidized by the USA federal government through the 1826 Treaty of Mississinewas, it is believed to be one of only three treaty houses built east of the Mississippi River. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on March 2, 2012.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Chief Richardville, the principal chief of the Miami from 1812 until his death in 1841, signed several treaties with the United States government as it negotiated with the Miami tribe for its eventual removal from Indiana as a recognized nation. Lands were reserved for Richardville&#39;s personal use, and $600 was provided for the building of a home.</p><br>
<p>The Richardville Houses architecture reflects both Greek Revival and Federal styles. When completed, using both the governments and his own funds, Richardville&#39;s Fort Wayne home was the equal in style and grandeur of the homes of prominent white residents of the area at that time. The Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society acquired the house in 1991 with money donated by the Foellinger Foundation and the Ropchan Foundation.</p><br>
<p>Farther south and west lies the trading and meeting place where the Wabash River and the Wabash and Erie Canal intersected in Huntington, Indiana. Here is another home owned by Richardville (lived in by Chief LaFontaine)– a white, two-story Greek Revival filled with period furniture and portraits of the owners. This is also the site where treaties were signed. Today, this house forms the centerpiece of the historic Forks of the Wabash park.</p><br>
<p>Coit Tower  is a 210 ft tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, overlooking the city and San Francisco Bay. The tower, in the citys Pioneer Park, was built between 1932 and 1933 using Lillie Hitchcock Coits bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 2008.</p><br>
<p>The Art Deco tower, built of unpainted reinforced concrete, was designed by architects Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Temple Howard. The interior features fresco murals in the American Social Realism style, painted by 22 different onsite artists and their numerous assistants. Three artists preferred oil on canvas and worked offsite. One artist preferred egg tempera rather than fresco.</p><br>
<p>It is often erroneously stated that the structure was dedicated to the volunteer firemen who had died in San Franciscos five major fires, but that is not accurate. The tower was constructed as the result of a bequest by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, whose will included two bequests, one to create a memorial to the citys volunteer firefighters, which was done by statuary in Washington Square, and the other to beautify the city. Coit Tower is the result of the second bequest. A concrete relief of a phoenix by sculptor Robert Boardman Howard is placed above the main entrance. It was commissioned by the architect and cast as part of the building.</p><br>
<p>Although an apocryphal story claims that the tower was designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle due to Coit&#39;s affinity with the San Francisco firefighters of the day, the resemblance is coincidental.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Telegraph Hill, the tower&#39;s location, has been described as "the most optimal 360 degree viewing point to the San Francisco Bay and five surrounding counties." In 1849, it became the site of a two-story observation deck, from which information about incoming ships was broadcast to city residents using an optical semaphore system, replaced in 1853 by an electrical telegraph that was destroyed by a storm in 1870.</p><br>
<p>Coit Tower was paid for with money left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit (1843–1929), a wealthy socialite who loved to chase fires in the early days of the city&#39;s history. Before December 1866, there was no city fire department, and fires in the city, which broke out regularly in the wooden buildings, were extinguished by several volunteer fire companies. Coit was one of the more eccentric characters in the history of North Beach and Telegraph Hill, smoking cigars and wearing trousers long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the males-only establishments that dotted North Beach.</p><br>
<p>Coits fortune funded the monument four years following her death in 1929. She had a special relationship with the citys firefighters. At the age of fifteen she witnessed the Knickerbocker Engine Co. No. 5 in response to a fire call up on Telegraph Hill when they were shorthanded; she threw her school books to the ground and pitched in to help, calling out to other bystanders to help get the engine up the hill to the fire, to get the first water onto the blaze. After that Coit became the Engine Co. mascot and could barely be constrained by her parents from jumping into action at the sound of every fire bell. She frequently rode with the Knickerbocker Engine Co. 5, especially in street parades and celebrations in which the Engine Co. participated. Through her youth and adulthood Coit was recognized as an honorary firefighter.</p><br>
<p>In her will she specified that one third of her fortune, amounting to $118,000, "be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved." Two memorials were built in her name. One was Coit Tower, and the other was a sculpture depicting three firemen, one of them carrying a woman in his arms.</p><br>
<p>The San Francisco County Board of Supervisors proposed that Coits bequest be used for a road at Lake Merced. This proposal brought disapproval from the estates executors, who expressed a desire that the county find "ways and means of expending this money on a memorial that in itself would be an entity and not a unit of public development". Art Commission president Herbert Fleishhacker suggested a memorial on Telegraph Hill, which was approved by the estate executors. An additional $7,000 in city funds was appropriated, and a design competition was initiated. The winner was architect Arthur Brown, Jr, whose design was completed and dedicated on October 8, 1933.</p><br>
<p>The following month Honore Bowlby-Gledhill, proprietor of the Dead Fish Cafe (an artists restaurant) in Telegraph Hill, was charged (under the name Helen Smith) with shooting a pistol at the tower. Bowlby-Gledhill was quoted as objecting to the tower because it looked like a silo&#39;.</p><br>
<p>Coit Tower was listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark in 1984</p><br>
<p>The San Francisco Arts Commission ordered the removal of the Statue of Christopher Columbus that had stood outside the entrance of the tower since 1957, following numerous other removals of controversial statues during the George Floyd protests that began in May 2020, and it was removed on June 18, 2020.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>Brown&#39;s competition design envisioned a restaurant in the tower, which was changed to an exhibition area in the final version. The design uses three nesting concrete cylinders, the outermost a tapering fluted 180 ft shaft that supports the viewing platform. An intermediate shaft contains a stairway, and an inner shaft houses the elevator. The observation deck is 32 ft below the top, with an arcade and skylights above it. A rotunda at the base houses display space and a gift shop.</p><br>
<p>Potable water is pumped from a water main at street level to two tanks on the fifth floor, and gravity is used to feed all systems in the tower; a booster pump was installed later at the tanks to provide adequate pressure for the restrooms. Because of this arrangement, the murals (on the second and ground floors) are vulnerable to water damage from system leaks, which could be avoided if adequate pressure was available from the water supply at the street.</p><br>
<h2>Mural project</h2><br>
<p>The Coit Tower murals in the American Social Realism style formed the pilot project of the Public Works of Art Project, Victor Arnautoff, Jane Berlandina, Ray Bertrand, Ray Boynton, Ralph Chessé, Rinaldo Cuneo, Ben Cunningham, Mallette "Harold" Dean, Parker Hall, Edith Hamlin, George Albert Harris, William Hesthal, John Langley Howard, Lucien Labaudt, Gordon Langdon, Jose Moya del Pino Otis Oldfield, Frederick Olmsted Jr., Suzanne Scheuer, Edward Terada, Frede Vidar, and Clifford Wight. Many were faculty and students of the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA).</p><br>
<p>These artists (chosen by Walter Heil, director of the de Young Museum, together with other officials) were each paid $25 to $45 per week to depict "aspects of life in California." The most well-known of them were assigned sections that were 10 by in size, while less famous artists were confined to 10 by.</p><br>
<h3>Themes</h3><br>
<p>The artists were committed in varying degrees to racial equality and to leftist and Marxist political ideas, which are strongly expressed in the paintings. Bernard Zakheims mural Library depicts fellow artist John Langley Howard crumpling a newspaper in his left hand as he reaches for a shelved copy of Karl Marxs Das Kapital (here spelled as Das Capital) with his right. Workers of all races are shown as equals, often in the heroic poses of Socialist realism, while well-dressed racially white members of the capitalist classes enjoy the fruit of their labor.</p><br>
<p>Victor Arnautoffs City Life includes the periodicals The New Masses and The Daily Worker in the scenes news stand rack.</p><br>
<p>John Langley Howard&#39;s mural California Industrial Scenes depicts an ethnically diverse Labor March as well as showing a destitute family panning for gold while a wealthy, heavily caricatured ensemble observes.</p><br>
<p>Stackpole&#39;s Industries of California was composed along the same lines as an early study of the destroyed Man at the Crossroads.</p><br>
<p>The youngest of the muralists, George Albert Harris, painted a mural called Banking and Law. In the mural, the world of finance is represented by the Federal Reserve Bank and a stock market ticker (in which stocks are shown as declining) and law is illustrated by a law library. Some of the book titles that appear in the law library, such as Civil, Penal, and Moral Codes, are legitimate, while others list fellow muralists as authors, in a joking or derogatory manner.</p><br>
<p>After Diego Riveras Man at the Crossroads mural was destroyed by its Rockefeller Center patrons for the inclusion of an image of Lenin, the Coit Tower muralists protested, picketing the tower. Sympathy for Rivera led some artists to incorporate references to the Rivera incident; in Zakheims Library panel, Stackpole is painted reading a newspaper headline announcing the destruction of Rivera&#39;s mural.</p><br>
<h3>Censorship</h3><br>
<p>After most of the Coit Tower murals had already been completed, the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, taking place nearby at the foot of Telegraph Hill, caused government officials, shipping companies, some union leaders and the press to raise fears about communist agitation. This "red scare" has been identified as playing a "crucial role" in a subsequent controversy that mainly focused on two of the murals:</p><br>
<p>and: These portraits were linked originally by a third small fresco in which Clifford Wight portrayed capitalism, the New Deal and communism, the three prominent economic systems of the era, with the communism part containing a hammer and sickle and the caption "Workers of the World Unite."</p><br>
<p>John Langley Howard&#39;s Industry mural (designed with the support of his architect brother Henry Howard), which depicts California industrial scenes including out-of-work men, and angered conservatives by showing a banner of the communist periodical Western Worker above a crowd of workers.</p><br>
<p>On June 23, 1934, the conservative banker Herbert Fleishhacker, the most powerful member of the committee allocating funds from the Public Works of Art Project, asked Heil to inspect the art, who telegraphed back that some artists had included "details... and certain symbols which might be interpreted as communistic propaganda," and that "editors of influential papers... have warned us that they would take hostile attitude towards whole project unless those details be removed." The official opening of the tower, planned for July 7, was canceled and Fleishhacker ordered to close the tower and to block the view from outside through the windows. Subsequently, articles in the San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Examiner attacked the project, sometimes using misleading representations of the artworks in question, while Wight refused to remove the hammer and sickle symbol from his mural. However, federal government officials decided that the offending parts would need to be painted over, and 16 of the artists signed a statement saying that they opposed the hammer and sickle symbol and that it "has no place in the subject matter assigned." Eventually, only the hammer and sickle and the "Western Worker" banner were removed, and Coit Tower opened on October 12, 1934.</p><br>
<h3>Technical details and access</h3><br>
<p>Two of the murals are of San Francisco Bay scenes. Most murals are done in fresco; the exceptions are one mural done in egg tempera (Home Life by Jane Berlandina,: upstairs, in the last decorated room) and the works done in the elevator foyer, which are oil on canvas (,, and ). While most of the murals were restored in 1990 and again in 2014 through cleaning and touching up scratches, the murals in the spiral stairway exit to the observation platform (Powell Street by Lucien Labaudt) were not restored but durably painted over with epoxy surfacing.</p><br>
<p>Most of the murals are open for public viewing without charge during open hours, although there are ongoing negotiations by the Recreation and Parks Department of San Francisco to begin charging visitors a fee to enter the mural rotunda. The murals in the spiral stairway and second floor, normally closed to the public, are open for viewing through tours. Labaudt&#39;s Powell Street runs along both sides of the spiral staircase; the second-floor murals all carry recreational themes.</p><br>
<p>Since 2004 artist Ben Wood collaborated with other artists on large scale video projections onto the exterior of Coit Tower, in 2004, 2006, 2008 & 2009.</p><br>
<h2>Panorama</h2><br>
<p>The tower, which stands atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco&#39;s Pioneer Park, offers panoramic views of San Francisco that take in "crooked" Lombard Street, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Twin Peaks, Aquatic Park, Pier 39, the Financial District and the Ferry Building, as well as San Francisco Bay itself including Angel Island, Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>Coit Tower is a prominent landscape feature in Alfred Hitchcocks 1958 film, Vertigo, set largely in San Francisco. The character of Madeleine (Kim Novak) tells Scotty (James Stewart) that she has used the tower to orient herself to his apartment, as she did not know his street address; he responds this is the first time he had been grateful for the tower. Art director Henry Bumstead, who worked on Vertigo, noted that Hitchcock was adamant that Coit Tower should be seen in the film from the apartment of the lead character, portrayed by Stewart. When Bumstead asked why, Hitchcock said, "Its a phallic symbol."</p><br>
<p>Coit Tower is also featured in:</p><br>
<p>After the Thin Man (1936 film): the roundabout in front of the tower served as the driveway for Nick and Nora Charles&#39; home in San Francisco.</p><br>
<p>The Strawberry Statement (1970 film)</p><br>
<p>The Enforcer (1976)</p><br>
<p>Tex Murphy series (1989–2014)</p><br>
<p>California&#39;s Gold Episode 12004</p><br>
<p>PBS The History Detectives Episode 709 August 24, 2009.</p><br>
<p>Just like Heaven (2005)</p><br>
<p>Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)</p><br>
<p>Derby Dam is a diversion dam built from 1903 to 1905 on the Truckee River, located about 20 mi east of Reno in Storey and Washoe counties in Nevada, United States. It diverts water into the Truckee Canal that would otherwise enter Pyramid Lake. The canal feeds Lake Lahontan reservoir in the Carson River watershed, where it is used for irrigation.</p><br>
<p>It was the first project of the newly organized USA Reclamation Service (known today as the USA Bureau of Reclamation), organized by the Reclamation Act of 1902.</p><br>
<p>As a result of the diversion, Winnemucca Lake lost inflow and dried up, and Pyramid Lake lost more than 80 ft in elevation, resulting in the near-extinction of the Lahontan cutthroat trout.</p><br>
<p>The dam is operated by the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. It was named after the Derby Southern Pacific Railroad station.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The dam was constructed for the USA Bureau of Reclamation following an authorization for construction issued on March 14, 1903. Construction commenced on October 2, 1903, and was completed on May 20, 1905.</p><br>
<p>The project was authorized on March 14, 1903, by Secretary of the Interior Ethan A. Hitchcock. The dam is an original feature of the Newlands Reclamation Project, named after Nevada Congressman Francis Newlands, who sponsored the Reclamation Act. Not surprisingly, a dam in Newlands, Nevada launched the project. It was the first of five projects authorized and built under the Reclamation Act of 1902.</p><br>
<p>With passage of the act, the federal government assumed a major role in designing and constructing large-scale irrigation projects throughout the West. The diversion dam is part of the network of water storage, diversion, and conveyance structures that provides water for irrigating about 73,000 acre of farmland in an area that receives less than 4.5 inch of annual precipitation.</p><br>
<p>The dam is not designed for water storage. It is a low 31 ft high concrete structure that diverts water from the Truckee River into the Truckee Canal and then two main project canals, the Southside Main Canal ("V" Line) and the Northside Main Canal ("T" Line). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as the "Derby Diversion Dam."</p><br>
<h2>Environmental impact</h2><br>
<p>Water diverted at Derby Dam to farms in Lahontan Valley constitutes as much as three-fourths of the flow of the Truckee River, the largest diversion of water from the Truckee River after it flows from Lake Tahoe.</p><br>
<p>The reduction in flow to Pyramid Lake and the inability of Lahontan cutthroat trout (the "salmon-trout" as described by Frémont) to bypass the dam for spawning eliminated them from Lake Lahontan and its tributaries and caused the near extinction of the species. But in 1979 a remnant population of the original Pyramid Lake cutthroat trout was discovered in a small brook on Pilot Peak, on the Nevada/Utah border. This population was used to successfully restock Lake Lahontan.</p><br>
<p>Armory Square is a small neighborhood on the west side of Downtown Syracuse, New York. It began life as a busy commercial and industrial area just to the west of the central city. After World War II, Syracuse&#39;s central city became less and less populated as more housing and business facilities were built in the suburbs. In the 1980s, plans were first made to transform the languishing district into a small shopping/arts/nightlife district surrounding the former Syracuse Armory. These plans came to fruition during the 1990s, when new stores and restaurants opened, and several new buildings were constructed in a compatible style to the middle and late 1800s and early 1900s architecture dominating the district.</p><br>
<h2>Current day</h2><br>
<p>Today, Armory Square is the home of some of Syracuses better restaurants, at least two coffeehouses, a radio station company, dozens of small shops selling everything from band instruments to used records to womens clothing, several bars and nightclubs, Urban Outfitters, Armory Massage Therapy, a newly restored upscale hotel and two tattoo parlors. A number of professional firms are also located in Armory Square, including Eric Mower and Associates, O&#39;Brien & Gere, and the Sugarman Law Firm. The area is popular with students from Syracuse University and Le Moyne College.</p><br>
<p>Its borders are generally considered to be the circular road around the armory (Jefferson Street) to the south, Onondaga Creek to the west, Washington Street to the north, and Clinton Street to the east.</p><br>
<p>Armory Square is also home to the Shot Clock Monument, which includes a 24-second shot clock whose invention, here, was crucial to the successful development of basketball as a major sport.</p><br>
<p>A paved multi-use trail, the Onondaga Creekwalk, connects the neighborhood with Onondaga Lake.</p><br>
<h2>Armory Square Historic District</h2><br>
<p>Forty-six industrial and commercial buildings make up the Armory Square Historic District. West Fayette Street is the northern boundary of the district, the rear property lines of the buildings on South Clinton Street the eastern boundary. The southern boundary is a raised railroad track, while the western boundary includes the buildings on Walton Street. The buildings in the district include the Armory, a former Lackawanna Railroad passenger station (1941), hotels, warehouses and commercial buildings. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.</p><br>
<h3>Contributing properties</h3><br>
<p>The Allen County Courthouse is located at the block surrounded by Clinton/Calhoun/Main/Berry Streets in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, the county seat of Allen County. Built between 1897 and 1902, it is a nationally significant example of Beaux-Arts architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 31, 2003.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Designed by Brentwood S. Tolan, construction began in 1897, the cornerstone was laid November 17, 1897. The building was dedicated September 23, 1902, with a final cost of $817,553.59 ($250 million today). Present at its dedication were Mayor Henry C. Berghoff and Governor Winfield T. Durbin. President Theodore Roosevelt was scheduled to attend, however, he ultimately was not present. On September 23, 2002, the building was re-dedicated on its centennial after a seven-year restoration effort, which cost $8.6 million.</p><br>
<h2>Architectural details</h2><br>
<p>The Beaux-Arts architecture-style structure includes such features as four 25 x murals by Charles Holloway, twenty-eight different kinds of scagliola covering 15,000 ft&sup2, bas-reliefs and art glass. Each of the five court rooms has its own color scheme.</p><br>
<p>Atop the building is a 255 ft-high copper-clad domed rotunda, itself topped by a 14 ft statue wind vane of Lady Liberty. The larger than life statue has feet that would wear a woman&#39;s shoe size of 28.</p><br>
<p>The building materials include Bedford Limestone and Vermont granite with Italian marble details. A tunnel was constructed to connect the Courthouse with the City-County Building located across the street. The Courthouse also houses a fallout shelter underground. The skylights originally built into the building were covered during World War II and replaced with artificial light.</p><br>
<p>The 2001 National Historic Landmark Nomination says in its opening paragraph: "An elaborate combination of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance influences, the massive courthouse reflects the exuberant ambition of late nineteenth century America."</p><br>
<p>The Ether Dome is a surgical operating amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States. It served as the hospitals operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on October 16, 1846, otherwise known as Ether Day. Crawford Long, a surgeon in Georgia, had previously administered sulfuric ether in 1842, but this went unpublished until 1849. The Ether Dome event occurred when William Thomas Green Morton, a local dentist, used ether to anesthetize Edward Gilbert Abbott. John Collins Warren, the first dean of Harvard Medical School, then painlessly removed part of a tumor from Abbotts neck. After Warren had finished, and Abbott regained consciousness, Warren asked the patient how he felt. Reportedly, Abbott said, "Feels as if my neck&#39;s been scratched". Warren then turned to his medical audience and uttered "Gentlemen, this is no Humbug". This was presumably a reference to the unsuccessful demonstration of nitrous oxide anesthesia by Horace Wells in the same theater the previous year, which was ended by cries of "Humbug!" after the patient groaned with pain.</p><br>
<h2>History of anesthesia</h2><br>
<h3>Pain relief</h3><br>
<p>The practice of pain relief has existed since the time of civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, China, and Greece, in a multitude of various forms. In Ancient Egypt, natural remedies were often used, while in China, acupuncture was developed as a way to restore an imbalance in the qi, or the life force. In Ancient Greece, medical maladies were often attributed to divine influences, and as such, treatments for these ailments would often include visits to temples dedicated to healing.</p><br>
<p>The use of vapors, which could be inhaled, became more popular in the 18th century as a potential source of pain relief, especially during surgeries, which up to then were generally gory and extremely painful. One of the earliest mentions of the use of an inhaled gas for pain relief comes from the British chemist Humphry Davys, who in his Researches in 1800 noted that, "As nitrous oxide in its extensive operation appears capable of destroying physical pain, it may probably be used with advantage during surgical operations in which no great effusion of blood takes place."</p><br>
<h3>History of ether&#39;s application</h3><br>
<p>Horace Wells was a practicing American dentist in Hartford, Connecticut who is considered a pioneer in the use of surgical anesthesia. In 1844, during a laughing-gas roadshow, Wells cited nitrous oxide—colloquially known as “laughing gas”—as having pain-killing properties. After this revelation, Wells used nitrous oxide as a means of performing painless dental work; specifically the extraction of teeth. In January 1845, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston allowed Wells to demonstrate the method of anesthesia. Unfortunately, the patient did not respond to the dose of nitrous oxide given, which resulted in Wells’ endless contempt. Wells continued with extensive self-experimentation, such as repeated inhalation, with various chemicals. There is evidence that suggests a strong correlation between his inhalation of chemicals to a drastic change in personality. In fact, he was imprisoned for throwing acid at individuals walking in New York City and later committed suicide while the Paris Medical Society named him the discoverer of anesthetic gases.</p><br>
<p>As a former partner in Wells’ practice, William T.G. Morton learned the technique and began experimenting on his own, and in October 1846 Morton successfully demonstrated ether anesthesia. However, Morton&#39;s interest in surgical anesthesia was not solely influenced by Horace Wells, but also Charles T. Jackson and Nathan Cooley Keep.</p><br>
<p>Charles T. Jackson was a professor of chemistry at Harvard University after practicing as a medical doctor for four years before establishing his chemistry laboratory to teach analytical chemistry. It is speculated that Jackson suggested administering a higher dosage and grade of sulfuric ether to successfully anesthetize the patient.</p><br>
<p>For a short period of time, both Horace Wells and William T.G. Morton were taught and employed by dentist, anesthesiologist, and first Dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Nathan Cooley Keep.</p><br>
<h2>Ether Day</h2><br>
<h3>The operation</h3><br>
<p>With the help of MGH surgeon Henry Jacob Bigelow, Morton persuaded Warren to allow him to try his technique on a surgical patient. The trial took place in the Ether Dome on October 16, 1846. The patient was a young printer named Gilbert Abbott, who had a vascular neck tumor. Previous anesthetic approaches had utilized alcohol or even a simple blow to the jaw that would render the patient unconscious. However, this was a more delicate surgery, and Abbott had to be tied to his chair so that he would not choke on his own blood.</p><br>
<p>Morton used a newly developed apparatus, later called the Morton Etherizer, to deliver the diethyl-ether vapors, holding the mouthpiece to Abbott&#39;s lips and instructing him to breathe deeply and slowly. Abbott fell into an unconscious, sleeplike state within three to four minutes, and did not react when Morton made the first incision in his neck for the surgery. During the surgery, Warren noted that the blood of the patient was very dark, and thought that the anesthesia might be producing its effect through carbonization of the blood, a remark which was met with a burst of applause. Upon awakening after the surgery, he announced that he had felt a scratching sensation, but no pain. John Collins Warren turned to the observers and proclaimed, "Gentlemen, this is no humbug." Bigelow immediately published an article describing the event and the news quickly traveled to Europe and other parts of America.</p><br>
<h3>The patient</h3><br>
<p>Among the revolving door of noted physicians and important figures supposedly present on the historic Ether Day, one figure remains constant: Edward Gilbert Abbott, the man upon whom the ether and surgery was administered. Abbott was born in Middlesex County, MA in September 1825. His parents, victims of tuberculosis, left him an orphan in 1832. After a career as a printer and editor, in September 1846, he went in to receive a medical evaluation for a tumor he had on the left side of his jaw, even though it had been present his whole life and did not cause him any pain.</p><br>
<p>Abbott was given enough ether to make him fall unconscious; he left the hospital with an unremarkable change in the size of the tumor. He was assured—as he probably knew, that it was a benign growth and that he had contributed greatly to the history of medicine. He died in 1855 at the age of 30, leaving behind a wife, a daughter, and a son. The Boston Herald included a mere three sentence summary of his life and descendants in its December 1 issue.</p><br>
<h3>The original Morton Etherizer</h3><br>
<p>Commissioned by William Thomas Green Morton, the Original Morton Etherizer was used on Ether Day as a means of inhalation anesthesia. The Etherizer was made of blown glass with brass fittings at the two open ends, a middle chamber, and a mouthpiece. The middle chamber held a sponge that was soaked in ether, and the chamber would create gaseous conditions thereby making inhalants. The two brass fittings serve as ventilation so that the concentration of the gaseous ether the patient would inhale via the mouthpiece gives the appropriate dose to be safely anesthetized.</p><br>
<h3>The improved ether inhaler</h3><br>
<p>On April 9, 1898 Messrs, Mayer, and Meltzer unveiled the newly designed Clover&#39;s smaller ether inhaler. The inhaler was modified from the previous inhaler used on Ether Day by adding two circular apertures on both sides of the apparatus located near two small viewing windows. The apertures and windows were used to view the interior of the chamber to facilitate the quantity of ether being administered. Further modifications included the same plated and polished surfaces on the interior as on the exterior. All fixtures on the apparatus are fitted to ensure there is no leakage of chemicals in the chamber or hot-water from the hot-water jacket. The hot-water jacket serves as an insulator to heat the water which then produces condensation. When the condensation is mixed with the ether and is inhaled, it develops the chemical properties of an anesthetic. The hot-water jacket has a detachable screw-stopper that allows the metal cap, chamber, and bag used to anaesthetize the patient to be cleaned of verdigris. All the above-mentioned features were combined with knowledge gained after practice using this inhaler—such as that the slot located near the bag needs to be opened for ventilation after the induction of the patient—combined to develop the new improved ether inhaler.</p><br>
<h2>Legacy</h2><br>
<h3>The ether controversy</h3><br>
<p>Wells, Jackson, Morton and a Georgia doctor, Crawford W. Long, each claimed credit for the innovation of using ether as an anesthetic.</p><br>
<p>In either December 1841 or January 1842, Long had introduced the use of sulphuric ether as a substitution to nitrous oxide for the use of entertainment at parties. Long was possibly the first to use ether as a way to alleviate pain during surgery. Long had been using ether in surgery since 1842. On March 30, 1842, he removed a tumor from the neck of a young man named James Venable. Over the following years, Long would use ether in his obstetrical practice, however, he never published any of his findings until seeing the December 1846 issue of a Medical Examiner about Morton, who claimed to have used ether as an anesthetic. Long then began to record his findings and write his account of the discovery. He also collected notarized letters from former patients, but after presenting his findings to the Medical College of Georgia, he discovered two others also claimed to be discoverers: Horace Wells and Charles Jackson. When Long entered his claims, this controversy was already in process.</p><br>
<p>Prior to Mortons public demonstration of ether, he had supposedly met with Jackson (who was known as attempting to steal others inventions) to discuss questions surrounding anesthesia. It is at this meeting where, supposedly, Jackson had suggested to use ether as a means of alleviating surgical pain. Morton had previously experimented with ether, but never on a patient. Jackson and Morton tangled in a bitter legal dispute and pamphleteering war, that lasted 20 years. In 1868 Morton read a newspaper item asserting that Jackson deserved the lions share of credit. Morton became feverish, threw himself into a pond in New York&#39;s Central Park and died, probably from a stroke, soon thereafter. Jackson died insane at McLean Asylum in Belmont, Massachusetts.</p><br>
<p>In 1845 Wells had attempted to demonstrate the use of nitrous oxide as anesthesia at MGH but it was “dismissed as humbug” because the patient cried out during the procedure although later, the patient denied feeling any pain. His career then began to spiral down. Wells left the practice of dentistry and his family, and went to New York, where he was arrested for throwing acid on prostitutes. He killed himself in jail by slashing an artery after taking chloroform.</p><br>
<p>While Morton, Long and Jackson sought fame, Long wanted to be recognized, and to alleviate the pain of his patients. Though Long was the first to surgically use ether, he was not the first to introduce it to the world.</p><br>
<h4>The First Operation with Ether</h4><br>
<p>The Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, leading up to the dramatic demonstration in the Ether Dome.</p><br>
<h4>Triumph Over Pain</h4><br>
<p>Triumph Over Pain is a 1940 book by René Fülöp-Miller.</p><br>
<h4>Robert Hinckley&#39;s The First Operation with Ether</h4><br>
<p>Painter Robert Cutler Hinckley meticulously researched the event, particularly who was present and participating, for his The First Operation with Ether (18821893). He interviewed various Boston physicians and reviewed records and newspaper reports.</p><br>
<p>Hinckley uses light and line to draw attention to the surgery; the side wall of the gallery draws a clear diagonal line which ends at the surgeon Warrens head. Mortons ether inhaler reflects light so as to make the sponge contained inside visible. Abbott&#39;s shirt as well as the cloth and the bowl on the table are starkly white, directing the eye to the operation. However, the viewer is shielded from the point of incision and from any blood, lessening the impact of the image.</p><br>
<p>A controversy surrounding the painting revolves around those who are painted into it. Hinckley includes Charles Hosea Hildreth, surgeon Abel Lawrence Peirson, surgeon Jonathan Mason Warren, and physician William Williamson Wellington—all individuals who are highly unlikely to have been present during the operation. Furthermore, he did not include two surgeons who were very likely thereSamuel Parkman and George Hayward. Though it is unknown why Hinckley omitted two individuals, he likely added the others because of their role in the medical history of Boston.The painting is now in the Countway Medical Library at Harvard Medical School.</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<h3>Architecture</h3><br>
<p>The Ether Dome is one of the oldest operating theatres in the United States. Over the years, there has been a concerted effort to restore the original architecture of the Ether Dome while also incorporating modern technology for educational uses today. Architects and designers tried to maintain the authenticity of the space by relying on historical documents and photos. Additionally, specialists analyzed paint chips from the early 19th century in order to help with renovations and to ensure the damages were repaired.</p><br>
<p>The dome&#39;s architecture resembles that of a courtroom or a theatre where surgeries were performed at the center of the dome. An audience can witness the surgeries from amphitheater-style seating.</p><br>
<p>Also, the location of the dome and the large glass ceiling and windows that compose the dome let in light for operations to be performed. Modern day surgery theaters follow the same concept of the Ether Domes stylistic arrangement, however do not feature a dome due to modern lighting technology. However, for hygiene purposes the spectators section is separated from the main gallery by glass. The Ether Dome and its original theatre style architecture has turned into a nationally recognized historical site for interested spectators, especially students of medicine.</p><br>
<h3>The first operating room of MGH</h3><br>
<p>The Ether Dome served as an operating theater from 1821 to 1867, when a new surgical building was constructed. Operating rooms built before electricity were typically located on the top floor of a building to take advantage of available light. Before surgical anesthesia the location was also helpful to muffle the screams of patients for those on the floors below. Because pain often induced shock, surgeons of the day prided themselves on the speed in which they could amputate an arm or a leg. Ninety seconds was considered a good time. Two 19th-century operating chairs famously known as Bigelow Operating chair was built in 1854, are located in the display area behind the seating tiers. Their red velvet upholstery was apparently intended to make bloodstains less visible. It was created in light of this discovery; it was the first of its kind without restraints and had ivory and wooden handles that could be used to position the unconscious, anesthetized patient. The chair quickly fell out of use over the next few decades, however, as it was made from leather rather than metal, which can be sterilized more easily.</p><br>
<p>The Ether Dome has not always served the purpose of an operating room. From 1821 to 1868, operations were performed, it was then a storage area from 1868 to 1873, a dormitory from 1873 to 1889, a dining room for the nurses employed at MGH from 1889 to 1892, and now it is a teaching space. The hospital commemorated the historical significance of the space in 1896 on the 50th anniversary of the first public demonstration of surgical anesthesia. The Ether Dome was designated a National Historic Site in 1965.</p><br>
<p>While the words "Operating Room" still appear inside the door to the closet on the right of the painting, today the room serves as a place for meetings and lectures. The steel tiers with individual chairs date from about 1930, when fire regulations required the replacement of the old wooden bench seating. The names of the chairs have no known significance—it is likely that hospital donors were given the opportunity to name a chair after a favorite figure from MGH history.</p><br>
<h3>Curated displays</h3><br>
<h4>Warren and Lucia Prosperi&#39;s Ether Day, 1846</h4><br>
<p>As the 150th anniversary of the first public demonstration of the use of ether anesthesia on October 16, 1846, approached and preparations for the celebration at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) began, it was recognized that a proper commemorative painting was needed. The famous Hinckley image, reproduced many times, was painted 27 years after the event. It is the product of the artist&#39;s imagination and portrays, among the actual participants, others who were not really in attendance but are nonetheless "painted into history." Subsequent research has provided a more accurate list of the witnesses.</p><br>
<p>Accordingly, in 2000 the clinical staff of the MGH voted to commission Warren and Lucia Prosperi, well known for their historically accurate paintings, to "do it right." Artists Warren and Lucia Prosperi created this mural between 2000 and 2001, painting on site in the Ether Dome. To represent the historic operation as realistically as possible, a group of doctors and their spouses, working with the Prosperis, searched out photographs, daguerreotypes, and portraits of the participants. They also consulted vintage photographs and artifacts from the MGH Archives and Special Collections. The theatre department of Emerson College was engaged to provide period costumes and makeup. Much of the original paraphernalia—the ether flask, the operating chair, and various furnishings of the amphitheater—was still in the hospital museum and available for the scene.</p><br>
<p>On one Sunday in January, 2001, a group convened to re-enact the historic event on site at the original location, MGH&#39;s Ether Dome, with the Boston press corps in attendance. Two hours were spent debating the likely orientation of the operating chair and instrument table and who would have been standing where so that everyone, including the students in the gallery, could see the action. Many configurations were tested, and The Prosperis photographed hundred of photographs a cast of 20 men, mostly MGH physicians, who gathered in the Ether Dome in January 2000 dressed in period costumes. Finally the scene was set and recorded.</p><br>
<p>Over the course of 2001, Warren Prosperi created the painting with its life-size figures on site in the Ether Dome, allowing visitors to witness the emergence of the historic re-enactment. This painting now hangs on the front wall of the amphitheater.</p><br>
<p>One additional footnote: a special unveiling of Ether Day, 1846 was planned for the meeting of the Halsted Society at the Massachusetts General Hospital on September 12, 2001. Because of the infamous events of the previous day, that meeting was canceled (but held two years later).</p><br>
<p>As the mural depicts, in the years before antiseptic and aseptic surgery, a surgeon typically operated in a frock coat as was appropriate for the dignity of his profession. The ivory or ebony handles of his surgical instruments signaled his status but made the instruments difficult to clean. Sterile surgery was not achieved at the MGH until the 1880s.</p><br>
<h4>Mummy (the hospital&#39;s oldest patient)</h4><br>
<p>On May 4, 1823, Massachusetts General Hospital received an Egyptian mummy from the city of Boston, complete with painted wooden inner and outer coffins. The ensemble had been given to the city by Jacob Van Lennep, a Dutch merchant living in the Greek city of Smyrna in the early 19th century. It is thought that Mr. Van Lennep, who was also the Counsel General of the Netherlands, bought the mummy as a gift to Boston as a way to impress his native New England in-laws.</p><br>
<p>The mummy arrived in Boston on April 26, 1823, on the British ship the Sally Ann and was the first complete Egyptian burial ensemble in America. He was placed under the care of the ship&#39;s captain, Robert B. Edes, along with Bryant P. Tilden, Esq., who ultimately made the decision to give the mummy to Massachusetts General Hospital, whose trustees accepted the gift as "an appropriate ornament of the operating room," while also hoping to exhibit the mummy to raise funds for the hospital. The fledgling hospital, which had opened its doors just two years earlier, was still in need of operating funds that would help it better serve the sick and indigent individuals for whom it had been chartered to provide care. The mummy would help raise those needed funds.</p><br>
<p>Shortly after his arrival, the mummy was put on display at "Mr. Doggett&#39;s Repository of Arts" in Boston, where hundreds of people paid $0.25 to see the first complete human Egyptian mummy in the USA That fall, the mummy went on a year-long (1823 to 1824) multi-city tour of the East Coast, raising even more money for the hospital. Upon his return, he was placed in the Ether Dome where he subsequently witnessed more than 6,000 surgeries, including the famous first successful demonstration of surgery under anesthesia on October 16, 1846.</p><br>
<p>In 1823, John Collins Warren partially unwrapped and examined the mummy. He then published the first American treatise about mummies and mummification. The mummy spent much of the late 19th century at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The mummy&#39;s outer coffin has been at the George Walter Vincent Museum in Springfield, MA since 1932.</p><br>
<p>More than a century later the hospital learned just who the mummy was. In 1960, Dows Dunham, curator emeritus of the Department of Egyptian Art at Bostons Museum of Fine Arts, examined and translated the hieroglyphics on the mummys coffin. Hailing from the 26th Dynasty (663–525 BC) or later, the mummy now had a name—Padihershef, meaning "He whom the god Hershef has given." and a birthplace—Thebes; and an occupation—stonecutter. Newer medical information tells us that Padihershef, or "Padi", was probably between 20 and 30 years of age and was not a stonecutter at all. Rather, he was "tomb finder," or prospector, someone who looked for spaces in the Theban necropolis that could serve as burial spaces.</p><br>
<p>Padihershefs remains have been studied by means of x-rays and CT scans. In 2013, a donor provided funds for the mummys restoration. During the procedure, Padihershef was given a full-body CT scan overseen by Massachusetts General Hospital&#39;s radiologist Rajiv Gupta. This scan, which provided more than 20,000 scans that were then assembled into 3D renderings of his body. Many of these are replicated in the report prepared by forensic pathologist Jonathan Elias, PhD, of AMSC Research, a mummy research consortium.</p><br>
<p>One of the outcomes of the project includes a CT facial reconstruction of Padihershef. Using the scans, 3D facial recognition software and a thorough knowledge of mummy forensics, Elias&#39; group undertook a thorough analysis based on all these factors and using a 3D skull model, developed a representation of what Padi may have looked like in life.</p><br>
<p>The mummy Padishershef has borne witness to many medical milestones during his 190 years in the Massachusetts General Hospital&#39;s Ether Dome. Over the decades, visitors to the room have been greeted silently by this unusual host, standing nestled in his beautifully decorated coffin, and often wondered just who he was and how he came to reside at the hospital.</p><br>
<p>Until this most recent examination, little was known about his life before his death. John Collins Warren, MD, co-founder of MGH and its first surgeon, had performed a post-mortem on "Padi" when he first came to the MGH, which included uncovering the mummys head, as it remains today. In 1931, and again in 1977, X-rays were taken of Padi in his case, which provided a little more insight into his health. Growth lines show that Padi was so ill as a child that his growth stopped for some time before he was well again. Bone damage reveals that he suffered from arthritis. The extensive report included here provides many details of Padis life that were unknown to us until his March 2013 scanning examination.</p><br>
<p>Padi has been restored twice before: once in the 1980s and again in 2002. Salt deposits that build up from the embalming elixir have formed on the exposed portions of Padi&#39;s face and head need to be removed periodically.</p><br>
<h4>The Apollo Belvedere Statue</h4><br>
<p>The plaster statue of Apollo in the Ether Dome was given to the M by statesman and orator, Honorable Edward Everett in March 1845. In exchange, the hospital trustees presented to him "their grateful acknowledgments for his beautiful gift, valuable as a memorial, that, amidst his arduous public duties in a foreign country, Mr. Everett feels an undiminished interest in the charitable institutions of his native land." Everett wanted to exude his appreciation of MGH being a charitable institution—a voluntary hospital with a mission of treating the often poor patients who were in dire need of assistance. In return for the gifted statue of Apollo, the trustees of MGH kept this statue in the Ether Dome as a memorial to his philanthropic acts.</p><br>
<p>The displayed work is a copy of the original Apollo Belvedere, a sculpture unearthed in Rome during the Renaissance. Napoleon looted Rome in the early 19th century and took the Apollo Belvedere from the Vatican to the Louvre in Paris. where the statue that is on display was crafted. The Louvre made and sold plaster casts of the statue, one of which Everett bought and shipped back to Boston. The English sea captain and novelist Frederick Marryat decried, while on a visit to Everett&#39;s home, where the statue was draped to cover its near-nakedness, a few years before the donation, the covering as an example of the prudishness of otherwise educated and open-minded Americans.</p><br>
<p>The Apollo remains a part of the architecture of the Ether Dome as a testament to medicine due to its symbolism. Upon further observing the cast statue, one may notice the snake directly next to Apollo. Snakes are a symbol of renewal and are even displayed in the caduceus—a prominent emblem of healing. Furthermore, the statue is an indicator to visitors that this room represents innovation and the advancement of medicine.</p><br>
<p>The Hippocrates of Ancient Greek scholars worshipped Apollo, and this inevitably led to teachings that would act as a precedent to modern-day medical personnel. Apollo—the god of medicine and healing—was sacred in the original Hippocratic Oath: “I swear by Apollo the Healer, by Asclepius, by Hygieia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture.”</p><br>
<h4>Skeleton</h4><br>
<p>The teaching skeleton hanging in the Ether Dome can be seen in the background of daguerreotypes showing the administration of ether anesthesia in 1847. Such skeletons were a common feature in hospitals and medical schools in the 19th century. While the identity of this skeleton is not known, it is possible that it was obtained through the practice of body snatching, a practice prevalent in the 19th century due to a shortage of available bodies for instruction in medical schools. As medical dissection was illegal in many parts of the United States, students often had to rely on the illicit activities of body snatchers, or resort to grave robbing themselves. In 1831, Massachusetts passed the Anatomy Act, allowing the state&#39;s medical schools to obtain the bodies of the poor, the insane, and those who died in prison. The aim of this act was to decrease the illicit activities of the body snatchers, though it further contributed to the sense of separation between the well-to-do, who could be buried in respectable cemeteries, and the poor, who were at risk of having their bodies used against their wills after death.</p><br>
<h3>Ether Dome sublevel exhibit</h3><br>
<p>Located through small doors on either side of the Ether Dome theater or through a closed door at the bottom of a steep, downwards stairway behind the top row of the theater, there is an exhibit of various Ether Day artifacts and information, including quotes from the Ether Day event. In the round room under the seats of the Ether Dome theater, the exhibit is designated as the “G. H. Gay Ward, Memorial of George Henry Gay” by a shiny, gold plaque. On the walls there are drawings and paintings of notable figures, such as Dr. William T. G. Morton, and pictures of quotes, like “We have conquered pain.” Alongside the exhibited pictures and quotes, there are artifacts like an operating chair and the wedding clothes of William T. G. Morton, which represent an evidence of wealth and a veneration of ether. The hidden crescent-shaped corridor is a significant part of the Ether Dome exhibit that rarely gets the same attention. With a normal diabetes office inside of the small doors, it is easy to see how the Ether Dome&#39;s second half can be mistaken for a locked room or closet behind the Ether Dome.</p><br>
<p>The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or Nuestro Pueblo  are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artist&#39;s original residential property in Watts, Los Angeles, California, United States. The entire site of towers, structures, sculptures, pavement and walls were designed and built solely by Sabato  Rodia , an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason, over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954. The tallest of the towers is 99.5 ft. The work is an example of outsider art  and Italian-American naïve art.</p><br>
<p>The Watts Towers were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990. They are also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and one of nine folk art sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park encompasses the Watts Towers site.</p><br>
<h2>Simon Rodia</h2><br>
<p>Sabato ("Simon" or "Sam") Rodia (12 February, 1878 – July 17, 1965) was born and raised in Serino, Italy. In 1895, aged fifteen, he emigrated to the United States with his brother. Rodia lived in Pennsylvania until his brother died in a mining incident. He then moved to Seattle, Washington, where he married Lucia Ucci in 1902. They soon moved to Oakland, where Rodia&#39;s three children were born. Following his divorce around 1909, he moved to Long Beach and worked in construction and other odd jobs before finally settling in Watts in 1920. Among the projects he is known, or claimed, to have worked on are the UC Berkeley campus, the Eastern Star Home and the Bullocks Wilshire building. Rodia began constructing the Watts Towers in 1921.</p><br>
<p>There has been some question as to what Rodia was called during his lifetime; some sources have cited that his birth name was "Sabatino" and it is disputed as to whether he was called "Simon" during his lifetime. It is widely known and accepted that he was referred to as "Sam" by close friends. He appears as Samuel Rodia (and still living in Oakland) in the 1910 USA Census, but by the time of the 1920 USA Census, he had already become Sam Rodia. His surname has also been misspelled as "Rodella" or "Rodilla".</p><br>
<h2>Design and construction</h2><br>
<p>The sculptures armatures are constructed from steel rebar and Rodias own concoction of a type of concrete, wrapped with wire mesh. The main supports are embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, and glass. They are decorated with found objects, including bottles, ceramic tiles, seashells, figurines, mirrors, and other items. Rodia called the Towers "Nuestro Pueblo" ("our town" in Spanish). He built them with no special equipment or predetermined design, working alone with hand tools. Neighborhood children brought pieces of broken pottery to Rodia, and he also used damaged pieces from Malibu Potteries and CALCO (California Clay Products Company). Green glass includes recognizable soft drink bottles from the 1930s through the 1950s, some still bearing the former logos of 7 Up, Squirt, Bubble Up, and Canada Dry; blue glass appears to be from milk of magnesia bottles. Their structural design and placement near the builder&#39;s home are strongly reminiscent of the gigli ("lillies") towers which feature in an annual festival to St. Paulinus in Nola, Italy, with which he was probably familiar.</p><br>
<p>Rodia bent much of the Towers&#39; framework from scrap rebar, using nearby railroad tracks as a makeshift vise. Other items came from alongside the Pacific Electric Railway right-of-way between Watts and Wilmington. Rodia often walked the right-of-way all the way to Wilmington in search of material, a distance of nearly 20 mi.</p><br>
<p>In the summer of 1954, Rodia suffered a mild stroke. Shortly after the stroke, he fell off a tower from a low height. In 1955, Rodia gave his property to a neighbor and left, reportedly tired of battling with the City of Los Angeles for permits, and because he understood the possible consequences of his aging and being alone. He also mentioned that the towers were frequently vandalized by neighbors. He moved to Martinez, California, to be with his sister. He remained there for the next eleven years until his death in 1965.</p><br>
<h2>Preservation after Rodia</h2><br>
<p>Rodias bungalow inside the enclosure burned down as a result of an accident on the Fourth of July 1956, and the City of Los Angeles condemned the structure and ordered it all to be destroyed. Actor Nicholas King and film editor William Cartwright visited the site in 1959, and purchased the property from Rodias neighbor for $2,000 in order to preserve it. The citys decision to pursue expediting the demolition was still in force. The towers had already become famous and there was opposition from around the world. King, Cartwright, architects, artists, enthusiasts, academics, and community activists formed the Committee for Simon Rodias Towers in Watts. The committee negotiated with the city to allow for an engineering test to establish the safety of the structures and avoid their demolition.</p><br>
<p>Tests conducted October 10, 1959, found that the towers were capable of withstanding lateral forces of up to 10,000 pounds.</p><br>
<h3>Conservation and damage</h3><br>
<p>The Committee for Simon Rodia&#39;s Towers preserved the site independently until 1975 when, for the purpose of guardianship, they partnered with the City of Los Angeles and then with the State of California in 1978. The Towers are operated by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and curated by the Watts Towers Arts Center/Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center, which grew out of the Youth Arts Classes originally established in the house structure.</p><br>
<p>In February 2011, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art received a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to scientifically assess and report on the condition of the Watts Towers, to continue to preserve the undisturbed structural integrity and composition of the aging works of art. Weather and moisture caused pieces of tile and glass to become loose on the towers, which are conserved for reattachment in the ongoing restoration work. The structures suffered little from the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the region, with only a few pieces shaken loose. An extensive restoration project by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art began in 2017. The site re-opened in November 2022 when the work was finished.</p><br>
<h3>California Historic Landmark marker</h3><br>
<p>California Historic Landmark Marker on the site reads:</p><br>
<p>NO. 993 WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA – The Watts Towers are perhaps the nations best known work of folk art sculpture. Using simple hand tools, cast off materials (glass, shell, pottery pieces and broken tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. Rodias Towers inspired many to rally and preserve his work and protect it for the future.</p><br>
<h2>Special exhibits</h2><br>
<p>The Los Angeles County Museum of Art mounted a 1962 photographic exhibition, Simon Rodia’s Towers in Watts: A Photographic Exhibition, which was the first museum exhibition on the art or Simon Rodia and the towers.</p><br>
<p>Two artist interviews, and were produced in 2012 by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of its Exhibitions on View series.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The Simon Rodia Continuation High School in Watts is named for Simon Rodia.</p><br>
<h3>Literature</h3><br>
<p>Jazz musician Charles Mingus mentioned Rodias Towers in his 1971 autobiography Beneath the Underdog, writing about his childhood fascination with Rodia and his work. There is also a reference to the work in Don DeLillos novel Underworld.</p><br>
<p>California-based poet Robert Duncan featured Rodia&#39;s Towers in his 1959 poem, "Nel Mezzo del Cammin di Nostra Vita," as an example of democratic art that is free of church/state power structures.</p><br>
<p>In her 1974 book, Eve&#39;s Hollywood, Eve Babitz describes a visit to the towers.</p><br>
<p>In his book White Sands Geoff Dyer writes about his visit to the Watts Towers in the chapter "The Ballad of Jimmy Garrison".</p><br>
<p>The short story With Virgil Oddum At The East Pole by an American science fiction writer Harlan Ellison is directly inspired by the Watts Towers and dedicated to the memory of Sabotini Rodia. The story placed first in the 1986 Locus Award for Best Short Story.</p><br>
<h3>Film</h3><br>
<p>The 1957 short documentary film The Towers, by William Hale, includes voice recordings of Rodia and footage of the artist at work. The film incorrectly refers to the artist as "Simon Rodilla". The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.</p><br>
<p>In the 1967 movie Good Times, Sonny & Cher dance around in one of the towers.</p><br>
<p>In the 1972 movie Melinda the title character is taken to see the towers.</p><br>
<p>In the 1973 concert documentary Wattstax the towers are repeatedly featured from multiple vantages.</p><br>
<p>The climax of the 1976 blaxploitation movie Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde takes place at the towers.</p><br>
<p>The climax of the 1977 blaxploitation movie Abar, the First Black Superman takes place at the towers.</p><br>
<p>The 1988 movie Colors ends with Sean Penn near the towers.</p><br>
<p>The 1991 movie Ricochet, starring Denzel Washington, climaxes with Washington&#39;s character swinging on the towers.</p><br>
<p>The 1993 movie CB4 shows Chris Elliott recording a piece for his character&#39;s documentary in front of the towers.</p><br>
<p>The 1993 movie Menace II Society shows the towers at the beginning of the 1993 introduction.</p><br>
<p>The 2006 documentary I Build the Tower focuses on Rodia, and his creative vision and skill in building the Towers. The 1987 docudrama Daniel and The Towers is about them also. The Towers of Simon Rodia is a 2008 documentary filmed in digital 3-D.</p><br>
<p>The 2016 movie La La Land shows the film&#39;s main characters visiting the towers in a montage sequence.</p><br>
<h3>Television</h3><br>
<p>The Watts Towers were highlighted in the 1973 BBC television series The Ascent of Man, written and presented by Jacob Bronowski, in the episode "The Grain in the Stone—tools, and the development of architecture and sculpture".</p><br>
<p>The towers are featured in a film within Episode 1365 of Mister Rogers&#39; Neighborhood, aired in 1974.</p><br>
<p>The 1987 made-for-TV movie Daniel and the Towers, starring Miguel Alamo, tells the story of Simon Rodia and his relationship with fictional neighborhood troublemaker Daniel.</p><br>
<p>The towers were depicted on The Simpsons episode "Angry Dad: The Movie".</p><br>
<p>The towers appear and are discussed by student artists Claire Fisher and Russel Corwin in "Nobody Sleeps", a Season 3 episode of Six Feet Under.</p><br>
<p>The towers appear and are discussed in 2017 Season 1, Episode 1 of the Amazon Originals production of the documentary film Long Strange Trip.</p><br>
<p>The towers feature heavily in Episode 16 "Burn, Baby, Burn" of the sci-fi series Dark Skies. The episode is set during the Watts Riots of August 1965.</p><br>
<p>Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 109</p><br>
<p>The towers are featured in "Bitter Almonds", Season 1, Episode 4 of the Netflix series From Scratch.</p><br>
<h3>Music</h3><br>
<p>A photograph of Simon Rodia is included on the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.</p><br>
<p>The cover of the US edition of his album Harold in the Land of Jazz (1958) shows Harold Land, playing a tenor saxophone while standing in front of the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The cover of the US edition of his album Brown Rice (1975, released 1977) shows Don Cherry, pocket trumpet in hand, standing in front of the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The song "Good Time Boys", on the Red Hot Chili Peppers&#39; 1989 album, Mother’s Milk, references "…the mighty Watts Towers".</p><br>
<p>The music video for the song, "Hate It Or Love It", from the Game (rapper)&#39;s 2005 album, The Documentary, briefly features the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The song, "Come A Long Way" on the 1992 Michelle Shocked album, Arkansas Traveler, mentions "… All along the Watts Tower".</p><br>
<h3>Radio</h3><br>
<p>In an August 2017 episode of BBC Radio 4&#39;s The Museum of Curiosity, California-born textile artist Kaffe Fassett chose the Watts Towers as his hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum.</p><br>
<h3>Video games</h3><br>
<p>The 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas features the Jefferson Towers (also named as Sculpture Park) in the city of Los Santos, based on the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The 2005 street racing game LA Rush features the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The 2008 street racing game Midnight Club: Los Angeles features the Watts Towers.</p><br>
<p>The 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V similarly features the Watts Towers, but in this version named as Rancho Towers.</p><br>
<p>The 2014 game Wasteland 2 features the Watts Towers as part of the town of Rodia.</p><br>
<h2>Watts Towers Arts Center</h2><br>
<p>The Watts Towers Arts Center is an adjacent community arts center. The current facility opened in 1970. Before that, the Center operated under a canopy next to the Towers. The center was built and staffed by the non-profit Committee for Simon Rodias Towers in Watts. Changing displays of contemporary artworks are on exhibit, and tours of the Watts Towers are conducted by the center. The centers Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center holds art classes, primarily for youth and Special Needs adults from the local community and surrounding cities. Partnerships with CalArts and Sony Pictures provide media arts and piano classes. The Day of the Drum and Jazz Festival occurs annually on the last weekend of every September. It includes arts and craft booths and live music.</p><br>
<h2>Watts Towers Crescent Greenway</h2><br>
<p>Watts Towers Crescent Greenway is a 0.2 mile rail with trail bike–pedestrian path next to the Towers. It is the shortest open rail-trail in the USA</p><br>
<p>Fort William and Mary was a colonial-era fortification in Great Britain&#39;s worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situated on the island of New Castle, New Hampshire, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River estuary. It was renamed Fort William and Mary circa 1692, after the accession of the monarchs William III and Mary II to the British throne. It was captured by Patriot forces, recaptured, and later abandoned by the British in the American Revolutionary War . The fort was renamed Fort Constitution in 1808 following rebuilding, in light of increasing hostilities with the British again, especially from its Royal Navy, resulting in the subsequent War of 1812. The fort was further rebuilt and expanded through 1899, following the Spanish-American War. It served actively through the first half of the 20th century to World War II.</p><br>
<h2>Colonial period</h2><br>
<p>First fortified by the English Army prior to 1632, the fort guarded access to the harbor at Portsmouth. It was later manned by the successor British Army and served as the colony&#39;s main munitions depot and seaport. The fort also served to protect Kittery (then part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay colony and later in future state of Maine) on the opposite shore of the harbor, which was raided numerous times by the tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy during the French and Indian Wars (1753-1763). Shadrach Walton, British colonial administrator and soldier, commanded the fort during different periods at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.</p><br>
<h2>American Revolution</h2><br>
<p>In 1774, it was the only permanently occupied military post in New Hampshire.</p><br>
<h3>1774 raids</h3><br>
<p>On December 14, 1774, local Patriots from the Portsmouth area, led by local political leader and rebel activist John Langdon, stormed the post (overcoming a six-man caretaker detachment) and seized the garrison&#39;s gunpowder supply, which was distributed to local militia through several New Hampshire towns for potential use in the looming struggle against Great Britain. On the following day, patriots led by colonial military officer John Sullivan again raided the fort, this time seizing with greater effort of numerous heavy artillery of cannon, ammunition and supplies for the rebel cause.</p><br>
<h2>Fort Constitution</h2><br>
<p>Following the Revolution, the fort was called "Castle Fort" or "Fort Castle". On July 4, 1809, an accidental explosion marred Independence Day / Fourth of July celebrations at the fort, killing a number of soldiers and civilians. Two years later, the USA Secretary of War&#39;s report on fortifications for December 1811 described Fort Constitution as "an enclosed irregular work of masonry, mounting 36 heavy guns... (with) brick barracks for two companies..." During the War of 1812 the fort was occupied and expanded with Walbach Tower, a Martello tower with a single 32-pounder cannon, being built in 1814, just before the conflict ended.</p><br>
<p>Over four decades later, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), Fort Constitution was projected to be rebuilt as a three-tiered granite fort under the new expanded, more formidable Third System of USA coastal defense fortifications. However, advances in weaponry, particularly the development and use of armored, steam-powered warships with heavy rifled guns, rendered the masonry walls design obsolete before they were finished. The fort&#39;s construction was abandoned in 1867 following the Civil War with the older now-obsolete Second System fort still largely intact and two walls from the revised expanded Third System cut short, built around parts of it. At some point in the Civil War era, four 100-pounder (6.4 inch, 163 mm) Parrott rifled cannon were mounted at the fort, and remained there at least four more decades through late 1903.</p><br>
<p>In 1897, construction began on Battery Farnsworth, located under the hill on which the ruins of the former Walbach Tower of 1814 stand, as part of the large-scale War Department&#39;s Board of Fortifications began the latest improvements with the Endicott Program of seacoast fortifications. It was part of the larger surrounding Coast Defenses of Portsmouth, along with nearby Fort Stark and Fort Foster in Kittery to the north. The battery was completed in 1899, a year after the successful conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Named for Union Army Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth (1837-1863), killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, the new reinforced-concrete installation, built partly below ground in a deep trench as the new protective style required, included two 8-inch (203 mm) M1888 guns on recently developed disappearing carriages. The battery was accompanied in 1904 by the construction of adjacent Battery Hackleman, named for Union General Pleasant A. Hackleman, with two 3-inch (76 mm) M1903 guns on pedestal mounts. A mine casemate for an underwater minefield in the harbor was built; Battery Hackleman was built primarily to defend this minefield against naval minesweepers vessels. These were similar to numerous other Endicott-style fortifications built all along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coasts throughout the country outside of major cities on river mouths, harbors, and inlets / bays during the late 1890s and early 1900s.</p><br>
<p>After the American entry into World War I in April 1917, many guns were removed from coast defenses for shipment across the Atlantic Ocean to potential service on the Western Front in northern France, against the attacking German Empire and its Imperial German Army. Both 8-inch guns of Battery Farnsworth were removed in October 1917 for use as railway artillery and were not returned to the fort. Following the war, in 1920 a mine casemate was built next to Battery Farnsworth to replace a similar facility at nearby Fort Stark.</p><br>
<p>In the Second World War (1939/1941-1945), Battery Hacklemans 3-inch guns were sent to a new battery of the same name further south at Fort H. G. Wright on Fishers Island, New York. They were replaced by two 3-inch (76 mm) M1902 guns taken from Battery Hays (named for Union Army General Alexander Hays, killed at the Civil War Battle of the Wilderness) at Fort Stark. In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment of the USA Army, and a mine observation station was built atop Battery Farnsworth. Following the surrender of the Axis Powers, Battery Hackleman was disarmed by 1948 and the fort was turned over to the Coast Guard. Battery Hackleman was eventually demolished, but Battery Farnsworth can still be seen as part of the subsequent state park.</p><br>
<p>With the site given back to the State of New Hampshire by the American military in 1961, the new Fort Constitution State Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is today open to the public.</p><br>
<h2>The lighthouse</h2><br>
<p>Since 1771 the fort has been home to a lighthouse. The current installation, the Portsmouth Harbor Light, was completed in 1878. Its Fourth Order Fresnel lens remains a valuable aid to navigation. The tower and the grounds immediately around it are open for scheduled tours.</p><br>
<p>Garfield Park is a 184 acre urban park located in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on Chicago&#39;s West Side. It was designed as a pleasure ground by William LeBaron Jenney in the 1870s and is the oldest of the three original parks developed by the West Side parks commission on the Chicago park and boulevard plan . It is home to the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest plant conservatories in the United States. It is also the park furthest west in the Chicago park and boulevard system.</p><br>
<h2>Park history</h2><br>
<p>The first 40 acre segment of Garfield Park was formally opened to the public in August 1874. Originally known as Central Park, it was conceived as the centerpiece of the West Park System.</p><br>
<p>Jenney, now best known as the father of skyscrapers, was influenced by the French parks and boulevards he had seen and studied while living in Paris. That influence is reflected in his design of these West side parks and the connecting boulevards. The park was renamed in 1881 in honor of slain President James A. Garfield.</p><br>
<p>In 1905, Jens Jensen, now known as the dean of Prairie-style landscape architecture, was appointed as the superintendent of the West Park System where he experimented with design ideas and improvements to the deteriorated and unfinished sections of Garfield Park. Some of the most notable areas are the existing lawns that became the setting for development of the Prairie style of landscape architecture. His most notable work in Garfield Park can be seen in the formal flower garden south of Madison Street, where he combined Prairie-style elements with traditional formal elements, and in the Conservatory.</p><br>
<p>Garfield Park was initially intended to be used for passive recreation such as strolling and picnicking. Jensen&#39;s expertise as an engineer led him to design a large lagoon as a means of draining the park site while creating the requisite water features. The lagoon was used for boating in summer and ice skating in winter.</p><br>
<p>Jensen&#39;s gardenesque approach to his parks endeared itself to those early park users as one of the first significant attempts at landscape art in Chicago. Throughout its history, Garfield Park has successfully responded to the changing demands placed on a highly used urban open space.</p><br>
<p>During the 1920s, a major addition was incorporated into Garfield Park: a grand, golden domed administration building for the West Park Commission designed by Michaelsen and Rognstad.</p><br>
<p>Following the 1934 consolidation of the separate Chicago parks commissions into the Chicago Park District, the "Golden Dome" became the park&#39;s fieldhouse and center of recreational programs and activities.</p><br>
<p>Despite additions and modifications in both landscape and buildings in Garfield Park, essential character-defining features such as historic roads and paths, buildings, structures, landforms, water features, and some plant materials still exist. Garfield Park remains as one of the best examples of William LeBaron Jenney&#39;s landscape architectural efforts in Chicago, and is a rich tapestry of the contributions of several nationally important designers, architects and artists.</p><br>
<p>Historic features of Garfield Park include architectural landscaping (flower gardens, water court, bridges, lagoons, and the Conservatory); notable architecture (the Golden Dome fieldhouse); the bandshell (or "gazebo" as it is locally known), designed in 1896 by J. L. Silsbee; and the golf shelter building, attributable to prairie school architect Hugh Gardner and built in 1907. There are also a number of historic sculptures and statues within the park.</p><br>
<p>Recreational features include baseball and soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, a swimming pool, playgrounds and an ice skating rink. The Golden Dome houses an Olympic-sized gymnasium, gymnastic and fitness centers, boxing ring, and theater. Park patrons can participate in programs for everyone from senior citizens to pre-schoolers, including picnicking, outdoor concerts, and community festivals.</p><br>
<h2>Race track</h2><br>
<p>Located in the south of Garfield Park from 1896 to 1905 was a double-ring race track for horses and cyclists.</p><br>
<h2>Conservatory</h2><br>
<p>The Garfield Park Conservatory, designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen in 1906–07, is a 4.5 acre greenhouse conservatory at the northwest corner of the park.</p><br>
<p>Green Level is an unincorporated community in southwestern Wake County, North Carolina, United States.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The community started as a crossroads along the stage route between Raleigh and Pittsboro in the first half of the 19th century. It formed where the stage route crossed the Holly Springs to Hillsborough Road. The community was literally named because it was "green" and "level". Green Level was a resting spot for the stagecoach and also became a social and commercial hub for people who lived several miles out in the surrounding countryside. Families living in the area included Council, Ferrell, Mills, Upchurch, Utley, and Yates.</p><br>
<p>A post office was established in Green Level in 1847. Its postmasters included Thomas S. Johnson, Sidney W. Mitchell, Golden H. Upchurch, James H. Upchurch, and Thomas J. Utley. Its post office closed in 1888.</p><br>
<p>Green Level started growing after the Civil War and included a Baptist church, two grist and sawmills, a Masonic Lodge (founded in 1867), two schools, and seven stores by the early 1870s. The church was founded in 1870 by Rev. Matthew Ferrell and was originally known as the Providence Baptist Church but was later renamed Green Level Baptist Church in 1871.</p><br>
<p>Green Level continued to function as a commercial center through the early 20th century, important to the local bright-leaf tobacco farmers. This tobacco was a lucrative cash crop that grew especially well in Western Wake County because of its rich Triassic soils. However, with the arrival of the railroad and the automobile, the stage route and local community center was no longer as significant. Although Green Level began declining in the mid-20th century, its church and Masonic Lodge continued to be active. In the later part of the 20th century, the community became part of in an area of Wake County that was suburbanizing with commuters.</p><br>
<h2>Green Level Historic District</h2><br>
<p>The core of the community was designated the Green Level Historic District in 2001. This national historic district encompasses some 75 acrethat includes 31 contributing buildings, one contributing site and four contributing structures in the crossroads community of Green Level. It also includes a cemetery. Its boundaries are the intersection of Green Level Church Road and Green Level West Road, and Green Level Church Road north for approximately 3,000 ft.</p><br>
<p>The district developed sometime during the period between roughly 1890 and 1945 and includes notable examples of Colonial Revival and Gothic Revival, style architecture. One of the central buildings of the community is Green Level Baptist Church (1907), located near the crossroads of Green Level Church Road and Green Level West Road. It features Gothic Revival details and is one of the best-preserved country churches in Wake County.</p><br>
<p>Other notable buildings include the Green Level Community Store (1945), A. C. and Helon Council House (late 19th century), the Vick and Mattie Council House., and the Alious H. and Daisey Mills Farm and Store (1916). The historic district also includes the. M. and Vallaria Council Farm, a well-preserved tobacco farm complex. Its National Register application form notes, "The district as a whole remains remarkably intact, retaining integrity of setting, location, design, materials, feeling, and association."</p><br>
<p>The Foshay Tower, now the W Minneapolis – The Foshay hotel, is a skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Modeled after the Washington Monument, the building was completed in 1929, months before the stock market crash in October of that year. It has 32 floors and stands 447 ft high, which made it one of the tallest buildings in the Midwest for 48 years. The antenna mast extends the total height of the structure to 607 ft. The building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is an example of Art Deco architecture. Its address is 821 Marquette Avenue, although it is set well back from the street and is actually closer to 9th Street than Marquette.</p><br>
<h2>Early skyscraper</h2><br>
<p>The Foshay Tower marked a significant landmark locally in the push skyward, as the tower was the first in the city to surpass the height of Minneapolis City Hall, completed in 1906. It remained the tallest building in Minneapolis until the IDS Center surpassed it in 1972.</p><br>
<p>Elevators served the 32-floor tower and the observation deck. The elevators were converted to automatic in 1957. The fee to ride the elevator was 50 cents from its opening in 1929 until the late 1960s. The current fee is $15.00</p><br>
<h2>Structure and interior</h2><br>
<p>As the building was designed to echo the Washington Monument, the sides of the building slope slightly inward, and each floor of the Foshay Tower is slightly smaller than the one below it. It is also unusual in that the tower is set back from the street, with a two-story structure surrounding it on the Marquette Avenue and 9th Street sides. The other two sides of the building, facing 8th Street and 2nd Avenue, are now surrounded by 121 South Eighth, which rises to 17 stories on the 2nd Avenue side and entirely obscures the views from the windows of the first seven stories of the Foshay Tower on the 2nd Avenue and 8th Street sides. Internally the building uses steel and reinforced concrete. The exterior is faced with Indiana limestone, while the interior features African mahogany, Italian marble, terrazzo, gold-plated doorknobs, a silver and gold plated ceiling, beautiful ornamental bronze entrances and work throughout the building (made by Crown Iron Works Company of Minneapolis), hand wrought iron and three commissioned busts of George Washington. It cost US$3.75 million to build. From the Marquette Avenue side of the structure, the name, "Foshay," is visible in concrete four times on the exterior of the building (once on the top and three times on the street level).</p><br>
<h2>Dedication</h2><br>
<p>Foshay Tower was the lifelong dream and namesake of Wilbur Foshay, an art student turned businessman who amassed his fortune by building up three utility company empires (operating as the W. B. Foshay Company). Foshay had built it as homage to the Washington Monument. At the time the tower was being built, he had sold his previous two empires in turn and was building up his third (which was eventually to stretch from Alaska to Nicaragua). He planned to locate his business and residence on the 27th and 28th floors where a three-bedroom, three-bath suite was built, with a fireplace and library, Italian Siena marble walls and glass-paneled ceilings.</p><br>
<p>Foshay invited 25,000 guests to the dedication ceremony and provided all-expenses paid trips to many including cabinet members, senators, and congressmen. Half-nude dancers entertained. Each guest received a gold pocket watch. The military gave 19-gun salutes. John Philip Sousa conducted music, including the "Foshay Tower–Washington Memorial March," a march he wrote for the occasion. Foshay presented Sousa with a check for US$20,000.</p><br>
<p>The march was only played once during Foshays lifetime. Six weeks after the buildings opening on November 2, 1929, Foshays corporate empire was thrown into receivership at the onset of the Great Depression. Ignominiously, Foshays check to Sousa bounced, and in retaliation, Sousa prohibited the playing of the march so long as Foshays debt to him remained outstanding. Foshay never lived in his new home, which also went into receivership. It wasnt until 1988 when a group of Minnesota investors repaid Foshays debt to Sousas estate that the march was permitted to be played in public again.</p><br>
<h2>Magney & Tusler</h2><br>
<p>The Foshay was designed by Léon Eugène Arnal (1881–1963), chief designer for the architects Magney & Tusler, later known as Setter, Leach & Lindstrom, which was acquired by Leo A. Daly in 2003.</p><br>
<p>The building has the name "FOSHAY" in 10 foot (3 m) lighted letters on all four sides just below the top. A USA patent for this display technique was filed in 1929 by Gottlieb R. Magney, Wilbur Tusler and Arnal and granted in 1931, assigned to the W. B. Foshay Co.</p><br>
<h2>Later use</h2><br>
<p>The tower was headquarters for Citizens Utilities, the successor to Foshay&#39;s company.</p><br>
<p>In January 1981, the building was wrapped in a huge yellow ribbon during the final days of the Iran hostage crisis. Once the hostages returned to the United States, the ribbon was moved to the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul so that people could sign it. The ribbon is now in the Minnesota Historical Society.</p><br>
<p>The antenna on the roof has been used by various broadcasters, including television stations WTCN (now KARE), WCCO and KMSP. Radio station KFAI has been broadcasting from the tower since 1984, but moved their transmission tower to the IDS Center in March 2007, due to the W Hotel renovation. Around 1980, when the Foshay was still one of the tallest buildings in Minneapolis, the pyramidal top was covered with numerous pieces of radio transmitting equipment.</p><br>
<p>The structures street level establishments once included Cafe Un Deux Trois, notable for having Andrew Zimmern as Executive Chef for its first 4-years, and Peters Grill, Minneapolis&#39;s oldest restaurant, was located across the street.</p><br>
<p>The Norwegian consulate was located in the tower until 2007, when it moved to the AT&T Tower across the street.</p><br>
<h2>Conversion to W Hotel</h2><br>
<p>On September 4, 2006, it was reported that developers Ralph W. Burnet and Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies would spend as much as $90 million to convert the 32-story office tower into a 230-room W Hotel. All tenants with the exception of Keys Café on the first floor moved out.</p><br>
<p>A unique finding occurred at the tower when workers were replacing the ceiling in the hotels lobby. When the lobby ceiling was removed, they discovered the rooms original ceiling, complete with intricate engravings and embossed with various logos. However, due to past renovation work and age, the ceiling had deteriorated and was badly damaged. It has been reported that workers are currently in the process of restoring the original ceiling at the behest of the National Register of Historic Places, a process which will take a total of four months alone.</p><br>
<p>The renovated W Minneapolis – The Foshay opened on August 13, 2008. The hotel retains the 30th floor observation deck and converted Wilbur Foshay&#39;s former boardroom on the 27th floor into the Prohibition Sky Bar.</p><br>
<p>The Rothko Chapel is a non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its walls are fourteen paintings by Mark Rothko in varying hues of black. The shape of the building—an octagon inscribed in a Greek cross—and the design of the chapel were largely influenced by the artist. The chapel sits 2 mi southwest of downtown in the Montrose neighborhood, situated between the building housing the Menil Collection and the Chapel of Saint Basil on the campus of the University of Saint Thomas. About 110,000 people visit the chapel each year.</p><br>
<p>Susan J. Barnes states "The Rothko Chapel... became the world&#39;s first broadly ecumenical center, a holy place open to all religions and belonging to none. It became a center for international cultural, religious, and philosophical exchanges, for colloquia and performances. And it became a place of private prayer for individuals of all faiths". Quote on p. 108, reprinted in the NRHP Nomination form.</p><br>
<p>On September 16, 2000, the Rothko Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1964 Rothko was commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil (also founders of the nearby Menil Collection) to create a meditative space filled with his paintings. The works are site-specific, one of the requirements of the program. As Rothko was given creative license on the design of the structure, he clashed with the projects original architect, Philip Johnson over the plans for the chapel. The plans went through several revisions and architects. Rothko continued to work first with Howard Barnstone and then with Eugene Aubry, but ultimately he did not live to see the chapels completion in 1971. After a long struggle with depression, Rothko died by suicide in his New York studio on February 25, 1970.</p><br>
<p>From 1973 onward, the Rothko Chapel doubled as a center for colloquiums aimed at fostering mutual understanding on issues affecting justice and freedom throughout the world. The first colloquium drew scholars from Lebanon, Iran, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Japan, Italy, the United States and Canada. In 1981, it initiated “The Rothko Chapel Awards to Commitment to Truth and Freedom." In 1986, a second award was established to honor and emulate the spirit of Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, who was murdered on March 24, 1980. These Rothko Chapel Awards have recognized individuals and organizations who, at great risk, denounce violations of human rights. In 1991 the Rothko Chapel marked its 20th anniversary with a joint award with the Carter-Menil Human Rights Foundation, founded in 1986 with former President Jimmy Carter. Nelson Mandela was the keynote speaker and received the special Rothko Chapel award.</p><br>
<p>In early 1999, the Rothko Chapel closed for a major renovation. The paintings had been exhibiting premature signs of age, and the largest could not be removed for treatment. In 2000, the chapel reopened after an 18-month, $1.8million renovation, with the artist&#39;s paintings newly restored.</p><br>
<p>In May 2018, museum staff discovered the Chapel had been vandalized. White paint was spilled near the Chapels entrance and in the reflecting pool surrounding the Broken Obelisk sculpture. Handbills had been strewn around the grounds and pool that read "Its okay to be white", an alt-right slogan.</p><br>
<p>For its fiftieth anniversary in 2021, the Rothko Chapel underwent $30million in restoration to hew nearer the original plan. The 2019-2021 work removed the baffled skylight in favor of a new louvered skylight designed by George Sexton Associates; re-landscaped nearby lawns and fencing; removed glass doors; and added a new visitor&#39;s center designed by Architecture Research Office.</p><br>
<p>In July 2024, the Rothko Chapel suffered extensive damage from stormwater during Hurricane Beryl. Three of Rothkos murals were damaged, along with the chapels ceiling and walls. The chapel was closed in August 2024 for renovations and restoration. The building reopened in December 2024 after reparative work was completed.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The chapel is an irregular octagonal brick building with gray or rose stucco walls and a skylight. It serves as a place of meditation as well as a meeting hall and is furnished with eight simple, moveable benches for meditative seating; more are provided to accommodate the audience for special events. Holy books from several religions are available.</p><br>
<p>As renovated in 2020 by Architecture Research Office and George Sexton Associates, the louvered skylight diffuser consists of 280 reflective aluminum blades that are individually angled and spaced to ensure an even distribution of light onto the paintings along the perimeter walls.</p><br>
<h2>Works of art</h2><br>
<p>The chapel is associated with several works of art other than the building itself, in the fields of painting, sculpture, and music.</p><br>
<h3>Paintings</h3><br>
<p>Fourteen of Rothko&#39;s paintings are displayed in the chapel. Three walls display triptychs, while the other five walls display single paintings. Beginning in 1964, Rothko began painting a series of black paintings, which incorporated other dark hues and texture effects.</p><br>
<p>The de Menils offered Rothko a commission for the chapel in 1964. From the fall of 1964 through the spring of 1967, he painted the fourteen large paintings and four alternates, which incorporated many of the characteristics of the earlier 1964 black paintings.</p><br>
<h3>Sculpture</h3><br>
<p>A distinctive sculpture by Barnett Newman, Broken Obelisk, was installed in 1970 in front of the chapel. The sculpture sits in a reflecting pool designed by Philip Johnson and it is dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968. The sculpture originally stood in Washington, D.C., and was offered in 1969 by the de Menils as a memorial to King to stand in front of Houston City Hall. Houston turned down the gift and the de Menils then donated the sculpture and the Rothko paintings to start the Rothko Chapel.</p><br>
<h3>Music</h3><br>
<p>One of Morton Feldmans best known pieces of music was inspired by and written to be performed in the chapel—it too is called Rothko Chapel (1971). The musician Peter Gabriel wrote a 1992 song called "Fourteen Black Paintings" which was inspired by a visit to the chapel. David Dondero composed a song entitled "Rothko Chapel" that appears on his 2007 album Simple Love. Visiting Tibetan Gyuto Tantric monks performed harmonic chanting in April 1986. Houston Grand Operas HGOco commissioned and premiered an opera in 2017 about the chapel called Some Light Emerges, with music by Laura Kaminsky, concept by Mark Campbell and libretto by Campbell and Kimberly Reed.</p><br>
<p>In 2019, Solange Knowles filmed scenes for the visual album When I Get Home in the chapel. Dessa&#39;s 2023 album Bury the Lede includes a song called "Rothko", which is set in the chapel and references the paintings.</p><br>
<h2>Recognition</h2><br>
<p>As a focal point of dialogue between social justice, artistic, and spiritual leaders, the Rothko Chapel has been the recipient of several notable awards, including the Peace Award from The Houston Baha’í Community (1998), a Community Award from the Museum District Business Alliance (2000), The James L. Tucker Interfaith Award from Interfaith Ministries (2004), an Urban Greenery Award from The Park People (2005), and recognitions from the Houston Peace and Justice Center (2008).</p><br>
<p>The Rothko Chapel also hosts the biannual Óscar Romero Award to recognize "courageous, grassroots, human rights advocacy." Past awardees include Bishop Proaño, Cardinal Arns, the Oslobodjenje, Sr. Dianna Ortiz, Salima Ghezali, and Berta Cáceres.</p><br>
<p>The Fort Wayne Old City Hall Building in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana operates as a museum known as The History Center, and has served as headquarters for the Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society since 1980. The Richardsonian Romanesque style sandstone building was designed by the architectural firm Wing & Mahurin and built in 1893. It served as a functioning city hall for the city until 1971 when local officials moved to the City-County Building.</p><br>
<p>It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<p>The History Center has collected 32,000 artifacts and shows many of them in permanent displays dedicated to the region&#39;s history, dating from the Ice Age to the 18th century to present.</p><br>
<p>The Society also owns the National Historic Landmark Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville House and the Historic Barr Street Market.</p><br>
<h2>Exhibits</h2><br>
<p>Shaping the Confluence: includes the following</p><br>
<p>Earliest Inhabitants, tools, weapons, a mastodon&#39;s broken rib bone and large tooth are displayed.</p><br>
<p>Miami Indian History, images of Pacanne, Little Turtle, and Jean Baptiste de Richardville, all chiefs of the Miami, displayed, along with collections on the Miami Indian capital, Kekionga. Miami chief Little Turtle&#39;s items displayed include a sword presented to him by President George Washington. Exhibit also includes a model of a typical 18th-century Miami village.</p><br>
<p>Anthony Wayne, exhibits the birth of Fort Wayne with General "Mad" Anthony Wayne&#39;s ordering of a fort to be built at the three rivers, October 22, 1794.</p><br>
<p>An Emerging City, includes a model of and parts of the Wabash and Erie Canal, attributed to turning the city into a boom-town in the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>Industry & Transportation, includes a recreation of a blacksmith shop, foundry and discusses Fort Wayne&#39;s long association with the railroads.</p><br>
<p>Innovation & Technology, a new gallery opened in 2012, features a number of the products that were created and produced by entrepreneurs in Fort Wayne and Allen County.</p><br>
<p>Old City Jail, This section of the Old City Hall building housed the Police Department. There were offices, an interrogation room, a garage for vehicles, and most notably the City Jail and booking area. This small jail was in operation from 1893 to 1971 and was mostly used as a temporary holding area for those awaiting trial.</p><br>
<p>Indian Village is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan, bounded to the north and south by Mack Avenue and East Jefferson Avenue, respectively, along the streets of Burns, Iroquois, and Seminole. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.</p><br>
<h2>Overview</h2><br>
<p>The district has a number of architecturally-significant homes built in the early 20th century. Some of the houses have been substantially restored, and many others are well kept up. Bordering Indian Village to the west is West Village, with additional historic homes, townhouses and apartments.</p><br>
<p>Many of the homes were designed by prominent architects, such as Albert Kahn, Louis Kamper and William B. Stratton, for some of the area&#39;s most prominent citizens, such as Edsel Ford. A lot of homes are very large, with some over 12,000 square feet (1,100 m). Many have a carriage house, with some of those being larger than an average suburban home. Some of the houses also have large amounts of Pewabic Pottery tiles.</p><br>
<p>Indian Village has very active community organizations, including the Indian Village Association, Mens Garden Club and Womens Garden Club. The neighborhood hosts an annual Home & Garden Tour on the first Saturday in June, neighborhood yard sales in September, a holiday home tour in December, and many other community events. The neighborhood contains many historic homes including that of automotive entrepreneur Henry Leland, founder of Lincoln and Cadillac, who resided at 1052 Seminole St. With a white population of 63 percent Indian Village is one of Detroit&#39;s few white majority neighborhoods.</p><br>
<h2>Schools</h2><br>
<p>Detroit Public Schools operates the area&#39;s public schools.</p><br>
<p>Residents are zoned to Nichols Elementary School, Marcus Garvey African Centered Academy K-8 for middle school, and Southeastern High School. On previous occasions, Butzel Middle School served Indian Village.</p><br>
<p>Private schools serving Indian Village include the Benjamin E. Mays Male Academy, the Detroit Waldorf School and Detroit Friends School. Cornerstone Schools formerly operated the K-5 Iroquois Campus in Indian Village.</p><br>
<h2>Notable buildings</h2><br>
<p>The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C. The rotunda entrance is on Constitution Avenue, and the research entrance is on Pennsylvania Avenue. A second larger facility, Archives II, also known as A2, is located in College Park, Maryland.</p><br>
<p>In December 2023, the National Archives Building was designated a National Historic Landmark. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and is a contributing property to the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site.</p><br>
<h2>Exhibits</h2><br>
<p>The National Archives building holds original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These are on display for the public in the main chamber&#39;s rotunda, known as Charters of Freedom, at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Emancipation Proclamation will be added to the permanent display in 2026.</p><br>
<p>The building hosts additional important American historical items, including the Continental Association, the Articles of Confederation, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, and collections of photography and other historically and culturally significant American and international artifacts, including an original version of the 1297 Magna Carta confirmed by Edward I.</p><br>
<p>Between 2003 and 2004 the National Archives also held special exhibits to the public for the Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation.</p><br>
<p>Inside the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, there are no lines to see the individual documents and visitors are allowed to walk from document to document as they wish. Photography with natural light is permitted in research rooms.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Before the National Archives Building</h3><br>
<p>From its founding, the USA federal government has documented its policies and decisions, but for almost 150 years it had virtually no method or place to safeguard historically important records. During those years, officials occasionally decried federal neglect, or too often, fires destroyed important documents, reinforcing the need for an archives. By the end of the 19th century, a few architects had even submitted plans to the government for an archives or a hall of records. By the early 20th century an organized effort aimed at creating the National Archives began, but not until 1926 did Congress finally approve the National Archives Building.</p><br>
<h3>Planning stages</h3><br>
<p>That year, Congress authorized construction of the National Archives Building as part of a massive public buildings program designed to beautify the center of Washington, DC, and provide office space for the growing federal bureaucracy. This program led to the design and construction of buildings within the Federal Triangle. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon gave the responsibility for designing the Triangle grouping to a Board of Architectural Consultants. Louis A. Simon, an architect of the Office of the Supervising Architect for the USA Treasury, drafted a preliminary design for the Archives, placing it along Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets, NW. (This was prior to Simon&#39;s appointment as Supervising Architect in 1933.)</p><br>
<p>In late 1927, preliminary drawings of the individual Triangle buildings were incorporated into a formal presentation of the entire project. The drawings became the basis for a three-dimensional scale model that was publicly unveiled in April 1929. The next month, after examining the model, the Commission of Fine Arts was highly critical of Simon&#39;s design for an archives. Commissioners suggested that the noted architect John Russell Pope be added to the Board of Architectural Consultants and that he design the National Archives. Pope was asked to join when the death of a board member created a vacancy.</p><br>
<p>Popes architectural vision transformed both the location and design of the National Archives Building. He successfully proposed relocating the Archives to the block between Seventh and Eighth Streets, a site he believed demanded a monumental building such as the National Archives. In place of Simons design, Pope&#39;s National Archives was to be a neoclassical temple befitting an institution dedicated to American history. The site was already occupied by a prominent landmark, the Center Market. The building was demolished to make way for the archives building.</p><br>
<h3>Breaking ground</h3><br>
<p>Ground was broken for the National Archives on September 5, 1931, by the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Ferry K. Heath. By the time President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the building in February 1933, significant problems had arisen. Because the massive structure was to be constructed above an underground stream, the Tiber Creek, 8,575 piles had been driven into the unstable soil, before pouring a huge concrete bowl as a foundation. Another difficulty arose over the choice of building materials. Both limestone and granite were authorized as acceptable, but construction began during the darkest days of the Great Depression, and suppliers of each material lobbied fiercely to have the government use their stone. Ultimately, as in the other Federal Triangle buildings, limestone was used for the exterior superstructure and granite for the base. The limestone was provided by Ingalls Stone Company of Bedford, Indiana.</p><br>
<h3>Construction</h3><br>
<p>Constructing the National Archives was a monumental task. Not only was the building the most ornate structure on the Federal Triangle, but it also called for installation of specialized air-handling systems and filters, reinforced flooring, and thousands of feet of shelving to meet the buildings archival storage requirements. The buildings exterior took more than 4 years to finish and required a host of workers ranging from sculptors and model makers to air-conditioning contractors and structural-steel workers.</p><br>
<h3>Completion</h3><br>
<p>In November 1935, 120 National Archives staff members moved into their uncompleted building. Most of the exterior work was complete, but many stack areas, where records would be stored, had no shelving for incoming records. Work also continued on the Rotunda and other public spaces. More significantly, earlier estimates about the need for future stack space proved to be quite insufficient. Almost as soon as Popes original design was complete, a project to fill the Archives interior courtyard began, doubling storage space from 374,000 ft&sup2; to more than 757,000 ft&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>John Russell Pope&#39;s vision of the Archives as a temple of history has been preserved through maintenance and periodic restoration work on the building since the mid-1930s. Over the years, however, more records filled the building and even the courtyard expansion proved to be inadequate. By the late 1960s, the building reached its storage capacity of 900,000 cuft and the agency began renting large amounts of storage and administrative space. The 1993 completion of a second National Archives building in College Park, Maryland, added 1.8 e6sqft to the National Archives, providing the nation with the most modern archives facility in the world.</p><br>
<h3>Reencasement and renovation</h3><br>
<p>The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights have been displayed to the public in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building since 1952. That year National Bureau of Standards placed the documents into hermetically sealed encasements filled with inert helium gas, which the Bureau believed would preserve the Charters well into the next century. Since the 1952 installation, National Archives conservators have conducted regular visual inspections of the encased documents. Since 1987, these inspections have been greatly enhanced through the use of an electronic imaging monitoring system developed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.</p><br>
<p>In an electronic inspection of the documents in 1995, conservators noticed changes in the glass encasements of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Glass experts from Libby-Owens-Ford (the original manufacturer of the encasement glass) and the Corning Glass Museum determined that the case glass components were showing signs of deterioration. Both the glass experts and the National Archives Advisory Committee on Preservation recommended that the Charters be reencased within seven years (by 2002) to ensure the continued safety and preservation of the documents.</p><br>
<p>In July 2001, the Charters were taken off display in the Rotunda to be removed from their deteriorating cases. National Archives conservators removed the documents from their cases and analyzed their condition. Appropriate conservation measures were taken on each document and they have been installed in the new encasements, returning to public display in September 2003.</p><br>
<h3>Timeline</h3><br>
<p>Congress authorized construction in 1926.</p><br>
<p>Ground was broken on September 5, 1931.</p><br>
<p>President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone in February 1933.</p><br>
<p>First opened in 1935.</p><br>
<p>Completed in 1937.</p><br>
<p>A renovation was completed in late 2004.</p><br>
<p>Public display space expanded from 12,000 to more than 19,000 square feet in 2013.</p><br>
<h2>Statues</h2><br>
<p>Outside of the National Archives building stands four statues, carved from 1934-1935. The sculptors were most likely chosen by the designer of the National Archives building, Pope and the Commission on Fine Arts. They were carved from large slabs of limestone, shipped to DC from Indiana on specifically designed flatcars. Two are on the south side of the building and two are on the north at the two main entrances of the building. These statues weigh 65-tons each and measure 10 feet tall, 25 feet with the pedestals.</p><br>
<p>The statues to the north are of an old man, titled Past, and a young woman, titled Future or Present by Robert Aiken, assisted by Attilio Piccirilli. The mans pedestals is inscribed with "Study the Past," quoting Confucius, and the womans with "What is Past is Prologue," from The Tempest. At the base of the womans feet are symbols representing "arts and sciences" and at the mans feet, "symbols of strength and unity," according to a historian who works for the National Archives. The statues guarding the south entrance of the building are named Heritage and Guardianship. These were carved by James Earl Fraser, assisted by David Rubins, Sidney Waugh and carver Gino A. Ratti. Heritage depicts a woman with a child, a bundle of wheat, and an urn in her arms. These " the government&#39;s role in preserving the home." Inscribed in her pedestal is "The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future," a quote from Wendell Phillips, around which are symbols that represent "the importance of home." Guardianship is of a muscular man who holds a sword and a plumed helmet in the Roman style. His pedestal says, "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty,” which comes from Thomas Jefferson, around which are different symbols of war.</p><br>
<p>There are additional sculptures in the pediments of the building showing figures that represent history, inspiration, destiny, and guardianship.</p><br>
<h2>Warren Commission</h2><br>
<p>Investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Warren Commission met formally for the first time on December 5, 1963 in a hearing room on the second floor of the National Archives Building.</p><br>
<h2>Images</h2><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>A section of the 2004 film National Treasure takes place in the National Archives Building, where the Declaration of Independence is featured being stolen from.</p><br>
<p>The building appears in the 2008 videogame Fallout 3. Inside it, a powdered wig-wearing robot, believing itself to be the founding father Button Gwinnett, can be found guarding the Declaration of Independence.</p><br>
<p>The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.&#39;s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. It memorializes those who served in the Korean War . The national memorial was dedicated in 1995. It includes 19 statues representing USA military personnel in action. In 2022, the memorial was expanded to include a granite memorial wall, engraved with the names of USA military personnel  who died in the war.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Korean War Veterans Memorial was confirmed by the USA Congress (Public Law 99-572) on April 20, 1986, with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission.</p><br>
<p>The initial design competition was won in 1986 by a team of four architects and landscape architects from The Pennsylvania State University, but this team withdrew as it became clear that changes would be needed to satisfy the advisory board and reviewing agencies such as the Commission of Fine Arts. A federal court case was filed and lost by the winning design team over the design changes. The eventual design was by Cooper-Lecky Architects who oversaw collaboration between several designers.</p><br>
<p>President George H. W. Bush conducted the groundbreaking for the Memorial on June 14, 1992, Flag Day, and thus construction was started. The companies and organizations involved in the construction are listed on the memorial as: the Faith Construction Company, the Emma Kollie Company, the Cold Spring Granite Company, the Tallix Art Foundry and the Baltimore District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, the South Korean president, to the men and women who served during the conflict. Management of the national memorial was turned over to the National Park Service (NPS), under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As with all National Park Service historic areas, the memorial was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the day of its dedication.</p><br>
<h2>Design and construction</h2><br>
<h3>The Mural Wall</h3><br>
<p>The main memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. Walls: 164 ft long, 8 in thick; more than 100 tons of highly polished "Academy Black" granite from California: more than 2,500 photographic, archival images representing the land, sea, and air troops who supported those who fought in the war are sandblasted onto the wall. The Mural was created by Louis Nelson, with photographic images sandblasted into it depicting soldiers, equipment and people involved in the war.</p><br>
<p>When reflected on the wall, there appear to be 38 soldiers, 38 months, and it is also representing the 38th parallel that separated the North and South Korea.</p><br>
<h3>The Column</h3><br>
<p>Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues designed by Frank Gaylord and collectively called The Column. Each statue is larger than life-size, between 7 ft and 7 ft tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 lb. The figures represent a platoon on patrol, drawn from branches of the armed forces; fourteen of the figures are from the USA Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman, and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea.</p><br>
<h3>United Nations Wall</h3><br>
<p>To the north of the statues and path is the United Nations Wall, a low wall listing the 22 member states of the United Nations (including the USA and South Korea) that, as part of the United Nations Command, contributed troops or provided medical support.</p><br>
<h3>Pool of Remembrance</h3><br>
<p>The circle contains the Pool of Remembrance, a shallow pool 30 ft in diameter lined with black granite and surrounded by a grove of linden trees with benches. The trees are shaped to create a barrel effect, which allows sunlight to reflect on the pool. Inscriptions list the numbers killed, wounded, missing in action, and held as prisoners of war, and a nearby plaque is inscribed: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." Additionally, right next to the numbers of American soldiers are those of the United Nations troops in the same categories. In the south side of the memorial, there are three bushes of the Rose of Sharon hibiscus plant, South Korea&#39;s national flower.</p><br>
<p>A further granite wall bears the simple message, inlaid in silver: "Freedom Is Not Free."</p><br>
<h3>Wall of Remembrance</h3><br>
<p>Around 2010, the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation (KWVMF) began to lobby Congress to add to the existing memorial a wall listing the names of USA servicemembers who died in the Korean War. The NPS opposed the proposal; the director of the NPS capital region testified before a House committee that "As the Vietnam Veterans Memorial experience showed, there is not always agreement on those names to be included and those names that are not, and this has led to public contention and controversy... Choosing some names and omitting others causes a place of solace to become a source of hurt." In 2016 Congress passed the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act; the act requires the NPS to work with the KWVMF to add a "list of names of members of the Armed Forces of the United States who died in the Korean War, as determined by the Secretary of Defense."</p><br>
<p>In 2021, portions of the memorial were closed for construction of the Wall of Remembrance and simultaneous rehabilitation work on the rest of the memorial. In summer 2022, the Wall of Remembrance, a series of long black granite slabs, was unveiled at a re-dedication ceremony. The ceremony took place on July 27, 2022, the 69th anniversary of the Armistice.</p><br>
<p>The wall lists the names of 36,634 Americans, along with 7,174 South Koreans who died under USA command while serving in the Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA). The Wall cost $22 million to design and construct, funded mostly by the South Korean government, Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Names of those killed are listed in order of branch and rank. Due to errors in the list submitted by the Defense Department in 2021, the Wall of Remembrance contains many mistakes: it is estimated to include 1,015 spelling errors (for example, the name of posthumous Medal of Honor recipient John Kelvin Koelsch is misspelled) and also lists 245 servicemembers who died in circumstances unrelated to the Korean War. The Wall also omits about 500 names that should be listed. For example, one bomber crash killed nine crew members aboard, but only three names are included on the wall. In another case, a Navy pilot and an Air Force pilot were killed off Japan after their aircraft collided with each other; only one of the two pilots is listed on the wall.</p><br>
<p>On 11 January 2023, South Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced their intent to perform list verifications and corrections in the near future.</p><br>
<h2>Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation&#39;s Maintenance Fund</h2><br>
<p>On October 12, 2015, Samsung Electronics donated $1 million to the Korean War Memorial Foundation. The memorial used the donation for maintenance. According to William Weber, the chairman of the memorial foundation, "Most of the grouting need to be treated twice a year. And there isnt enough for all of that upkeep." In addition, on October 16, Samsung helped clean the memorial ground as part of the companys national day of service.</p><br>
<h2>Troop statistics</h2><br>
<p>Engraved on granite blocks near the water pool at the east end of the monument are the casualty statistics for the soldiers who fought in the war.</p><br>
<p>Dead—United States:</p><br>
<p>54,246 (As of 2021, Worldwide - Korea Theater: 36,574, Non-Korea Theater: 17,672),</p><br>
<p>Revised 36,574 (As of 2021, Only in Korea Theater: Battle Deaths: 33,739, Other Deaths: 2,835)</p><br>
<p>Revised 36,634 (As of July 2022, Only in Korea Theater), United Nations: 4,216 (Corrected)</p><br>
<p>Wounded—United States: 103,284, United Nations: 11,297 (Corrected)</p><br>
<p>Captured United States: 7,140, United Nations: 1,367 (Corrected)</p><br>
<p>Missing— United States: 8,177, United Nations: 1,801 (Corrected)</p><br>
<h2>United States postage stamp court case</h2><br>
<p>On February 25, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on appeal that the memorial-sculptor Frank Gaylord was entitled to compensation for a 37-cent postage stamp—which used an image of the sculpture—because he had not signed away his intellectual property rights to the sculpture when it was erected. The appeals court rejected arguments that the photo was transformative.</p><br>
<p>In 2002, amateur photographer and retired Marine John Alli was paid $1,500 for the use of one of his photographs of the memorial on a snowy day for the stamp, which sold more than $17 million worth of stamps. In 2006, sculptor Frank Gaylord enlisted Fish & Richardson to make a claim that the Postal Service had violated his intellectual property rights to the sculpture and therefore he should have been compensated. The Postal Service argued that Gaylord was not the sole sculptor (saying he had received advice from federal sources, who recommended that the uniforms appear more in the wind) and also that the sculpture was actually architecture. Gaylord won all of his arguments in the lower court except for one—the court ruled the photo was fair use and thus he was not entitled to compensation. Gaylord challenged the fair-use ruling and won the case on appeal.</p><br>
<p>Gaylord had sought compensation of 10 percent of the sales. Gaylord&#39;s original commission was $775,000. On April 22, 2011, the US Court of Federal Claims awarded Gaylord $5,000. On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the order and remanded the case back to the US Court of Federal Claims. On September 20, 2013, the US Court of Federal Claims awarded Gaylord $684,844.94 in damages, including interest.</p><br>
<p>Longwood Gardens is a public garden that consists of more than 1,100 acres  of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the premier horticultural display gardens in the United States and is open to visitors year-round to enjoy native and exotic plants and horticulture , events and performances, seasonal and themed attractions, as well as educational lectures, courses, and workshops.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Longwood Gardens has a long, varied history. For thousands of years, the native Lenni Lenape tribe fished its streams, hunted its forests, and planted its fields. Evidence of the tribe&#39;s existence is found in quartz spear points that have been discovered on and around the property and can be found on display in the Peirce-du Pont House on the Longwood Gardens property.</p><br>
<p>In 1700, a Quaker farmer named George Peirce purchased 402 acres of this English-claimed land from William Penns commissioners. Georges son Joshua cleared and farmed the land and in 1730 he built the brick farmhouse that, enlarged, still stands today.</p><br>
<p>In 1798, Joshuas twin grandsons Samuel and Joshua, who had inherited the farm, actively pursued an interest in natural history and began planting an arboretum that eventually covered 15 acres. The collection included specimens that they collected from the wild as well as plants acquired from some of the regions leading botanists.</p><br>
<p>By 1850, the arboretum boasted one of the finest collections of trees in the nation and had become a place for the locals to gather outdoors—a new concept that was sweeping America at the time. Community picnics and socials were held at Peirces Park in the mid to late 19th century. The Pennsylvania guide noted in 1940 that "Longwood received its present name from Long Woods,&#39; as the section was known before the Civil War, when black slaves fleeing from the South found shelter in this station on the Underground Railroad,which was supported by Quakers of Kennett Square, Hamorton, and Wilmington, Delaware."</p><br>
<p>In the early 20th century, the familys heirs lost interest in the property and allowed the arboretum to deteriorate. The farm passed out of the family through several hands in quick succession, and a lumber mill operator was about to cut down the trees for timber in early 1906. This threat moved Pierre S. du Pont, American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and member of the du Pont family, to take action. On July 20, 1906, 36-year-old du Pont purchased the farm primarily to preserve the trees, in a transaction managed by Isabel Darlington, Chester Countys first female lawyer. He was not planning to create Longwood Gardens, but within a few years, his desire to make it a place where he could entertain his friends transformed a simple country farm into one of the country&#39;s leading horticultural display gardens.</p><br>
<p>Pierre du Pont opened the garden to the public in 1921 and in 1937 created the Longwood Foundation, which came under the control of trustees in 1946. When he died in 1954, he "had in place a well-funded yet adaptable mechanism for Longwood to continue." The garden was free, relying solely on its sizable endowment, until 1973, when it began charging admission.</p><br>
<p>In 2018, Longwood Gardens acquired the historic Longwood Cemetery from its volunteer-run management association. Chartered in 1855, Longwood Cemetery is located just outside of the main Gardens entrance, on Greenwood Road. It lies in front of the historic Longwood Progressive Friends Meeting House, founded by Quaker dissidents in 1854 and acquired by Pierre S. du Pont after it closed in 1940. Bayard Taylor, Eusebius Barnard, and Isaac Mendenhall are among the interments there.</p><br>
<p>In 2024 Longwood Gardens acquired Granogue, a 505 acres cultural landscape in Wilmington, Delaware and one of the last remaining unprotected pieces of open space in the Brandywine River corridor.</p><br>
<h2>Current use</h2><br>
<p>Today the 1,100 acres Longwood Gardens consists of varied outdoor gardens, ranging from formal to naturalistic in their landscape design. There are 1.6 acres of Conservatory gardens under glass, with 13 indoor gardens and 859 different types of permanent plants, as well as fountains. The Gardens also have extensive educational programs including a tuition-free two-year school of professional horticulture, a fellows program, and extensive internships. It hosts hundreds of horticultural and performing arts events each year, from flower shows, gardening demonstrations, courses, and children&#39;s programs to concerts, organ and carillon recitals, musical theatre, fountain shows, and fireworks displays. It also hosts an extensive Christmas light display during the holiday season.</p><br>
<p>The Gardens have attracted more than one million visitors a year since 2012. Plans for growth and expansion for the next four decades began in 2010 with the hiring of West 8, a Dutch landscape architecture and urban planning firm with headquarters in Rotterdam and an office in New York City. The founder of West 8, Adriaan Geuze, stated their mission is: "to celebrate Longwood, enjoy it, keep it, preserve it, while asking how it could function as a spectacular place for larger groups of people in the 21st century." The comprehensive Longwood plan is now complete and the first major project in the plan, the revitalization of the Main Fountain Garden, began in 2014 and completed in 2017.</p><br>
<h2>Grounds and fountains</h2><br>
<p>The development of Longwood as a public garden began in the 1800s with the Peirce familys arboretum. Joshua and Samuel Peirce collected many native and exotic trees, which they planted in straight rows on land east of their farmhouse. Peirce also added a historical marker for Hannah Freeman, purportedly the last surviving member of the Lenape people, who had been born in the area in 1731. This area became known as Peirces Park toward the end of the 19th century. Visitors to Longwood Gardens today still enjoy Peirce&#39;s Park, which is now punctuated by the Sylvan Fountain, added by Pierre S. du Pont in 1925–27.</p><br>
<p>After Pierre S. du Pont purchased the property in 1906, he began developing the outdoor gardens further, adding the 600-foot long Flower Garden Walk in 1907. The Flower Garden Walk features a pool known as the Round Fountain at the intersection of the main paths. Its simple jet of water was Longwood&#39;s first fountain.</p><br>
<p>In 1914, Pierre S. du Pont added the Open Air Theatre after visits to the Villa Gori in Siena, Italy, provided inspiration.</p><br>
<p>From 1925 to 1927, du Pont designed and constructed the Italian Water Garden on a site northeast of Longwood&#39;s Large Lake, after gaining inspiration from a visit to the Villa Gamberaia, near Florence, Italy.</p><br>
<p>In 1928, du Pont began adding fountains to a garden he had begun developing in 1921. This space, directly south of the Conservatory, would become du Ponts most ambitious project—the 5 acres Main Fountain Garden. The Main Fountain Garden "combines Italianate ornamentation and French grandeur with Worlds Fair showmanship. Like other great fountains, it is an engineering tour de force using the latest technology of the time." The Main Fountain Garden debuted to the public in 1931 and was the last major project in the gardens during du Pont&#39;s life.</p><br>
<p>In 1957, the Waterlily Display opened under the direction of Russell Seibert, who was Longwoods first director after Pierre du Ponts death in 1954.</p><br>
<p>In the 1970s, landscape architect Thomas Church was engaged to advise Longwood on long-range planning, garden improvement, and visitor circulation. He contributed to many spaces throughout the Gardens, and designed the Theatre Garden (opened in 1975), the Wisteria Garden (opened in 1976), and the Peony Garden (opened in 1976).</p><br>
<p>By 1977, Thomas Church could no longer visit because of his declining health, and the English designer Sir Peter Shepheard became Longwood&#39;s consulting architect. In 1987 he re-worked the original Waterlily Display layout. The re-designed garden opened in 1988.</p><br>
<p>In 1995, landscape architect W. Gary Smith designed Peirce&#39;s Woods as an "art form" garden that brings together the most ornamental characteristics of the eastern deciduous forest. Thousands of native plants were added, including 10,000 rescued from the North Carolina mountains prior to impending highway construction.</p><br>
<p>In 2014, Longwood Gardens unveiled its new Meadow Garden, an American landscape spanning 86 acres that showcases native plantings. The Meadow Garden is actively propagated with herbaceous perennials and includes other interventions to manage invasive plants, control trees and shrubs, and promote wildlife. The Meadow Garden was designed by Jonathan Alderson of Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects of Wayne, Pennsylvania. The historic Webb Farmhouse, which has stood on the property since the early 1700s, has been restored and serves as an interpretive center. John Milner Architects of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, led the restoration of the farmhouse.</p><br>
<p>In 2014, under the direction of Paul B. Redman, the gardens embarked on the largest project in its history at the time, the revitalization of its historic Main Fountain Garden. Led by architects Beyer Blinder Belle and Landscape Architects West 8, the Main Fountain Garden re-opened on May 27, 2017.</p><br>
<p>In 2021, Longwood embarked on Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the most ambitious expansion, reimagination, and preservation of Longwood&#39;s Conservatory and surrounding landscape in a century. With the November 2024 opening of Longwood Reimagined, new features include the 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory, featuring interior Mediterranean-inspired gardens set amid pools, canals, and fountains; the preservation and relocation of the Cascade Garden—the only design in North America by Roberto Burle Marx—in its own 3,800-square-foot custom glasshouse; a new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard; refreshed Waterlily Court; new 1906 restaurant and The Fountain Room event space overlooking the Main Fountain Garden; new central hub with studios, a library, and staff offices called The Grove; and a preserved and expanded Orchid House.</p><br>
<p>Outdoor gardens and garden features include: Birdhouse Treehouse, Canopy Cathedral Treehouse, Chimes Tower and Waterfall, Cow Lot, East Conservatory Plaza, Flower Garden Drive, Flower Garden Walk, Forest Walk, Hillside Garden, Idea Garden, Italian Water Garden, Large and Small Lake, Lookout Loft Treehouse, Natural Areas, Main Fountain Garden, Meadow Garden, Ornamental Kitchen Garden, Oak and Conifer Knoll, Peirces Park, Peirces Woods, Peony Garden, Rose Arbor, Rose Garden, Student Exhibition Garden, Theatre Garden, Topiary Garden, Waterlily Display, and Wisteria Gardens.</p><br>
<p>There are more than 750 acres (300 hectares) of natural areas that surround Longwoods formal gardens. Composed of more than 200 distinct plant communities and part of the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont, Longwoods natural areas include mature and regenerating forests, reforestation plantings, native tall-grass and forb meadows, wetlands, and streams. The care of these natural areas prioritizes long-term health and native biodiversity using adaptive management and scientific research.</p><br>
<h2>Conservatory</h2><br>
<p>Longwood&#39;s first conservatory was built in 1914 when Pierre S. du Pont added an L-shaped extension to the original Peirce farmhouse, doubling its size. A conservatory connected the old and new wings.</p><br>
<p>Longwood&#39;s second and largest conservatory, opened in 1921, is home to 4,600 types of plants and trees. Since its original construction began in 1919, it has undergone expansions and renovations. On Palm Sunday in 1966, the Palm House opened. This space was designed by Victorine and Samuel Homsey. The Palm House was closed in 2021 in preparation for Longwood Reimagined. In 1989, the new Silver Garden opened. This garden was designed by Isabelle Greene, and is meant to evoke the feeling of a dry desert stream bed.</p><br>
<p>In 1988, Roberto Burle Marx was asked to redesign the former Desert House in the Conservatory. Brazilian Burle Marx was one of the most celebrated landscape designers of the 20th century, and he had already visited and lectured at Longwood several times. The new garden was named the Cascade Garden and it opened in June 1992. The Cascade Garden was preserved and moved to its own custom-built glasshouse as part of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience.</p><br>
<p>In 1993, the 100-foot-long Mediterranean Garden opened in the Conservatory, designed by Ron Lutsko Jr. The Mediterranean Garden was closed in 2021 in preparation for Longwood Reimagined.</p><br>
<p>In January 2003, the East Conservatory was closed for renovation and redesign, with the main hall reopening to the public on October 29, 2005.</p><br>
<p>In 2007, a much larger Indoor Childrens Garden was opened in the Conservatory, replacing a small childrens garden that had been housed in the Conservatory since the 1980s.</p><br>
<p>In 2010, an indoor green wall, designed by British landscape architect Kim Wilkie was added to the Conservatory. This green wall contains 47,000 plants and was the largest green wall in North America when it opened. The Green Wall, which is the entrance way for a series of bathrooms, was voted America&#39;s Best Restroom in 2014.</p><br>
<p>Main Conservatory gardens include: Acacia Passage, Camellia House, East Conservatory, Exhibition Hall, Garden Path, Green Wall, Indoor Children&#39;s Garden, Orangery, Orchid House, and Silver Garden.</p><br>
<h2>Peirce-du Pont House</h2><br>
<p>The Peirce-du Pont House dates from 1730 and is the oldest building at Longwood Gardens. It was the family homestead of the Peirce family until 1905 and then became the weekend residence of Pierre du Pont from 1906 until his death in 1954. It is now open to the public every day of the year and is included with general admission to the gardens.</p><br>
<p>This spacious country home resulted from five major periods of construction covering nearly 200 years. The original two-story brick farmhouse was built by Joshua Peirce in 1730 to replace a log cabin built in 1709. The brick pattern was Flemish bond brickwork with dark glazed headers and unglazed stretchers. The roof had a simple cornice and pent eaves protected the first floor windows and doors. In 1764, a two-story addition was made to the east end of the house and included a new dining room. The house was enlarged in 1824 adding a large addition to the north of the original structure. This building campaign doubled the size of the Peirce&#39;s house. In 1909, Pierre du Pont modernized the house with a two-story addition to the north. Plumbing, electricity, and heating were added throughout the house.</p><br>
<p>The largest addition was built by du Pont in 1914 when a mirror image of the original farmhouse was added to the north. At the same time, the two wings were connected by Longwood&#39;s first conservatory.</p><br>
<p>After Pierre du Ponts death in 1954, the 1914 rooms were converted into administrative offices. Many of du Ponts possessions were distributed to the du Pont family, although his garden books were retained and form the basis for Longwoods horticultural library. Du Ponts other books and his personal papers were transferred to what has become the Hagley Museum and Library near Wilmington, DE.</p><br>
<p>The Heritage Exhibit details Longwoods historical and horticultural legacy. It draws upon the extensive photographic and manuscript resources now stored at the Hagley Museum and Library to show the entire 300-year history of the property. Although the rooms housing the exhibit no longer appear residential, their architectural features have been preserved intact and are visible to visitors, as are photos in many rooms showing the decor during du Ponts occupancy.</p><br>
<h2>Plant collections</h2><br>
<p>Longwoods plant collections contain more than 13,500 taxa. Of those, Longwood has twelve core collections that are central to the mission of Longwood Gardens, and each core collection has a plan for its development, management, and display—devised and periodically reviewed Currently, four of the core collections are accredited by the American Public Gardens Association Plant Collection Network: Buxus, Chrysanthemum, Nymphaea, and Pierces trees. Legacy collections of Longwood Gardens are plant categories with specific uses that are integral to the historic display aesthetic of the Gardens. Additionally, Longwood Gardens is a Level IV ArbNet Accredited Arboretum and a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International.</p><br>
<p>Core Collections include:</p><br>
<p>Boxwood (Buxus): This collection maintains genetic diversity not captured in any other boxwood collection of its kind.</p><br>
<p>Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum): The Chrysanthemum Collection includes historic Asian (primarily Japanese) cultivars of the genus used for bonsai, cascade, doll, and thousand bloom cultivation techniques and represents one of the largest collections of its kind.</p><br>
<p>Peirce&#39;s Trees: The first of its kind, the Peirce’s Trees Collection includes trees originally found in Peirce’s Park and are examples of trees cultivated in the Philadelphia region during the 19th century.</p><br>
<p>Waterlily (Nymphaea): The Waterlily Collection includes horticultural selections of the genus Nymphaea developed by North American breeders during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.</p><br>
<p>Bonsai: The Bonsai Collection at Longwood Gardens began in 1959 with a purchase of 13 trees from Yuji Yoshimura and, since that time, six curators have stewarded the collection and offered the necessary horticultural skills to continue the bonsai training. A recent donation from The Kennett Collection has led to the current collection that consists of more than 150 trees, 14 styles, and 14 plants from notable masters.</p><br>
<p>Camellia (Camellia): The Camellia Collection includes species and cultivated selections of camellia hardy in the greater Philadelphia region. The collection maintains an active breeding program dedicated to producing hybrids with increased cold tolerance using selected accessions from evaluation plots.</p><br>
<p>Magnolia (Magnolia): The Magnolia Collection includes species and horticultural selections of the genus Magnolia native to eastern North America.</p><br>
<p>Oak (Quercus): The Oak Collection includes species and horticultural selections of the genus Quercus, native to eastern North America.</p><br>
<p>Orchids: Orchids were a favorite plant group of Pierre S. and Alice du Pont—both founding members of the American Orchid Society. There are more than 4,500 orchid plants in the collection representing 2,500 taxa. A rotating selection of orchids is on display in Longwood&#39;s Orchid House.</p><br>
<p>Historical Cattleya Hybrids and Cultivars: The collection comprises historical (primarily pre-1950) hybrid and cultivar selections, many of which have become rare in commercial horticulture.</p><br>
<p>Disa: Longwood Gardens was the first institution to flower Disa uniflora in the United States. Longwood&#39;s collection is one of the only collections of this genus at a public garden in the US.</p><br>
<p>US Native Orchids: This collection comprises endangered, rare, or threatened native species from Pennsylvania or the mid-Atlantic region. Plants are obtained through seed propagation and cultivation research. Select taxa were featured at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show.</p><br>
<p>Plants of Conservation Value: This core collection consists of plants that are rare, threatened, or endangered based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List or NatureServe criteria. These plants are located in Longwood&#39;s gardens, meadows, conservatories, or research greenhouses and represent plants grown for research, restoration, and display purposes. Examples of these plants found in the public garden areas include Hamamelis ovalis and Polemonium vanbruntiae.</p><br>
<p>Rhododendron and Deciduous Azalea (Rhododendron): This collection focuses on the acquisition and evaluation of US native deciduous azalea species and their hybrids along with a diversity of evergreen rhododendrons.</p><br>
<p>Water-platter (Victoria): This collection includes both species of the genus Victoria from documented wild origin or their progeny, and the hybrid (‘Longwood Hybrid’), which was first developed and is continually maintained at Longwood Gardens. Germplasm from this collection is distributed on a yearly basis to other botanical institutions, giving the collection a leading role in modern, world-wide Victoria conservation efforts.</p><br>
<p>Legacy Collections are plant categories with specific uses that are integral to the historic display aesthetic of Longwood Gardens.</p><br>
<p>Legacy Collections include:</p><br>
<p>Clivia: The Clivia Collection represents the results of nearly 50 years of breeding work. The Clivia Breeding Program started in 1976 with the goal of producing a superior yellow-flowered clivia.</p><br>
<p>Holly: The Holly Collection includes native species, cultivars, and hybrids of the genus Ilex. Hollies feature prominently throughout the Gardens and natural lands. Three cultivars, Ilex × attenuata ‘Longwood Gold’, Ilex opaca ‘Longwood Gardens’, and Ilex serrata ‘Longwood Firefall’ were selected at Longwood Gardens and will be maintained in perpetuity.</p><br>
<p>Iconic Floriculture: This collection includes plants that are technically difficult to grow and an essential part of Longwood’s seasonal displays. Examples of these include Plectranthus thyrsoideus, Echium candicans Select Blue, Echium wildpretii, Geranium maderense, and Allamanda cathartica ‘Hendersonii.’</p><br>
<p>Iconic Garden and Conservatory Plants: This collection includes species and cultivars that are held only at Longwood Gardens, along with plants that are an essential part of Longwoods permanent Conservatory display, difficult to obtain commercially, and are of conservation value. Examples of these include Amorphophallus titanum, Encephalartos woodii, and Citrus Oroblanco&#39;.</p><br>
<h2>Education programs</h2><br>
<p>Longwood offers continuing education for both beginning and professional gardeners in the areas of horticulture and gardening, landscape design, creative arts, floral design, and conservation and stewardship. It provides free K-12 programs for students and educators that are tied to Next Generation Science Standards, and its high school offerings focus on such topics as environmental stewardship, biodiversity, and plant propagation. It also offers free self-guided and educator-guided field trips designed for pre-K through grade 12 students.</p><br>
<p>Programs include internships for USA students in 16 areas of specialization: arboriculture, conservatory management, display design, education, greenhouse production, guest engagement and visitor programs, horticulture research, integrated pest management, library and information services, marketing and public relations, natural lands management, nursery management, outdoor display, performing arts, plant records management, and turf management. Internships for international students are offered in the areas of education, library science, marketing and public relations, and ornamental horticulture.</p><br>
<p>For those pursuing a career in horticulture, Longwood offers a two-year, tuition-free Professional Horticulture Program. The Longwood Fellows Program is a 13-month residential and working experience that helps refine the skill level and heighten the self-awareness of leaders within public horticulture.</p><br>
<h2>Science at Longwood</h2><br>
<p>Since the 1950s, Longwood has advanced scientific understanding of the natural world, with a particular focus on preserving plant diversity, curating plant collections, developing innovative techniques for growing plants, maintaining healthy ecosystems, and continuing to study, refine, and maintain healthy soils.</p><br>
<h2>Performing arts</h2><br>
<p>Longwoods history as a performing arts venue coincides with the early history of the gardens. The first of Pierre S. du Ponts formal Gardens, the Flower Garden Walk, inspired him to host garden parties that often featured musical entertainment and fireworks.</p><br>
<p>Du Pont debuted his Open Air Theatre at such a garden party in 1914. By 1915, he had installed simple fountains in the stage floor, based on the Villa Gori theater he had visited in Italy. The Theatre was expanded in 1927 to include illuminated fountains in the stage floor and a 10-foot water curtain at its front. The 1,500-seat Open Air Theatre marked its 100th anniversary in 2014, having hosted more than 1,500 performances over the years, including theater troupes, Broadway-style musicals pageants, choruses, and the United States Marine Band. It continues to serve as a venue for summer performances.</p><br>
<p>In addition to using the Open Air Theatre, Longwood has experimented with a variety of performances in outdoor gardens—Indian sitar music set in the Italian Water Garden, Shakespearean theater staged on the Main Fountain Garden balcony, and modern dance choreographed for Peirce&#39;s Park.</p><br>
<p>Longwoods performance schedule expanded over time to become year-round, made possible by its indoor venues—the Ballroom and Exhibition Hall, both in the Conservatory. The Ballroom re-opened in October 2005 after extensive renovations. It was originally constructed in 1929 to house Longwoods pipe organ and to serve as a venue for concerts, lectures, and dinners, a tradition that continues today. The Ballroom is architecturally unique for its parquet floor, fabric-paneled walls, and ceiling made of 1,104 panes of rose-colored etched glass.</p><br>
<p>The Exhibition Hall has hosted hundreds of performing artists, including the Meyer Davis dance band, Metropolitan Opera sopranos, John Philip Sousa, and South African vocal groups. The bougainvillea trained on the pillars and walls is the original planting from the 1920s. Once used by the du Ponts for dances and dinner parties, the sunken marble floor is typically flooded with a few inches of water to reflect seasonal displays. The floor is periodically drained to continue the tradition of hosting performances and events in this space.</p><br>
<h3>Organ</h3><br>
<p>The resident Longwood Organ is a 10,010 pipe instrument designed by Longwood organist-in-residence Firmin Swinnen, a Belgian musician who moved to the US in 1916 and became a prominent theater organist in New York City. The organs pipes filled fourteen railway freight cars, and they needed a 72-horsepower (54 kW) blower motor to supply the wind pressure; the instrument was the largest pipe organ ever installed in a private residence. Pierre du Pont ordered this massive Aeolian organ in 1929 to replace the previous organ of 3,650 pipes, which he donated to the University of Delaware where it stayed until 1964. The four-manual organ plays into the Longwood ballroom and can be heard throughout the Conservatory when adjoining window panels are opened. Its pipes may be viewed from the rear through glass panels in Longwoods organ museum. The Longwood Organ underwent a restoration that began in 2004 and was completed in January 2011. The Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition welcomes the organ world&#39;s brightest young talents to compete on the Longwood Organ for the largest cash prize of any organ competition in the world.</p><br>
<h2>Carillon</h2><br>
<p>In 1929, Pierre du Pont constructed Longwood&#39;s 61-foot-tall stone Chimes Tower based on a similar structure he had seen in France. He purchased the largest set of tower chimes he could find from the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago after first borrowing one chime to test its carrying power. Twenty-five tubular chimes were installed in the upper tower chamber and du Pont installed a switch in the Peirce-du Pont House so he could activate the chimes from his residence. These were replaced by an electronic carillon in 1956, and finally by a 62-cast-bell Eijsbouts carillon from the Netherlands installed in 2001.</p><br>
<p>Visitors also enjoy live concerts in the summer and fall.</p><br>
<h2>Seasonal attractions</h2><br>
<p>While there are many art and music events at Longwood Gardens throughout the year, there are five major periods of time where the entire gardens have an overarching theme. Those five themes and their approximate dates are:</p><br>
<p>Winter Wonder – Starts mid-January</p><br>
<p>Spring Blooms – Starts at the beginning of April</p><br>
<p>Festival of Fountains – Starts early May through October</p><br>
<p>Autumn&#39;s Colors – Starts in early September and finishes with the Chrysanthemum festival</p><br>
<p>A Longwood Christmas – Starts prior to Thanksgiving and finishes the first week of January</p><br>
<p>Corktown is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest extant neighborhood in the city. The current boundaries of the district include I-75 to the north, the John C. Lodge Freeway  to the east, Bagley and Porter streets to the south, and Rosa Parks Boulevard  to the west. The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.</p><br>
<p>The Corktown Historic District is largely residential, although some commercial properties along Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue are included in the district. The residential section is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a City of Detroit Historic District. The neighborhood contains many newer homes and retains some original Irish businesses.Ford&#39;s 2018 acquisition of Michigan Central Station has spurred significant development and revitalization efforts in Corktown, transforming it into a burgeoning hub of innovation and urban renewal.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Great Famine of Ireland of the 1840s resulted in extensive Irish migration to the United States and Canada. By the middle of the 19th century, they were the largest ethnic group settling in Detroit. Many of these newcomers settled on the west side of the city; they were primarily from County Cork, and thus the neighborhood came to be known as Corktown. By the early 1850s, half of the population of the 8th Ward (which contained Corktown) were of Irish descent. Historically, the neighborhood was roughly bounded by Third Street to the east, Grand River Avenue to the north, 12th Street to the west, and Jefferson Avenue/Detroit River to the south.</p><br>
<p>By the Civil War, German immigrants had begun making inroads into the Corktown neighborhood. Many immigrants had come from German provinces after the revolutions of 1848. By the turn of the century, the original Irish population had diffused through the city, and new immigrants, notably Mexican and Maltese, moved into this older housing. As the century progressed, migrants from the American South and Appalachia, both black and white, were lured by the jobs in the automobile industry and also went to the city. By the middle of the 20th century, the area of Corktown was reduced through urban renewal schemes, the building of light industrial facilities, and the creation of the Lodge Freeway and Fisher Freeway.</p><br>
<h2>Revitalization</h2><br>
<p>Corktown has seen a number of revitalization projects since 2005. These include the United Irish Societies Irish Plaza, dedicated in 2006; the 66,000-square foot (6,100 m2) Quicken Loans Technology Center, opened in 2015; and the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) headquarters, and youth sports facility at the old Tiger Stadium site at Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, developed in 2016. Opposite the PAL facility, a $37-million mixed-use development, The Corner, with 111 apartments, and 34 townhomes for sale, broke ground in early 2018. Also in 2016, the new Trumbull & Porter boutique hotel opened after a $10 million renovation; and in 2017, Soave Enterprises broke ground on Elton Park, a multi-phase, multi-year $150 million, 420 apartment mixed-used development.</p><br>
<p>In 2024, Detroit City FC announced the acquisition of the site of the former Southwest Detroit Hospital with plans to build a new soccer-specific stadium. The goal is to have the stadium ready by the 2027 season.</p><br>
<h3>Ford Corktown Campus</h3><br>
<p>A major redevelopment push in the area was started by the Ford Motor Company, which began development on an urban campus in Corktown in 2017 with its purchase, renovation and occupation of The Factory building at Michigan Ave. and Rosa Parks Blvd. Ford later bought other parcels of land in Corktown, including the Michigan Central Station and the adjacent Roosevelt Warehouse. Ford plans a new $740 million Corktown campus, including 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use development spread over the Michigan Central Station, Roosevelt Warehouse, the Factory building at 1907 Michigan Avenue, and build a new mixed-use 290,000-square foot (27,000 m2), four-story building on the vacant brass factory building site, known as "The Alchemy", at 2051 Rosa Park Blvd. Ford also announced plans to build two new parking structures.</p><br>
<p>The focus of the Corktown campus will be on autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles. Ford expects to move 2,500 of its employees to the campus with space for an additional 2,500 entrepreneurs, technology companies and partners related to Ford&#39;s expansion into Autos 2.0. Ford is also seeking $104 million in tax breaks from the city as part of a $250 million incentive package over 34 years.</p><br>
<p>In 2020, Ford revealed a new site plan for its 30-acre Corktown Campus, a walkable Mobility Innovation District built around the Michigan Central Station that includes green spaces, new buildings, and community involvement.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The original buildings in Corktown are Federal-style detached homes and rowhouses built by Irish settlers. A worker&#39;s row house circa 1840 is located on Sixth Street and is one of the oldest existing structures in the city of Detroit. In later years, modestly sized Victorian townhouses with Italianate, Gothic, and Queen Anne elements were constructed in the district.</p><br>
<p>Michigan Avenue in Corktown is notable for its historic red brick pavers, which have been a defining feature of the neighborhood for decades. These bricks, originally laid in the 1890s, are a remnant of Detroit’s early efforts to improve road quality and have been preserved to maintain the area’s historic charm.</p><br>
<p>Recent development plans aim to restore and reuse these historic pavers as part of the ongoing revitalization of the Michigan Avenue corridor.</p><br>
<h2>Education</h2><br>
<p>Residents are zoned to Detroit Public Schools. Residents are zoned to Owen at Pelham and King High School.</p><br>
<p>The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit operates the Most Holy Trinity School in Corktown. It is one of the four remaining Catholic grade schools in the city.</p><br>
<h2>Notable resident</h2><br>
<p>Sheila Cockrel, former Detroit City Council member</p><br>
<p>Golden Spike National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in east-central Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The nearest city is Corinne, approximately 23 mi east-southeast of the site.</p><br>
<p>It commemorates the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad where the Central Pacific Railroad and the first Union Pacific Railroad met on May 10, 1869. The final joining of the rails spanning the continent was signified by the driving of the ceremonial golden spike.</p><br>
<h2>Background</h2><br>
<p>The Golden Spike National Historical Park encompasses 2,735 acres. Initially just 7 acre when it was established in 1957, limited to the area near the junction of the two rail systems, the site was expanded by 2,176 acre in 1965 through land swaps and acquisition of approximately a strip of land mostly 400 ft wide along 15+1/2 mi of the former railroad right-of-way. It reached its present size in 1980. In addition to the Summit site where the rails were joined, the Park includes the two linear areas known as the west slope (west of the junction) and the east slope (east of the junction), which include worker campsites, partially-completed grades, incomplete cuts, specialty workshops, and two historical landmarks: where the Central Pacific finished its "Ten miles of track, laid in one day" tracklaying record (west slope) and where the Big Fill and Big Trestle were completed (east slope).</p><br>
<p>Although the line was abandoned in 1904 (bypassed by the Lucin Cutoff) and the original rails were removed in 1942 to serve the war effort, the site presently includes 2 mi of rebuilt track from the summit area (where the rail systems were joined) to a train storage building. The rebuilt track was designed to be an authentic representation of the 1869 rails.</p><br>
<p>In 2002, it received 49,950 visitors. annual visitation ranges from 48,000 to 64,000.</p><br>
<h3>History</h3><br>
<p>The first monument erected at the site was a concrete obelisk built by the Southern Pacific Railroad (successor to the Central Pacific). It has since been moved several times, but can presently be seen near the 1969 Visitor Center.</p><br>
<p>Bernice Gibbs Anderson founded and led the movement to have the site preserved as a memorial to the First Transcontinental Railroad, starting with articles about local history that began in 1926. Anderson was president of the Golden Spike Association of Box Elder County, which held its first re-enactment of the joining of the rails on May 10, 1952, using local volunteers organized by Judge B.C. Call from a script written by Marie Thorne Jepson.</p><br>
<p>It was authorized for federal ownership and administration by an act of Congress on July 30, 1965, as Golden Spike National Historic Site. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed into law March 12, 2019, redesignated it as a national historical park. Historic sites are typically a single building, while historical parks include multiple landmarks in a larger district.</p><br>
<p>28,000 visitors attended the centennial anniversary of the completion ceremony on May 10, 1969, including Bernice Gibbs Anderson. The 3,000 ft2 Visitor Center had just been completed. That year, the railroad grade was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The "119" (the V&T Reno) was sold to Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona, and the "Jupiter" (the Genoa), was sold to the state of California, and the two engines were sent to their respective new owners the following year, the latter engine joining the rest of the former Pacific Coast Chapter RLHS-owned equipment in what ultimately became the California State Railroad Museum. Replacing the engines at Promontory were the Virginia and Truckee locomotives nos. 22, Inyo, and 18, Dayton redecorated as the Jupiter and No. 119, respectively. These engines remained at the site until 1978, when they were sent to the state of Nevada, which had purchased them in 1974, to be a part of what ultimately became the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.</p><br>
<p>In 1978, a general master plan for the site was adopted with the goal of maintaining the site&#39;s scenic attributes as closely as possible to its appearance and characteristics in 1869. The functioning replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 locomotives were brought to the site in time to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the joining of the rails in 1979.</p><br>
<p>In 2006, a petition to the Board on Geographic Names resulted in a name change for Chinamans Arch, a 20 ft limestone arch at Golden Spike National Historical Park. Named Chinamans Arch in honor of the 19th century Chinese railroad workers, the arch was officially renamed in the same year as the Chinese Arch to mollify sensitivities about the original name.</p><br>
<p>On May 10, 2019, a 150th anniversary celebration was held in commemoration of the completion of the railroad. This event was attended by several notable local leaders, including Utah governor Gary Herbert and the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson.</p><br>
<p>Fort Myer is the previous name used for a USA Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboring Marine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, and is today named Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1861, the land that Fort Myer would eventually occupy was part of the Arlington estate, which Mary Anna Custis Lee, the wife of Robert E. Lee, owned and at which Lee resided when not stationed elsewhere (see Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial). When the Civil War began, the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the United States, Lee resigned his commission, and he and his wife left the estate. The United States Government then confiscated the estate and began to use it as a burial ground for Union Army dead (see Arlington National Cemetery), to house freed slaves (Freedmen&#39;s Village), and for military purposes, including the Civil War defenses of Washington (see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War).</p><br>
<h3>Fort Cass</h3><br>
<p>Shortly after the Union Armys rout at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Army constructed in August 1861 a lunette (Fort Ramsay) on the future grounds of Fort Myer. One of the first fortifications built on the Arlington Line, the lunette was located at and near the present posts Forest Circle.</p><br>
<p>A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army&#39;s Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization) noted the following:</p><br>
<p>Fort Cass, Maj. N. Shatswell commanding.–Garrison, two companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery—8 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 220 men. Armament, three 6-pounder field guns (smooth), five 20-pounder Parrotts (rifled), three 24-pounder siege guns (smooth), one 24-pounder F. D. howitzer (smooth), one 24-pounder Coehorn mortar. Magazines, two; dry and in good condition. Ammunition, full supply, well packed and in serviceable condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for the work.</p><br>
<p>Although the Army abandoned the lunette in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, the United States War Department continued to control its property.</p><br>
<h3>Fort Whipple</h3><br>
<p>Following the Union Army&#39;s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in August 1862, the Army constructed Fort Whipple on the grounds of the former Arlington estate during the spring of 1863. The fort was located a short distance southeast of Fort Cass. The Army named the fort after Brevet Major General Amiel Weeks Whipple, who died in May 1863 of wounds received during the Battle of Chancellorsville. The fort was considered to be one of the strongest fortifications erected for the defense of Washington during the Civil War.</p><br>
<p>The May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army&#39;s Inspector of Artillery noted the following:Fort Whipple, Major Rolfe commanding.–Garrison, three companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– l major, 13 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 414 men. Armament, six 12-pounder field guns (smooth), four 12-pounder field howitzers (smooth), eight 12-pounder James guns (rifled), eleven 4.5-inch ordnance Magazines, four; two not in a serviceable condition. Ammunition, full supply; good condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient; interior work.</p><br>
<p>The Civil War ended in 1865. Fort Whipple, with its fortifications abandoned, then became the home of the Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers, established in 1869.</p><br>
<h3>Fort Myer</h3><br>
<p>On February 4, 1881, the Army post containing Fort Whipple was renamed Fort Myer as an honor to Brigadier General Albert J. Myer, who had commanded the newly established Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers from 1869 until he died in August 1880. Since then, the post has been a Signal Corps post, a showcase for the US Armys cavalry, and, since the 1940s, home to the Armys elite ceremonial units—The United States Army Band ("Pershing&#39;s Own") and the 3rd USA Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard").</p><br>
<p>The National Weather Service was originated there by General Albert J. Myer in 1870.</p><br>
<p>Fort Myer was the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation. Several exhibition flights by Orville Wright took place there in 1908. On 17 September 1908 it became the location of the first airplane fatality, as Lt. Thomas Selfridge was killed when on a demonstration flight with Orville, at an altitude of about 100 ft, a propeller split, sending the aircraft out of control. Selfridge suffered a concussion in the crash and later died, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft. Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg.</p><br>
<p>Quarters One on Fort Myer, which was originally built as the garrison commander&#39;s quarters, has been the home of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army since 1908 when Major General J. Franklin Bell took up residence. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, except for General John J. Pershing.</p><br>
<p>The United States Navy established the nations first radio telecommunications station, NAA, near Fort Myer in 1913. In 1915, the stations radio towers, "The Three Sisters", transmitted to Paris the first wireless communication that crossed the Atlantic Ocean.</p><br>
<p>During World War I, Fort Myer was a staging area for a large number of engineering, artillery, and chemical companies and regiments. The area of Fort Myer now occupied by Andrew Rader Health Clinic and the Commissary were made into a trench-system training grounds where French officers taught the Americans about trench warfare.</p><br>
<p>General George S. Patton Jr., who was posted at Fort Myer four different times, started the charitable "Society Circus" after World War I. He ultimately was post commander and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Regiment that was stationed at Fort Myer from the 1920s to 1942 when the regiment was sent to Georgia to get mechanized.</p><br>
<p>In late 2001, troops, deployed in response to the September 11th attacks, were bivouacked at Fort Myer. These troops were under Operation Noble Eagle. These included both active and National Guard Military Police units from around the nation. In 2005 the last remaining deployed responders were demobilized.</p><br>
<h3>Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall</h3><br>
<p>As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission initiative to create more efficiency of efforts, the Armys Fort Myer and the Marines Henderson Hall became the first Joint Base in the Department of Defense. Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall (JBMHH) consists of military installations at Fort Myer, Henderson Hall, The Pentagon, and Fort Lesley J. McNair. These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, and retired military personnel in the region.</p><br>
<h2>Commemorative</h2><br>
<p>The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, for its well-preserved concentration of cavalry facilities and officers&#39; quarters, and for its importance in military aviation history. On September 1, 1970, the United States Postal Service issued its first day cover of a postcard celebrating the 100th anniversary of Weather Services at Fort Myer.</p><br>
<p>A pamphlet and one book have been published about Fort Myer. The book, Images of America: Fort Myer, contains a copy of a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln that appointed General Whipple&#39;s oldest son to the United States Military Academy at West Point.</p><br>
<p>The Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House  is a government building, museum, and former custom house at 1 Bowling Green, near the southern end of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, it was erected from 1902 to 1907 by the government of the United States as a headquarters for the Port of New York&#39;s duty collection operations. The building contains the George Gustav Heye Center museum, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the New York regional offices of the National Archives. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places  as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP.</p><br>
<p>The Custom House is a seven-story steel-framed structure with a stone facade and elaborate interiors. The exterior is decorated with nautical motifs and sculptures by twelve artists. The second through fourth stories contain colonnades with Corinthian columns. The main entrance consists of a grand staircase flanked by Four Continents, a set of four statues by Daniel Chester French. The second-story entrance vestibule leads to a transverse lobby, a rotunda, and offices. The rotunda includes a skylight and ceiling murals by Reginald Marsh. The George Gustav Heye Center, a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian, operates on the ground and second stories, while the upper stories contain USA government offices.</p><br>
<p>The building was proposed in 1889 as a replacement for the previous New York Custom House at 55 Wall Street. Because of various disagreements, the Bowling Green Custom House was not approved until 1899; Gilbert was selected as architect following a competition. The building opened in 1907, and the murals in the rotunda were added in 1938 during a Works Progress Administration project. The United States Customs Service moved out of the building in 1974, and it remained vacant for over a decade until renovations in the late 1980s. The Custom House was renamed in 1990 to commemorate Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and its first Secretary of the Treasury. The Heye Center opened in 1994.</p><br>
<h2>Site</h2><br>
<p>The Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House occupies a trapezoidal plot bounded by Bowling Green to the north, Whitehall Street to the east, Bridge Street to the south, and State Street to the west. The Whitehall Street and State Street elevations are 300 ft wide; the main elevation on Bowling Green is 200 ft wide; and the rear elevation on Bridge Street is 290 ft wide., a concrete retaining wall measuring 16 ft deep was being built around the building. Nearby buildings include the International Mercantile Marine Company Building and the Bowling Green Offices Building to the northwest, 26 Broadway to the northeast, 2 Broadway to the east, and One Battery Park Plaza to the south.</p><br>
<p>There are entrances to two New York City Subway stations immediately outside the Custom House. An entrance to the Whitehall Street station is adjacent to the eastern side of the building, while an entrance to the Bowling Green station is to the north. The building occupies the site of Fort Amsterdam, constructed by the Dutch West India Company to defend their operations in the Hudson Valley. The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, the precursor to modern-day New York City, was developed around the fort. Bowling Green, immediately to the north, is the oldest park in New York City. The Government House occupied the site in the late 18th century before its demolition in 1815. The houses of several wealthy New Yorkers were subsequently developed at that location.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<p>The Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House is seven stories high with a stone facade and an interior steel frame. It was designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style. The design is similar to those of previous custom houses in New York City, namely Ithiel Towns Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street and Isaiah Rogerss Merchants&#39; Exchange building at 55 Wall Street.</p><br>
<p>The building&#39;s design incorporates Beaux-Arts and City Beautiful planning principles, combining architecture, engineering, and fine arts. Sculptures, paintings, and decorations by well-known artists of the time, such as Daniel Chester French, Karl Bitter, Louis Saint-Gaudens, and Albert Jaegers, embellish various portions of the interior and exterior.</p><br>
<h3>Facade</h3><br>
<p>Unlike most custom houses, which face the waterfront, the Alexander Hamilton Custom House faces inland toward Bowling Green. Its main entrance is on the northern facade, the only side that does not overlook the Lower Manhattan waterfront. The exterior is decorated throughout with nautical motifs such as dolphins and waves, interspersed with classical icons such as acanthus leaves and urns.</p><br>
<p>The first-floor facade is composed of rusticated blocks The main entrance is on the northern elevation, where a wide stairway leads to the second floor. The keystone at the top of the arch depicts the head of Columbia, the female personification of the United States, and was designed by Vicenzo Albani. The lintel above the main entrance, quarried in Maine, weighed 50 ST and measured 30 by.</p><br>
<p>The second through fourth stories contain engaged columns in the Corinthian style; some of these columns are paired while the others are single. There are 44 columns in total: twelve each on the north, east, and west elevations and eight on the south elevation. The second story is the piano nobile; the windows on this story are flanked by brackets and capped by enclosed pediments, with carved heads above them (see ). The third- and fourth-story windows, conversely, are less ornately decorated; this was normal for Beaux-Arts buildings, which generally had greater detailing on the more visible lower levels. The lintels above the third-story windows are decorated with wave motifs, while those above the fourth floor depict shells. The center portion of the Bridge Street facade reaches only to the third story.</p><br>
<p>The fifth-story facade consists of a full-story entablature with a frieze and short rectangular windows. The sixth story is directly above it, while the seventh story consists of a red-slate mansard roof with dormer windows and copper cresting. The mansard roof is extremely steep, allowing the seventh-story attic to be designed as a full floor of usable space.</p><br>
<h4>Sculptures</h4><br>
<p>Twelve sculptors were hired to create the figural groups on the exterior. The work was made of marble and sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers; each sculptural group cost $13,500. The primary figure of each group is a woman and is flanked by smaller human figures. In addition, Asias figure is paired with a tiger, and Africas figure is paired with a lion.</p><br>
<p>The capitals of each of the 44 columns are decorated with carved heads depicting Hermes, the Greek god of commerce. The windows on the main facade are topped by eight keystones, which contain carved heads with depictions of eight human races. One source described the keystones as representing "Caucasian, Hindu, Latin, Celt and Mongol, Italian, African, Eskimo, and even the Coureur de Bois".</p><br>
<p>Above the main cornice are a group of standing sculptures that personify seafaring nations. There are twelve such statues, which depict commercial hubs through both ancient and modern history. Eight sculptors were commissioned for this work. Bitter created a cartouche of the United States&#39; coat of arms for the roof.</p><br>
<h3>Interior</h3><br>
<p>A barrel-vaulted entrance vestibule, supported by marble columns and decorated with multicolored mosaics, is just inside the entrance. Behind bronze gates is a passageway to the Great Hall. This creates a light court above the rotunda, which measures 80 ft wide on its north end, 120 ft wide on its south end, and 200 ft deep.</p><br>
<p>Stairways, made of marble with iron handrails, connect the interior spaces. Because the original appropriation was limited in scope, decorative elements in the initial construction were limited to several important rooms, including the rotundas, hallways, lobby, and collector&#39;s office. The walls of these spaces are clad with marble in multiple hues, and there are nautical motifs in numerous locations.</p><br>
<h4>Second floor</h4><br>
<p>The second-floor ceiling is generally 23 ft tall. This floor consists of the former office spaces in the front and rear, the transverse lobby, and the rotunda. The second-floor space, including the former offices, is almost entirely occupied by the Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian.</p><br>
<h4>=Transverse lobby=</h4><br>
<p>The transverse lobby spans the northern end of the second floor from west to east. Generally, the more important offices were positioned north of the lobby, while divisions dealing in more routine work were relegated to the south. Following the conversion of the second floor into the Heye Center, the former back offices have been occupied by various exhibition galleries; the cashier&#39;s office houses the museum store; and a café occupies the Northwest office adjacent to the main entrance.</p><br>
<p>Membrane arches divide the lobby into five bays. There are two doorways on the walls, each topped by carved architraves with nautical symbols. The doors from the lobby to the former offices are made of varnished oak and stippled glass. At the center of the lobby is a three-bay-wide foyer with a pair of round arches to the north and south, which are supplemented by green Doric-style marble columns with white capitals. The bays of the foyer are separated by marble piers. Three bronze lanterns are suspended from the vaulted ceiling, hanging above a red-marble disc on the floor. Elmer E. Garnsey designed murals for the ceiling.</p><br>
<p>Semicircular staircases, with bronze railings and marble stair treads, flank the lobby. The stairs do not have any metal support structures and are composed entirely of flat, hard-burned clay tiles. Under each stair are timbrel vaults, which connect each landing. The stairs rise to the seventh floor, which contains a skylight that is meant to evoke the design of a ship&#39;s cabin. Only the western stair between the first and second floors is open to the public. The elevator doors in the lobby are topped by bronze transom grilles that depict a caravel or sailing ship. There are two additional stairs at the rear, or southern, end of the building.</p><br>
<h4>=Offices and rotunda=</h4><br>
<p>The collectors office is at the northwestern corner of the second floor. The office contains elaborate hardwood floors and oak wainscoting designed by Tiffany Studios; Each painting has a gold frame and depicts a Dutch or English port in the New World. The coffered plaster ceiling has molded decorations, including a motif of the collectors monogram. The room is normally closed to the public but can be rented for events.</p><br>
<p>The managers office is next to the collectors office and is decorated with plain plaster walls, topped by a cornice in the Ionic order. The northeastern corner housed the cashiers office, which featured a white-marble countertop with a bronze screen. The southern half of the cashiers room has white-marble walls and was originally where members of the public conducted their transactions. The northern half, where the cashiers themselves worked, has plaster walls. The ornate plasterwork ceiling is decorated to resemble Renaissance "boxed beams", while the marble floor has a geometric border. The former cashiers office has been incorporated into the Heye Centers museum store.</p><br>
<p>The elliptical rotunda, within the building&#39;s interior courtyard, measures 85 by and rises to the third story. The underside of the ceiling bears eight trapezoidal panels, as well as eight long, narrow panels between them. The panels contain fresco-secco murals, which were painted in 1937 by Reginald Marsh and eight assistants as part of the Treasury Relief Art Project. The larger murals portray shipping activity in the Port of New York and New Jersey, while the smaller murals depict notable explorers of the New World and the Port of New York. The rotunda can be rented for special events.</p><br>
<h4>Other stories</h4><br>
<p>The ground story is 20 ft tall. There are also two ramps for delivery vehicles. About 6,000 ft2 of storage space on the ground floor, under the rotunda, was converted into the George Gustav Heye Center&#39;s Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures in 2006. This pavilion consists of a slightly sloped circular space seating 400 people, surrounding a maple dance floor.</p><br>
<p>The Custom House&#39;s trapezoidal site was excavated to an average depth of 25 ft. Two stories were placed beneath the ground level. The first basement was just above sea level and had a 13 ft ceiling, while the second basement had a waterproof asphalt-and-tar floor. When the post office was in operation, mail arrived through the delivery docks and was sorted in the basement.</p><br>
<p>The upper stories contain office space. The outer portion of the fifth story was initially used for document storage; the windows are small apertures within the entablature, making that story unsuitable for office use. The ceilings of the upper stories are between 12 and tall. Some of the offices on the upper stories were ornately decorated. In particular, the Naval Commander of the Ports office at the northwest corner of the third floor was decorated in dark oak. The Treasury Secretarys office at the northeast corner of the seventh floor was finished in quartered oak and contained Circassian-walnut furniture.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The United States Customs Service had been formed in 1789 with the passage of the Tariff Act, which authorized the collection of duties on imported goods. The Port of New York was the primary port of entry for goods reaching the United States in the 19th century and, as such, the New York Custom House was the countrys most profitable custom house. Import taxes were a major revenue stream for the federal government before a national income tax was implemented in 1913 with the passage of the 16th Amendment. The New York Custom House had supplied two-thirds of the federal governments revenue at one point. Because the salary of the collector was tied to the custom houses revenue, the New York Custom Houses collector earned more than the USA president, and the position was extremely powerful. served as New York Citys custom house before the Alexander Hamilton Custom House was built.alt=Black-and-white sketch of the Merchants Exchange BuildingThe New York Custom House had occupied several sites in Lower Manhattan before the Alexander Hamilton Custom House was built. The first such house was established in 1790 at South William Street. The custom house moved to the Government House on the site of Fort Amsterdam in 1799. The customs service relocated numerous times in the 19th century before opening an office at 55 Wall Street in 1862. The Wall Street location had been optimal during the mid-19th century because it was close to the Subtreasury at 26 Wall Street, thereby making it easy to transport gold.</p><br>
<h3>Planning and construction</h3><br>
<p>The Custom House on Wall Street had become overcrowded by 1887. William J. Fryer Jr., superintendent of repairs of New York Citys federal-government buildings, wrote to the United States Department of the Treasurys Supervising Architect in February 1888 about the "old, damp, ill-lighted, badly ventilated" quarters at 55 Wall Street. Architecture and Building magazine called the letter "worthy of thoughtful investigation". The 55 Wall Street building&#39;s proximity to the Subtreasury was no longer advantageous, as it was easier to use a check or certificate to make payments on revenue. Soon after, Fryer presented his report to the New York State Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber said in 1889: "We have not seriously considered the removal of the present Custom House proper, since it is well located, and, if found inadequate, can easily be easily be enlarged to meet all the wants of the Government for an indefinite time to come."</p><br>
<h4>Site selection</h4><br>
<p>Fryer recommended Bowling Green as his first preference for a new custom house, followed by a site immediately south, along State Street north of Battery Park. The USA House and Senate both passed a bill in March 1889, appropriating $750,000 for a new custom house in the vicinity of Bowling Green. One supporter of the Bowling Green site implied that it had been left that way "in order that New York might have a public building worthy of the city and the nation". Almost immediately, Windom was accused of exceeding his authority in selecting the new site. and a judge ruled in 1891 that the federal government could not take the Bowling Green site by eminent domain as it had proposed to do.</p><br>
<p>Both houses of the USA Congress passed a bill to acquire land for a new custom house in New York City, and to sell the old building, in March 1891. The federal government appointed three commissioners to appraise the cost of acquiring land at Bowling Green; in July 1892, the appraisers estimated that the site would cost $1.96 million (about $ million in ). Still, in January 1893, there was not enough money to purchase the lots at Bowling Green. The lessees and landowners were supposed to receive $2.1 million (equivalent to $ million in ), but there was only $1.5 million on hand (equivalent to $ million in ). The 1891 bill had allowed up to $2 million for land acquisition and had required that the previous building be sold for at least $4 million. Members of Congress voted against a bill in March 1893 to appropriate an additional $800,000 for the site. Because of a lack of funding, the planned custom house at Bowling Green was abandoned at the end of that month.</p><br>
<p>The project did not proceed further until January 1897, when bills for the acquisition of the Bowling Green site were introduced in both houses of Congress. Federal legislators proposed further appropriations, but the Treasury retained the disbursements that would have gone to the landowners. The federal government chose an alternate site for the appraisers warehouse in the West Village of Manhattan, near where much of the citys international shipping activity took place.</p><br>
<h4>Site acquisition and architectural competition</h4><br>
<p>Architectural writer Donald Reynolds stated that the new custom house was to be as modern as possible, with "an architectural style that embodied the tradition of the customs service, the federal government, and the United States with the latest building technology". The Tarsney Act, passed in 1893, permitted the Supervising Architect to host a competition to hire private architects to design federal-government buildings. The act did not take effect until Treasury secretary Lyman J. Gage took office in 1897. Furthermore, it was difficult for the federal government to sell the old building for the required price of $4 million (about $ million in ). The new New York Custom House was only the fourth building to be built under the Tarsney Act.</p><br>
<p>Republican Party officials wished to have complete control over spending for the new custom house building.</p><br>
<p>The USA House and Senate passed the Bowling Green bills in early 1899. At the time, most of the structures on the site were three-story houses used by steamship offices; The next month, the old Custom House was sold for $3.21 million (about $ million in ). Twenty firms were invited in May 1899 to submit designs to the competition under the terms of the Tarsney Act; Federal supervising architect James Knox Taylor stipulated that any plan include a ground-level basement and up to six stories, as well as a southward-facing light court above the third story. A committee of three men, including Taylor, was appointed to look over the submissions.</p><br>
<p>By September 1899, there were two finalists: architecture firm Carrere & Hastings and architect Cass Gilbert. Some of the opposition centered around the fact that Gilbert was a "westerner" who had just moved from Minnesota to New York City, and several opponents raised doubts about the jurys competence. Gage certified Gilberts selection in November 1899. Opposition to his selection decreased significantly afterward after the American Institute of Architects&#39; New York chapter criticized the controversy as "unseemly".</p><br>
<h4>Construction</h4><br>
<p>Demolition of existing buildings on the site began in February 1900, and demolition contractor Seagrist & Co. had cleared the site by that July. The next month, workers drilled test bores for the new Custom Houses foundations. Contracts for the buildings foundations and structural steel were delayed because the federal government had received several bids, whose estimated completion dates differed significantly. Isaac A. Hopper was contracted to excavate the site that December. The collector of the Port of New York, George R. Bidwell, claimed the contract should have been awarded to the next highest bidder, Charles T. Wills, who like Bidwell was a Republican. The site was excavated to a depth of 25 ft, and some 2.2 e6ft3 of dirt was removed. The New-York Tribune called the site "the biggest hole that was ever made in this city over which to erect a building".</p><br>
<p>The federal government also requested bids for the buildings facade. The government was not allowed to request material from a specific quarry, so multiple contractors submitted bids for numerous types of marble, limestone, and granite. At the time, there was only $3 million budgeted toward the Custom Houses completion (equal to $ million in ). The federal government was required to obtain a congressional appropriation before the project could be completed, so federal officials told Peirce to build only the first story. Peirce was authorized to complete the remaining stories in November 1902, after another $1.5 million (equal to $ million in ) was allocated. Under the terms of the contract, Pierce was to procure Fox Island granite and would be paid $2.2 million (equal to $ million in ).</p><br>
<p>The cornerstone of the building was laid on October 7, 1902, in a ceremony attended by Treasury secretary Leslie M. Shaw. After a ticker tape parade down Broadway, the cornerstone, filled with contemporary souvenirs and artifacts, was placed at the northeast corner of the site. The facade was finished by the following January.</p><br>
<h3>Use by USA Customs Service</h3><br>
<p>The buildings first tenant was a United States Post Office Department station, which opened on the Bridge Street side of the buildings ground floor in July 1906. At the time, many of the interior furnishings had not been added, and Congress was reluctant to provide additional funds. The USA Customs Service moved its offices to Bowling Green on November 4, 1907. With a proposed final cost of $4.5 million (approximately $ million in ), it would be more expensive than any other public building in New York City except for the Tweed Courthouse.</p><br>
<h4>1900s to 1930s</h4><br>
<p>Following the Customs Services relocation to the Custom House, other government agencies with offices in New York City, such as the Weather Bureau, also moved to the Bowling Green Custom House. By 1908, the Custom House was fully occupied by these other agencies, as the Treasurys chief architect had assigned space to other departments without consulting with the collector. The next year, the House of Representatives approved the installation of a pneumatic-tube system so the post office and custom house could send packages to the appraisers warehouse. A bronze tablet, marking the historical site of a Native American gathering place, was dedicated at the Custom Houses main entrance in 1909. Another tablet was dedicated at the Custom House in 1912, marking the site of the first mass in New York City, which had taken place in 1683.</p><br>
<p>The Consular Bureau opened an office at the Custom House in 1910. A regional tax office, where companies and residents in Manhattan south of 23rd Street paid taxes, opened at the Bowling Green Custom House in 1914. Various other agencies such as the Life-Saving Service and Secret Service also had offices in the Custom House. Federal officials determined that it was not feasible to remove the Germania statue, which weighed 5 ST. Instead, in September 1918, Gilbert was directed to remove the German insignia on the entablature&#39;s Germania statue and replace them with Belgian insignia.</p><br>
<p>A plaque honoring Richard Nicolls, the first colonial governor of the Province of New York, was dedicated at the Custom House in 1931. Large amounts of dirt had accumulated on the facade over the years, and workers steam-cleaned the facade and refurbished the interior in 1934. During the Great Depression, in April 1937, collector Harry M. Durning commissioned Reginald Marsh to paint murals in the main rotunda as part of the Treasury Relief Art Project, with funds and assistance from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The ceiling of the rotunda had been undecorated white plaster when the building was erected. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce also relocated from the building in late 1937.</p><br>
<h4>1940s to early 1970s</h4><br>
<p>USA president Franklin D. Roosevelt requested in May 1939 that Congress appropriate $190,000 to renovate the Custom House. Congress approved the appropriation but later reduced it by $90,000. Durning asked Congress in 1940 to restore the appropriation, saying that "men falling out of ancient chairs, and our valuable records and current papers stacked on desks and improperly filed in decrepit cabinets and bookshelves". At the time, the building had 1,865 employees, of which 847 worked for the Customs Service; according to Durning, the New York Custom House handled half of the United States&#39; customs business. The building also housed the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the USA Post Office, the Commerce Department, and eight other agencies of the USA government.</p><br>
<p>The Custom House&#39;s regional tax office began serving additional taxpayers in Staten Island and Midtown Manhattan in 1951.</p><br>
<p>As early as 1964, the USA Customs Service was considering moving to the World Trade Center, which was under construction. The buildings other tenants at the time included the United States Coast Guard, whose Third District Search and Rescue Command was headquartered on the sixth floor. As a money-saving measure, in 1965, the Custom House began using a computerized system to record ships arrivals. The Public Buildings Service, an agency of the federal government, conducted a study of the Custom House in 1967, finding that the building needed at least $8 million in renovations. By the early 1970s, the facade was extremely dirty, and the front steps had been shuttered for several years because of security concerns.</p><br>
<p>The Customs Service leased space at Six World Trade Center from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1970. That year, the New York City Planning Commission considered transferring the site&#39;s unused air rights across the street to 1 Broadway, where the Walter Kidde Company planned to build a 50-story skyscraper. In exchange, the Walter Kidde Company would have been required to help preserve the Custom House. When the Customs Service moved out during 1973, the building had 1,375 employees, and the land under the building was estimated to be worth between $15 million and $20 million (about $– million in ). The General Services Administration (GSA) acquired the Bowling Green Custom House after the Customs Service relocated.</p><br>
<h3>Abandonment and restoration proposals</h3><br>
<h4>1970s plans</h4><br>
<p>Several lawyers and businessmen had formed the nonprofit Custom House Institute in late 1973. The next year, the federal government declared the building "surplus" property, making it available to the city government. Pei&#39;s proposal was not carried out, as the GSA found the proposal to be impractical.</p><br>
<p>From 1974 on, the Custom House was largely vacant. The buildings primary occupant was the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which occupied two stories; the Custom House Institute occupied the first floor. The other floors remained unused and were seldom open to the public except for special events. These included the bicentennial of the United States in 1976, a summer arts program in 1977, and another arts exhibition in 1979. Different parts of the building fell into various states of disrepair. Marshs ceiling murals and the commissioner&#39;s room remained relatively intact, but there was peeling paint in other offices, and weeds were growing from the statues outside.</p><br>
<p>The GSA announced a plan in 1977 to convert the building into federal offices for $20 million, but there was no progress for a year. The agency indicated in January 1979 that it would spend $25 million on renovating the Bowling Green Custom House (about $ million in ). USA senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan gave USA House representatives a tour of the building to convince them to fund its renovation. In September 1979, in part because of his advocacy, Congress approved $26.5 million for the renovation, including the restoration of Marshs murals. The GSA decided to host a competition for the Custom Houses restoration and reuse. The entrance and rotunda were to be refurbished; the upper stories would contain upgraded offices for the federal government, while the lower stories would host a public institution.</p><br>
<h4>1980s plans</h4><br>
<p>A joint venture of Marcel Breuer Associates, James Stewart Polshek Associates, Stewart Daniel Hoban and Associates, and Goldman-Sokolow-Copeland was selected in January 1980 to restore the building. This proposal was never carried out because of bureaucratic delays. The federal government contemplated declaring the building surplus property in February 1983, allowing federal officials to sell it to a private owner, but Moynihan intervened and convinced federal officials to keep the building.</p><br>
<p>The GSA opened a request for proposals in November 1983, soliciting tenants for 77,000 ft2 at the Custom House. The community board&#39;s members were overwhelmingly in favor of the cultural and educational center, while Jewish groups preferred the Holocaust museum. The Holocaust museum proposal was selected in October 1984, prompting objections from preservationists who thought it was "inappropriate" for a Holocaust museum to be located in the Custom House. New York governor Mario Cuomo proposed an alternate site in nearby Battery Park City for the museum (later known as the Museum of Jewish Heritage), and the museum agreed in 1986 to relocate to Battery Park City.</p><br>
<p>An $18.3 million renovation (equivalent to $ million in ) began in August 1984. They cleaned, restored, and conserved exterior and ceremonial interior spaces. The restoration architects renovated old office space into federal courtrooms and ancillary offices; rental offices and meeting rooms; and a 350-seat auditorium. The building&#39;s fire-safety, security, telecommunications, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were also upgraded.</p><br>
<h3>Museum of the American Indian operation</h3><br>
<h4>Agreement and renovation</h4><br>
<p>By early 1987, Moynihan was proposing legislation that would turn over the building to the Museum of the American Indian (later the George Gustav Heye Center). The American Indian Community House, which wished to occupy a part of the Custom House, argued against giving the building to the Museum of the American Indian because the museum was run mostly by non-Indians. At the time, the Museum of the American Indian wished to relocate because its Upper Manhattan facility was insufficient, and the Custom House was being offered as an alternative for the museum&#39;s possible relocation to Washington, D.C. USA Senator Daniel Inouye introduced the National Museum of the American Indian Act the next month, which would have brought the collection to Washington, D.C., instead.</p><br>
<p>A compromise was reached in 1988, in which the Smithsonian Institution would build the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian would also acquire the Heye collection and operate a satellite location of the museum at the Custom House. and the National Museum of the American Indian Act was passed that November. The architecture firm Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Whitelaw was hired in May 1990 to renovate the building. The same year, the building was officially renamed after Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, by act of Congress. The buildings renovation included constructing an auditorium on the ground level; converting the cashiers office into a visitor center; and adding gallery space, two gift shops, a theater, offices, and classrooms. The renovation cost $24 million in total.</p><br>
<h4>Opening of museum and 21st century</h4><br>
<p>The George Gustav Heye Centers space in the Custom House opened for previews in November 1992. The galleries to the west, south, and east of the rotunda formally opened on October 30, 1994. At that time, most of the space had been closed for 20 years. The Heye Center was housed in the three lower stories, while the Bankruptcy Court occupied two additional stories. One of the Bankruptcy Courts rooms on the fifth floor, known as the Eastern Airlines Room, had been renovated to accommodate bankruptcy hearings for large companies such as Eastern Air Lines. The other two stories were vacant and had not been renovated, but the GSA planned to refurbish these stories.</p><br>
<p>The museum and building were mostly undamaged by the September 11 attacks in 2001, but airborne debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center had to be cleared from some of the interior spaces. The Heye Center&#39;s exhibition and public access areas originally totaled about 20,000 ft2. The museum expanded into part of the ground floor in 2006. After a storm surge flooded the building during Hurricane Sandy that year, the GSA decided to build a retaining wall around the Custom House. In 2023, the federal government allocated $11 million to build the retaining wall using environmentally friendly materials such as low-emission concrete. SuperStructures Engineers + Architects was hired to design the renovation, which would cost $131.3 million and be completed in two phases.</p><br>
<h2>Impact</h2><br>
<h3>Reception</h3><br>
<p>Gilbert stated that, during the design process, a tall dome was suggested in order to make the building into a "landmark" but that "this would wholly destroy the proportions of the building per se, and as a matter of plan, seriously impair its practical usefulness". Gilbert said a 400 ft storage tower would be more appropriate if a "landmark" was necessitated, but he believed such a tower "would add considerably to the cost".</p><br>
<p>From the start, the Alexander Hamilton Custom House was architecturally distinguished from other buildings in the area. The New York Times said in 1906 that "it is the unity of idea embodied in the new Custom House and enforced by the wealth of sculpture with which it is embellished, more than its mere costliness, that gives to the edifice its unique value". The Wall Street Journal wrote in 1914 that the Custom House "represents the national Government in its economic bases and financial life".</p><br>
<p>Acclaim for the building continued in the decades after its completion. Architectural writer Henry Hope Reed Jr. regarded the Custom House in 1964 as "the finest public building in New York". When the USA Customs Service relocated in 1973, Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that 6 World Trade Centers "functional, featureless grid" contrasted with the "splendor" of the Alexander Hamilton Custom House. Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern and his co-authors, in the 1983 book New York 1900, said that the Custom House and the Ellis Island immigration station were the two structures that reinforced New York Citys role as "the leading American metropolis, representative of America&#39;s role in the world".</p><br>
<p>After the lower floors were converted into the Heye Center, Benjamin Forgey of The Washington Post wrote that the galleries were "conceived as neutral containers, a sequence of vaulted rooms ingeniously constructed within the old building frame in order not to damage (or indeed even to touch) the original walls". A writer for USA Today called the building "itself a sight to see". Stern and his co-authors wrote in the 2006 book New York 2000 that the building, which had been one of the Financial Districts "most distinguished white elephants", became a "destination spot" once the Heye Center moved in. Several critics wrote about the juxtaposition of the Custom Houses classical architecture and the Heye Center&#39;s focus on Native American culture, which, according to Stern and his co-authors, was largely characterized as "a culturally and stylistically inconsistent mix". A writer for The Wall Street Journal believed that the museum clashed with "the Custom House itself, which with its newly cleaned ceiling murals depicting ferries and ships seems a bizarre venue for looking at Indian art".</p><br>
<h3>Landmark designations</h3><br>
<p>The Custom House was one of the earliest designations of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, becoming an official exterior landmark in October 1965, six months after the city&#39;s landmarks law was signed. At the time of the exterior designation, the commission said that "At some time in the future this building may be in jeopardy", since the federal government had doubted whether the Custom House should be made a city landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the designation covering both its exterior and public interior spaces. The structure was also declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976, marking it as a site that adds "exceptional value to the nation". In addition, the Custom House was added to the New York State Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2007, it was designated as a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District,</p><br>
<h3>Media</h3><br>
<p>The USA Custom House has been used as a filming location for dozens of movies and TV shows. Its exterior and lobby were used as a filming location in the 1989 American supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters II, where the building stood in for the fictional Manhattan Museum of Art. The building has also been used as a filming location for other movies such as Inside Man (2006), How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003), and Black Swan In addition, it has been depicted in commercials for Citibank and BMW.</p><br>
<p>Bowling Green is a small, historic, public park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the southern end and address origin of Broadway. Located in the 18th century next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam, it served as a public gathering place and under the English was designated as a park in 1733. It is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th-century cast iron fence. The park included an actual bowling green and a monumental equestrian statue of King George III prior to the American Revolutionary War. Pulled down during the revolution, the 4000-pound statue is said to have been melted for ammunition to fight the British.</p><br>
<p>Bowling Green is adjacent to another historic park, Battery Park, located to the southwest. It is surrounded by several buildings, including the Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House (with the NYC office of the National Archives), the International Mercantile Marine Company Building, Bowling Green Offices Building, Cunard Building, 26 Broadway, and 2 Broadway. The Charging Bull sculpture is located on the northern end of the park. The park is listed on the USA National Register of Historic Places under the name Bowling Green Fence and Park. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, an NRHP district created in 2007.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Lenape site</h3><br>
<p>Bowling Green was a significant cultural site before European colonization. There may have been a residence for the chief of a local Lenape Native American tribe at the southern end of the Wickquasgeck trail (modern-day Broadway). There was also a large elm at the end of the trail, where the trail split. It is likely at Bowling Green that the Dutch Governor Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan for $24 worth of merchandise in 1626.</p><br>
<h3>Colonial era</h3><br>
<p>The park has long been a center of activity in the city, going back to colonial New Amsterdam, when it served as a cattle market between 1638 and 1647, and a parade ground. In 1675, the citys Common Council designated the "plaine afore the forte" for an annual market of "graine, cattle and other produce of the country". In 1677, the citys first public well was dug in front of Fort Amsterdam at Bowling Green. In 1733, the Common Council leased a portion of the parade grounds to three prominent neighboring landlords for a peppercorn a year, upon their promise to create a park that would be "the delight of the Inhabitants of the City" and add to its "Beauty and Ornament&quot the improvements were to include a "bowling green" with "walks therein". The surrounding streets were not paved with cobblestones until 1744.</p><br>
<p>On August 21, 1770, the British government erected a 4,000 lb gilded lead equestrian statue of King George III in Bowling Green; the King was dressed in Roman garb in the style of the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The statue had been commissioned in 1766, along with a statue of William Pitt, from the prominent London sculptor Joseph Wilton, as a celebration of victory after the Seven Years War. With the rapid deterioration of relations with the mother country after 1770, the statue became a magnet for the Bowling Green protests. In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti and anti-desecration law to counter vandalism against the monument, and a protective cast-iron fence was built along the perimeter of the park; the fence is still extant, making it the citys oldest fence.</p><br>
<p>On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washingtons troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green to topple the statue of King George III; in the process, finials on the tops of the fence depicting the royal symbol of a crown were sawed off. The event is one of the most enduring images in the citys history. According to folklore, the statue was chopped up and shipped to a Connecticut foundry under the direction of Oliver Wolcott to be made into 42,088 patriot bullets at 20 bullets per pound (2,104.4 pounds). The statue&#39;s head was to have been paraded about town on pike-staffs but was recovered by Loyalists and sent to England. Eight pieces of the lead statue are preserved at the New-York Historical Society, one is in the Museum of the City of New York, and one is in Connecticut. (estimated total of 260–270 pounds); In 1991 the left hand and forearm of the statue was found in Wilton Connecticut; likewise 9 lead musket balls from the Monmouth Battlefield had the same lead content as the statue The stone slab on which the statue rested was used as a gravestone before becoming part of the collection of the New-York Historical Society; the stone pedestal itself remained until it was torn down. The event has been depicted over the years in several works of art, including an 1854 painting by William Walcutt, and an 1859 painting by Johannes Adam Simon Oertel.</p><br>
<p>On November 25, 1783, a USA soldier managed to rip down the British flag at Bowling Green and replace it with the Stars and Stripes—an apparently difficult feat, since the British had greased the flagpole. As the defeated British military boarded ships back to England, then-General George Washington triumphantly led the Continental Army through Manhattan down to Bowling Green to witness the last British troops sailing away from Lower Manhattan.</p><br>
<h3>Postcolonial era</h3><br>
<p>The marble slab of the statues pedestal was first used as the tombstone of a Major John Smith of the Black Watch, who died in 1783. When Smiths grave site was leveled in 1804, the slab became a stone step at two successive mansions; in 1880 the inscription was rediscovered, and the slab was transferred to the New-York Historical Society. The monument base can be seen in the background of the portrait of George Washington painted by John Trumbull in 1790, now sited in City Hall. The William Pitt statue is in the New-York Historical Society.</p><br>
<p>Following the Revolution, the remains of Fort Amsterdam facing Bowling Green were demolished in 1790 and part of the rubble used to extend Battery Park to the west. In its place a grand Government House was built, suitable, it was hoped, for a president&#39;s house, with a four-columned portico facing across Bowling Green and up Broadway. Governor John Jay later inhabited it. When the state capital was moved to Albany, the building served as a boarding house and then the custom house before being demolished in 1815. Elegant townhouses were built around the park which remained largely the private domain of the residents, though now some of the Tory patricians of New York were replaced by Republican ones; leading New York merchants, led by Abraham Kennedy, in a mansion at 1 Broadway that had a 56 foot facade under a central pediment and a front towards the Battery Parade, as the new piece of open ground was called. The Hon. John Watts, whose summer place was Rose Hill; Chancellor Robert Livingston at number 5, Stephen Whitney at number 7, and John Stevens all constructed brick residences in Federal style facing Bowling Green. The Alexander Macomb House, the second Presidential Mansion, stood north of the park at 39–41 Broadway. President George Washington occupied it from February 23 to August 30, 1790, before the USA capital was moved to Philadelphia.</p><br>
<p>In 1825, Bowling Green Park was "laid down in grass". At the time, it was an ellipse with a diameter of 210 ft on the north–south axis and 140 ft on the east–west axis. By 1850, with the opening of Lafayette Street and the subsequent completions of Washington Square Park and Fifth Avenue, the general northward migration of residences in Manhattan led to the conversion of the residences into shipping offices, resulting in full public access to the park.</p><br>
<h3>20th and 21st centuries</h3><br>
<p>The park was described in 1926 as having "walks, benches, sumac trees and poorly-kept lawns", as well as a fountain in the center used by local children to cool off in the summer. It suffered neglect after World War II. Starting in 1972, the city renovated Bowling Green to restore its 17th-century character. In conjunction with the park&#39;s renovation, the Bowling Green subway station underneath the park was expanded, necessitating the temporary excavation of the park. The renovation faced a lack of funds during the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis but was completed in the late 1970s.</p><br>
<p>The Bowling Green Fence and Park were listed on the USA National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1982, the Irish Institute of New York installed a plaque in the park commemorating an important religious liberty challenge which occurred in colonial Manhattan in 1707, when Reverend Francis Makemie, the founder of American Presbyterianism, preached at a home near the park in defiance of the orders of Lord Cornbury, and was subsequently arrested, charged with preaching a "pernicious doctrine", and later acquitted.</p><br>
<p>In 1989, the sculpture Charging Bull by Arturo Di Modica was installed at the northern tip of the park by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation after it had been confiscated by the police following its illegal installation on Wall Street. The sculpture has become one of the most popular and recognizable landmarks of the Financial District. In March 2017, Bowling Green was co-named Evacuation Day Plaza, which was marked by the erection of an illuminated street sign, commemorating the location of a pivotal event in the American Revolutionary War that ended a seven-year occupation by British troops.</p><br>
<h2>Description and surroundings</h2><br>
<p>The park is a teardrop-shaped plaza formed by the branching of Broadway as it nears Whitehall Street. It has a fenced-in grassy area with a large fountain in the center, surrounded by benches that are popular at lunchtime with workers from the nearby Financial District.</p><br>
<p>The south end of the plaza is bounded by the front entrance of the Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House, which houses the George Gustav Heye Center for the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of the American Indian and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan Division). Previously there was a public street along the south edge of the park, also called "Bowling Green", but since this area was needed for a modern entrance to the parks eponymous subway station, the road was eliminated and paved over with cobblestones. The New York City Subway station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, opened in 1905 and serving the, is located under the plaza. Entrances dating from both 1905 and more recent renovations are located in and near the plaza.</p><br>
<p>The urban value of the space is created by the skyscrapers and other structures that surround it (listed clockwise from the south):</p><br>
<p>Alexander Hamilton USA Custom House</p><br>
<p>International Mercantile Marine Company Building, 1 Broadway (1882–1884, Edward H. Kendall; expanded 1921, Walter B. Chambers), the United States Lines-Panama Pacific Line Building</p><br>
<p>Bowling Green Offices Building, 11 Broadway (1895–1898, W. and G. Audsley, later serving the White Star Line)</p><br>
<p>Cunard Building, 25 Broadway (1921, Benjamin Wistar Morris, with Carrère and Hastings)</p><br>
<p>26 Broadway, the Standard Oil Company Building, on the east side of Broadway, facing the Cunard Building (1922, Carrère and Hastings with Shreve, Lamb & Blake)</p><br>
<p>2 Broadway (1959–1960, Emery Roth & Sons, resurfaced in 1999 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), a Modernist glass wall that replaced the distinguished Produce Exchange Building (1881–1884, George B. Post), as an "acceptable sacrifice" intended to spur financial district rebuilding</p><br>
<h3>Fence</h3><br>
<p>The fence surrounding Bowling Green Park was erected in 1773 to protect the equestrian statue of King George III. It still stands as the oldest fence in New York City. The fence was originally designed by Richard Sharpe, Peter T. Curtenius, Gilbert Forbes, and Andrew Lyall, and was erected at a cost of 843 New York pounds (£562 sterling). It is made of wrought iron on a stone base. Each fence post once had a finial at its top, which in turn was once adorned with lamps.</p><br>
<p>The cast-iron finials on the fence were sawed off on July 9, 1776, the day that the United States Declaration of Independence reached New York. The finials were restored in 1786; the saw marks remain visible today. In 1791, the fence and stone base were raised by 2 ft. The fence was relocated to Central Park between 1914 and 1919 to make way for the construction of the Bowling Green subway station. It was repaired again during the park&#39;s 1970s renovation. The fence was designated an official city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1970.</p><br>
<h3>Sculptures</h3><br>
<p>Charging Bull, a 7,100 lb bronze sculpture in Bowling Green, designed by Arturo Di Modica and installed in 1989, stands 11 ft tall and measures 16 ft long. The oversize sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches with its head lowered as if ready to charge. The sculpture is a popular tourist destination drawing thousands of people a day, as well as "one of the most iconic images of New York", and a "Wall Street icon".</p><br>
<p>In 2017, another bronze sculpture, Fearless Girl, was installed across from the bull. Designed by sculptor Kristen Visbal, the work was hailed for its feminist message. The Fearless Girl statue, commissioned by State Street Global Advisors as a way to call attention to the gender pay gap and a lack of women on corporate financial sector boards, was installed on March 7, 2017. The statue depicts a defiant little girl posing as an affront to and staring down Charging Bull. The statue was initially scheduled to be removed April 2, 2017, but was later allowed to remain in place through February 2018. The statue was removed in November 2018 and relocated to a site facing the New York Stock Exchange Building.</p><br>
<p>On May 29, 2017, artist Alex Gardega added a statue of a small dog, titled Pissing Pug (alternatively Peeing Pug or Sketchy Dog), but he removed it after approximately three hours. He described the Fearless Girl statue as "corporate nonsense" and "disrespect to the artist that made the bull".</p><br>
<p>Graumans Egyptian Theatre, also known as Egyptian Hollywood and the Egyptian, is a historic movie theater located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace and is noted as having been the site of the worlds first film premiere.</p><br>
<p>From 1998 until 2020, the Egyptian was owned and operated by the American Cinematheque, and in May 2020, Netflix bought the theater. Following a large restoration project, the theater re-opened in November 2023, with Netflix handling the programming Monday through Thursday and the American Cinematheque overseeing Friday through Sunday.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Egyptian was built by showman Sid Grauman and real estate developer Charles E. Toberman, who subsequently built the nearby El Capitan Theatre and Chinese Theatre. The Egyptian cost $800,000 and took 18 months to construct. Architects Meyer & Holler designed the building, and it was built by The Milwaukee Building Company.</p><br>
<p>The Egyptian was the location of world&#39;s first film premiere, As the film reportedly cost over $1 million to produce, the admission price to the premiere was $5. One could reserve a seat up to two weeks in advance for the daily performances. Evening admission was 75¢, $1 or $1.50. The film was not shown in any other Los Angeles theater that year. Premieres that took place at the Egyptian after Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood include The Ten Commandments in 1923, in 1924, and The Gold Rush in 1925.</p><br>
<p>In 1927, Grauman opened a second movie theater further west on Hollywood Boulevard. In keeping with the public&#39;s fascination with international themes, he named his new theater the Chinese Theatre. Its popularity surpassed the Egyptian because of its celebrity handprints, footprints, and signatures in the concrete of its forecourt.</p><br>
<p>Following the opening of the Chinese, Fox West Coast Theaters operated the Egyptian as a re-run house. The theater returned to first-run premieres in 1944, when it became the exclusive Hollywood showcase for MGM, but due to 1949&#39;s United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., which barred major studios from operating movie theaters, MGM was forced to relinquish this and all its other theaters. United Artists operated this theater from 1949 to 1992, with the theater showcasing 20th Century Fox films from the 1970s onwards.</p><br>
<p>In 1955, a large curved Todd-AO screen was added to the theater, with much of the theater&#39;s original proscenium arch demolished to make room for the screen.</p><br>
<p>In 1984, the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with the Egyptian Theatre listed as a contributing property in the district. In 1993, the building was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.</p><br>
<h3>American Cinematheque</h3><br>
<p>The Egyptian closed in 1992 and fell into disrepair. In 1996, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles sold the theater to the American Cinematheque for a nominal $1 with the provision that the building be restored to its original grandeur and reopened as a movie theater.</p><br>
<p>The Cinematheque raised $12.8 million to pay for the restoration, and the theater was reopened to the public on December 4, 1998. The original theater seated 1,760 patrons in a single auditorium, while the restored Egyptian added a second theater. The main theater accommodated 616 patrons and was named after Los Angeles philanthropist Lloyd E. Rigler, while the second theater accommodated 78 was named after Steven Spielberg. In addition to these renovations, the Egyptian&#39;s forecourt was restored to its original 1922 appearance, and palm trees and planters were also added.</p><br>
<h3>Netflix</h3><br>
<p>In April 2019, it was announced that Netflix was seeking to purchase the theater to use as a special events venue, qualify its films for Oscar nominations, screen its films and television shows for Oscar and Emmy voters, and that the American Cinematheque would still hold events on weekends. Immediately after the announcement, a petition campaign called on the American Cinematheque board, the California Attorney General, and Los Angeles City Council to hold a public meeting about the proposed sale. On May 29, 2020, it was announced that Netflix would acquire the theater and invest in renovations. The theater&#39;s purchase price was reported to be $14.4 million, and the renovations, which included a seismic retrofit, totalled more than $70 million.</p><br>
<p>In August 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported that Netflix had restored the theater to its original appearance. This entailed restoring the original neon blade theater sign over Hollywood Boulevard and the original hieroglyphics and artwork on the courtyard walls; renovating the lobby and restoring the interior; and removing elements of the 90s restoration, including courtyard palm trees, acoustic panels in the auditorium, and the entire balcony section, lowering the seating capacity by 100 to 516 seats. Additionally, modern lighting and sound upgrades have been implemented. In October 2023, Netflix announced that the theater would reopen on November 9 with a screening of The Killer, followed by a Q&A session with director David Fincher. Netflix also announced the release of the documentary short film Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre, which features interviews from Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and the theaters restoration architect Peyton Hall.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture and design</h2><br>
<p>The exterior of the Egyptian features Egyptian Revival architecture. However, the roof panels above the main entrance are in a Mediterranean, not ancient Egyptian, style. The theater was designed with an Egyptian theme due to public fascination with Howard Carter&#39;s expeditions searching for the tomb of Tutankhamun. Previously, the theater was to have a Mediterranean-styled design, with the unconfirmed but plausible story being that Mediterranean-styled roof panels were used because they had already been delivered and paid for when the style was changed.</p><br>
<p>The buildings exterior walls contain Egyptian-style paintings and hieroglyphs. The front courtyard (45 x) was designed to capitalize on Southern Californias sunny weather and to host the theaters red-carpet ceremonies. Storefronts along the east side of the courtyard had an "Oriental motif" and sold imports, while the Pig n Whistle was located west and included a side entrance direct from the restaurant to the courtyard.</p><br>
<p>Originally, the courtyard was also the theaters "entrance hall", as the front doors formerly opened directly into the auditorium. The four columns that mark the theaters main entrance are 4+1/2 ft wide and rise 20 ft.</p><br>
<p>Inside, the theater originally featured Sphinx sculptures, singers boxes, an orchestra pit, and a proscenium arch with a winged scarab surmounted by a medallion and snakes at its center. Additionally, the theaters centerpiece was its massive stylized sunburst device on the ceiling, which doubled as an organ grille. Several of these features, including the sculptures and orchestra pit, were removed when the theater transitioned to sound, and much of the proscenium arch was demolished to make room for an enlarged screen when the theater upgraded to Todd-AO.</p><br>
<p>In 1997, architecture and design studio Hodgetts + Fung renovated the theater and updated its technology to accommodate American Cinematheque programming. The exterior was restored while projection, sound, seating, mechanical systems, and circulation were improved to 21st century standards. In 2000, the project won the National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.</p><br>
<p>The Egyptian was further renovated from 2020 to 2023, with a focus on updating the changes made in the previous renovation. Non-original additions such as palm trees and a second-floor balcony were removed, the auditorium ceiling and Egyptian scarab at the proscenium were restored, and the theater technology was modernized again. The entire renovation process, from the 1990s to 2020s, is considered a "case study in reversibility" by Los Angeles city staff.</p><br>
<h2>Influence and legacy</h2><br>
<p>The layout, design, and name of the Egyptian Theatre was emulated by other movie palaces across North America, including those in Bala Cynwyd, Boise, Concord, Coos Bay, DeKalb, Delta, El Dorado, Hanover, Montreal, Ogden, Park City, and Seattle.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<p>The Egyptian was featured in episode 712 of Visiting... with Huell Howser.</p><br>
<p>The theater is the location of a gunfight during the conclusion of a case in the video game L.A. Noire.</p><br>
<p>The theater appears in Jonathan Franzen&#39;s 2021 novel Crossroads.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The 277 acre area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park has been designated a Great Place in America by the American Planning Association.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The site was established as an 80 acre fairground on the outskirts of East Dallas for the Dallas State Fair in 1886. After a fire and financial loss by the fair association in 1904, voters approved the "Reardon Plan." It became Dallas&#39; second public park, known as "Fair Park."</p><br>
<p>An important figure in Fair Parks development was landscape architect and city planner George Kessler. In 1906, he was responsible for the first formal plan for the park influenced by the City Beautiful Movement. The City Beautiful Movement advocated well planned public spaces, tree-lined boulevards, monuments, public art, and fountains which would beautify&#39; the city.</p><br>
<p>A milestone in Fair Parks history was 1936, when the Texas Centennial Exposition was held there. In preparation for the six-month event, the appearance of the park was dramatically altered by architect George Dahl and consulting architect Paul Cret. The park was transformed from an early 20th-century fairground into an Art Deco showcase. While many of the expositions buildings were meant to be temporary, several have survived and have been restored to some extent. Over the years, the park was expanded to its current 277 acre.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986 as one of the nation&#39;s largest surviving assemblages of buildings related to an exposition. Administration of the park was transferred to the Dallas Parks Department in 1988. Today, the cultural facilities and annual events attract an unsubstantiated estimate of 5 million visitors annually, the bulk of which attend during the 24-day State Fair of Texas.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration and future</h3><br>
<p>Many of the existing Art Deco buildings have been restored visually to their 1936 appearance and upgraded to modern building standards. In anticipation of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail service expansion to the area, the historic Parry Avenue entrance gates were restored in 2009. The four cameo reliefs on Centennial Building underwent a professional conservation treatment in 2000 and the Esplanade fountain pylons and six monumental sculptures in 2004. Several sculptures were reconstructed and feature a dramatic light and water show.</p><br>
<p>In 2003, the Fair Park Comprehensive Development plan was produced by Hargreaves Associates. This comprehensive plan included recommendations for the physical site, park programs, activities, funding options, and management alternatives. The park received a $72 million city bond allocation in 2006 for repairs and improvements.</p><br>
<p>In September 2014, a blue ribbon task force appointed by Mayor Mike Rawlings submitted a report on the rejuvenation of Fair Park. The Mayors Task Force plan envisioned a public-private partnership led by a non profit organization to be charged with over arching powers to control the revitalization of Fair Park, including the State Fair of Texas. Architect/City planner Antonio Di Mambro, with international experience in infrastructure planning and neighborhood revitalization, encouraged the Mayor to use the Task Force report as a building block for constructive dialogue with residents, stakeholders and the neighborhoods around Fair Park. Following the presentation of the Task Force Plan, Mayor Mike Rawlings said, "I felt passion by all the council and park board members that they want Fair Park to be all it can be and theyre interested in taking this big challenge on".</p><br>
<p>In March 2015, the State Fair pushed back on any notion of tightening up the footprint of its current operation. Dallas Morning News reporter Robert Wilonsky called the State Fairs response "rather dramatic" The article also quoted Stephen Page of the closed Texas Museum of Automotive History from 2012 as saying, "The Citys requirement that tenants vacate the majority of the buildings in Fair Park during the State Fair is the principal reason for Fair Parks ongoing decline." Wilonsky also quoted a prominent member of the Mayors Task Force as suggesting privately "that the State Fair&#39;s presence at Fair Park also needs to be greatly reduced."</p><br>
<p>On November 18, 2015, Dallas City Council considered Mayor Mike Rawlings proposal to turn over management of Fair Park to a non-profit corporation headed up by the "Father of DART" Walt Humann. Under the Mayors plan, the city would still own the 277-acre site, but a non-profit foundation would manage the grounds and assets. In 2016 Mayor Mike Rawlings&#39; proposal to turn the park over to a non-profit corporation headed by Humann was defeated by the Dallas City Attorney and a lack of support by Dallas City Council.</p><br>
<p>In October 2018, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to approve a management contract with Fair Park First. According to the plan, Fair Park First would receive $35 million over 10 years and would implement plans to rejuvenate the park and surrounding community. At the time, some within the city parks board expressed concern that a contract between the non-profit Fair Park First and its for-profit subcontractor, Oak View Group, excluded the city from oversight of park operations. Following a whistleblower report in early 2024 about spending irregularities, a review by the city found that more than $5 million in donor-restricted funds had been improperly used for park operations.</p><br>
<h2>Cultural district</h2><br>
<p>Many Dallas cultural institutions call Fair Park home.</p><br>
<p>The Hall of State is managed by the Dallas Historical Society, which hosts exhibits inside about Dallas history and culture.</p><br>
<p>The Old Mill Inn was one of the few Texas Centennial Exposition buildings not to incorporate Art Deco styling. Clad in fieldstone with heavy-timber construction, this was the exhibit building for the flour milling industry. It now sporadically serves Fair Park as a restaurant.</p><br>
<p>This little-known project by New York architect William Lescaze introduced European Modernism to Texas in 1936. The design of this hospitality lounge for the Magnolia Petroleum Company included elements commonly found in Art Deco architecture. However, the building&#39;s overall image was radically different from that of any other structure at the Texas Centennial Exposition.</p><br>
<p>Site of Theatre 47, the first professional, regional theater company in the United States, the small performing space, the pays tribute to the visionary founder of Americas regional theater movement Margo Jones. Immediately adjacent to the Magnolia Lounge is the former Hall of Religion.</p><br>
<p>The current museum building occupies virtually the same site as the Texas Centennial Exposition&#39;s Hall of Negro Life. It boasts a permanent collection that consists of the works of such highly regarded African American artists as Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Larry D. Alexander, John T. Biggers, Clementine Hunter, Benny Andrews, Edward Mitchell Bannister and Arthello Beck</p><br>
<p>South of the Midway, George Dahl arranged Dallas&#39;s future cultural institutions informally around a tranquil lagoon, offering Texas Centennial exposition visitors a peaceful, naturalistic counterpoint to the activity of the exposition.</p><br>
<p>In 1981, Patricia Johanson was commissioned to redesign and restore the badly degraded lagoon. Since reopening in 1986, the redesigned lagoon has become recognized as a major earth sculpture and one of the earliest examples of art as bioremediation.</p><br>
<p>The Museum of Nature & Science occupied two buildings around the lagoon (one named "The Science Place"), and a planetarium next to the WRR building, before moving most of its operations to the new Perot campus at Victory Park in December 2012. The former History Building remains open on weekends as a secondary campus of the Perot Museum. The IMAX theatre and planetarium at the Fair Park campus are shuttered.</p><br>
<p>The History Building, once the Museum of Natural History, was designed for the Texas Centennial Exposition as a monolithic, rectangular box. The entrance features three vertical window bays with decorative aluminum mullions. Flanking it are paired pilasters with shell-motif capitals. The rest of the building is clad in limestone. In 1988, the northeast corner of the building was excavated, creating a series of landscaped terraces.</p><br>
<p>The concentric plaster arches of the Band Shell comprise an essentially Art Deco composition. Elements of the Streamline Moderne style are present in the reinforced concrete backstage building. Lighting pylons surround the sloping 5,000-seat amphitheater.</p><br>
<p>This was the original Horticulture Building for the Texas Centennial Exposition. It has since been altered by exterior renovations and additions, including the minimalist glass Blachly Conservatory. In the gardens behind the main structure is a model home that the Portland Cement Company originally built for the Exposition.</p><br>
<p>The Cotton Bowl stadium was built in below-grade in 1930, and was originally known as "Fair Park Stadium." Subsequent expansions resulted in a present capacity of 92,200. The Cotton Bowl Classic college football bowl game was played there from 1937 to 2009. Annually during the State Fair of Texas, it hosts the OU–TX game between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas, along with the Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic game between Grambling State University (Louisiana) and Prairie View A&M University. It was also the first home of the Dallas Cowboys, from 1960 until their move to Texas Stadium in Irving in 1971.</p><br>
<p>Music Hall, built in Spanish colonial revival style, was the General Motors Building during the Centennial Exposition. It underwent extensive remodeling in 1972. It was home of the Dallas Opera until 2009 and is the current home for Dallas Summer Musicals.</p><br>
<p>The Womens building was originally built in 1910 as a park coliseum. It was remodeled as an Art Deco structure for the Centennial Exposition during which it was known as the Hall of Administration. The building was operated as The Womens Museum from 2000 to 2011, but now is only used for special events and exhibits.</p><br>
<h2>Midway and other structures</h2><br>
<p>The Texas Star, opened in 1985, is the fourth-largest Ferris wheel in North America.</p><br>
<p>Among political infighting, lawsuits and community unrest, Starplex Amphitheatre (f/k/a Smirnoff Music Centre, Coca-Cola Starplex, and Gexa Energy Pavilion, and n/k/a Dos Equis Pavilion) was built. Former Park Board member Jim Graham said the City&#39;s agreement with PACE Entertainment "stinks".</p><br>
<p>The Texas Skyway, opened in 2007, is an art deco-styled gondola ride that transports visitors 65 ft above the ground for a ride that is one-third of a mile.</p><br>
<p>The Top o Texas Tower, opened in 2013, is a 500 ft observation tower ride. The towers base may eventually house a museum devoted to the State Fair and Texas Centennial Exposition collection. At a cost of more than $12,000,000, the Tower was to be the featured ride of the failed Summer Adventures program. Summer Adventures, while planned as an annual event, was open for one year and shuttered, despite a $30,000,000 investment.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park is home to the Texas State Vietnam Memorial.</p><br>
<h2>Annual events</h2><br>
<p>The complex&#39;s signature event is the annual State Fair of Texas, which has been held there since 1886. It currently lasts 24 days and begins in the last Friday in September and runs to the third Sunday in October.</p><br>
<h3>Summer Adventures in Fair Park (initially called Summer Place Park)</h3><br>
<p>The State Fair had plans to unveil Summer Place Park in 2012. These plans would eventually turn into Summer Adventures in Fair Park, a beach-themed amusement park, that operated from May to August 2013. Despite a $30,000,000 investment in Summer Adventures, the event was shuttered after just one season.</p><br>
<h3>Other events</h3><br>
<p>The North Texas Irish Festival takes place the first weekend in March each year.</p><br>
<p>Earth Day Texas takes place annually in April.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park Fourth is the annual Independence Day celebration for the City of Dallas.</p><br>
<h2>Other notable events</h2><br>
<p>The 1936 film The Big Show, starring Gene Autry, was filmed at Fair Park and much of its architecture is heavily featured.</p><br>
<p>In 1961, the musical film State Fair was filmed in Fair Park.</p><br>
<p>In July 1984, Fair Park was transformed into a Formula One circuit for a weekend to host the Dallas Grand Prix and Can-Am race. The event was conceived as a way to demonstrate Dallas&#39;s status as a "world-class city", but the track was unsuccessful.</p><br>
<p>In May 1988, Fair Park also hosted Trans-Am Series race with a different layout.</p><br>
<p>On March 8–11, 1990, the Nintendo World Championships were held within the Fair Park&#39;s Automobile Building.</p><br>
<p>In the early 2000s, Fair Park and many of its cultural institutions (The Science Place, The Dallas Museum of Natural History, Texas Discovery Gardens, and others) were featured heavily on the TV series North Texas Explorer.</p><br>
<p>The 18th episode of season 2 of Prison Break has scenes that take place in Fair Park and feature "Jumbo" the mammoth statue, The Women&#39;s Museum, the Leonhardt Lagoon, and other attractions.</p><br>
<p>In December 2013, the Chanel Paris–Dallas pre-fall show was held at Fair Park.</p><br>
<p>In January 2021, Fair Park became a mass COVID-19 vaccination hub operated by Dallas County Health and Human Services. FEMA also opened a hub at the park for vaccinations of 17 underserved zip codes.</p><br>
<h3>Lap records</h3><br>
<p>The fastest official race lap records at the Dallas Fair Park Circuit are listed as:</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>Fair Park is easily accessible from I-30, the major east-west interstate through Dallas.</p><br>
<p>Fair Park is served by several bus routes by DART.</p><br>
<p>DART&#39;s Green Line connects Fair Park to southeast and downtown Dallas with Fair Park station and MLK Jr. station. During the State Fair of Texas DART runs "special event" trains from the Red Line and Blue Line to Fair Park Station.</p><br>
<h2>Education</h2><br>
<p>Irma Rangel Young Women&#39;s Leadership School is located in Fair Park.</p><br>
<p>The Molly Brown House Museum  is a house in Denver, Colorado, United States that was the home of American philanthropist, activist, and socialite Margaret Brown. She survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic and was known as the "Heroine of the Titanic" for her service to survivors. She later became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". The museum is her former home and presents exhibits interpreting her life, Victorian Denver and historic preservation. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is designated as a Denver Landmark.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The house was designed by architect William A. Lang, and built in 1889, incorporating several popular styles of the period, including Queen Anne style architecture in the United States and Richardsonian Romanesque for the original owners Isaac and Mary Large. After the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, the Large family sold the house. It was purchased by James Joseph Brown (J.J.), Margarets husband, in 1894 for US$30,000 and the title was transferred to Margaret in 1898, possibly due to J.J.s deteriorating health.</p><br>
<p>Margaret and the family traveled frequently, and so the house was often rented out. In 1902, it was the governors mansion for the Governor of Colorado and his family (Margaret invited the governor and his family to use her home while the governors mansion was undergoing remodeling). In 1926, Margaret turned the home into a boarding house under the supervision of her housekeeper. The house was sold after Margaret&#39;s death in 1932, for $6,000. The home then became a rooming house for men, a Jane Addams Hull House settlement, and rooms and apartments for rent.</p><br>
<h3>Restoration and after</h3><br>
<p>The house continued to deteriorate and by 1970 concerns arose about its impending demolition, but a group of concerned citizens formed Historic Denver, Inc., raising the funds for the house to be restored to its former state. While restoring the home, the group used architectural research, paint chip analysis, and original photographs taken in 1910 as guides. The home is owned by Historic Denver, Inc., and public tours are run daily for a fee. It has been a museum since 1971.</p><br>
<p>There is a trail marker outside the home as part of the National Votes for Women Trail; the marker was stolen in November 2023, but was found later that month.</p><br>
<p>The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, within the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district. It is part of Manhattan Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, and is next to the East River to the southeast and the Two Bridges neighborhood to the northeast.</p><br>
<p>The district features some of the oldest buildings in Lower Manhattan, and includes the largest concentration of restored early 19th-century commercial buildings in the city. This includes renovated original mercantile buildings, renovated sailing ships, the former Fulton Fish Market, and modern tourist malls featuring food, shopping, and nightlife.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>As port</h3><br>
<p>The first pier in the area appeared in 1625, when the Dutch West India Company founded an outpost there. With the influx of the first settlers, the area was quickly developed. One of the first and busiest streets in the area was today&#39;s Pearl Street, so named for a variety of coastal pearl shells. Due to its location, Pearl Street quickly gained popularity among traders. The East River was eventually narrowed. By the second half of the 17th century, the pier was extended to Water Street, then to Front Street, and by the beginning of the 19th century, to South Street. The pier was well reputed, as it was protected from the westerly winds and ice of the Hudson River.</p><br>
<p>In 1728, the Schermerhorn Family established trade with the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Subsequently, rice and indigo came from Charleston. At the time, the port was also the focal point of delivery of goods from England. In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, the British occupied the port, adversely affecting port trade for eight years. In 1783, many traders returned to England, and most port enterprises collapsed. The port quickly recovered from the post-war crisis. From 1797 until the middle of 19th century, New York had the country&#39;s largest system of maritime trade. From 1815 to 1860 the port was called the Port of New York.</p><br>
<p>On February 22, 1784, the Empress of China sailed from the port to Guangzhou and returned to Philadelphia on May 15, 1785, bringing along, in its cargo, green and black teas, porcelain, and other goods. This operation marked the beginning of trade relations between the newly formed United States and the Qing Empire.</p><br>
<p>On January 5, 1818, the 424-ton transatlantic packet James Monroe sailed from Liverpool, opening the first regular trans-Atlantic voyage route, the Black Ball Line. Shipping on this route continued until 1878. Commercially successful transatlantic traffic has led to the creation of many competing companies, including the Red Star Line in 1822. Transportation significantly contributed to the establishment New York as one of the centers of world trade.</p><br>
<p>One of the largest companies in the South Street Seaport area was the Fulton Fish Market, opened in 1822. The Tin Building opened within the market in 1907; it is one of two remaining structures from the market and the only one that is officially designated as a landmark. In 2005, the market moved to Hunts Point, Bronx.</p><br>
<p>In November 1825, the Erie Canal, located upstate, was opened. The canal, connecting New York to the western United States, facilitated the economic development of the city. However, for this reason, along with the beginning of the shipping era, there was a need to lengthen the piers and deepen the port.</p><br>
<p>On the night of December 17, 1835, a large fire in New York City destroyed 17 blocks, and many buildings in the South Street Seaport burned to the ground. Nevertheless, by the 1840s, the port recovered, and by 1850, it reached its heyday:</p><br>
<p>At its peak, the port hosted many commercial enterprises, institutions, ship-chandlers, workshops, boarding houses, saloons, and brothels. However, by the 1880s, the port began to be depleted of resources, space for the development of these businesses was diminishing, and the port became too shallow for newer ships. By the 1930s, most of the piers no longer functioned, and cargo ships docked mainly on ports on the West Side and in Hoboken. By the late 1950s, the old Ward Line docks, comprising Piers 15, 16, and part of 17, were mostly vacant.</p><br>
<h3>As museum</h3><br>
<p>The South Street Seaport Museum was founded in 1967 by Peter and Norma Stanford. When originally opened as a museum, the focus of the Seaport Museum conservation was to be an educational historic site, with shops mostly operating as reproductions of working environments found during the Seaport&#39;s heyday.</p><br>
<p>In 1982, redevelopment began to turn the museum into a greater tourist attraction via development of modern shopping areas. According to Kenneth Schuman, New York City Commissioner for Economic Development, “It would allow New Yorkers to rediscover the long-obliterated, but historic, link between the city and its waterfront.” The project was undertaken by the prominent developer James Rouse, and was modeled on the concept of a "festival marketplace," a leading revitalization strategy throughout the 1970s. On the other side of Fulton Street from Schermerhorn Row, the main Fulton Fish Market building, which had become a large plain garage-type structure, was rebuilt as an upscale shopping mall. Pier 17s and Pier 18s old platforms were demolished and a new glass shopping pavilion raised in its combined place, which opened in August 1984.</p><br>
<p>In 1982, the Museum acquired a collection of 285 Van Ryper ship models and archival materials from Charles King Van Riper&#39;s son, Anthony K. Van Riper. The collection comprised models crafted between approximately 1938 and 1950, known as "pattern models." The archival materials encompassed research content about steamships, photographs, deck plans, postcards, and advertising brochures from steamship companies.</p><br>
<p>The original intent of the Seaport development was the preservation of the block of buildings known as Schermerhorn Row on the southwest side of Fulton Street, which were threatened with neglect or future development, at a time when the history of New York Citys sailing ship industry was not valued, except by some antiquarians. Early historic preservation efforts focused on these buildings and the acquisition of several sailing ships. Almost all buildings and the entire Seaport neighborhood are meant to transport the visitor back in time to New Yorks mid-19th century, to demonstrate what life in the commercial maritime trade was like. Docked at the Seaport are a few historical sailing vessels, including the Wavertree. A section of nearby Fulton Street is preserved as cobblestone and lined with shops, bars, and restaurants. The Bridge Cafe, which claims to be "The Oldest Drinking Establishment in New York" is in a building that formerly housed a brothel.</p><br>
<p>In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the Seaport. Tidal floods of up to 7 ft deep inundated much of the Seaport, causing extensive damage that forced an end to plans to merge the Seaport Museum with the Museum of the City of New York. Many of the businesses closed, and the remaining businesses suffered from a severe drop in business after the storm. The South Street Seaport Museum re-opened in December 2012. The Howard Hughes Corporation, announced that it would tear down the Seaport&#39;s most prominent shopping area, Pier 17, as part of a broader redevelopment of the neighborhood. The new pier contains restaurants on its ground floor, and the Rooftop at Pier 17, an outdoor concert venue five-stories above the East River. It reopened in July 2018. Subsequently, the Tin Building was raised and relocated 32 ft east in a project that started in 2018, with an expected completion date of 2021.</p><br>
<h2>Constituent parts</h2><br>
<h3>Ownership and management</h3><br>
<p>Pier 17, the Fulton Market Building, the Tin Building, and many other commercial spaces at the seaport are currently owned and managed by Seaport Entertainment Group. Formerly, they were owned by General Growth Properties, which acquired Pier 17&#39;s longtime owner, The Rouse Company, in 2004. The Seaport was included in the 2010 spinoff of the Howard Hughes Corporation from General Growth, and then in the 2024 spinoff of Seaport Entertainment from Howard Hughes.</p><br>
<h3>Peck Slip</h3><br>
<p>Peck Slip, which occupies the area between present-day Water and South streets, served as an active docking place for boats until 1810, and even served as a temporary hideout for George Washington and his troops in April 1776 when they fled from the Battle of Long Island. Then, in 1838, the first steam-powered vessel to make a transatlantic voyage, the S.S. Great Western, docked in Peck’s Slip to the cheers of a quickly growing crowd of onlookers. Today, the median of the street serves as an open space for the community with Brooklyn Bridge views, often displaying public art installations and gatherings, such as fairs and concerts. Peck Slip is also home to the neighborhood&#39;s K-5 elementary school The Peck Slip School, P.S. 343. In 2018, plans were revealed for the redevelopment of the parking lot at 250 Water Street, across from the school.</p><br>
<h3>Museum</h3><br>
<p>Designated by Congress in 1998 as one of several museums which together make up "America&#39;s National Maritime Museum", South Street Seaport Museum sits in a 12 square-block historic district that is the site of the original port of New York City. The Museum has over 30,000 ft&sup2; of exhibition space and educational facilities. It houses exhibition galleries, a working 19th-century print shop, an archeology museum, a maritime library, a craft center, a marine life conservation lab, and the largest privately owned fleet of historic ships in the country.</p><br>
<h3>Ships in the port</h3><br>
<p>The museum has five vessels docked permanently or semi-permanently, four of which have formal historical status.</p><br>
<p>Legend:</p><br>
<p>– Designated National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places</p><br>
<p>– On the National Register of Historic Places</p><br>
<p>The Pioneer and W. O. Decker operate during favorable weather.</p><br>
<h3>Entertainment</h3><br>
<p>Pier 17 was reconstructed in the 2010s and reopened in June 2018. Decks outside on pier 15 allow views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge, and Brooklyn Heights. The Paris Cafe, within the South Street Seaport historic area, is claimed to be one of the oldest bars in New York City.</p><br>
<p>Pier 17 consists of different restaurants on its ground floor, and The Rooftop at Pier 17 on the top floor, a 3,500-capacity open-air concert venue that hosts summer concerts between May and October.</p><br>
<p>At the entrance to the Seaport is the Titanic Memorial lighthouse.</p><br>
<h3>ESPN studios</h3><br>
<p>Sports broadcaster ESPN opened a radio and television studio at Pier 17 in April 2018, covering 17,000 ft2.</p><br>
<h2>Transportation</h2><br>
<p>South Street Seaport is served by the New York City Bus routes.</p><br>
<p>New York Water Taxi directly serves South Street Seaport on Fridays, weekends, and holidays during the summer, while other New York Water Taxi, NYC Ferry, and SeaStreak ferries serve the nearby ferry slip at Pier 11/Wall Street daily.</p><br>
<p>The Fulton Street/Fulton Center station complex is the closest New York City Subway station. A new subway station, provisionally called Seaport, has been proposed as part of the unfunded Phase 4 of the Second Avenue Subway. Although this station will be located only 3 blocks from the Fulton Street station, there are no plans for a free transfer between them.</p><br>
<h2>In popular culture</h2><br>
<h3>Films</h3><br>
<p>The film Pickup on South Street (1953) starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter was set in the neighborhood. Ritter received an Academy Award nomination for the role.</p><br>
<p>A Thousand Clowns (1965), starring Jason Robards, was filmed at 19 Fulton Street.</p><br>
<p>Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie (Diane Keaton) had a pivotal scene while standing by a Pier 16 railing in Annie Hall (1977).</p><br>
<p>In the film Working Girl (1988), Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) accidentally meets an investment banker (Harrison Ford) in a bar in the South Street Seaport.</p><br>
<p>Scenes from the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) were filmed on South Street at Beekman Street.</p><br>
<p>In Godzilla (1998), it is the site where the titular kaiju (monster) first came ashore from East River, strewing fish everywhere.</p><br>
<p>It is seen in the final shot of the film Gangs of New York (2002).</p><br>
<p>Fulton Street was used in scenes from the movie Hitch (2005), starring Will Smith.</p><br>
<p>The seaport is a crucial location in the film I Am Legend (2007), in which Will Smith&#39;s character broadcasts that he will be there each day at noon, to meet any fellow survivors of a virus outbreak.</p><br>
<p>Many areas of the surrounding neighborhood was also used as a location in the film The Adjustment Bureau (2011)</p><br>
<p>In A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), residents are directed to the seaport for evacuation from the city.</p><br>
<h3>Games</h3><br>
<p>In the video game Crysis 2 (2011), Pier 17 is featured as a multi-player map.</p><br>
<p>South Street Seaport makes an appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV renamed Fishmarket South.</p><br>
<h3>Music</h3><br>
<p>The original Sub Pop version of Nirvana&#39;s "In Bloom" video was filmed here in 1990. The video features Kurt, Krist, and Chad clowning around inside the South Street Mall as well as on Wall Street.</p><br>
<p>The venue is home to the Seaport Music Festival each summer.</p><br>
<h3>Television</h3><br>
<p>The Kojak episode, "Sister Maria" (1977), was filmed in the Seaport.</p><br>
<p>Anthony Bourdain filmed a segment for his show A Cooks Tour, episode 5: Season 2 "Elements of a Great Bar" (2003), was filmed at Jeremys Ale House on Front Street in the South Street Seaport.</p><br>
<p>Scenes from the turn of the century Cinemax television drama series The Knick has filmed scenes on historic Front Street.</p><br>
<p>South Street Seaport-3.jpgAerial view</p><br>
<p>Fulton Market sun jeh.jpgFulton Market</p><br>
<p>USA-NYC-Pier 17a.jpgPier 17</p><br>
<p>South Street Seaport 002.JPGCorner of Front and Beekman Streets</p><br>
<p>Peck Slip PO jeh.JPGPeck Slip US Post Office, now reused as school</p><br>
<p>The Freedom Tower  is a building in Miami, Florida. It was designed by Schultze and Weaver and is currently used as a contemporary art museum and a central office to different disciplines in the arts associated with Miami Dade College. It is located at 600 Biscayne Boulevard on Miami Dade College&#39;s Wolfson Campus.</p><br>
<p>On September 10, 1979, Freedom Tower was added to the USA National Register of Historic Places. On October 6, 2008, it was designated a USA National Historic Landmark for its role in hosting Cubans as they fled communist Cuba for Florida following the 1959 Cuban Revolution. On April 18, 2012, the AIA&#39;s Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places as the "Freedom Tower/Formerly Miami News and Metropolis Building".</p><br>
<p>Freedom Tower is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Government Center Station and the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre station, as well as by the Metromover at the Freedom Tower station on the Omni Loop.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Originally completed in 1925 as the headquarters and printing facility for the newspaper The Miami News, the Freedom Tower is an example of a Mediterranean Revival styled structure with design elements borrowed from the Giralda in Seville, Spain. Its cupola on a 255-foot (78 m) tower contained a decorative beacon.</p><br>
<p>The Federal government of the United States used the facility in the 1960s to process and document refugees from the Cuban Revolution and to provide medical and dental services for them. After the major era of refugees ended, in 1972, the federal government sold the building to private buyers in 1974. In 1979, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
<p>The New World Mural 1513 was painted in 1988 by The Miami Artisans: Wade S. Foy, John Conroy, William Mark Coulthard, Phylis Shaw, Gerome Villa Bergsen and Ana Bikic. The mural is situated in the Grand Hall on the second floor, however, it sometimes has limited access for the public. The mural is a recreation of the ruined original from 1926, originally commissioned by the tower&#39;s developer James Middleton Cox in 1926 and again in 1987 by architect Richard Hiessenbottle RA. The center poem by Edwin Markham, poet Laureate for the Lincoln Memorial address.</p><br>
<p>In 1997, the building was purchased for US$4.1 million by the family of the prominent Cuban-American businessman and anti-Communist Jorge Mas Canosa. The Mas family then restored the tower to its original state and converted it into a memorial to the refugees who fled to the United States from Cuba. It housed a museum, library, meeting hall, and the offices of the Cuban American National Foundation. Salsa legend Celia Cruz was memorialized at the Freedom Tower upon her death in 2003, with more than 200,000 turning out to show their respects.</p><br>
<p>In 2005, Terra Group father and son, Pedro and David Martin, along with 600 Biscayne LLC and its members purchased the Freedom Tower from the Mas Family. This purchase eventually led to the Freedom Tower being donated to Miami Dade College, under the leadership of Miami-Dade College President, Dr. Eduardo Padron. As part of the donation agreement, the College was required to create a Cuban exile experience, and today it is used as a museum, cultural center, and an education center.</p><br>
<p>The building has a heavy history and is reinventing itself once again as it lends itself to a new purpose. The building is gaining a significant amount of local recognition for its major exhibitions and growth as an institution of art, serving the community as a non-profit organization. The MDC Museum of Art + Design is on the second floor of the building and offers a wide range of exhibits, which are free and open to the public. The Freedom Tower is home to the Cuban American Museum.</p><br>
<p>On April 13, 2015, Cuban-American Florida Senator Marco Rubio chose the Freedom Tower as the venue for the announcement of his presidential campaign, citing the significance of the location as a beacon representing freedom for Cuban-Americans.</p><br>
<p>On September 17, 2015, His Majesty The King of Spain, Felipe VI, received the Presidential Medal, the highest distinction from Miami-Dade College, from its President Eduardo Padron.</p><br>
<p>On May 10, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that $25 million investment to preserve, refurbish and enhance the Freedom Tower. The proposal will be considered during the upcoming legislative session, and will be included in Governor DeSantis’ legislative budget recommendation.</p><br>
<p>Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built to guard a portage known as the Oneida Carry during the French and Indian War. Fort Stanwix National Monument, a reconstructed structure built by the National Park Service, now occupies the site.</p><br>
<p>Fort Stanwix is historically significant because of its successful defense by American troops during an August 1777 siege. The fort had been built by the British in 1758 at a strategic site along the water route from Lake Ontario to the Hudson River. After American forces captured and rebuilt the fort during the American Revolutionary War, they were besieged by a British army that invaded from Canada via Lake Ontario, hoping to reach the Hudson River. The British force abandoned the siege, a consequence that helped lead to the defeat of a larger British army during the Saratoga campaign.</p><br>
<p>Fort Stanwix was also the site of the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between Britain and Native American tribes, as well as of the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between the tribes and the American government.</p><br>
<p>Besides the fort reconstruction itself, the national monument includes three short trails that encircle it, one of which follows a portion of the Oneida Carry. The Marinus Willett Collections Management and Education Center preserves the monument&#39;s 485,000 artifacts and documents, displays exhibits about Fort Stanwix and the Mohawk Valley, and serves as a regional tourism center.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Fort Stanwix was constructed in 1758 to guard a portage, the Oneida Carry, between the main waterway southeastward to the Atlantic seacoast, down the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward to Lake Ontario, down Wood Creek and Oneida Lake to Oswego.</p><br>
<h3>Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)</h3><br>
<p>In 1768, Fort Stanwix was the site of an important treaty conference between the British and the Iroquois, arranged by William Johnson. By the time of this treaty, the fort had become dilapidated and inactive. The purpose of the conference was to renegotiate the boundary line between Native American lands and white settlements set forth in the Proclamation of 1763. The British government hoped a new boundary line might bring an end to the rampant frontier violence, which had become costly and troublesome. Native Americans hoped a new, permanent line might hold back white colonial expansion.</p><br>
<p>The final treaty was signed on November 5 and extended the earlier proclamation much further west. The Iroquois had effectively ceded Kentucky to the whites. However, the tribes who actually used the Kentucky lands, primarily Shawnee, Delaware, and Cherokee, had no role in the negotiations. Rather than secure peace, the Fort Stanwix treaty helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities.</p><br>
<p>Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin.</p><br>
<h3>Fort Schuyler and the Battle of Oriskany</h3><br>
<p>The fort was reoccupied by Colonial troops under the command of Colonel Elias Dayton on July 12, 1776. They began reconstruction and renamed it Fort Schuyler, although many continued to call it Fort Stanwix. Colonel Peter Gansevoort took over command of the fort on May 3, 1777.</p><br>
<p>On August 3, 1777, the fort was besieged by The King&#39;s 8th Regiment of Foot, Loyalists, and Native Americans, under the command of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger, as part of a three-pronged campaign to divide the American colonies. Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British, and the siege commenced.</p><br>
<p>According to local folklore, when the Colonial troops raised the flag over the fort on August 3, 1777, it was the first time that the Flag of the United States was flown in battle. It is more likely that the flag flown at Fort Schuyler was one that consisted only of thirteen stripes, an early version of the Flag of New York, or the Grand Union Flag.</p><br>
<p>The Battle of Oriskany was fought a few miles away when an American relief column, led by General Nicholas Herkimer, was ambushed by Tories and their Native American allies. While many of the besiegers were attending to that battle, the defenders of the fort sallied forth and attacked the enemy camp, looting and destroying enemy stores. Demoralized and reduced in strength, the British withdrew when they heard reports of the approach of yet another relief column, led by General Benedict Arnold. The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne&#39;s campaign at Fort Ticonderoga.</p><br>
<p>The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the Mohawk Valley was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga.</p><br>
<p>In April 1779, an expedition from Fort Schuyler against the Onondaga people was begun by the Continental Army led by Col. Goose Van Schaick.</p><br>
<p>The fort burned to the ground on May 13, 1781, and was not rebuilt. It was abandoned and the garrison took up quarters at Fort Herkimer.</p><br>
<h3>Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)</h3><br>
<p>The second Treaty of Fort Stanwix was conducted at the fort between the Americans and the Native Americans in 1784. During the War of 1812 a blockhouse was built on the parade ground. Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled.</p><br>
<h2>National monument</h2><br>
<p>President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed enabling legislation that created the national monument on August 21, 1935; at that time, the land that would ultimately be used for the monument was occupied by the businesses and residences of downtown Rome. During the 1960s, Rome city leaders lobbied for a fort reconstruction as part of an urban renewal program to help revitalize downtown Rome. Under political pressure from Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), who was seeking political support in upstate New York, the Park Service reluctantly agreed to build a reconstruction of the Revolutionary War-era fort.</p><br>
<p>The Park Service completed a master plan for Fort Stanwix in 1967, and in 1970, the NPS began a three-year archaeological investigation. Reconstruction of the fort began in 1974, and the partially completed structure was opened to the public in time for the United States Bicentennial celebration in 1976. The current reconstruction—an earth-and-timber-clad, reinforced concrete structure surrounding three freestanding buildings—was completed in 1978.</p><br>
<p>From 1976 until the mid-1990s, the national monument explained the significance of the national monument to visitors using first-person interpretation to portray the fort immediately after the siege (1777–78), emphasizing life during the American Revolution. More recently, third-person interpretation has extended visitor understanding to the French and Indian War as well as the role played by the fort during the negotiation of a series of treaties with Native Americans. A new visitor center was added in 2005. The monument is currently open year around, operated by the National Park Service.</p><br>
<p>The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station 11 mi north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the USA state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society , the Michigan Audubon Society , and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service  in 1996. The three entities share governance of the site. The museum is operated by the GLSHS. The museum exhibits artifacts from shipwrecks from the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve and the bell from the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Admission to the museum includes a tour of historic buildings with displays that interpret the Great Lakes maritime, United States Coast Guard, and US Life-Saving Service history.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Whitefish Point stakeholders</h3><br>
<p>An active navigational light has operated at Whitefish Point since 1848. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) stationed personnel at Whitefish Point until 1971 when the navigational equipment was automated. Whitefish Township was successful in its bid to place the Whitefish Point light, the oldest active light on Lake Superior, on National Register of Historic Places in 1973.</p><br>
<p>The MAS secured a license from the Coast Guard in 1976 for access to the Whitefish Point Light Station property for the study of migrating birds. In 1978, the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) was formed as an affiliate of the MAS and began monitoring migrating birds at Whitefish Point.</p><br>
<p>The GLSHS was formed by a group of divers in 1978 as a private, nonprofit organization. Its mission is "to promote and augment an understanding and appreciation of maritime history with particular emphasis on the Great Lakes museum facilities." In 1983, the GLSHS obtained a 25-year lease from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to operate a museum at the Whitefish Point Light Station.</p><br>
<h3>Pre-transfer from Coast Guard</h3><br>
<p>In 1990, the GLSHS signed an agreement with Whitefish Township that gave residents and visitors public access to Lake Superior, parking, and the restrooms at Whitefish Point.</p><br>
<p>In 1992, the state of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the GLSHS for removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands in violation of Michigan&#39;s Antiquities Act of 1980. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) obtained a search warrant in 1992 and raided the GLSHS offices and museum and found evidence that GLSHS had "removed about 150 artifacts from wrecks located on state-claimed bottomlands." In 1993, the state reached a settlement agreement with the GLSHS that loaned the artifacts back to them for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.</p><br>
<p>In 1992, the stakeholders at the former Whitefish Point Light Station developed the Whitefish Point Comprehensive Plan. The stakeholders included Whitefish Township, the MAS, DNR, GLSHS, and USCG. The plan was developed with the purpose of discussion of land transfer of the Whitefish Point Light Station from the USCG and "proper land usage in terms of existing and future developments... to ensure that, through proper planning, the unique but somewhat fragile environment of the Coast Guard Site is fully protected."</p><br>
<p>In 1993, the GLSHS announced their intentions to seek a legislative transfer from the USCG so that they could hold 3 acres of the 44 acres of the Whitefish Point Light Station. In 1994, the GLSHS was involved in the removal of trees and the construction of an overflow parking lot. This led to a public meeting that discussed concerns about overdevelopment of the former light station.</p><br>
<p>On March 31, 1995, the GLSHS announced their intention to build "a new museum wing dedicated to Fitzgerald memorabilia."</p><br>
<p>On July 4, 1995, the GLSHS participated in the salvage of the bell from the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Experts at Michigan State University spent hundreds of hours conserving the bell and applying a protective coating. GLSHS&#39;s decision to have the protective coating stripped off and the bell shined was controversial. The bell became the centerpiece in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to the Fitzgerald crewmembers and all lost mariners. The GLSHS was involved in controversy again when it announced plans to take the Fitzgerald bell on a touring exhibition. GLSHS dropped its effort after family members of the Fitzgerald crew objected to using the bell as a "traveling trophy."</p><br>
<p>In 1996, GLSHS published their plans "to secure approval for controlled new construction at Whitefish Point... include expansion of the Shipwreck Museum and a new building for the Shipwreck Coast Gift Shop."</p><br>
<h3>Transfer from Coast Guard</h3><br>
<p>In 1995, the MAS and WPBO took a public stand calling for the transfer of the entire Whitefish Point Light Station to the USFWS. USA Rep. Bart Stupak authored transfer legislation for the Whitefish Point Light Station that included "a reversionary clause which would stipulate that the property would revert to the Coast Guard if not used appropriately." The USFWSs request to Stupak for the transfer of the light station was made public with assurances that no changes would be made to the GLSHS museum operation. A group called the Friends of Whitefish Point organized over their opposition of overdevelopment and private ownership of the light station property. They presented a petition with 1,600 signatures to Stupak that supported the transfer of the entire light station property to USFWS. In 1995, Stupak announced that he hadnt made a final decision, saying, "To tell those people they can no longer run their museum because Fish and Wildlife wants it would be wrong." Stupak maintained that the transfer legislation would not go "before a committee or the house floor with disagreement among the affected parties."</p><br>
<p>After Stupaks earlier support to transfer of all of Whitefish Point Light Station property to GLSHS, he introduced a bill in 1996 that would transfer to the land to the GLSHS, WPBO, and USFWS. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources requested that "the legislation be rewritten to remove authorization to expand the gift shop and other facilities." The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) objected to Stupaks bill that allowed "unchecked development in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act."</p><br>
<p>The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 was enacted that gave the Coast Guard the authority to convey the Whitefish Point Lighthouse property to the stakeholders. The Coast Guard transferred a 8.27 acre parcel to the GLSHS for the interpretation of maritime history. The GLSHS parcel included all but one of the historic structures at Whitefish Point. The WPBO received 2.69 acres for research. The USFWS received 33 acres to be managed as part of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The stakeholders were issued land patents in 1998 and again in 2000 to correct an error in the original patents.</p><br>
<p>The transfer legislation requires that each recipient maintain their parcel in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and other applicable laws. The statute stipulates that development or expansion at the Whitefish Point Light requires written consent by the stakeholders, that full consideration is given to public comment, and it is "consistent with preservation of the Property in its predominantly natural, scenic, historic, and forested condition"</p><br>
<h3>Events leading to Human Use/Natural Resource Management Plan for Whitefish Point</h3><br>
<p>On November 1, 1998, the GLSHS announced their plans for the Great Lakes mariners project as "a carefully planned expansion for the museum&#39;s facilities". They planned two new wings for the museum with one wing featuring a theater and 125-seat lecture hall and "multi-purpose building... to house restrooms, inventory, larger sales area, and administrative offices."</p><br>
<p>The GLSHS constructed a 5,201 ft&sup2; gift-shop/office building in 1999 that would become known as the multi-purpose building. The size of the building exceeded the largest historic structure on the site by more than 2,000 ft&sup2;. In November 2000, MAS filed a lawsuit against the GLSHS and USFWS. The lawsuit accused the GLSHS of overdeveloping the Whitefish Point Light Station in violation of its federal land patent and the USFWS of not protecting the site. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2001 when the parties arrived at a settlement agreement that appointed a mediator to negotiate the Human Use/Natural Resource Management Plan for Whitefish Point to regulate land use and any development at Whitefish Point. MAS acknowledged the museums growth was not the sole cause of Whitefish Points popularity that drew many visitors for sunbathing and ship watching. GLSHS agreed there must be a limit to development at Whitefish Point although it still intended to build museum wings.</p><br>
<p>In August 2002, a petition to recall the Whitefish Township supervisor placed "GLSHS at the center of local controversy". The Township Board of Trustees resolved the controversy on September 5, 2002 by accepting the supervisor&#39;s resignation and "disassociating the township from a scheme to convert 1,300 ft of wilderness Lake Superior lakeshore into a Shipwreck Museum cruise ship landing."</p><br>
<p>GLSHS filed a lawsuit against the mediator and MAS on September 24, 2002 claiming breach of contract because SHPO was brought into the planning process at Whitefish Point. GLSHS claimed private property rights and therefore, SHPO had no authority to regulate development on the historic parcel they held by federal patent.</p><br>
<p>The legislation that transferred the light station property to the stakeholder required "a reasonable opportunity for public comment on... development or expansion, and full consideration has been given to such public comment".</p><br>
<p>GLSHS lawsuit was dismissed on December 19, 2002 after all three stakeholders signed the mediated Human Use/Natural Resource Plan that secured SHPO&#39;s involvement at Whitefish Point. The new plan replaced the 1992 Comprehensive Plan for Whitefish Point. The GLSHS, MAS, and USFWS comprise the Whitefish Point Joint Committee that governs Whitefish Point through the Management Plan with USFWS having final oversight as stipulated in the transfer legislation.</p><br>
<h2>Museum complex</h2><br>
<p>Since 1984, the GLSHS was awarded numerous grants used to restore or renovate historic buildings at Whitefish Point Light Station for the interpretation of Great Lakes maritime, USCG, and US Life-Saving Service history. The museum complex includes both the modern and historic structures, many of which may be toured with the purchase of museum admission.</p><br>
<h3>Modern structures</h3><br>
<p>Museum: the GLSHS opened its first museum exhibits to the public in 1985. In 1986, the society secured funds and constructed the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The museum is the second largest building at Whitefish Point. The museum displays artifacts loaned from the state of Michigan from the following wrecks in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve: the Comet, John B. Cowle, Drake, Samuel Mather, Miztec, Myron, Niagara, John M. Osborn, Sagamore, and Vienna.</p><br>
<p>Gift Shop Building/Administrative Building: this is the largest building at Whitefish Point, constructed in 1999 by the GLSHS. The main level is used as a GLSHS gift shop, the lower level has public restrooms, and the upper level is used for GLSHS offices.</p><br>
<h3>Historic structures</h3><br>
<p>Light tower: the first light tower was built with stone in 1848 and its lens used whale oil to produce a light. The stone tower proved inadequate against Lake Superior&#39;s storms. In 1861, the stone tower was replaced with the present steel tower by the order of President Lincoln. Over the years the light had several different lens. The Crouse & Hinds aerobeacon lens installed in 1968 was replaced in 2011 with a light-emitting diode (LED) lantern with a reduced range of 15 nmi.</p><br>
<p>The GLSHS renewed a historic preservation easement with Michigan&#39;s SHPO and was awarded $40,000 Michigan Lighthouse Assistance grants in 2008 and 2010 to strip the paint from the 150-year-old tower, conduct lead paint abatement, and prime and repaint the tower. The GLSHS projects completion of light tower painting project in 2011. The Whitefish Point light was automated in 1971 but remains an active aid to navigation. Because of this, museum visitors are not able to enter the lighthouse itself, although touring the adjoining lightkeeper’s quarters is included in the museum fee.</p><br>
<p>Fog signal building: the original fog signal building was destroyed in a storm in 1935. The building was replaced with a brick structure in 1937. It was used to house steam boilers, clock timing apparatus, radio equipment, diesel generators, and equipment to operate 3 large diaphone horns until 1982. The Coast Guard replaced the diaphone horns with an electronic fog horn in 1983 that sounded from the light tower. The Coast Guard stopped fog signals from Whitefish Point in 1995. The GLSHS abandoned their 1996 plans to demolish the fog signal building</p><br>
<p>Lookout tower: it was built at the Whitefish Point Life-saving Station in 1923 for a 24-hour watch during the shipping season. It was abandoned by the Coast Guard in 1955. The GLSHS moved the lookout tower to its present location and restored it in 1998. It is not open to the public.</p><br>
<p>Lightkeeper&#39;s quarters: this two-story frame building was originally constructed in 1861 as a dwelling for the lightkeeper and his family. Its interior was later reconstructed as two-family duplex to also house the assistant lightkeeper and his family. It housed Coast Guard personnel until 1970. In 1996, the GLSHS restored the building to its 1920 era condition. It is open to the public with a museum admission fee.</p><br>
<p>Assistant USA Coast Guard Chief&#39;s Quarters: this two-story dwelling was constructed in 1925 for the light station Chief and family. The GLSHS exhibited shipwreck artifacts in the first story of this building from 1985 until it constructed the museum in 1987.</p><br>
<p>Crews quarters: the original location of this two-story frame building was threatened by shore erosion. It was sold to private owners and moved from the Whitefish Point Light Station. The GLSHS bought the building in 1990 and moved it back to a new location. GLSHS moved it again in 1999 to comply with the historic zone created by SHPO. GLSHS started renovation of the building in 2002 using $630,280 in TEA-21 federal grant funds. The building is not open to the general public.</p><br>
<p>Surfboat house: the Coast Guard constructed three boat houses at Whitefish Point. It is believed that the surfboat house was moved to its present location in the 1950s. GLSHS completed restoration of the boat house in 2001. The building displays a full-size replica Beebe-McClellan 26 ft surfboat and exhibits on the USA Life-Saving Service and USA Coast Guard Rescue Station as part of the museum tour for an admission fee.</p><br>
<p>Frame storage building: the Coast Guard constructed this building for firewood storage. GLSHS used it as a gift shop until 2006 when a new, larger building was constructed to house the shop.</p><br>
<p>Chief&#39;s garage: the Coast Guard constructed a 3-car garage in 1940 that has remained in the same location. The WPBO uses the building as a bird banding lab, and a base for educational tours.</p><br>
<p>Other historic structures: an 1861 steel lamp oil house and a 1910 alcohol house have remained on the site since they were constructed. They were used to store fuel sources for the light before it was electrified in 1931.</p><br>
<h2>Other features</h2><br>
<p>Whitefish Point is a popular spot for ship watchers, bird watchers and rock collectors. Important features include:</p><br>
<p>Whitefish Point Unit of Seney National Wildlife Refuge: The USFWS manages the 33 acres transferred to them from the former Whitefish Point Light Station as part of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. In conjunction with the WPBO and other conservation groups, the USFWS added 19.85 acres acres and more than 1,000 ft of Lake Superior shoreline as critical piping plover habitat to Whitefish Point unit on August 30, 2012. The land of the Whitefish Point Unit is "Wooded Dune and Swell Complex" that is distinctive to the Great Lakes region. It supports a diversity of species, including lady slippers, starflower, bunchberry, Labrador-tea, and a variety of trees. Whitefish Point is on a world migratory flyway. The data collected by the WPBO led to establishing Whitefish Point as a Globally Important Bird Area. In 2001, USFWS designated all of its Whitefish Point property as critical habitat for the piping plover. In 2009, the piping plover began nesting at Whitefish Point again for the first time in at least two decades.</p><br>
<p>Whitefish Point Bird Observatory operates as a non-profit, affiliate education and research facility of the Michigan Audubon Society at Whitefish Point.</p><br>
<h2>Location</h2><br>
<p>The museum complex is situated literally at the end of the road about 11 mi north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the northeastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is located at the termination of Whitefish Point Road and the entry of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior.</p><br>
<p>The Adolphus Hotel is a historic upscale hotel established in 1912 in the Main Street District of Downtown Dallas, Texas. A Dallas Landmark, it was for several years the tallest building in the state. Today, the hotel is part of Marriott&#39;s Autograph Collection brand.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The hotel was developed by Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Busch company. He already owned the Oriental Hotel, across the street from the present hotel, when he was approached by a group of prominent Dallas businessmen in 1910 with the idea of constructing the first European-style luxury hotel in the city. Busch purchased Dallas&#39;s old City Hall on June 22, 1910, demolished it, and constructed the new hotel at a cost of $1.8 million. The name was announced as the New Oriental Hotel. It was designed by Thomas P. Barnett of Barnett, Haynes & Barnett of St. Louis in the Beaux Arts style. The 22-story, 312-foot (95 m) building would be the tallest in Texas until it was surpassed by the Magnolia Petroleum Building, ten years later.</p><br>
<p>By the time the hotel opened, on October 5, 1912, its name had been changed to match its builder, the Adolphus Hotel. The hotel was expanded multiple times, in 1916, 1926, and 1950, eventually filling much of a city block, and giving the hotel a total of 1,200 rooms. Under the management of Otto Schubert from 1922 to 1946, the hotel grew to national prominence. In the 1930s it was run by hotel industry pioneer Ralph Hitz&#39;s National Hotel Management Company and played host to many big band musicians of the era, including Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.</p><br>
<p>The Adolphus has been the host of many respected leaders of business, government and entertainment, including presidents, from Warren G. Harding to George H. W. Bush. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed at the hotel in 1991. The hotel was a Dallas hub for entertainment and provided a platform that helped developing careers, such as Bob Hope, Jack Benny and others. North American Aviation (P-51 Mustangs, World War II) and others benefited from its position as a Texas business hub.</p><br>
<p>In 1980, the Adolphus underwent an $80 million renovation, which decreased the total number of rooms to 428 by combining multiple outdated guest rooms into larger ones. The Adolphus was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The hotel was extensively renovated again in 2017.</p><br>
<p>The Hotel has been named one of the top ten in the United States by Condé Nast Traveler and also receives high ratings from Zagat, Fodors and Frommers.</p><br>
<p>The structure is a Dallas Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><br>
