View allAll Photos Tagged Org,
Charleston est. 1670, pop. 127,999 (2013)
• reconstruction of original Mills House (1853), a 5-story, 180-room hotel • designed by expatriot New England architect John E. Earle for Massachusetts-born grain merchant & real estate developer Otis Mills (1794-1869) • billed as "The Finest Hotel South of New York City"
• first large scale installation of running water & steam heat in Charleston • gas lighting in all rooms • Italianate style façade featured cast iron balconies, marble mantels & chandeliers from Philadelphia • "fireproof" terra cotta window cornices produced by Tolman, Hathaway & Stone, Worcester, MA, made an impression • similar cornices soon found on houses throughout area; Charleston now said to have more 1850s buildings ornamented w/terra cotta than any other US city
• eight "bathing rooms" for ladies per floor included H & C running water, bath & shower; similar facilities on 1st floor for men • dining saloon for up to 300 guests and, as customary in mid-19th c. America, a gentlemen's dining room & a "ladies ordinary" on the second-floor "to protect 'respectable' women from being accosted or harassed by men or, even worse, taken for easily available women by male travelers, loungers, and dubious characters." -read on at Oxford University Press Blog
• housed delegates to 1860 Democratic Convention, which nominated Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) to face Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860 presidential election
• Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) was hotel guest, 1861, watched the Great Fire from the balcony until approaching flames forced him to leave • architect Earle's brother assisted hotel staff in saving building [photo] by draping wet blankets from the windows • in addition to whites, hotel personnel included blacks, both slave & free, e.g., barber William Inglis, an "F.P.C." (Free Person of Color)
• upon his Sept, 1862 arrival from New Orleans, served as headquarters for Confederate commander, Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard (1818-1893) • Otis Mills subsequently invited the general to use his private residence • during the Civil War, Yankee transplant Mills sold most of his real estate for investment in Confederate bonds
• hotel later renamed the St. John's, hosted President Theodore Roosevelt during 1901-1902 South Carolina Inter-State & West Indian Exposition • building demolished, 1968 • present Mills House designed by New York office of New Orleans architectural firm Curtis & Davis, reconstructed on site of original with 2 additional stories • old ironwork retained & terra cotta ornamentation reproduced in fiberglass
• Mills House history • homepage • Charleston Historic District, National Register # 66000964, 1966 • declared National Historic Landmark District, 1960
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City
New York City (NYC), often called the City of New York or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.
Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York. The five boroughs—Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $2.0 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.
New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. New York was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.
Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. New York is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, with multiple distinct Chinatowns across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City that Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Manhattan is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, namely the New York Stock Exchange, located on Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and NASDAQ, headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_City,_South_Dakota
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 Census.
Known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents" because of the life-size bronze president statues downtown, Rapid City is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the city's western and eastern parts. Ellsworth Air Force Base is on the city's outskirts. Camp Rapid, part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is in the city's western part.
Rapid City is home to such attractions as Art Alley, Dinosaur Park, the City of Presidents walking tour, Chapel in the Hills, Storybook Island, and Main Street Square. The historic "Old West" town of Deadwood is nearby. In the neighboring Black Hills are the tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the museum at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. To the city's east is Badlands National Park.
Source: www.visittheusa.com/destination/rapid-city
Where a rugged landscape surrounds charm and culture
While Rapid City is best known for its proximity to national parks and enormous mountain carvings, including Mount Rushmore just 40 kilometers away, visitors to the heart of this Black Hills destination will be enthralled by a plethora of outdoor adventures, a charming and historic downtown and a salute to American Indian heritage in southwestern South Dakota.
The Famous Faces
Make Rapid City your headquarters for short jaunts to six national parks – Badlands National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Minuteman Missile Silo National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial – as well as Crazy Horse Memorial.
No trip here would be complete without seeing the heads of four U.S. presidents, each about 18 meters tall, carved into granite on the side of Mount Rushmore. Once there, you’ll see why the sculpture, which took 14 years to complete, attracts nearly 3 million people a year. Nearby, work continues in the Black Hills on another mountain carving, this one of the famous Lakota warrior Crazy Horse astride his horse, that will become the world’s largest sculpture upon completion. The memorial serves to preserve the culture of North American Indians.
Find out more about the area at The Journey Museum & Learning Center, which features exhibits tracing some 2.5 billion years of history, from the earliest rock formations to Native American cultures and Western frontier exploration.
Large-Scale Outdoor Adventures
Options are plentiful for people who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, rock climbing, wildlife viewing and off-the-beaten-path exploration. Traipse through all of those national parks and see a variety of landscapes, including mountains, hills, canyons, valleys, creeks and lakes.
Take in the natural beauty of the Black Hills National Forest and all of its hidden gems, including the Stratobowl clearing that was home base for historic balloon flights. Venture into Custer State Park, where the Wildlife Loop takes visitors through 29 kilometers of hills and grasslands, home to more than 1,300 free-roaming bison. Stop in the Wildlife Station Visitor Center to learn what other types of wildlife you might encounter. Sites along the George S. Mickelson Trail – a Black Hills rail trail route that is about 175 kilometers long – include tunnels, bridges and 15 trail heads.
A City of Culture
In addition to the prominent Native American arts and culture, Rapid City has become known for its culinary, winery and brewery scene as well as history tied to the original settlers. The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind and Water is a five-year public art initiative with sculptor Masayuki Nagase working during the summer months to carve by hand granite sculptures in Main Street Square. As you tour the city, look for the City of Presidents, life-size bronze statues of 43 former U.S. presidents, including the famous four that are also on Mount Rushmore.
Comfort is key in Rapid City, which features smaller boutique hotels, larger hotel chains, vacation rentals, camping and bed-and-breakfast establishments. Perhaps you will find a place with a history that includes some of the nation’s presidents.
Source: www.blackhillsbadlands.com/business/dinosaur-park
Free family fun at one of the Black Hills’ original tourist attractions, open to the public since 1936! Dinosaur Park is located on a ridge of sandstone that encircles the Black Hills. Along this ridge dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous have been found. Not far from the park dinosaur footprints have been found.
As you stand on Dinosaur Park with spectacular 100-mile views and look to the east you can see the South Dakota Badlands. Most rocks of the Badlands are too young to have dinosaurs preserved, but fossil mammals are superbly represented. To the west and north of the Black Hills, dinosaurs have been found in great abundance in the basins of Wyoming and on the Northern Great Plains.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(South Dakota) "داكوتا الجنوبية" "南达科他州" "Dakota du Sud" "दक्षिण डकोटा" "サウスダコタ" "사우스다코타" "Южная Дакота" "Dakota del Sur"
(Rapid City) "رابيد سيتي" "拉皮德城" "Ville rapide" "रैपिड सिटी" "ラピッドシティ" "래피드시티" "Рапид Сити" "Ciudad rápida"
Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe.
Wien :K.-K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei in Commission bei C. Gerold's Sohn,1872-
A visit to the East Anglian Railway Museum.
The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.
The museum has a wide collection of locomotives and rolling stock, some of which are fully restored, three are converted into Thomas, Percy and Toby replicas while others are undergoing repair and restoration. The Restoration Shed was built in 1983–4, before which most work had to take place in the Goods Shed or in the open. On event days, steam or diesel train rides are operated over a short demonstration track.
The museum also plays host to three popular annual events: the Winter Beer Festival held each February, the Cider Festival held each June, and the Summer Beer Festival held each September. During the festivals, additional late-evening trains on the Sudbury Branch Line allow festival-goers to return home by train subject to provision by the train operation companies. There are no moving exhibits during the festivals, although train carriages are usually open to sit in and drink, with one wagon doubling up as The Shunters Arms at the summer festival.
The museum was originally formed as the Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society on 24 September 1968. The SVRPS was established at Chappel & Wakes Colne Station in December 1969 after a lease was obtained from British Rail to use the vacant goods yard and railway buildings, including the station building. The first public steam day took place three months later.
The goods shed and station buildings were quickly restored; with a workshop being set up in the goods shed to enable maintenance and restoration work to be undertaken on the rolling stock.
The Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society was renamed to The East Anglian Railway Museum in 1986 to confirm its focus on representing railway history of the Eastern Counties rather than just operating trains. The museum gained charitable status in 1991 (Registered Charity No. 1001579) and became a Registered Museum in 1995.
Since 2005, the museum has had a greater emphasis on interpretation and display facilities, a large variety of events take place each year to raise funds to support the museum's activities.
A look around Chappel & Wakes Colne Station. Only one platform is in use. The other is part of the museum.
Chappel & Wakes Colne railway station is on the Gainsborough Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line to Sudbury, in the East of England, serving the village of Wakes Colne and the neighbouring Chappel. It is 3 miles 49 chains (5.81 km) down the line from Marks Tey and 50 miles 18 chains (80.83 km) measured from London Liverpool Street. It is situated between Marks Tey and Bures. Its three-letter station code is CWC. Platform 1 has an operational length for five-coach trains. Platforms 2 and 3 are used by the East Anglian Railway Museum.
The station is currently operated by Greater Anglia, who also operate all trains serving it, as part of the East Anglia franchise. It has one platform as the line is single-track. It is also home to the East Anglian Railway Museum which has the former London-bound platform, a running line, the original station buildings and all of the land and facilities on the east side of the line. Just to the south of the station the line runs over the Chappel viaduct.
Chappel & Wakes Colne is unstaffed but has a self-service ticket machine. The platform buildings, on the station's west side, are restored to 1950s style but are part of the museum, and entered from ground-floor level.
The Main Station Buildings.
Built circa 1891 by the Great Eastern Railway and remains largely unaltered. The outside double staircase was originally covered by a copper-clad roof. The counter area of the present Bookshop was originally the General Waiting Room and rthe second room, the Ladies Waiting Room.
Of note is the cast iron fireplace in the Booking Office showing the coat of arms of the main towns and counties served by the Great Eastern Railway.
Private Property - one last shot of the station building before we left.
To the trains - sign.
Lostinsound.org presents Lost in Boston 4.15.14 ft. DigitalVagabond, Exin, Asteroids & Earthquakes, & Terraphorm
Photos by Kyle Rober
kylerober7@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/lostinsoundpresentslostinboston
www.facebook.com/events/275463822620206
Lost in Sound Live Stream of the event:
m.ustream.tv/channel/lost-in-boston
Flyer design: Hernan Matamoros
Sound support provided by Singer Production
Our own golden boy Digital Vagabond returns to Wonder Bar in the thick of his East Coast tour with a seriously righteous collection of rude boy tunes. Here is a link to his brand new Sub.mission Podcast #132...
www.subdotmission.com/podcast/submission-podcast-132-digi...
Live artwork by:
Zachary Nolin - Artist
Visual Artwork by Mary Murph
Chase Hanna Creations
Hilary Dulin
KnowNoTruth!
SET TIMES:
OPEN - 10:45 ~ Terraphorm
10:45 - 11:45 ~ Asteroids and Earthquakes
11:45 - 12:45 ~ EXIN Music
12:45 - Close ~ DigitalVagabond
Wonderbar
186 Harvard Ave
Allston, MA, 02134
_______________________
DigitalVagabond (LostinSound)
A recent transplant from Boston, MA to the mountains of Colorado, Patrick Boyle aka Digital Vagabond is a DJ/Producer, photographer, event-planner and Jewelry Fabricator ; a connected individual and man of action who wears many hats within an exponentially growing electronic music and visionary art culture. His moniker is derived from his technological nomadic inclinations, embracing digital technology and cyberspace as symbiotic interface
inseparable from nature.
His individually catered DJ sets have directly supported word class producers: The Widdler, Bird Of Prey, Whitebear, Opiuo, PhuturePrimative, Kaminanda, Mr.Bill, Killowatts, Skytree, BlueBoyProductions, lespecial and many more.
Patrick is also a Co-Manager of the widely acclaimed online hub LostinSound.org, the go-to site where you can find eloquent writings and resources for the leading music and events in the intelligent electronic music community.
soundcloud.com/digitalvagabond
www.facebook.com/DigitalVagab0nd
_______________________________
Exin (Super Sabine)
Fuck art.
www.facebook.com/pages/EXIN-Music/
_______________________________
Asteroids and Earthquakes
Asteroids and Earthquakes is a Boston based producer who's main goal is to grow as an interesting and captivating producer, always aiming to stretch what can can be done sonically and compositionally.
soundcloud.com/asteroidsandearthquakes
www.facebook.com/asteroidsandearthquakes
_____________________________________
Terraphorm
Sonic sorcerer, TERRAPHORM’s against-the-grain style weaves swamp psychedelia and urban vibes, binding them together with an explosive energy level, resulting in an utterly mesmerizing musical experience. Live accounts of “Terraphormation” include uncontrollable dancing, complete entrancement, and a dance-floor experience that can only be described as transformational.
Starting in packed basements 3 years ago, Terraphorm has since made a name for himself, as a founding Worcester's longest running weekly, Elec*tric Tuesdays recently moving on to play at a prominent weekly event, Cake Worcester, where he can be found playing alongside nationally recognized acts such as CRNKN, Brillz and Alpha Data on a regular basis. From renegade parties and clubs to festival stages with national acts, Terraphorm's continues to evolve rapidly and hungrily.
_____________________________________
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
Some stills from the online interactive experience (virtual museum; virtual science center) about emergent phenomena that I've been creating for the past few years. From slime mold to quantum matter, from cellular automat to Alzheimer's, It's now live at www.emergentuniverse.org. Check it out!
A look around the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence, mainly to check out the carousel and get close to the big arched building!
Piazza della Repubblica is a square in the historic center of Florence with a rectangular shape , approximately 75 meters by 100 meters. It is the best known result of the era of " Risanamento ", when the town planning of the city was redefined following the establishment of the capital of the Kingdom of Italy in Florence (from 1865 to 1871 ).
Piazza della Repubblica is the center of the city since Roman times. Here, exactly where the Colonna dell'Abbondanza is located, the cardo and the decumanus maximi met and there opened the great forum: the Cardo corresponds to via Roma , via Calimala and via Por Santa Maria , instead the Decumano corresponds to via del Course , via degli Speziali and via degli Strozzi. Archaeological traces have been found at the time of the nineteenth-century demolitions, as remains of buildings, of a spa complex to the south, of buildings of worship. Via del Campidoglio and via delle Terme for example were named after their respective archaeological finds. On the southern side there was an entrance arch, while the north side was bordered by a fence wall; to the east and south were public buildings; the Capitoline temple was to the west. In a second moment, probably the Hadrian period, the area was further monumentalized, raising and lengthening the square, with a new paving in Lunense marble higher than about a meter and a half. There were some doors with steps and a small portico with statues of magistrates and emperors. The Capitolium (1st century BC - 1st century AD) was more or less where today are the arcades, placed on a quadrangular podium of about three meters, accessible by stairs, of which the foundations remain.
Dante reports the oral tradition that in this neighborhood there was a temple dedicated to Mars that patronized the city: according to the poet this determined the bellicose character of the city. According to other sources a statue of Mars (or another deity, since it was equestrian) would have really existed and would have been placed in the Middle Ages near the Ponte Vecchio , from where it was however swept away during the flood of 1333 .
At the Topographical Museum of Florence there was a model of Roman Florentia showing a possible reconstruction of the forum and other ancient buildings.
Palazzo della Fondiaria Assicurazioni (Palazzo Levi)
It is a neo-Renaissance style building, built between 1890 and 1893 (and from the same year it was the headquarters of Fondiaria Assicurazioni) on a project by the architect Giuseppe Boccini and commission of the banker Levi. Of considerable size, so as to determine an entire block, presents a front on the square on four floors, with a long balcony on the main floor to embrace five of the total eleven axes, similar to those of the other building that closes the square on the opposite side, today perhaps less conspicuous than either for original design features, or because of a differentiated coloring that fractionates the front in three separate portions. In our case, on the other hand, between August 2005 and June 2008 the building was affected by important works carried out by SIRE Costruzioni, commissioned by Fondiaria SAI Spa, which made it possible to restore the dimension of bourgeois decorum and solidity that own. These interventions concerned the global restructuring and the distribution and functional reorganization of the interiors (more than 6 000 square meters) as well as the restoration of external facings and roofing. In the palace, on the ground, are the two historic cafés Paszkowski and Gilli. The interiors, among others, include the offices of the Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies, the Consulate of the Principality of Monaco, the Platinhome apartments. On the side of Via Roma is a small bronze plaque commemorating Gilli as the official seat of the Donatello Prize. On the bottom of the entrance hall which is accessed from Piazza della Repubblica is a plaque framed in bronze in memory of the employees of the Fondiaria periti in the wars of 1915-18 and 1940-45.
chiddingstonecastle.org.uk/Default.asp
Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, near Edenbridge, Kent, England, 35 miles south of London and in the upper valley of the River Medway. The castle itself dates from the early 19th century, but incorporates elements of earlier buildings on the same site. Since 1977, the castle and its 35 acres (140,000 m2) of grounds have been held in trust for the nation by the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest and both are open to the public.
History[edit]
High Street House[edit]
The first significant building to occupy the site of the castle was a timber-framed dwelling, inhabited from the early 16th century by Richard Streatfeild, an iron master and wool merchant. Little remains of this first structure as, in 1679, Henry Streatfeild (1639-1719) had the house rebuilt in red brick in the Restoration style.[1] The building was known as High Street House or High Street Mansion since it fronted the village high street. Remodelling of the house’s grounds in the 19th century resulted in the current diversion of the road through the village.[2]
Chiddingstone Castle[edit]
In the early 19th century, Henry Streatfeild (1757-1829), the son of Henry Streatfeild (1706-1762) and Lady Anne Sidney, commissioned William Atkinson to rebuild the house in the Gothic style however Atkinson’s design was not completed and, in 1835, Streatfeild’s son, also Henry Streatfeild (1784-1852), engaged the architect Henry Kendal to carry out further work.[3] Although the Streatfields owned the house, now renamed Chiddingstone Castle, until it was sold to Lord Astor in 1938, the family did not live there after 1900.[4] During the Second World War, the castle hosted members of the Canadian Forces before becoming Long Dene School until 1954.[5]
Denys Eyre Bower[edit]
In 1955, the castle was purchased by Denys Eyre Bower (1905-1977), a former bank clerk and antiques dealer, in order to display his collections. Bower was born in Crich, Derbyshire and started collecting at a young age. Bower initially worked as a bank clerk before taking over Cavendish Hood antiques dealers in Baker Street, London in 1943.[6] The redevelopment of Baker Street led to Bower moving to Chiddingstone Castle where he intended to show his collections to the public.[7] However, in 1957 Bower was convicted of attempted murder of his girlfriend and attempted suicide and sentenced to life imprisonment.[8] Released in 1962 after successful efforts by solicitor Ruth Eldridge to prove a miscarriage of justice, Bower returned to Chiddingstone Castle which, with the help of Eldridge and her sister Mary, he continued to open to visitors until his death in 1977.[9]
Today[edit]
Bower left the castle and his collection to the nation and so upon his death the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest was formed. This trust continues to care for the castle and its collection, opening it to the public and providing a venue for weddings, and the current trustees include descendants of the Streatfeild family. The castle is a Grade II* listed building and the grounds, which contain further listed buildings including an orangery, are themselves included on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Collections[edit]
Japanese[edit]
Bower’s decision to collect objects from Japan was inspired by his father’s own interest in Chinese porcelain.[12] The collection of lacquer is considered to be one of the most important in a private collection, whilst displays at the castle also feature swords, armour and haniwa figures.[13]
Ancient Egyptian[edit]
The Ancient Egyptian collection spans the whole history of the civilisation and includes both grave goods, such as ushabti figures and amulets, and items from everyday life, including food and drink vessels. In 2013, items from the collection were lent to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for display in their Hall of Ancient Egypt.[14]
Stuart and Jacobite[edit]
In British history, Bower was most interested in the House of Stuart and Jacobitism and was a member of the Royal Stuart Society.[15] His collecting in this area included portraits of members of the House of Stuart, swords, objects with hidden Jacobite symbols and royal manuscripts.
Buddhist[edit]
As with other areas of his collecting, Bower’s interest in objects relating to Buddhism was driven by personal reasons; Bower was a Buddhist. Despite this, the collection does not focus on any one particular school of Buddhist thought or on any particular country.[16] Amongst items currently displayed at the castle are thangkas and images of Buddha.
Local history[edit]
In addition to Bower’s collections, the castle’s 19th century kitchen still retains many of its original features, such as three cake ovens, and is used to display a collection of kitchen utensils and an ice chest, reflecting the fact that the castle once had an ice house. There is also a servants’ hall and a servants’ bedroom.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee
Memphis is a city along the Mississippi River in southwestern Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The 2019 population was 651,073, making Memphis the largest city on the Mississippi River, the second most populous in Tennessee, as well as the 26th largest city in the United States. Greater Memphis is the 42nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 1,348,260 in 2017. The city is the anchor of West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi, and the Missouri Bootheel. Memphis is the seat of Shelby County, Tennessee's most populous county. One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the southern United States, Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods.
The first European explorer to visit the area of present-day Memphis was Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541 with his expedition into the New World. The high Chickasaw Bluffs protecting the location from the waters of the Mississippi was then contested by the Spanish, French, and the English as Memphis took shape. Modern Memphis was founded in 1819 by three prominent Americans: John Overton, James Winchester, and future president Andrew Jackson.
Memphis grew into one of the largest cities of the Antebellum South as a market for agricultural goods, natural resources like lumber, and the American slave trade. After the American Civil War and the end of slavery, the city experienced even faster growth into the 20th century as it became among the largest world markets for cotton and lumber.
Home to Tennessee's largest African-American population, Memphis played a prominent role in the American civil rights movement and was the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination. The city now hosts the National Civil Rights Museum—a Smithsonian affiliate institution. Since the civil rights era, Memphis has become one of the nation's leading commercial centers in transportation and logistics. Its largest employer is the multinational courier corporation FedEx, which maintains its global air hub at Memphis International Airport, making it the second-busiest cargo airport in the world. In addition to being a global air cargo leader, the International Port of Memphis also hosts the 5th busiest inland water port in the U.S., with access to the Mississippi River allowing shipments to arrive from around the world for conversion to train and trucking transport throughout the United States, making Memphis a multi-modal hub for trading goods for imports and exports despite its inland location.
Memphis is a regional center for commerce, education, media, art, and entertainment. It has long had a prominent music scene, with historic blues clubs on Beale Street originating the unique Memphis blues sound in the early 20th century. The city's music has continued to be shaped by a multicultural mix of influences: the blues, country, rock n' roll, soul, and hip-hop. Memphis barbecue has achieved international prominence, and the city hosts the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which attracts over 100,000 visitors to the city annually.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6 ha) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by singer and actor Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, has been the owner of Graceland since his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community, about 9 miles (14 km) from Downtown and less than 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Mississippi border.
It was opened to the public as a museum on June 7, 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, becoming the first site related to rock and roll to be entered therein. Graceland was declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006, also a first for a rock singer. Graceland is the second most-visited house in the U.S. after the White House, with over 650,000 visitors a year.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to great success—and initial controversy.
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.
With his rise from poverty to significant fame, Presley's success seemed to epitomize the American Dream. The best-selling solo music artist of all time, he was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, R&B, adult contemporary, and gospel. He won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley holds several records; the most RIAA certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, and the most number-one albums and number-one singles on the UK Albums Chart and UK Singles Chart, respectively. In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Kampffmeyer
"Die Villa Kampffmeyer in Potsdam wurde 1924 für den Mühlenbesitzer Kurt Kampffmeyer (1896–1949) erbaut. Kampffmeyer war bis zum Ende des Krieges der größte Mühlenbesitzer in Deutschland. Die Villa lag ursprünglich allein in einem großen Park auf dem Glienecker Horn nahe der Glienicker Brücke. Die aufwändig gestaltete Villa ist in traditionellem Stil gehalten (mit Rokoko- und Barock-Elementen) und besitzt 15 Zimmer mit etwa 1000 m² Wohnfläche. Die Architekten waren Carl Mohr und Paul Weidner (Berlin); ausgeführt wurde der Bau durch das Baugeschäft Adolf & Friedrich Bolle (Linkstraße 42 in Berlin W 9). Die Villa steht unter Denkmalschutz und gehört zum Unesco-Weltkulturerbe Potsdam.
Nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs beherbergte die Villa den KGB-Begleitschutz der sowjetischen Delegation während der Potsdamer Konferenz. Im Anschluss erfuhr die Villa verschiedene Nutzungen. Zuerst zog die Vereinigung Volkseigener Betriebe (VVB/Projektierung), dann das Deutsche Rote Kreuz ein. Ein Teil der Anlage (Theater in Holzbauweise) nutzte die Landesbühne Potsdam. Zeitweilig diente die Villa der Lagerung und dem Verkauf von Möbeln und Haushaltsgegenständen von DDR-Bürgern, die diese bei der Flucht in den Westen in den Wohnungen zurückgelassen hatten. Dann wurde die Villa Domizil der Freien Deutschen Jugend (FDJ). Nach dem Mauerbau 1961 wurde der Club wegen der Grenznähe aus Sicherheitsgründen geschlossen und die Villa stand zunächst leer. Am 11. August 1962 wurde die Villa durch die 2. Grenzbrigade Groß Glienicke übernommen, ohne einen besonderen Verwendungszweck dafür zu haben. Im Zeitabschnitt 1963/1964 übernahm der Arbeitsbereich Passkontrolle Berlin dieses Objekt zur Schulung von Führungskadern für die 22 Grenzübergangsstellen der DDR. Die Villa diente dem KGB und der Stasi beim Austausch von Agenten auf der Glienicker Brücke als Beobachtungsposten. Im Zuge der Einführung der Pass- und Visapflicht am 11. Juni 1968 durch die DDR war ein erhöhter Kräfteeinsatz an den Grenzübergangsstellen erforderlich und es kam zur Versetzung von Mitarbeitern nach Potsdam, die auch in der Kampffmeyer-Villa untergebracht wurden. Danach kam es zur Unterbringung des Arbeitsbeeiches Passkontrolle Potsdam, das für 13 Grenzübergangsstellen verantwortlich war.
Nach der Wende wurden in der Villa eine Waffenkammer im Dachgeschoss und feste Räume im Keller, die angeblich als Zellen gedient haben sollen, sowie angeblich über 100.000 Schriftstücke entdeckt. Es handelte sich um Unterlagen einer Diensteinheit des MfS, die das nun leerstehende Objekt zur Entsorgung nutzte.
In den 1990er Jahren wurde die Villa renoviert und diente als Ausstellungs-, Veranstaltungs- und internationale Tagungsstätte. Die Erbengemeinschaft Kampffmeyer verkaufte die Villa und den Park. Auf dem Parkgelände entstanden unter dem Namen „Potsdamer Arkadien“ mehrere umstrittene moderne Villen. Die Villa Kampffmeyer wechselte mehrfach den Besitzer. Zu den Bewohnern gehörten beispielsweise das Schweizer Diplomatenehepaar Borer-Fielding. Die Villa wird seit 2006 vom Militärattaché der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate (Achmed e Sheik) bewohnt.
Quelle: Wikipedia (s.o.)
Saturday 26 October 2013: Mandalay (မန္တလေး)
Our free day in Mandalay (မန္တလေး) (map) started with a walking tour of Ze Cho / Zegyo market, led by Josh, which was really interesting. The group then split into those who did a sight seeing tour with Josh as an optional extra (why not include it - as we found out, DIY in Mandalay is far harder than elsewhere), and Joelle, Anna, Miriam and I who opted to try out hand at taking in the sights on public transport.... where we had variable success: finding the bus stops near the market was tricky, but we had lots of help from local people (and even more offers from taxi drivers who wanted to take us on a tour), but unfortunately our first bus got a flat type somewhere on 32nd Street, and the next bus we hopped on to get us up to the cluster of pagodas north east of the Mandalay Palace (မန္တလေး နန်းတော်) complex charged us 1000k each (I think the local fare was closer to 100k-200k).... At least our adventures on public transport meant I got familiar with numbers written in Burmese script.
Along with the Palace, several of the pagodas are covered by a $10 combined ticket, but we decided to avoid those and focused instead on "the world's biggest book" - aka the inscribed marble 'tomb stones' at Kuthodaw Pagoda (ကုသိုလ်တော်ဘုရား) (although getting into it we took the "scenic route" around the perimeter walls and through some goat-filled woods). We did get to see the beautiful carved teak of the Shwe Nandaw Kyaung / Shwenandaw Monastery (ရွှေနန်းတော်ကျောင်း) through the bars of the railings that surround it, and the outside of the Atumashi Kyaung (အတုမရှိကျောင်း) monastery next door. We did a lot of walking, in vain, in search of the Sandamundi Pagoda - I think our directions/info was wrong as we wandered along long N-S streets and the military compounds that sit to the east of Mandalay Hill.
Having sat on a very slow bus back to the Ze Cho / Zegyo market area, we cut out losses and negotiated with a private taxi driver to take us to the sights south west of the city centre, which proved 3000k each well spent as he took us to the quiet (free) entrances to the stunning Maha Muni Pagoda (မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး), where the (male) faithful stick gold leaf offerings onto the ever growing Sacred Living Image of the Buddha, and the Shwe In Bin Kyaung, where we got to go inside the beautiful carved teak monastery building and to wander around the grounds (almost) all by ourselves.
At 4 o'clock we rendezvoused in the reception of the Silver Star Hotel, and were driven to Mandalay Hill (မန္တလေးတောင်), where sadly the rain impinged on our sunset views over Mandalay but (re)visting the Kuthodaw Pagoda en route (would have been nice to have been told that this morning). Still, dinner at the really super Super 81 made up for the rain - a feast, and a bargain to boot!
DSC02310_small
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee
Memphis is a city along the Mississippi River in southwestern Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The 2019 population was 651,073, making Memphis the largest city on the Mississippi River, the second most populous in Tennessee, as well as the 26th largest city in the United States. Greater Memphis is the 42nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 1,348,260 in 2017. The city is the anchor of West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi, and the Missouri Bootheel. Memphis is the seat of Shelby County, Tennessee's most populous county. One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the southern United States, Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods.
The first European explorer to visit the area of present-day Memphis was Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541 with his expedition into the New World. The high Chickasaw Bluffs protecting the location from the waters of the Mississippi was then contested by the Spanish, French, and the English as Memphis took shape. Modern Memphis was founded in 1819 by three prominent Americans: John Overton, James Winchester, and future president Andrew Jackson.
Memphis grew into one of the largest cities of the Antebellum South as a market for agricultural goods, natural resources like lumber, and the American slave trade. After the American Civil War and the end of slavery, the city experienced even faster growth into the 20th century as it became among the largest world markets for cotton and lumber.
Home to Tennessee's largest African-American population, Memphis played a prominent role in the American civil rights movement and was the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination. The city now hosts the National Civil Rights Museum—a Smithsonian affiliate institution. Since the civil rights era, Memphis has become one of the nation's leading commercial centers in transportation and logistics. Its largest employer is the multinational courier corporation FedEx, which maintains its global air hub at Memphis International Airport, making it the second-busiest cargo airport in the world. In addition to being a global air cargo leader, the International Port of Memphis also hosts the 5th busiest inland water port in the U.S., with access to the Mississippi River allowing shipments to arrive from around the world for conversion to train and trucking transport throughout the United States, making Memphis a multi-modal hub for trading goods for imports and exports despite its inland location.
Memphis is a regional center for commerce, education, media, art, and entertainment. It has long had a prominent music scene, with historic blues clubs on Beale Street originating the unique Memphis blues sound in the early 20th century. The city's music has continued to be shaped by a multicultural mix of influences: the blues, country, rock n' roll, soul, and hip-hop. Memphis barbecue has achieved international prominence, and the city hosts the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which attracts over 100,000 visitors to the city annually.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6 ha) estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by singer and actor Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, has been the owner of Graceland since his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community, about 9 miles (14 km) from Downtown and less than 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Mississippi border.
It was opened to the public as a museum on June 7, 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, becoming the first site related to rock and roll to be entered therein. Graceland was declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006, also a first for a rock singer. Graceland is the second most-visited house in the U.S. after the White House, with over 650,000 visitors a year.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to great success—and initial controversy.
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.
With his rise from poverty to significant fame, Presley's success seemed to epitomize the American Dream. The best-selling solo music artist of all time, he was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, R&B, adult contemporary, and gospel. He won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley holds several records; the most RIAA certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, and the most number-one albums and number-one singles on the UK Albums Chart and UK Singles Chart, respectively. In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.
The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District.
Washington had an estimated population of 702,455 as of July 2018, making it the 20th most populous city in the United States. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. Washington's metropolitan area, the country's sixth largest, had a 2017 estimated population of 6.2 million residents.
All three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the District: Congress (legislative), president (executive), and the U.S. Supreme Court (judicial). Washington is home to many national monuments, and museums, primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 177 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profit, lobbying groups, and professional associations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States, AARP, the National Geographic Society, the Human Rights Campaign, the International Finance Corporation, and the American Red Cross.
A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973. However, Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, but the District has no representation in the Senate. The District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. and has been the residence of every U.S. President since John Adams in 1800. The term "White House" is often used as a metonym for the president and his advisers.
The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the neoclassical style. Hoban modelled the building on Leinster House in Dublin, a building which today houses the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature. Construction took place between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semi-circular South portico in 1824 and the North portico in 1829.
Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. In the main mansion, the third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the residence's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.
The modern-day White House complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, East Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building—the former State Department, which now houses offices for the President's staff and the Vice President—and Blair House, a guest residence. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, as well as a two-story basement. The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Dining_Room_of_the_White_House
The State Dining Room is the larger of two dining rooms on the State Floor of the Executive Residence of the White House, the home of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C. It is used for receptions, luncheons, larger formal dinners, and state dinners for visiting heads of state on state visits. The room seats 140 and measures approximately 48 by 36 feet (15 by 11 m).
Originally office space, the State Dining Room received its name during the presidency of James Monroe, at which time it was first extensively furnished. The room was refurbished during several administrations in the early to mid 1800s, and gasified in 1853. Doors were cut through the west wall in 1877. The State Dining Room underwent a major expansion and renovation in 1902, transforming it from a Victorian dining room into a "baronial" dining hall of the early 19th century—complete with stuffed animal heads on the walls and dark oak panelling. The room stayed in this form until the White House's complete reconstruction in 1952.
The 1952 rebuilding of the White House retained much of the 1902 renovation, although much of the "baronial" furnishings were removed and the walls were painted celadon green. Another major refurbishment from 1961 to 1963 changed the room even further, more closely approximating an Empire style room with elements from a wide range of other periods. Incremental changes to the room were made throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with major refurbishments of the furnishings in 1998 and 2015.
The visit and guided tour of Poblet Monastery.
Monks still lives in this monastery. It was restored in the 20th century, having been ruined in the 19th century. There are tombs here of the Kings and Queens of Aragon.
The Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet (Catalan: Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet) is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia (Spain). It was founded by Cistercian monks from France on lands conquered from the Moors. The main architect was Arnau Bargués.
This monastery was the first of three sister monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. (The other two are Vallbona de les Monges and Santes Creus.)
Poblet was one of the two royal pantheons of the kings of the Crown of Aragon since James I of Aragon (along with Monastery of San Juan de la Peña). Some of the most important royal sepulchres have alabaster statues that lie over the tomb. The kings have lion sculptures at their feet, while the queens have dogs.
Peter IV of Aragon (1319 – 1387) made it a condition, under solemn oath at the moment of crowning, that all the Aragonese kings be buried there. Only Ferdinand II of Aragon broke the oath, after his kingdom had been merged with the Kingdom of Castile, and was buried in Granada.
The Calefactory
Or "warming room". Used by monks to alleviate the chill of winter. Was also used as the monks' barber's shop.
Window
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.
The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. The City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District.
Washington had an estimated population of 702,455 as of July 2018, making it the 20th most populous city in the United States. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during the workweek. Washington's metropolitan area, the country's sixth largest, had a 2017 estimated population of 6.2 million residents.
All three branches of the U.S. federal government are centered in the District: Congress (legislative), president (executive), and the U.S. Supreme Court (judicial). Washington is home to many national monuments, and museums, primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 177 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many international organizations, trade unions, non-profit, lobbying groups, and professional associations, including the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States, AARP, the National Geographic Society, the Human Rights Campaign, the International Finance Corporation, and the American Red Cross.
A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973. However, Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D.C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, but the District has no representation in the Senate. The District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), one of the most important of the American Founding Fathers as the main drafter and writer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, governor of the newly independent Commonwealth of Virginia, American minister to King Louis XVI, and the Kingdom of France, first U.S. Secretary of State under the first President George Washington, the second Vice President of the United States under second President John Adams, and also the third President (1801–1809), as well as being the founder of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia.
The neoclassical Memorial building is situated in West Potomac Park on the shore of the Tidal Basin off the Washington Channel of the Potomac River. It was designed by the architect John Russell Pope and built by the Philadelphia contractor John McShain. Construction of the building began in 1939 and was completed in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947.
Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. The Jefferson Memorial, and the White House located directly north, form one of the main anchor points in the area of the National Mall in D.C. The Washington Monument, just east of the axis on the national Mall, was intended to be located at the intersection of the White House and the site for the Jefferson Memorial to the south, but soft swampy ground which defied 19th century engineering required it be sited to the east.
The Jefferson Memorial is managed by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior under its National Mall and Memorial Parks division. In 2007, it was ranked fourth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States. Located almost due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world's tallest predominantly stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7 11⁄32 inches (169.046 m) tall according to the National Geodetic Survey (measured 2013–14) or 555 feet 5 1⁄8 inches (169.294 m) tall according to the National Park Service (measured 1884). It is the tallest monumental column in the world if all are measured above their pedestrian entrances. It was the tallest structure in the world from 1884 to 1889, when it was overtaken by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Construction of the monument began in 1848, and was halted from 1854 to 1877 due to a lack of funds, a struggle for control over the Washington National Monument Society, and the intervention of the American Civil War. Although the stone structure was completed in 1884, internal ironwork, the knoll, and other finishing touches were not completed until 1888. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet (46 m) or 27% up, shows where construction was halted and later resumed with marble from a different source. The original design was by Robert Mills, but he did not include his proposed colonnade due to a lack of funds, proceeding only with a bare obelisk. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the first stone was laid atop the unfinished stump on August 7, 1880; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884; the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885; and officially opened October 9, 1888.
The Washington Monument is a hollow Egyptian style stone obelisk with a 500-foot (152.4 m) tall column and a 55-foot (16.8 m) tall pyramidion. Its walls are 15 feet (4.6 m) thick at its base and 1 1⁄2 feet (0.46 m) thick at their top. The marble pyramidion has thin walls only 7 inches (18 cm) thick supported by six arches, two between opposite walls that cross at the center of the pyramidion and four smaller corner arches. The top of the pyramidion is a large marble capstone with a small aluminum pyramid at its apex with inscriptions on all four sides. The lowest 150 feet (45.7 m) of the walls, constructed during the first phase 1848–1854, are composed of a pile of bluestone gneiss rubble stones (not finished stones) held together by a large amount of mortar with a facade of semi-finished marble stones about 1 1⁄4 feet (0.4 m) thick. The upper 350 feet (106.7 m) of the walls, constructed during the second phase 1880–1884, are composed of finished marble surface stones, half of which project into the walls, partially backed by finished granite stones.
The interior is occupied by iron stairs that spiral up the walls, with an elevator in the center, each supported by four iron columns, which do not support the stone structure. The stairs contain fifty sections, most on the north and south walls, with many long landings stretching between them along the east and west walls. These landings allowed many inscribed memorial stones of various materials and sizes to be easily viewed while the stairs were accessible (until 1976), plus one memorial stone between stairs that is difficult to view. The pyramidion has eight observation windows, two per side, and eight red aircraft warning lights, two per side. Two aluminum lightning rods connected via the elevator support columns to ground water protect the monument. The monument's present foundation is 37 feet (11.3 m) thick, consisting of half of its original bluestone gneiss rubble encased in concrete. At the northeast corner of the foundation, 21 feet (6.4 m) below ground, is the marble cornerstone, including a zinc case filled with memorabilia. Fifty American flags fly 24 hours a day on a large circle of flag poles centered on the monument. In 2001, a temporary screening facility was added to the entrance to prevent a terrorist attack. In 2011, an earthquake slightly damaged the monument, mostly the pyramidion.
UNESCO Tentative List;
whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5406/
Aphrodisias lies in southwestern Turkey, in the fertile valley of the Dandalas River, a tributary of the Meander, about 150 kilometres east (inland) of the Aegean Sea. It is situated at the base of the Babadag mountain range, at 500 m above sea level. The city was the capital of the ancient Roman province of Caria.
The ancient city of Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Greek and Roman periods in Turkey. Famous in antiquity for its sanctuary of Aphrodite, the city's patron goddess, Aphrodisias enjoyed a long and prosperous existence from the second century B.C. through the sixth century A.D. Today, many of the city's ancient monuments remain standing, and excavations have unearthed numerous fine marble statues and other artifacts. The great beauty and extraordinary preservation of this site combine to bring the civic culture of the Greco-Roman world vividly to life.
Aphrodisias was founded on the site of an ancient local sanctuary in the second century B.C., according to the date of the earliest coins and inscriptions found in the site. In the late first century B.C., the city came under the personal protection of the Roman emperor Augustus, and a long period of growth and good fortune ensued. The first several centuries A.D. were especially prosperous, and most of the surviving buildings of the city date to this period. In the fourth century, Aphrodisias became the capital of the Roman province of Caria. The cosmopolitan character of the age is demonstrated by the presence in this city of an active Jewish community, attested in a famous inscription listing benefactors of the local Synagogue.
The first systematic excavations at the site were begun in 1961 under the aegis of New York University, and yielded many remains of the city's central monuments. In addition to the Temple of Aphrodite, major areas of investigation included the Bouleuterion or Council House, and the Sebasteion. The Sebasteion, a religious sanctuary dedicated to Aphrodite and the Roman emperors, is one of the most remarkable discoveries of Roman archaeology. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman imperial cult complex, and is decorated with an extraordinary series of life-size marble reliefs (originally almost 200), which depict Roman emperors and imperial family members from ca. A.D. 20 to 60, as well as, personifications of the subject peoples of the Roman empire, and mythological heroes and gods. The reliefs provide an unparalleled insight into how Roman imperial power was understood from a local perspective. Other important public buildings are the Theatre, the Hadrianic Baths, and the Stadium; the latter seated 30,000 people, and is the best-preserved of all ancient stadiums. The buildings of the site are remarkable not only for the preservation of their architecture, but also for the many inscriptions, statues, reliefs, and other objects associated with them.
Aphrodisias is well-known for its fine sculpture. Good marble quarries are located only a few kilometres away from the city, and by the Late Hellenistic period, a strong local tradition of marble sculpture had already taken root. In later generations, Aphrodisian sculptors are known to have worked abroad on prestigious commissions, for example, at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. The sculpture from the site is characterized by virtuosity and variety. Excavation has uncovered statues of, for example, gods, heroes, emperors, orators, philosophers, and boxers, as well as a great range of ornamental and figured relief. The finds range from grave reliefs of the second century B.C. to statues of the last Roman governors of the sixth century A.D. Many sculptures from the site already occupy key positions in the history of ancient art.
The studies for a site management plan were started according to a protocol between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Geyre Foundation dated to 08.11.2007.
www.nyu.edu/projects/aphrodisias/home.ti.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodisias
Madagascar's National Center for Applied Research on Rural Development, FOFIFA, is performing variety trials to select new, biofortified varieties of beans that can grow well in Madagascar and that could be used in the future in the school feeding program. Biofortified beans are the result of the research carried out with PABRA (pabra-africa.org) and have higher iron and zinc content especially.
Credit: ©2014CIAT/StephanieMalyon
Please credit accordingly and leave a comment when you use a CIAT photo.
For more info: ciat-comunicaciones@cgiar.org
Journalists and environmentalists send fossil free message, during the
field trip to Hon Cau Marine Protected Area which is being threatened by
the nearby Vinh Tan coal fired power plants. The trip is part of the
journalist training organized by CHANGE/350Vietnam in March 2017 to build
attention around impacts of coal plants on livelihood and environment, and
introduce Global Divestment Day 2017. The photo was taken on Hon Cau Islet,
with the coal plant on the background.
(c) CHANGE/350Vietnam
Useful links
Arashmoto.com
sheffieldfreezone.org.uk
freestuffonline.org.uk
ebaycomment.co.uk
ebaycomplain.co.uk
arashmoto.com/easykardcomplaints
arashmoto.com/amazoncomplaints
arashmoto.com/hsbccomplaints
arashmoto.com/halifaxcomplaints
arashmoto.com/ebaycomplaints
The fur seals and fur-seal islands of the North Pacific Ocean. v.3.
Washington,Govt. Print. Off.,1898-99.
www.emergencyrooms.org/sprengelmuseum.html
----------Sprengel Museum exhibition Press release ----------
Sprengel Museum Hannover
PHOTOGRAPHY CALLING!
09. October 2011 – 15. January 2012
Sprengel Museum HannoverSprengel Museum Hannover
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE
LOWER SAXONY SAVINGS BANK FOUNDATION
PHOTOGRAPHY CALLING! is an exhibition of the works of 31 photographers on a floor area of over 2,000 square metres. Since HOW YOU LOOK AT IT in 2000, this exhibition is the first and only one to provide an all-embracing overview of artistic photography from the 1960s to the present day. The exhibition has been organized by the Sprengel Museum Hannover in collaboration with the Lower Saxony Savings Bank Foundation. Starting out from the Foundation’s collection of large groups of works by both American and European photographers, the only collection of its kind in Europe, the exhibition explores the history and perspectives of the ‘documentary style’ of photography.
PHOTOGRAPHY CALLING! constitutes yet a further step towards establishing Hanover as an important centre for artistic photography in the north of Germany.
The starting points of the exhibition are the works of Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, John Gossage, Nicholas Nixon, Martin Parr and Michael Schmidt. The artist photographers Rineke Dijkstra, Paul Graham, Thomas Struth and the photographers of the generations that followed, such as Jitka Hanzlová, Stephen Gill, Jochen Lempert, Elisabeth Neudörfl, Heidi Specker and Tobias Zielony, visualize the world with a style of photography that adheres strictly to the medium and yet is highly subjective. Max Baumann, Boris Mikhailov, Rita Ostrowskaja and Helga Paris extend the perspective with experiences of their own confrontations with different political systems, while Laura Bielau, Thomas Demand, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Wolfgang Tillmans and Jeff Wall use the documentary style of photography as a means of exemplifying the phenomena of visual perception. Many of the works are being exhibited for the very first time.
Integrated into the exhibition are three successive Project Rooms organized by three guest curators and each taking place for the duration of one month. They thematize three different methods of collecting and three different ways of using photography.
From 9.10. until 30.10.2011 the artist Thierry Geoffroy will investigate the idea behind the title of the exhibition – PHOTOGRAPHY CALLING! – and ask: Who calls whom and what, and for what purpose, and out of what interests? On 1.11.2011 Markus Schaden will be setting up a study room devoted to the photography book as a ‘storage medium’ and collector’s item. From 6.12.2011 until 15.1.2012 Wilhelm Schürmann will be exposing the obsessions that can be the driving force behind a private collection of photographs, graphics, paintings and sculptures.
In the run-up to the exhibition HOW YOU LOOK AT IT at the Sprengel Museum Hannover, which was curated by Thomas Weski and Heinz Liesbrock on the occasion of EXPO 2000, the Lower Saxony Savings Bank Foundation began to purchase comprehensive groups of works by selected American and European photographers. Since then, the collecting activity of the Foundation has been focused on those works of photography that may be understood to be in the tradition of the ‘documentary style’ (Walker Evans, 1903-1975) and have been exercising a strong influence on photography since the end of the 1960s. Thus it has been possible – thanks not least to the recommendations of a high-calibre advisory board – to build up a photographic collection distinguished by its concentration on groups of works. In this regard the collection is unique in Europe.
The Lower Saxony Savings Bank Foundation’s collection and its perspective are now to be the subject of the present exhibition, which is being mounted jointly with the Sprengel Museum Hannover and also in the context of the Museum’s own well-cultivated photography tradition, which began in 1979 and can boast exhibitions of such great exponents of photography as Karl Blossfeldt, El Lissitzky, Judith Joy Ross and Michael Schmidt, to name only a few of many, or the “SPECTRUM” International Prize for Photography of the Foundation of Lower Saxony. ‘Collecting’ manifests itself here as an open system that operates self-reflexively in the aforementioned Project Rooms and is future-oriented and discussion-friendly in the exhibition’s supplementary events.
PHOTOGRAPHY CALLING! is accompanied by a copious publication (Steidl, Göttingen). Visitors will also be offered a comprehensive information programme.
The exhibition has been curated by Inka Schube, Curator for Photography and Media Art, Sprengel Museum Hannover, and Thomas Weski, Professor of “Curatorial Cultures”, Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig.