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in our lives...whenever an act of purity was on the process of being accomplished...it has faced its counterpart...the intruders...in many ways...and even in many forms of energy...but when could tht stop one from the goal...the goal that is meant to be.....
this pic was taken frm an exhibition "framing the 100s"
Client: Artek Club
Completion date: October, 2011
Identity and print collateral i designed for the opening of St. Petersburg based club «Artek», where me & my teammates worked on the interior & murals. «Artek» brings together a bar, club and an exhibition space.
A touch of old hollywood meets modern chic. This home came with extra personality in each space. We had fun creating her vision and the results were nothing short of Glamorous!
It became apparent that the site was well suited for another high-profile memorial since it sat directly south of the White House. By 1901 the Senate Park Commission, better known as the McMillan Commission, had proposed placing a pantheon-like structure on the site hosting "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"; no action was ever taken by Congress on this issue.[3]
The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped to facilitate the recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid-chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water and make the Tidal Basin (also known as Twining Lake) suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Memorial, opened in May 1918 and operated as a "Whites Only" facility through 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid the question of racial integration.[5]
A design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt in 1925. The winning design was submitted by John Russell Pope and consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. The plan was never funded by Congress and was not built.[3]
Jefferson Memorial Side View
The Memorial's chance came in 1934 when President Franklin Roosevelt, an admirer of Jefferson himself, inquired to the Commission of Fine Arts about the possibility of erecting a memorial to Jefferson, including it in the plans for the Federal Triangle project, which was under construction at the time. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boylan jumped off FDR's starting point and urged Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission. Boylan was appointed the Commission's first chairman and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for a memorial to Jefferson.[3]
Jefferson warns that a nation cannot be "ignorant and free."
The Commission chose John Russell Pope as the architect in 1935. Pope was also the architect of the National Archives Building and 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; and one 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 and because it completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission (Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol; White House to the Tidal Basin site). Pope designed a very large pantheon-like structure, to sit on a square platform, and to be flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.[3]
[edit] Construction
Under construction in 1941, as seen from across the Tidal Basin
Construction began on December 15, 1938 and the cornerstone was laid on November 15, 1939, by president Franklin Roosevelt. By this point Pope had died (1937) and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, took over construction of the memorial. The design was modified at the request of the Commission of Fine Arts to a more conservative design.
Construction commenced amid significant opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the Memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the design and site of the Memorial. In addition, many Washingtonians opposed the site because it was not aligned with L'Enfant's original plan. Finally, many well established elm and cherry trees had to be removed for construction. Construction continued amid the opposition.[3]
In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned statue 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 entrance.[3]
The Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated by President Roosevelt on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday. At that time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished. Due to material shortages during World War II, the statue that was installed at the time was a plaster cast of Evans' work painted to look like bronze. The finished bronze statue was installed in 1947, having been cast by the Roman Bronze Company of New York.[3]
One of the last American public monuments in the Beaux-Arts tradition,[citation needed] the Memorial was severely criticized even as it was being built, by those who adhered to the modernist argument that dressing 20th century buildings like Greek and Roman ones constituted a "tired architectural lie."[citation needed] More than 60 years ago, Pope responded with silence to critics who dismissed him as part of an enervated architectural elite practicing "styles that are safely dead."[citation needed] As a National Memorial it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[1][6]
[edit] Description
The monument's marble steps, portico, and circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and shallow dome.
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. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River. 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.[citation needed]
[edit] The interior
Rudulph Evans's statue of Thomas Jefferson with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence to the right
The interior of the memorial has a 19-foot (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4336 kg) bronze statue[7] of Jefferson by sculptor Rudulph Evans[7] showing Jefferson looking out toward the White House. This statue was added four years after the dedication. Most prominent are the words which are inscribed in a frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."[8] This sentence is taken from a September 23, 1800, letter by Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush wherein he defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.
On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776:[9]
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 honour.
Note that the inscription uses the word "inalienable", as in Jefferson's draft, rather than "unalienable", as in the published Declaration.[10]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is an excerpt from "A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1777", except for the last sentence, which is taken from a letter of August 28, 1789, to James Madison:[9][11]
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.
Detail of the statue
The quotes from the panel of the northeast interior wall are from multiple sources. The first sentence, beginning "God who gave...", is from "A Summary View of the Rights of British America".[12] The second, third and fourth sentences are from Notes on the State of Virginia.[13] The fifth sentence, beginning "Nothing is more...", is from Jefferson's autobiography.[14] The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from an August 13, 1790, letter to George Wythe.[15] The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to George Washington[16]:[9]
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.
The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is redacted and excerpted from a letter July 12, 1816, to Samuel Kercheval:[17][9]
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.
[edit] Criticism
Cato Institute Fellow and University of Alberta history professor emeritus Ronald Hamowy has called the inscriptions "[p]erhaps the most egregious examples of invoking Jefferson for purely transient political purposes." Hamowy argues that:
Planned and built during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the walls of the memorial are adorned with quotations from Jefferson’s writings, many of which suggest that Jefferson advocated positions consistent with the aims of the New Deal—with which he would, in fact, have had little sympathy. Thus, Jefferson’s admonition that an educated electorate was essential if liberty were to be preserved is transmuted into a call for universal public education. And his caution that man, as he advances in his understanding of the world, must accompany his greater enlightenment with changes in his social institutions becomes a justification for a new theory of government in keeping with the social-democratic principles that animated the New Deal.[18]
The excerpts chosen from the Declaration have been criticized because the first half alters Jefferson's prose (for the sake of saving space) and eliminates the right of revolution passage that Jefferson believed was the point of the Declaration, while much of the second half (from "solemnly publish" to "divine providence") was not written by Jefferson.[19]
The fifth sentence quoted on the northeast interior wall ("Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free.") has been called "misleadingly truncated" by historian Garry Wills, because Jefferson's sentence continued with: "Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."[20]
[edit] Location
Jefferson Memorial, with Potomac River in the background. Photographed from the top of the Washington Monument, January 1967
The site of the monument is in Washington D.C. West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin, is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry trees, a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.[21]
The monument is not as prominent in popular culture as other Washington, D.C. buildings and monuments, possibly due to its location well removed from the National Mall and the Washington Metro. The Jefferson Memorial hosts many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.[21]
The monument is open 24 hours a day but park rangers are there only until 11:30 p.m.;however, the monument is only a few hundred yards from the National Park Police D.C. Headquarters in East Potomac Park. (0330 UTC)[22]
We went down to have a look at the old Caernarfon Station on the Welsh Highland Railway.
Unfortunately on the day of our visit (14th May 2018) there was no trains running that day!
The ticket office had moved but was open, but we were told that there wasn't any trains that day, and the leaflet we have confirms it!
Anyway we mainly came to Caernarfon to visit the castle!
The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a 25-mile (40.2 km) long, restored 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway and to the short Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. In Porthmadog it uses the United Kingdom's only mixed gauge flat rail crossing.
The restoration, which had the civil engineering mainly built by contractors and the track mainly built by volunteers, received a number of awards. Originally running from Dinas near Caernarfon to Porthmadog, the current line includes an additional section from Dinas to Caernarfon. The original line also had a branch to Bryngwyn and the slate quarries at Moel Tryfan, which has not been restored. (This branch forms a footpath "rail trail", the lower section of which has been resurfaced and supplied with heritage notice-boards).
There is also the 0.75-mile (1.2 km) long Welsh Highland Heritage Railway which runs from Porthmadog along the trackbed of the former Cambrian Railways exchange siding and connects to the WHR main line at Pen-y-Mount junction.
Caernarfon Station is the northern terminus of the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, located in the town of Caernarfon. It was opened on 11 October 1997 when the line was constructed from Dinas.
The railway between Caernarfon and Dinas was formerly part of the standard gauge Carnarvonshire Railway, later LNWR and LMS, between Caernarfon and Afon Wen, which was closed by British Railways in December 1964, and the tracks lifted.
Northwards of the present Caernarfon station, the former standard gauge line ran through a tunnel, which is now used by a public road, to the site of the original Caernarvon railway station. The LNWR was under an obligation to build a station on this site (below Segontium Terrace), however the town corporation waived its claim to this station. The original line continued on to a junction with the Chester and Holyhead Railway just south of the Britannia Bridge, terminating at the now-demolished Menai Bridge Station.
The present station is sited on the former standard gauge trackbed adjacent to St. Helen's Road, opposite the former locomotive works of De Winton & Co and beneath the high retaining walls of Segontium Terrace, which can be reached from St Helen's Road via a pedestrian footbridge. The station buildings accommodate the booking office, a tourist shop and passenger facilities. In the winter of 2005/06 the passenger platform and run around loop at Caernarfon were lengthened to permit the operation of trains up to 10 carriages long.
The narrow gauge line was built from Dinas to Caernarfon in 1997, thus providing the extension to Caernarfon of the Welsh Highland Railway that was originally authorised by Act of Parliament, but never built. Between Caernarfon and Dinas, the new Welsh Highland line shares the old standard gauge trackbed with the 'Lôn Eifion' tourist cycle track. This section of line is operated by the Ffestiniog Railway under the provisions of The Caernarfon Railway Light Railway Order 1997 made 8 October 1997.
The view to Caernarfon Castle. The new Caernarfon Station is being built below.
Caernarfon Castle (Welsh: Castell Caernarfon), often anglicized as Carnarvon Castle, is a medieval fortress in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, north-west Wales cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure. The Edwardian town and castle acted as the administrative centre of north Wales and as a result the defences were built on a grand scale. There was a deliberate link with Caernarfon's Roman past and the Roman fort of Segontium is nearby.
While the castle was under construction, town walls were built around Caernarfon. The work cost between £20,000 and £25,000 from the start until the end of work in 1330. Despite Caernarfon Castle's external appearance of being mostly complete, the interior buildings no longer survive and many of the building plans were never finished. The town and castle were sacked in 1294 when Madog ap Llywelyn led a rebellion against the English. Caernarfon was recaptured the following year. During the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400–1415, the castle was besieged. When the Tudor dynasty ascended to the English throne in 1485, tensions between the Welsh and English began to diminish and castles were considered less important. As a result, Caernarfon Castle was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Despite its dilapidated condition, during the English Civil War Caernarfon Castle was held by Royalists, and was besieged three times by Parliamentarian forces. This was the last time the castle was used in war. Caernarfon Castle was neglected until the 19th century when the state funded repairs. In 1911, Caernarfon Castle was used for the investiture of the Prince of Wales, and again in 1969. It is part of the World Heritage Site "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd".
A Grade I listed building.
History
Begun in 1283 and still incomplete when building work ceased c1330. Built for Edward I of England, it combined the roles of fortification, palace and administrative centre. A motte and bailey castle had been built here in the late C11 by Earl Hugh of Chester, although it became a residence of Welsh princes, including Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, after the Welsh regained control of Gwynedd by 1115. The English conquest of N Wales followed quickly after the death of Llewelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282 and Caernarfon was built to consolidate the English gains. Edward I employed James of St George as his architect, who had previously been employed by Philip of Savoy and had designed for him the fortress-palace of St Georges d'Esperanche. James also directed the building other castles for Edward I, including Harlech, Conwy and Beaumaris, using English craftsmen and labourers. The design of Caernarfon Castle echoed the walls of Emperor Constantine's Roman city of Constantinople, which also has polygonal towers and banded stonework, and was thus intended by Edward to be an expression of imperial power. Edward I and Queen Eleanor visited Caernarfon in 1284 and it was said that their son, Edward, the first English prince of Wales, was born at the castle in 1284.
Construction of the castle was integrated with the construction of town walls protecting the newly established borough, the town being situated on the N side of the castle. By 1292 the southern external façade of the castle was probably complete, while on the N side the castle was protected by a ditch and the walled town. The castle was damaged during an uprising in 1294 led by Madog ap Llewelyn, but Edward I swiftly regained control of Caernarfon and the castle, where restoration work began in 1295. The uprising had demonstrated the need to complete the castle's defences on the town side, which were largely built in the period 1295-1301. Work subsequently continued at a slower pace in the period 1304-30 and included the completion of the towers, including the Eagle Tower which was completed 1316-17 and in 1316 the timber-framed 'Hall of Llewelyn', the Welsh prince's residence at Conwy, was dismantled and shipped to Caernarfon. The upper portion of the King's Gate was constructed in 1321 and included a statue of Edward of Caernarfon, who had been crowned Edward II in 1307.
The castle was garrisoned for nearly 2 centuries but was increasingly neglected as hostilities softened from the C16 onwards. The castle was garrisoned for Charles I during the Civil War but was surrendered to the Parliamentarians in 1646. In the C18 the castle became one of the most celebrated of ruins in Wales, which began its present phase as tourist attraction and ancient monument. Restoration was undertaken in the final quarter of the C19 under the direction of Sir Llewelyn Turner, Deputy Constable. In 1908 ownership passed from the Crown to the Office of Works and restoration work continued. This included the reinstatement of floors in most of the towers and reinstatement of the embattled wall walks by 1911. The castle was the venue for the investiture of both C20 Princes of Wales, in 1911 and 1969.
Exterior
Constructed of coursed limestone with darker stone banding to the S and E external façades between the Eagle Tower and NE Tower. The plan is polygonal, resembling a figure of 8, and constructed around an upper and a lower ward in the form of curtain walls and mainly 3-stage polygonal towers with basements (in contrast to the round towers of the town walls). The structure is in 2 main phases. The earlier is the S side, from and including the Eagle Tower to the NE Tower, was constructed mainly in the period 1283-1292, while the N side facing the walled town was built after the uprising of 1294. The curtain walls are embattled with loops to the merlons and a wall walk. Openings are characterised by the frequent use of shouldered lintels, giving rise to the alternative term 'Caernarfon lintel', and 2-centred arches. The towers have reinstated floors of c1911 on original corbels. The outer walls have arrow loops. Windows are mainly narrow single-light, but some of the mullioned windows incorporate transoms.
The principal entrance is the 3-storey King's Gate on the N side. It is reached across the ditch by a modern segmental-arched stone bridge with stone steps to the outer side, replacing the medieval drawbridge. The King's Gate has polygonal towers with 2-light windows to the outer facets in the middle stage and 2-light windows in the upper stage. The entrance is recessed behind a segmental moulded arch. It has a 2-centred arch beneath string courses and 2-light transomed window. Above the main arch is a statue of Edward II in a canopied niche with flanking attached pinnacles.
To the R is the outer wall of the kitchens and then the Well Tower, of 3 stages with basement. The Well Tower has a higher polygonal turret reinstated in the late C19 and full-height square projection on the W side housing the well shaft. The tower has 2-light windows in the middle and upper stages.
The Eagle Tower at the W end is the largest of the towers, having been designed to accommodate the king's lieutenant. It has 3 stages with basement and 3 higher polygonal turrets. The battlements are enriched by carved heads and eagles, although much weathered. On the N side are 2-light windows and an attached stub wall with drawbridge slot. This is the planned water gate through which water-borne supplies were intended to be conveyed to the basement of the Well Tower at high tide, but it was not completed. It has polygonal responds to the gate, a portcullis slot and 2 superimposed windows between the basement and ground-floor levels. On the N side is a flight of stone steps to an arched doorway at basement level. This postern was the main entrance for those approaching by sea. On the S side the curtain wall is built on exposed bedrock and the Queen's Tower, Chamberlain Tower and the Black Tower each have a single higher polygonal turret. The outer faces have only narrow loops. On the W side of the Chamberlain Tower are stone steps to a doorway under a shouldered lintel that led into the great hall. On the E side of the Black Tower is the shorter polygonal Cistern Tower, with the unfinished Queen's Gate at the SE end. Between the Chamberlain Tower and Black Tower the curtain wall is stepped in, from which point there is a substantial raked stone plinth continuing around to the NE Tower. The Queen's Gate has double polygonal towers linked by a straight wall above the gateway, while the openings are all narrow loops. The gateway is raised above a high basement storey (and would have been reached by the building of a massive stone ramp) and is recessed beneath a segmental arch with murder holes. The Watch Tower to the N is narrower and higher than the remaining towers, beyond which is the 2-stage NE Tower, which has a 2-light window. Returning along the N side, which was built after 1295, the curtain wall and the 4-stage Granary Tower incorporate 2-light windows.
The King's Gate has murder holes to the vault and porters' rooms to the L and R, leading to the interior. Internally the castle is planned around an upper ward on the E side and a lower ward on the W side. Through the entrance passage is a 2-storey projection on the R (now housing a shop), the S side of which retains 2 portcullis slots and a vault springer, indicating that a second entrance was built here, although it no longer survives above the foundations. Above the main gate is a former chapel, which retains its original piscina. The upper storey hall has window seats. On the W side of the King's Gate are the foundations of the kitchens in the lower ward, in which are 2 round foundations for copper cauldrons and springer of a former vault. The Well Tower does not have reinstated floors, but in each storey a fireplace and garderobe are retained and in the second stage is a small kitchen above the well chamber. The fireplaces all differ in detail: in the basement is a segmental arch, the lower storey a tripartite lintel, the second stage a projecting lintel on corbels with raked hood, and chamfered lintel to the upper stage. The tower has a full-height newel stair. The basement is reached by external stone steps. Between the Well Tower and Eagle Tower is a restored fireplace with a raked hood in a chamber whose outline walls are visible.
The Eagle Tower has stone steps to the basement to the L of the main doorway, both lower stage and basement having pointed doorways. The upper stages have 2-light windows similar to the outer faces. The thick walls incorporate mural passages and stairs. In the lower stage is a large fireplace with raked hood and a small octagonal chamber that probably served as a chapel. The great chamber in the second stage also has an octagonal chapel, which retains a stoup or piscina. Between the Eagle Tower and the NE Tower the curtain wall and towers have mural passages in addition to the wall walk and generally have stone steps in either straight flights to the wall walks or newel stairs, and most chambers in the towers have associated garderobes. The Queen's Tower, known as the 'Banner Tower' in the C14, and the Chamberlain Tower have chambers in each storey with small square subsidiary chambers that probably served as chapels, and 2-light windows. The Queen's Tower has 3 octagonal chimney shafts behind the parapet. In the Chamberlain Tower the lower storey retains a fireplace with shouldered lintel. Both towers are occupied by the museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Between Queen's Tower and Chamberlain Tower are the foundations of the great hall, while the 2 superimposed mural passages in the curtain wall have 2-light windows that formerly opened into the hall.
The Black Tower is smaller than the other towers and has only single chambers in each stage, with cambered fireplace in the upper chamber, and 2-light windows. The Cistern Tower has a vaulted hexagonal chamber beneath an open stone-lined rainwater tank visible on the wall walk. In the unfinished Queen's Gate the position of porters' rooms is discernible in the flanking towers of which the S has a lintelled fireplace while both have garderobes. Portcullis slots and murder holes are in the passage. The upper storey over the passage was to have been a hall but was not completed. The Watch Tower is entered by a doorway at the wall walk level only.
The NE Tower is simpler with single chambers in each stage, as is the Granary Tower, which incorporates a well shaft and has a fireplace with raked hood in the upper stage. Between the NE Tower and the King's Gate the curtain wall has corbels representing former buildings built against the curtain, and its mullioned windows incorporate window seats.
Reasons for Listing
Listed grade I as one of the finest medieval castles in Wales, and unique in its royal associations.
Scheduled Ancient Monument CN 079.
World Heritage Site.
Replica - Taken at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, CA.
More than one thousand years after its completion, Pharaoh Thutmose IV (1400 – 1390 BCE) undertook the first major restoration of the Great Sphinx. He erected a massive granite stele between the paws of the Sphinx as a monument to that restoration and to commemorate his succession to the throne. The inscription recounts a dream the young prince had while sleeping under the head of the Sphinx, which was half-buried in sand at the time. It states:
“Now the statue of the very great Khepri (The Great Sphinx) rested in this place, great of fame, sacred of respect, the shade of Ra resting on him. Memphis and every city on its two sides came to him, their arms in adoration to his face, bearing great offerings for his ka. One of these days it happened that Prince Thutmose came traveling at the time of midday. He rested in the shadow of this great deity. (Sleep and) dream (took possession of him) at the moment the sun was at its zenith.”
“Then he found the majesty of this noble deity speaking from his own mouth like a father speaks to his son, saying: ‘Look at e, observe me, my son Thutmose. I am your father Horemakhet-Khepri-Ra-Atum. I shall give you the kingship (upon the land before the living)… (Behold, my condition is like one in illness), all (my limbs being ruined). The sand of the desert, upon which I used to be, (now) confronts me; and it is in order to cause that you do what is in my heart that I have waited.’”
During the first year of his reign as king, Thutmose IV fulfilled his promise to the Sphinx. His restoration project freed the Sphinx from the sand and reestablished its worship center at Giza.
This cast is life-size, but only shows the readable portion of the tablet. The original stela is 12 feet (3.6 meters) tall and weighs approximately 15 tons.
RC 1834
Completion of the Great Northern Railway and the railroad’s promotion of dryland farming in the American West drew homesteaders to this isolated stretch of Montana’s northern plains. Prominent among these settlers during the homesteading boom of the 1910s were Norwegian immigrants, who brought their Lutheran faith to this far-away place. As early as 1911, a circuit rider from Conrad provided Lutheran services, binding together the small, remote community.
A pair of Foremost Delta 3 vehicles just days away from testing.
GVWR: 59,300 lb.
Payload: 30,000 lb,
Power: 325 HP
Torque: 1095 ft-lb.
Maximum fording depth: 4.5 ft.
Maximum grade: 50%.
Led by Chicagoland indigenous organizations, people assembled at Federal Plaza to hear speeches and create a community snake dance against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). They were joined by a marchers from an anti-Trump protest. The DAPL is often called the "Black Snake”.
The pipeline will run across approximately 1,172 miles of land from North Dakota to Illinois. The DAPL will transfer crude oil, through the Oglala Aquifer, as well as, under the Big Sioux, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The pipeline will run through the traditional lands of the Standing Rock Sioux endangering water and sacred sites.
Energy Transfer Partners has 100% completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Illinois, and South Dakota. Resistance in North Dakota and Iowa are our last lines of defense against DAPL.
Heres information about central florida broadcast stations
Broadcast Tower,WFTT-TV is the Telefutura affiliate for Tampa Bay, owned by Univision and operated by Entravision, owners of WVEA-TV. The station, which broadcasts on UHF channel 50, is based at WVEA's studios on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, and transmits from Riverview. WFTT can be seen on cable throughout the Bay Area on Bright House channel 5, and on Comcast in Sarasota County on channel 23.
With the completion of the 442.550 repeater in Riverview at 805ft in January, the western pointing antenna on the 442.825 repeater caused a expected overlap that was unnecessary. Since 442.550 now blankets Hillsborough County, we have as of April 11th taken the antenna off the west leg of the Pebbledale tower site at 800ft and moved it to the east leg of the tower. What does mean for users? The tower has a 7 foot wide face, which creates a null that is created behind the antenna. This null used to face a huge portion of Polk County. By moving this antenna to the east, the null is now facing essentially Brandon/Riverview, where 442.550 is now located at 805ft. So far we have gotten incredible results from users in eastern Polk County. Some users in Sebring reporting almost full scale signal, and mobile users with hand helds on 27 at 5 watts can use 442.825 now. None of this was previously possible. So with this move, expect to hear more Polk, Osceola and I-4 corridor area users making it into the network.
A nother tower WVEA (channel 62) is Tampa Bay, Florida's first Spanish-language TV station, which had its start in the early-1980s as low-powered W50AC ch.50, which offered programming from the Spanish International Network (SIN), the forerunner of today's Univision. In 1988, to make way for new HSN flagship WBHS (now WFTT-TV), the station relocated to channel 61 and became W61BL. In the mid-1990s, the station was re-called "WVEA-LP". In 2000, WVEA's parent company, Entravision, acquired Sarasota English independent WBSV channel 62, with the intent of moving the transmitter from Venice to the antenna farm at Riverview. WBSV signed on May 3, 1991 as the Sarasota area's own independent station, designed to compete against WWSB and the other stations in the Tampa Bay and nearby Ft. Myers markets. Licensed to Venice, Florida the call letters stood for Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, the three cities it primarily served. WBSV had a variety of syndicated and local programming, plus infomercials and home shopping programs. early on, they also had its own newscast. But, WBSV was eternally in red ink, and relied more on home shopping and infomercials to keep the station afloat....
And then,WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsdiary of the News Corporation. WTVT's studios are located in Tampa, and its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.
Overall the WUSF (89.7 FM) is an NPR-member radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida, USA. The station is currently owned by the University of South Florida. WUSF signed on in 1963, seven years after USF's founding in 1956.
WOPX channel 56 is a television station based in Orlando, Florida, USA. An affiliate of the ION Television network, it transmits its analog signal on UHF channel 56 and its digital signal on UHF channel 48, both from a transmitter located near Holopaw. The station signed on the air in 1986.
WIWA (1160 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish language Christian format. Licensed to St. Cloud, Florida, USA, it serves the greater Orlando area. The station is currently owned by Centro De La Familia Cristiana Inc.
WAFZ-FM (92.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Immokalee, Florida, USA, the station is currently owned by Glades Media Company LLC. WAFZ's programming is also heard on WAFZ AM 1490 in Immokalee.
WTVY or WTVY News 4 is a CBS-affiliated television station broadcasting on channel 4 in Dothan, Alabama, owned by Gray Television. The station's signal, originating from a transmitter in Holmes County, Florida, reaches large portions of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. WTVY is also the designated CBS affiliate for the Panama City, Florida market, where Gray also owns that city's NBC affiliate, WJHG-TV. In exchange, WJHG is available in Dothan on cable since Dothan does not have its own NBC affiliate. In fact, WTVY's transmitter is located within the Panama City market. WTVY-DT uses digital subchannels to operate MyNetworkTV affiliate My 4 and CW affiliate Dothan's CW.
WJED (91.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Dogwood Lakes Estate, Florida, USA. The station is currently owned by Bethany Bible College.
WTVJ, channel 6, is the NBC owned-and-operated television station for South Florida, licensed to Miami. Its analog transmitter is located in Redland. The station's digital transmitter is located near Dolphin Stadium in north Miami-Dade County. Owned by NBC Universal, the station is sister to South Florida's Telemundo owned-and-operated station, WSCV. The two share studios at Peacock Plaza in Miramar.
WOIR (1430 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish News/Talk format. Licensed to Homestead, Florida, USA, the station serves the Miami area. The station is currently owned by Amanecer Christian Network, Inc..
WTLH is a Fox television affiliate licensed to Bainbridge, Georgia and serves the Tallahassee, Florida television market. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 49 and its digital signal on UHF channel 50. The station began operations on November 25, 1989. Its transmitter is located in Metcalf, Georgia. The Station is owned by CP Media, LLC. The station runs a duopoly with WFXU, The CW station in Tallahassee. WTLH programming is also seen on a low-powered, Class-A repeater, WBVJ-LP channel 35 in Valdosta.
WTXL-TV is the ABC affiliate station for Tallahassee, Florida, Thomasville, Georgia, and Valdosta, Georgia, broadcasting on channel 27. The station is owned by Calkins Media, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based mass media company that owns several small newspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television stations: WWSB in Sarasota and WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama. It was previously owned by Media Ventures Management, and operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group pursuant to an outsourcing agreement (See: [1]), the first of its kind in the United States. This agreement merged virtually all of WTXL-TV's operations with that of Sinclair's NBC affiliate WTWC. Denis LeClair, General Manager of WTXL-TV and WBXT-TV at the time, was made General Manager for WTXL, WBXT and WTWC under this agreement. He would be followed by Chris Butterick and then Bob Franklin. Eventually, Kim Urbuteit (who was fired in May, 2007) would be named General Manager of WTXL only as Bob Franklin (now in Mobile, AL) oversaw WTWC. Gary Wordlaw is the current General Manager of WTXL-TV.
WFSU is the callsign (or variations thereon) for public radio stations operated by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. WFSU also operates 3 radio stations that serve northern Florida: * WFSU-FM 88.9 FM: Tallahassee-based news/talk/public affairs station carrying several NPR programs and overnight BBC World Service programming. Also heard on these low-powered repeaters: * 97.1 - Carrabelle * 106.1 - Marianna * 96.7 - Apalachicola * 93.7 - Downtown Tallahassee (necessary because the main WFSU transmitter must conform its signal to protect WTSU in Troy, Alabama) * WFSQ-FM 91.5 FM: Tallahassee-based classical music station. Also heard on WFSL-FM 90.7 in Thomasville, Georgia, and on low-powered 92.7 FM in the northeast portion of the city of Tallahassee. * WFSW-FM 89.1 FM: Panama City-based news/talk/public affairs station. Offers many of the same programs as WFSU. Also heard on low-powered 91.1 FM in the Port St. Joe area along the Gulf of Mexico, as well as 94.5 FM in Fort Walton Beach.
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its analog signal on VHF channel 2 and its digital signal on VHF channel 11, when viewed over the air PSIP will display 2.1 for WESH DT and 2.2 for WESH Weather Plus. It is currently owned by Hearst-Argyle Television along with the area's CW affiliate, WKCF. WESH's transmitter is located in Orange City, Florida. The tower is the tallest man-made structure in Florida, at 1,740 feet (530 m). The station also serves as the default NBC affiliate for the Gainesville market, and can be seen on the fringes of the Tampa Bay and Jacksonville markets. WESH was the first station in Orlando to carry an on-site RADAR facility, SuperDoppler 2 as opposed to relying on National Weather Service RADARs. It is installed on top of the tower located at the Winter Park broadcast studio. Today it also promotes a VIPIR 3D RADAR system, taking advantage of the fact that the RADARs at Melbourne, Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami can all reach Orlando, in addition to SuperDoppler 2. The primary news anchors at WESH are Martha Sugalski and Jim Payne....
WOMX is a radio station located in the Orlando, Florida area and broadcasts at 105.1. WOMX 105.1 plays the "Best MIX of the 80s, 90s and Today," though the station programming focuses mostly on rock and modern rock music from the 90's and 2000's. Every Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Mix 105.1 presents Friday Night 80's. The "Saturday Night Party MIX" airs every Saturday night from 7 p.m. to midnight. The "Saturday Night Party MIX" replaced the Orlando heritage show "Seventies Saturday Night" in 2005.
WOTF-TV Channel 43 is the TeleFutura station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by Univision and managed by Entravision which owns Univision affiliate WVEN-TV 26 and radio station WNUE 98.1 FM and offers a Spanish language entertainment format featuring movies, dramas, comedy shows, and kids shows. The studios are located in Altamonte Springs which is also shared by WVEN.
WOFL, "Fox 35", is the Fox owned-and-operated television station serving the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area. It is licensed to Orlando, with studios located in Lake Mary. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 35, and its digital signal on UHF channel 22. Its transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida. Its Digital TV transmitter has a power of 1,000 kW. Its Analog TV transmitter has a power of 2,570 kW. WOFL and sister station WTVT of the bordering Tampa market commonly share reporters and footage, as other station groups do.
WFTV channel 9 is a television station based in Orlando, Florida, affiliated with the ABC network. It transmits its analog signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter located in Bithlo, Florida, and its digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter located in Christmas, Florida. It is owned by Cox Enterprises along with independent station WRDQ TV 27. The primary news anchors at WFTV are Bob Opsahl and Martie Salt. They anchored the main afternoon newscasts from 1984 through 1994, when Ms. Salt transferred to WFTS, a TV station in Tampa (where she was known as "Martie Tucker"). She returned to anchor WFTV's news again with Opsahl in 2003. Opsahl is one of the longest-serving (at one station) local news anchors in Florida. Barbara West, a 20 year veteran at WFTV and the station's medical reporter is paired with Opsahl at 5:30. Marla Weech, a former anchor for WFTV, was paired up with Bob Opsahl during most of Salt's absence. Weech currently works for WKMG. Tom Terry is the "Chief Meteorologist". WFTV's Severe Weather Center 9 includes WFTV's own doppler weather radar station located at Joint Venture TV Tower Bithlo. Its radar has features that are...
WRBW-TV is the MyNetworkTV owned and operated station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group, along with Fox station WOFL Channel 35. Known on-air as "My65", the station offers sitcoms, cartoons, court shows, and talk/reality shows. Its transmitter is located in Christmas, Florida.
WNTF (1580 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Bithlo, Florida, USA, it serves the Orlando area. The station is currently owned by Rama Communications, Inc.
WBCC is an educational television station serving the Orlando television market. It broadcasts on UHF channel 68, with a digital signal on channel 30. It is one of the Orlando market's PBS member stations. WBCC's digital signal, on channel 30, offers programming from the University of Central Florida (channel 68.2) and BPS-TV from Brevard Public Schools (channel 68.3), in addition to WBCC's standard programming.
WRDQ, channel 27, is an independent television station in Orlando, Florida. Its analog transmitter is located in northeastern Osceola County. The station's digital transmitter is located in Christmas. Onwed by Cox Enterprises, WRDQ is sister to ABC affiliate WFTV. The two stations share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando. WRDQ offers the Retro Television Network on its second digital subchannel. It can also be seen on Bright House digital channel 1028. Syndicated programming on WRDQ includes: South Park, Scrubs, Merv Griffin's Crosswords, Oprah, According to Jim, and George Lopez. The station can be considered an alternate ABC affiliate. As such, it may take on the responsibility of airing ABC programs whenever WFTV may not be able to do so as in a news-related emergency.
WXPX is a television station licensed to Bradenton, Florida. Operating on channel 66, it is an ION Television affiliate, owned and operated by ION Media Networks (formerly Paxson Communications), which has owned the station since its founding in 1994. Current programming on WXPX is virtually the same as other ION affiliates -- infomercials throughout the day and during the overnights, plus ION programming in the evenings. WXPX also shows Tampa Bay Lightning hockey, Orlando Magic basketball, some college football and Tampa Bay Rays baseball, though most of these games are in the evenings only, as WXPX tend to reserve non-prime-time hours for infomercials. Rays games air in high definition on WXPX in the 720p format, the same format as FSN Florida, the producers of the games (See: [1]). The only local programming on WXPX is i on Tampa (public affairs) and the aforementioned Rays and Magic games. The station once aired Miccosukee Magazine along with WPXM Miami and WPXP West Palm Beach, but no longer airs the program. (the latter two stations still do, along with WOPX Orlando) WXPX started in 1994 as WFCT, which featured infomercials at all hours under...
Wesh News Cast Bay News 9 Cast Weather Channel
Kristina
Abernathy
Stephanie
Abrams
Natalie
Allen
Tetiana
Anderson
Adam
Berg
Mike
Bettes
Vivian
Brown
Jim
Cantore
Jennifer
Carfagno
Kelly
Cass
Betty
Davis
Kristin
Dodd
Jorma
Duran
Dr Marcus
Eriksen
Paul
Goodloe
Ryan
Goswick
Rich
Johnson
Bill
Keneely
Danny
Lipford
Warren
Madden
Mark
Mancuso
Dr Anna
Marie
Julie
Martin
Jeff
Mielcarz
Jarod
Miller
Nicole
Mitchell
Samantha
Mohr
Jeff
Morrow
Carl
Parker
Kim
Perez
Sharon
Resultan
Kevin
Robinson
Marshall
Seese
Mike
Seidel
Alexandra
Steele
Heather
Tesch
Nick
Walker
Alex
Wallace
Dr Steve Lyons
Dr Greg Forbes
Dr Heidi Cullen
Stu Ostro
Aixa Diaz (NEWS ANCHORS
Jen Holloway
Al Ruechel
Leigh Moody
Erica Riggins
Rick Elmhorst
(METEOROLOGISTS)
Mike Clay
Juli Marquez
Josh Linker
Diane Kacmarik
Brian McClure
Alan Winfield
(NEWS REPORTERS
Jennifer Anderson
Dalia Dangerfield
Laurie Davison
Melissa Eichman
Samantha Hayes
Chuck Johnson
Troy Kinsey
Jason Lanning
Emily Maza
Carol Minn Vacca
Jonathan Petramala
Josh Rojas
Summer Smith
Kathryn Simmons
Melanie Snow
Melissa Sogegian
Anna Tataris
Ferdinand
Zogbaum
(EN ESPANOL
Lydia Guzmán
Roy De Jesús
Sandra Pinto
Jim Payne
Syan Rhodes
Martha Sugalski
Scott Walker
Eryka Washington
Weather:
Jason Brewer
Tony Mainolfi
Malachi Rodgers
Amy Sweezey
WESH.com Web Staff:
Jeff Cousins
Managing Editor
Jessica Seeley
Washington Reporters:
Sally Kidd
Nikole Killion
Laurie Kinney
Orlando Sentinel:
Roger Moore
Movie Critic
Sports:
Pat Clarke
Guy Rawlings
Reporters:
Danielle Bellini
Dan Billow
Greg Fox
Bob Kealing
Jeff Lennox
Craig Lucie
Dave McDaniel
Michelle Meredith
Claire Metz
Amanda Ober
Kendra Oestreich
Gail Paschall-Brown
Tim Trudell
Todd Wilson
Other Talent:
Jason Chepenik
Financial Analyst
Dr. Todd Husty
Dan McCarthy
Chopper 2 Pilot
Kimberly Williams
Traffic Reporter
This dam backs up the little Tennessee River which empties into the Tennessee River about a half a mile away or less. This dam doesn't generate electricity. I was built in the 70s to make a lake mostly for recreation. The EPA halted it's completion over a little endangered fish called the Snail Darter. After much political and judicial debate the dam was completed and the reservoir filled in 1979. As far as I know the Snail Darter did not die out and is in other local rivers and streams.
Upon completion of their courses in Epidemiology, Evidence Based Medicine, and Research Design and Analysis, the students completed a thesis based upon a clinically relevant topic for their Master of Science degree.
Students had the opportunity to partner with healthcare organizations, hospitals, and research institutes across Long Island and New York City where they conducted qualitative and quantitative research on pressing public health issues. Topics included smoking, obesity, health literacy, preventive health screening, sexual health, asthma, aging, and even driving safety. Some students evaluated novel health promotion interventions aimed to increase access to healthy foods, promote sexual self-efficacy and safety, disease self-management, and physical activity among patients at risk for diabetes and hypertension. Each student’s presentation marks the culmination of intense individual or team research and reflects the mastery of methodology and foundational knowledge. It is the program’s objective to promote the integrity of evidence based research and its application to the clinical decision-making process.
Photo by Ryan Johnson
The completion of improvements at Murray Hill Community Center has made a big impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
Last fall, work began on the construction of a new press box, concession stand, outfield scoreboard, and most importantly, restrooms at the community center’s adjoining athletic field.
Previously, neighborhood and recreational events either had to forego restroom facilities or have portable toilets brought in to meet the needs of the attendees, limiting participation from the community. In addition, prior to two years ago, there were no youth athletics held within the neighborhood or the Murray Hill facility.
Today, the City’s Recreation Department has 135 participants in its Murray Hill youth baseball and softball programs and approximately 90 participants in its youth football program. The improvements to the facility are assisting in meeting the needs of the growing involvement from the community.
Read about the completion of the Whiting Refinery units: www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/press/press-releases/bp-co...
Birds Eye View.
With Belshotmuir closed to normal bus modelling business pending the completion of a larger, improved diorama of the same name, over the past few days I have taken to modelling more of my emergency service vehicles. A member of one of the Facebook groups where I shared those pictures requested to see my Fire & Rescue models, which brought about this shoot.
Story -
This afternoon a 999 call alerted Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to a report of smoke escaping from the first floor window of the closed down bus depot in Belshotmuir. A pump ladder and Aerial Rescue Pump/Aerial Ladder Platform were mobilised. On arrival thick smoke was noted to be issuing from both the first floor window and roof space, with flames noted in the window. A request was made to Fire Control to make pumps three. Police were also requested to enable road closures, with Fire Control also contacting Ambulance Control to notify them. With SAS’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) already being committed to a call, ACC dispatched one AEU to attend for Firefighter welfare. The fire was brought under control and a structural assessment will take place.
Reality -
One additional standard “pedestrian” figure was painted into Firefighter uniform (including a SCBA tank) and placed into the Aerial basket.
With no flashing LED’s etc to hand, a circle of clear plastic was cut from packaging and painted orange, before being placed over the end of a torch with flash ability, the torch then being placed inside the building.
The smoke is a mixture of both painted and unpainted cotton wool.
Strasbourg (/ˈstræzbɜrɡ/, French pronunciation: [stʁaz.buʁ, stʁas.buʁ]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace were historically Alemannic-speaking, hence the city's Germanic name.[5] In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community 467,375 inhabitants. With 759,868 inhabitants in 2010, Strasbourg's metropolitan area (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 884,988 inhabitants in 2008.[6]
Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights.[7]
Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is immersed in the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012.[8]
Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany.
Etymology and Names
The city's Gallicized name (Lower Alsatian: Strossburi, [ˈʃd̥rɔːsb̥uri]; German: Straßburg, [ˈʃtʁaːsbʊɐ̯k]) is of Germanic origin and means "Town (at the crossing) of roads". The modern Stras- is cognate to the German Straße and English street, all of which are derived from Latin strata ("paved road"), while -bourg is cognate to the German Burg and English borough, all of which are derived from Proto-Germanic *burgz ("hill fort, fortress").
Geography
Strasbourg seen from Spot Satellite
Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which also forms the eastern border of the modern city, facing across the river to the German town Kehl. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which here flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from, the Rhine. The natural courses of the two rivers eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city.
The city lies in the Upper Rhine Plain, at between 132 metres (433 ft) and 151 metres (495 ft) above sea level, with the upland areas of the Vosges Mountains some 20 km (12 mi) to the west and the Black Forest 25 km (16 mi) to the east. This section of the Rhine valley is a major axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself, and major roads and railways paralleling it on both banks.
The city is some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Paris. The mouth of the Rhine lies approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) to the north, or 650 kilometres (400 mi) as the river flows, whilst the head of navigation in Basel is some 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) by river.
Climate
In spite of its position far inland, Strasbourg's climate is classified as Oceanic (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, totaling 631.4 mm (24.9 in) annually. On average, snow falls 30 days per year.
The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in August 2003, during the 2003 European heat wave. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) in December 1938.
Strasbourg's location in the Rhine valley, sheltered from the dominant winds by the Vosges and Black Forest mountains, results in poor natural ventilation, making Strasbourg one of the most atmospherically polluted cities of France.[10][11] Nonetheless, the progressive disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution.
Prehistory
The first traces of human occupation in the environs of Strasbourg go back many thousands of years.[16] Neolithic, bronze age and iron age artifacts have been uncovered by archeological excavations. It was permanently settled by proto-Celts around 1300 BC. Towards the end of the third century BC, it developed into a Celtic township with a market called "Argentorate". Drainage works converted the stilthouses to houses built on dry land.[17]
From Romans
The Romans under Nero Claudius Drusus established a military outpost belonging to the Germania Superior Roman province at Strasbourg's current location, and named it Argentoratum. (Hence the town is commonly called Argentina in medieval Latin.[18]) The name "Argentoratum" was first mentioned in 12 BC and the city celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 1988. "Argentorate" as the toponym of the Gaulish settlement preceded it before being Latinized, but it is not known by how long. The Roman camp was destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times between the first and the fifth centuries AD: in 70, 97, 235, 355, in the last quarter of the fourth century, and in the early years of the fifth century. It was under Trajan and after the fire of 97 that Argentoratum received its most extended and fortified shape. From the year 90 on, the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stationed in the Roman camp of Argentoratum. It then included a cavalry section and covered an area of approximately 20 hectares. Other Roman legions temporarily stationed in Argentoratum were the Legio XIV Gemina and the Legio XXI Rapax, the latter during the reign of Nero.
The centre of Argentoratum proper was situated on the Grande Île (Cardo: current Rue du Dôme, Decumanus: current Rue des Hallebardes). The outline of the Roman "castrum" is visible in the street pattern in the Grande Ile. Many Roman artifacts have also been found along the current Route des Romains, the road that led to Argentoratum, in the suburb of Kœnigshoffen. This was where the largest burial places were situated, as well as the densest concentration of civilian dwelling places and commerces next to the camp. Among the most outstanding finds in Kœnigshoffen were (found in 1911–12) the fragments of a grand Mithraeum that had been shattered by early Christians in the fourth century. From the fourth century, Strasbourg was the seat of the Bishopric of Strasbourg (made an Archbishopric in 1988). Archaeological excavations below the current Église Saint-Étienne in 1948 and 1956 unearthed the apse of a church dating back to the late fourth or early fifth century, considered to be the oldest church in Alsace. It is supposed that this was the first seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Strasbourg.
The Alemanni fought the Battle of Argentoratum against Rome in 357. They were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their King Chonodomarius was taken prisoner. On 2 January 366, the Alemanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire. Early in the fifth century, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine, conquered, and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part of Switzerland.
In the fifth century Strasbourg was occupied successively by Alemanni, Huns, and Franks. In the ninth century it was commonly known as Strazburg in the local language, as documented in 842 by the Oaths of Strasbourg. This trilingual text contains, alongside texts in Latin and Old High German (teudisca lingua), the oldest written variety of Gallo-Romance (lingua romana) clearly distinct from Latin, the ancestor of Old French. The town was also called Stratisburgum or Strateburgus in Latin, from which later came Strossburi in Alsatian and Straßburg in Standard German, and then Strasbourg in French. The Oaths of Strasbourg is considered as marking the birth of the two countries of France and Germany with the division of the Carolingian Empire.[19]
A major commercial centre, the town came under the control of the Holy Roman Empire in 923, through the homage paid by the Duke of Lorraine to German King Henry I. The early history of Strasbourg consists of a long conflict between its bishop and its citizens. The citizens emerged victorious after the Battle of Oberhausbergen in 1262, when King Philip of Swabia granted the city the status of an Imperial Free City.
Around 1200, Gottfried von Straßburg wrote the Middle High German courtly romance Tristan, which is regarded, alongside Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and the Nibelungenlied, as one of great narrative masterpieces of the German Middle Ages.
A revolution in 1332 resulted in a broad-based city government with participation of the guilds, and Strasbourg declared itself a free republic. The deadly bubonic plague of 1348 was followed on 14 February 1349 by one of the first and worst pogroms in pre-modern history: over a thousand Jews were publicly burnt to death, with the remainder of the Jewish population being expelled from the city.[20] Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to remain in town after 10 pm. The time to leave the city was signalled by a municipal herald blowing the Grüselhorn (see below, Museums, Musée historique);.[21] A special tax, the Pflastergeld (pavement money), was furthermore to be paid for any horse that a Jew would ride or bring into the city while allowed to.[22]
Construction on Strasbourg Cathedral began in the twelfth century, and it was completed in 1439 (though, of the towers, only the north tower was built), becoming the World's Tallest Building, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza. A few years later, Johannes Gutenberg created the first European moveable type printing press in Strasbourg.
In July 1518, an incident known as the Dancing Plague of 1518 struck residents of Strasbourg. Around 400 people were afflicted with dancing mania and danced constantly for weeks, most of them eventually dying from heart attack, stroke or exhaustion.
In the 1520s during the Protestant Reformation, the city, under the political guidance of Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck and the spiritual guidance of Martin Bucer embraced the religious teachings of Martin Luther. Their adherents established a Gymnasium, headed by Johannes Sturm, made into a University in the following century. The city first followed the Tetrapolitan Confession, and then the Augsburg Confession. Protestant iconoclasm caused much destruction to churches and cloisters, notwithstanding that Luther himself opposed such a practice. Strasbourg was a centre of humanist scholarship and early book-printing in the Holy Roman Empire, and its intellectual and political influence contributed much to the establishment of Protestantism as an accepted denomination in the southwest of Germany. (John Calvin spent several years as a political refugee in the city). The Strasbourg Councillor Sturm and guildmaster Matthias represented the city at the Imperial Diet of Speyer (1529), where their protest led to the schism of the Catholic Church and the evolution of Protestantism. Together with four other free cities, Strasbourg presented the confessio tetrapolitana as its Protestant book of faith at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530, where the slightly different Augsburg Confession was also handed over to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
After the reform of the Imperial constitution in the early sixteenth century and the establishment of Imperial Circles, Strasbourg was part of the Upper Rhenish Circle, a corporation of Imperial estates in the southwest of Holy Roman Empire, mainly responsible for maintaining troops, supervising coining, and ensuring public security.
After the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, the first printing offices outside the inventor's hometown Mainz were established around 1460 in Strasbourg by pioneers Johannes Mentelin and Heinrich Eggestein. Subsequently, the first modern newspaper was published in Strasbourg in 1605, when Johann Carolus received the permission by the City of Strasbourg to print and distribute a weekly journal written in German by reporters from several central European cities.
From Thirty Years' War to First World War
The Free City of Strasbourg remained neutral during the Thirty Years' War 1618-1648, and retained its status as a Free Imperial City. However, the city was later annexed by Louis XIV of France to extend the borders of his kingdom.
Louis' advisors believed that, as long as Strasbourg remained independent, it would endanger the King's newly annexed territories in Alsace, and, that to defend these large rural lands effectively, a garrison had to be placed in towns such as Strasbourg.[23] Indeed, the bridge over the Rhine at Strasbourg had been used repeatedly by Imperial (Holy Roman Empire) forces,[24] and three times during the Franco-Dutch War Strasbourg had served as a gateway for Imperial invasions into Alsace.[25] In September 1681 Louis' forces, though lacking a clear casus belli, surrounded the city with overwhelming force. After some negotiation, Louis marched into the city unopposed on 30 September 1681 and proclaimed its annexation.[26]
This annexation was one of the direct causes of the brief and bloody War of the Reunions whose outcome left the French in possession. The French annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The official policy of religious intolerance which drove most Protestants from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 was not applied in Strasbourg and in Alsace, because both had a special status as a province à l'instar de l'étranger effectif (a kind of foreign province of the king of France). Strasbourg Cathedral, however, was taken from the Lutherans to be returned to the Catholics as the French authorities tried to promote Catholicism wherever they could (some other historic churches remained in Protestant hands). Its language also remained overwhelmingly German: the German Lutheran university persisted until the French Revolution. Famous students included Goethe and Herder.
The Duke of Lorraine and Imperial troops crossing the Rhine at Strasbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, 1744
During a dinner in Strasbourg organized by Mayor Frédéric de Dietrich on 25 April 1792, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composed "La Marseillaise". The same year François Christophe Kellermann, a child of Strasbourg was appointed the head of the Mosel Army. He led his company to victory at the battle of Valmy and saved the young French republic. He was later appointed Duke of Valmy by Napoléon in 1808.
During this period Jean-Baptiste Kléber, also born in Strasbourg, led the French army to win several decisive victories. A statue of Kléber now stands in the centre of the city, at Place Kléber, and he is still one of the most famous French officers. He was later appointed Marshal of France by Napoléon.
Strasbourg's status as a free city was revoked by the French Revolution. Enragés, most notoriously Eulogius Schneider, ruled the city with an increasingly iron hand. During this time, many churches and monasteries were either destroyed or severely damaged. The cathedral lost hundreds of its statues (later replaced by copies in the 19th century) and in April 1794, there was talk of tearing its spire down, on the grounds that it was against the principle of equality. The tower was saved, however, when in May of the same year citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian cap. This artifact was later kept in the historical collections of the city until it was destroyed by the Germans in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war.[27]
In 1805, 1806 and 1809, Napoléon Bonaparte and his first wife, Joséphine stayed in Strasbourg.[28] In 1810, his second wife Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma spent her first night on French soil in the palace. Another royal guest was King Charles X of France in 1828.[29] In 1836, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte unsuccessfully tried to lead his first Bonapartist coup in Strasbourg.
During the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Strasbourg, the city was heavily bombarded by the Prussian army. The bombardment of the city was meant to break the morale of the people of Strasbourg.[30] On 24 and 26 August 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts was destroyed by fire, as was the Municipal Library housed in the Gothic former Dominican church, with its unique collection of medieval manuscripts (most famously the Hortus deliciarum), rare Renaissance books, archeological finds and historical artifacts. The gothic cathedral was damaged as well as the medieval church of Temple Neuf, the theatre, the city hall, the court of justice and many houses. At the end of the siege 10,000 inhabitants were left without shelter; over 600 died, including 261 civilians, and 3200 were injured, including 1,100 civilians.[31]
In 1871, after the end of the war, the city was annexed to the newly established German Empire as part of the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt. As part of Imperial Germany, Strasbourg was rebuilt and developed on a grand and representative scale, such as the Neue Stadt, or "new city" around the present Place de la République. Historian Rodolphe Reuss and Art historian Wilhelm von Bode were in charge of rebuilding the municipal archives, libraries and museums. The University, founded in 1567 and suppressed during the French Revolution as a stronghold of German sentiment,[citation needed] was reopened in 1872 under the name Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität.
Strasbourg in the 1890s.
A belt of massive fortifications was established around the city, most of which still stands today, renamed after French generals and generally classified as Monuments historiques; most notably Fort Roon (now Fort Desaix) and Fort Podbielski (now Fort Ducrot) in Mundolsheim, Fort von Moltke (now Fort Rapp) in Reichstett, Fort Bismarck (now Fort Kléber) in Wolfisheim, Fort Kronprinz (now Fort Foch) in Niederhausbergen, Fort Kronprinz von Sachsen (now Fort Joffre) in Holtzheim and Fort Großherzog von Baden (now Fort Frère) in Oberhausbergen.[32]
Those forts subsequently served the French army (Fort Podbielski/Ducrot for instance was integrated into the Maginot Line[33]), and were used as POW-camps in 1918 and 1945.
Two garrison churches were also erected for the members of the Imperial German army, the Lutheran Église Saint-Paul and the Roman Catholic Église Saint-Maurice.
1918 to the present
A lost, then restored, symbol of modernity in Strasbourg : a room in the Aubette building designed by Theo van Doesburg, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp.
Following the defeat of the German empire in World War I and the abdication of the German Emperor, some revolutionary insurgents declared Alsace-Lorraine as an independent Republic, without preliminary referendum or vote. On 11 November 1918 (Armistice Day), communist insurgents proclaimed a "soviet government" in Strasbourg, following the example of Kurt Eisner in Munich as well as other German towns. French troops commanded by French general Henri Gouraud entered triumphantly in the city on 22 November. A major street of the city now bears the name of that date (Rue du 22 Novembre) which celebrates the entry of the French in the city.[34][35][36] Viewing the massive cheering crowd gathered under the balcony of Strasbourg's town hall, French President Raymond Poincaré stated that "the plebiscite is done".[37]
In 1919, following the Treaty of Versailles, the city was annexed by France in accordance with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" without a referendum. The date of the assignment was retroactively established on Armistice Day. It is doubtful whether a referendum in Strasbourg would have ended in France's favour since the political parties striving for an autonomous Alsace or a connection to France accounted only for a small proportion of votes in the last Reichstag as well as in the local elections.[38] The Alsatian autonomists who were pro French had won many votes in the more rural parts of the region and other towns since the annexation of the region by Germany in 1871. The movement started with the first election for the Reichstag; those elected were called "les députés protestataires", and until the fall of Bismarck in 1890, they were the only deputies elected by the Alsatians to the German parliament demanding the return of those territories to France.[39] At the last Reichstag election in Strasbourg and its periphery, the clear winners were the Social Democrats; the city was the administrative capital of the region, was inhabited by many Germans appointed by the central government in Berlin and its flourishing economy attracted many Germans. This could explain the difference between the rural vote and the one in Strasbourg. After the war, many Germans left Strasbourg and went back to Germany; some of them were denounced by the locals or expelled by the newly appointed authorities. The Saverne Affair was vivid in the memory among the Alsatians.
In 1920, Strasbourg became the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, previously located in Mannheim, one of the oldest European institutions. It moved into the former Imperial Palace.
When the Maginot Line was built, the Sous-secteur fortifié de Strasbourg (fortified sub-sector of Strasbourg) was laid out on the city's territory as a part of the Secteur fortifié du Bas-Rhin, one of the sections of the Line. Blockhouses and casemates were built along the Grand Canal d'Alsace and the Rhine in the Robertsau forest and the port.[40]
Between the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and the Anglo-French declaration of War against the German Reich on 3 September 1939, the entire city (a total of 120,000 people) was evacuated, like other border towns as well. Until the arrival of the Wehrmacht troops mid-June 1940, the city was, for ten months, completely empty, with the exception of the garrisoned soldiers. The Jews of Strasbourg had been evacuated to Périgueux and Limoges, the University had been evacuated to Clermont-Ferrand.
After the ceasefire following the Fall of France in June 1940, Alsace was annexed to Germany and a rigorous policy of Germanisation was imposed upon it by the Gauleiter Robert Heinrich Wagner. When, in July 1940, the first evacuees were allowed to return, only residents of Alsatian origin were admitted. The last Jews were deported on 15 July 1940 and the main synagogue, a huge Romanesque revival building that had been a major architectural landmark with its 54-metre-high dome since its completion in 1897, was set ablaze, then razed.[41]
In September 1940 the first Alsatian resistance movement led by Marcel Weinum called La main noire (The black hand) was created. It was composed by a group of 25 young men aged from 14 to 18 years old who led several attacks against the German occupation. The actions culminated with the attack of the Gauleiter Robert Wagner, the highest commander of Alsace directly under the order of Hitler. In March 1942, Marcel Weinum was prosecuted by the Gestapo and sentenced to be beheaded at the age of 18 in April 1942 in Stuttgart, Germany. His last words will be: "If I have to die, I shall die but with a pure heart". From 1943 the city was bombarded by Allied aircraft. While the First World War had not notably damaged the city, Anglo-American bombing caused extensive destruction in raids of which at least one was allegedly carried out by mistake.[42] In August 1944, several buildings in the Old Town were damaged by bombs, particularly the Palais Rohan, the Old Customs House (Ancienne Douane) and the Cathedral.[43] On 23 November 1944, the city was officially liberated by the 2nd French Armoured Division under General Leclerc. He achieved the oath that he made with his soldiers, after the decisive Capture of Kufra. With the Oath of Kuffra, they swore to keep up the fight until the French flag flew over the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
Many people from Strasbourg were incorporated in the German Army against their will, and were sent to the eastern front, those young men and women were called Malgré-nous. Many tried to escape from the incorporation, join the French Resistance, or desert the Wehrmacht but many couldn't because they were running the risk of having their families sent to work or concentration camps by the Germans. Many of these men, especially those who did not answer the call immediately, were pressured to "volunteer" for service with the SS, often by direct threats on their families. This threat obliged the majority of them to remain in the German army. After the war, the few that survived were often accused of being traitors or collaborationists, because this tough situation was not known in the rest of France, and they had to face the incomprehension of many. In July 1944, 1500 malgré-nous were released from Soviet captivity and sent to Algiers, where they joined the Free French Forces. Nowadays history recognizes the suffering of those people, and museums, public discussions and memorials have been built to commemorate this terrible period of history of this part of Eastern France (Alsace and Moselle). Liberation of Strasbourg took place on 23 November 1944.
In 1947, a fire broke out in the Musée des Beaux-Arts and devastated a significant part of the collections. This fire was an indirect consequence of the bombing raids of 1944: because of the destruction inflicted on the Palais Rohan, humidity had infiltrated the building, and moisture had to be fought. This was done with welding torches, and a bad handling of these caused the fire.[44]
In the 1950s and 1960s the city was enlarged by new residential areas meant to solve both the problem of housing shortage due to war damage and that of the strong growth of population due to the baby boom and immigration from North Africa: Cité Rotterdam in the North-East, Quartier de l'Esplanade in the South-East, Hautepierre in the North-West. Between 1995 and 2010, a new district has been built in the same vein, the Quartier des Poteries, south of Hautepierre.
In 1958, a violent hailstorm destroyed most of the historical greenhouses of the Botanical Garden and many of the stained glass windows of St. Paul's Church.
In 1949, the city was chosen to be the seat of the Council of Europe with its European Court of Human Rights and European Pharmacopoeia. Since 1952, the European Parliament has met in Strasbourg, which was formally designated its official 'seat' at the Edinburgh meeting of the European Council of EU heads of state and government in December 1992. (This position was reconfirmed and given treaty status in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam). However, only the (four-day) plenary sessions of the Parliament are held in Strasbourg each month, with all other business being conducted in Brussels and Luxembourg. Those sessions take place in the Immeuble Louise Weiss, inaugurated in 1999, which houses the largest parliamentary assembly room in Europe and of any democratic institution in the world. Before that, the EP sessions had to take place in the main Council of Europe building, the Palace of Europe, whose unusual inner architecture had become a familiar sight to European TV audiences.[45] In 1992, Strasbourg became the seat of the Franco-German TV channel and movie-production society Arte.
In 2000, a terrorist plot to blow up the cathedral was prevented thanks to the cooperation between French and German police that led to the arrest in late 2000 of a Frankfurt-based group of terrorists.
On 6 July 2001, during an open-air concert in the Parc de Pourtalès, a single falling Platanus tree killed thirteen people and injured 97. On 27 March 2007, the city was found guilty of neglect over the accident and fined €150,000.[46]
In 2006, after a long and careful restoration, the inner decoration of the Aubette, made in the 1920s by Hans Arp, Theo van Doesburg, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp and destroyed in the 1930s, was made accessible to the public again. The work of the three artists had been called "the Sistine Chapel of abstract art".
Architecture
Strasbourg, Cathedral of Our Lady
The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite France district or Gerberviertel ("tanners' district") alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral, where the renowned Maison Kammerzell stands out.
Notable medieval streets include Rue Mercière, Rue des Dentelles, Rue du Bain aux Plantes, Rue des Juifs, Rue des Frères, Rue des Tonneliers, Rue du Maroquin, Rue des Charpentiers, Rue des Serruriers, Grand' Rue, Quai des Bateliers, Quai Saint-Nicolas and Quai Saint-Thomas. Notable medieval squares include Place de la Cathédrale, Place du Marché Gayot, Place Saint-Étienne, Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait and Place Benjamin Zix.
Maison des tanneurs.
In addition to the cathedral, Strasbourg houses several other medieval churches that have survived the many wars and destructions that have plagued the city: the Romanesque Église Saint-Étienne, partly destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombing raids, the part Romanesque, part Gothic, very large Église Saint-Thomas with its Silbermann organ on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert Schweitzer played,[49] the Gothic Église protestante Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune with its crypt dating back to the seventh century and its cloister partly from the eleventh century, the Gothic Église Saint-Guillaume with its fine early-Renaissance stained glass and furniture, the Gothic Église Saint-Jean, the part Gothic, part Art Nouveau Église Sainte-Madeleine, etc. The Neo-Gothic church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Catholique (there is also an adjacent church Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux Protestant) serves as a shrine for several 15th-century wood worked and painted altars coming from other, now destroyed churches and installed there for public display. Among the numerous secular medieval buildings, the monumental Ancienne Douane (old custom-house) stands out.
The German Renaissance has bequeathed the city some noteworthy buildings (especially the current Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie, former town hall, on Place Gutenberg), as did the French Baroque and Classicism with several hôtels particuliers (i.e. palaces), among which the Palais Rohan (1742, now housing three museums) is the most spectacular. Other buildings of its kind are the "Hôtel de Hanau" (1736, now the city hall), the Hôtel de Klinglin (1736, now residence of the préfet), the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts (1755, now residence of the military governor), the Hôtel d'Andlau-Klinglin (1725, now seat of the administration of the Port autonome de Strasbourg) etc. The largest baroque building of Strasbourg though is the 150 m (490 ft) long 1720s main building of the Hôpital civil. As for French Neo-classicism, it is the Opera House on Place Broglie that most prestigiously represents this style.
Strasbourg also offers high-class eclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, the Neustadt, being the main memory of Wilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of this architectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palace Palais du Rhin, the most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are the École internationale des Pontonniers (the former Höhere Mädchenschule, girls college) with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles[50] and the École des Arts décoratifs with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork and majolica.[51]
Notable streets of the German district include: Avenue de la Forêt Noire, Avenue des Vosges, Avenue d'Alsace, Avenue de la Marseillaise, Avenue de la Liberté, Boulevard de la Victoire, Rue Sellénick, Rue du Général de Castelnau, Rue du Maréchal Foch, and Rue du Maréchal Joffre. Notable squares of the German district include: Place de la République, Place de l'Université, Place Brant, and Place Arnold
As for modern and contemporary architecture, Strasbourg possesses some fine Art Nouveau buildings (such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and houses and villas like Villa Schutzenberger and Hôtel Brion), good examples of post-World War II functional architecture (the Cité Rotterdam, for which Le Corbusier did not succeed in the architectural contest) and, in the very extended Quartier Européen, some spectacular administrative buildings of sometimes utterly large size, among which the European Court of Human Rights building by Richard Rogers is arguably the finest. Other noticeable contemporary buildings are the new Music school Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain and the Hôtel du Département facing it, as well as, in the outskirts, the tramway-station Hoenheim-Nord designed by Zaha Hadid.
Place Kléber
The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-towered Ponts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to the Ponts Couverts is the Barrage Vauban, a part of Vauban's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are the ornate 19th-century Pont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) and Pont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architect Marc Mimram's futuristic Passerelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004.
The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is the Place Kléber. Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 in Cairo. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Jacques François Blondel, architect of the king, in 1765–1772.
Parks
The Pavillon Joséphine (rear side) in the Parc de l'Orangerie
The Château de Pourtalès (front side) in the park of the same name
Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: the Parc de l'Orangerie, laid out as a French garden by André le Nôtre and remodeled as an English garden on behalf of Joséphine de Beauharnais, now displaying noteworthy French gardens, a neo-classical castle and a small zoo; the Parc de la Citadelle, built around impressive remains of the 17th-century fortress erected close to the Rhine by Vauban;[52] the Parc de Pourtalès, laid out in English style around a baroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel,[53] and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture.[54] The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The Parc des Contades, although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic Parc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives, spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park is Parc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing the hôpital civil.
Inaugural train arriving at the railway completion ceremony at the terminus-Kasese, Uganda, Eastern Africa, 1956. Photo: World Bank/EARHA
Photo ID: 1618718
Visit the Historical Photo Archives
I have not edited these shots in any particular order, so, in the end I miss out some, or post others twice or even more. But, it was such an experience, saw so many wonderful things, I could post everything at once, but trying not to.
Anyway, on with the show, and some more wide angle shots with the camera on a rickety tripod.
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Christianity reached Roman Britain in the second-century AD. A number of Roman artefacts - pots, tiles and glass - have been found in excavations around St Paul’s, however no evidence has emerged that the site of St Paul’s, as once believed, was ever used for a Roman temple. The official withdrawal of Roman administration in 410 AD did not end Christian belief in England but it was to be almost two hundred years before St Paul’s Cathedral was founded. The two names most associated with the establishment of the first St Paul’s are Saint Mellitus and Saint Erkenwald. The former, a monk who arrived in Britain with Saint Augustine on a mission from Rome instigated by Pope Gregory the Great, founded St Paul’s in 604 AD. The latter was the Abbot of Chertsey whose consecration as Bishop of London in 675 AD, following the city’s brief return to paganism, confirmed the return of the Roman Church to London. The earliest Cathedral buildings were relatively short-lived structures, repeatedly damaged by fires and Viking attacks. It was the Cathedral begun in about 1087 AD by Bishop Maurice, Chaplain to William the Conqueror, which would provide the longest standing home for Christian worship on the site to date, surviving for almost six hundred years.
1087–1559: Medieval Splendour
The Cathedral quire was the first part of the new building to be completed in 1148, enabling the Cathedral to function as a place of worship as quickly as possible. Up to the Reformation of the Church in England St Paul’s was a Catholic cathedral in which the celebration of the Mass, the preaching of sermons, the veneration of many saints, shrines, reliquaries, chapels, the observance of Saints’ feast days, masses for the dead said in chantry chapels, a wooden cross known as a rood, and a chapel devoted to The Virgin, all played a part in the liturgical life of the building. A great deal of public activity also took place; although not always welcomed by those looking after the Cathedral, trade, sports and ball games were common and a north/south route through the Cathedral transepts was used as a general thoroughfare. Paul’s Cross was an important feature of Cathedral life from at least the mid thirteenth-century. It was an outdoor covered pulpit from which proclamations were made and leading prelates expounded, often controversially, on theology and politics. It ceased to be used in the 1630s, and stood in the north churchyard until 1642.
The Cathedral School was re-established with new statutes just to the east of Paul’s Cross in 1512 by John Colet (1466–1519) a Renaissance scholar and friend of Erasmus who viewed education as prerequisite for spiritual regeneration.
All of these enterprises, the spiritual, the educational, and the civic, took place within or beside the largest building in medieval England: longer, taller and wider than the present building and richly decorated.
The reign of King Henry VIII saw the beginning of the end for many aspects of the religious life of the building associated with Roman Catholicism. The shrine of St Erkenwald was plundered and waves of iconoclasm followed in which shrines and images were destroyed. The full suppression of Catholic worship and fittings was carried out under Edward VI by the first Protestant Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley, who was martyred by Mary I's government in 1555. After a restoration of Catholic rites under Mary, settled Protestant worship was confirmed finally under Elizabeth I's first Bishop of London, Edmund Grindal, in 1559.
1560–1666: Reformation to Conflagration
The new form of worship continued at St Paul’s in the wake of the Reformation, with the choir singing in English instead of Latin at Mattins and Evensong according to the new Book of Common Prayer. The Cathedral already had a long history as a place of commemoration and some of the grandest tombs were still to be added to the building in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. One of the most remarkable monuments from this period still survives, that of John Donne (1572–1631), the poet and clergyman who, after a raffish youth, went on to become Dean of St Pauls from 1621 until his death. During his lifetime, St Paul's and Paul's Cross were leading centres of a newly confident and thriving Protestant culture in England.
The physical destruction wrought during the Reformation had only been the start of a series of threats to the fabric. In June 1561 lightning struck the Cathedral spire igniting a fire which destroyed the steeple and roofs, the heat and falling timbers causing such damage to the Cathedral structure that it would never fully recover. Plans were made for restoration and the architect Inigo Jones (1573–1652) was engaged to carry out work in 1633, but his work was left incomplete at the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642. Parliamentary forces took control of the Cathedral and its Dean and Chapter dissolved; the Lady Chapel became a large preaching auditorium, while the vast nave was used as a cavalry barracks with, at one point, 800 horses stabled inside.
By the 1650s the building was in a serious state of disrepair and it was only after the Restoration in 1660 of King Charles II (1630–1685) that repair was once again considered in earnest as an architectural proclamation of the restored Church of England and the monarchy. Leading architects wrestled with the how to restore the medieval structure and were often in disagreement. Inspired by his travels in France and his knowledge of Italian architecture, Christopher Wren (1632–1732) proposed the addition of a dome to the building, a plan agreed upon in August 1666. Only a week later The Great Fire of London was kindled in Pudding Lane, reaching St Paul’s in two days. The wooden scaffolding contributed to the spread of the flames around the Cathedral and the high vaults fell, smashing into the crypt, where flames, fuelled by thousands of books stored there in vaults leased to printers and booksellers, put the structure beyond hope of rescue.
1666–1711: A new Cathedral for London
Sir Christopher Wren was a brilliant scientist and mathematician and Britain’s most famous architect. The building he designed to replace the pre-Fire Cathedral is his masterpiece. Nine years of planning were required to ensure that the new design would meet the requirements of a working cathedral; the quire was to be the main focus for liturgical activity, a Morning Chapel was required for Morning Prayer, vestries were needed for the clergy to robe, a treasury for the church plate, a home had to be planned for the enormous organ, bell towers were essential, and the interior had to be fitted for the grandest of occasions and ceremonies. The building which Wren delivered in thirty five years fulfilled all these needs and provided a symbol for the Church of England, the renewed capital city, and the emerging empire.
Construction commenced in 1675: the process involved many highly skilled draughtsmen and craftsmen and was pursued in phases, largely dependent on the availability of funding and materials. Portland stone predominated but other types of stone were necessary as well as bricks, iron and wood. All of the building accounts, contracts and records of the rebuilding commission survive, and many original drawings. A detailed history of the design of the cathedral can be found in the online Wren Office Drawings catalogue written by Dr Gordon Higgott (2012). Christopher Wren lived to see the building completed: the last stone of the Cathedral’s structure was laid on 26 October 1708 by two sons named after their fathers, Christopher Wren junior and Edward Strong (the son of master mason). The first service had already been held in 1697 – a Thanksgiving for the Peace between England and France.
1712–1795: Perilous painting and memorialising the Greats
The violent and iconoclastic transition from Roman Catholicism and the debate over the reformed faith which followed were tumultuous. The Cathedral was built at a time when the Civil War and Protectorate had again heightened sensitivity to the confluence of art and Protestantism. What constituted appropriate decoration for the Cathedral was the subject of great debate. After a competition Sir James Thornhill was chosen to provide a decorative scheme for the interior of the Cathedral dome in 1715 and immediately began work to produce eight scenes from the life of St Paul. Working precariously over fifty metres from the ground he completed the work within two years and was soon commissioned to continue his scheme into the lantern and onto the drum beneath the dome.
Daily rounds of worship were observed within view of the new murals, but despite the efforts to enliven the interior of the building, St Paul’s proved an unpopular venue with the Hanoverian dynasty and royal attendance dwindled; after George I’s visit in 1715 no monarch came again for seventy-four years. The capture of the French fortress of Louisburg during the course of the Seven Years War was marked by an impressive service in 1758, but it would not be until 1789 that George III marked his recovery with a special Thanksgiving service attended by thousands.
A monument to the philanthropist and prison reformer John Howard which was placed on the Cathedral floor in 1795 was the first of a host of sculptures commemorating the lives of clergy, writers, artists, scientists and military figures which were to populate vacant floor and wall space in the next century.Two of the most distinguished military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars were commemorated with state funerals and later great monuments on the church floor: Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1806 and Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington in 1852, both of whom are interred in the Cathedral crypt.
1800–1905 Heat, light and colour: St Paul’s in the age of industry
Institutional reform was matched by physical changes to St Paul’s in the nineteenth-century. Queen Victoria lamented that St Pauls was "most dreary, dingy and un-devotional” adding her voice to the general criticism of the Cathedral for being, dark, dirty and cold .The Cathedral Chapter took steps to make the building more inviting and began work on the so called "completion of the decoration”. While the use of vivid mosaic in the dome and the quire area were being explored, and programmes of stained glass were designed. The rearrangement of the quire by the Surveyor F C Penrose (1817–1903) was the most significant of many changes to the interior made under his supervision. By removing the screen dividing the quire from the nave many more people were able to participate in services. Great Victorian Deans, especially Henry H Millman and Robert Gregory, seized the opportunity to hold routine worship under the dome and in the nave, as well as in the quire – thus for the first time actively making the whole of the vast building a place of worship and Christian teaching. The full ceremonial potential of St Paul’s was also realised by this reordering, something anticipated in the state funeral for Nelson, and confirmed with that for Wellington.
Victorian philanthropy more generally flourished at a reinvigorated St Paul's. During the first half of the nineteenth-century Maria Hackett (1783–1874) devoted her time and money to a campaign to improve the living and educational conditions of boy choristers in St Paul’s and other cathedrals and Anglican choral foundations. In 1860 the Chapter of St Paul's presented William Weldon Champneys (1807–1875), to the vicarage of St Pancras, where he developed the schools, ragged schools, and Sunday schools and provided an invalids dinner table. The Canons of St Paul’s focused on the welfare of the thousands of clerks and warehousemen who worked in the vicinity of the Cathedral through the Amen Court Guild. At the end of the century St Paul’s had one of its most dynamic of English cathedral Chapters, with the many facets of the life of the Cathedral attaining new levels of distinction and in 1897 the organisation of the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service for Queen Victoria (1819–1901) proved an outstanding success.
906–1960 Belt and Braces: Strengthening the Dome and Defending the Building
Cracks had appeared in some parts of the Cathedral as a result of settlement even before the Cathedral was topped-off in 1710 and concern over the structural stability of the Cathedral persisted in to the early years of the twentieth-century. After various investigations, fears culminated in the Corporation of London's serving of a dangerous structure notice to the Dean on Christmas Eve 1924: the Cathedral was closed from 1925 to 1930 while the piers and dome were strengthened under the supervision of the surveyor Walter Godfrey Allen (1891–1986). Some of the strengthening interventions may have been excessive; however they were to provide valuable structural support when the Cathedral suffered two significant bomb strikes during the Second World War.
St Paul’s Watch, the group of volunteers who defended the Cathedral during The Blitz, enabled the continuation of services as normally as possible throughout the war years. At the end of the conflict, on 8 May 1945, ten consecutive services were held in thanksgiving for peace, each attended by over three thousand people. The last of the services focused on the work of the St Paul’s Watch. In the years that followed St Paul’s played an important role in commemorating those who had sacrificed their lives and in reconciliation. The American Memorial Chapel was constructed and consecrated in the presence of President Eisenhower (1890–1969) and on 21st October 1958, Theodor Heuss (1884–1963), President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1959, visited St Paul’s to present an altar set with the words "The German people have asked me to hand to you, Mr Dean, and to the Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral this crucifix and these two candlesticks. Our gifts are a token of our sincere wish to serve, together with the British People, the cause of Peace in the World”.
1960–2012: Royal events and Social reformers
With the major structural issues resolved and war damage repaired, the Cathedral continued to welcome world leaders, thinkers, theologians, politicians and the public in pursuit of hope for a better society. Canon John Collins (1905–1982), who had been a leader in the drive for post-war reconciliation, campaigned tirelessly for peace, human rights, and nuclear disarmament, and against apartheid in South Africa. Dr Martin Luther King (1929–1968) stopped at St Paul's to speak from the west steps en route to collect his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and his widow Coretta Scott King (1927–2006) became the first woman to preach in a statutory service in St Paul’s. On January 30th, 1969 the Cathedral Choir was joined by Indian singers and instrumentalists, and addresses were given to mark the centenary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) the champion of non-violent resistance, civil rights and freedom across the world. Continuing this tradition, in 2012 the Dalai Lama (b. 1935) was welcomed to receive the Templeton prize ('for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities'). The St Paul’s Institute was established in 2003 to foster an informed Christian response to the most urgent ethical and spiritual issues of our times and engaged with the Occupy Protests of 2011/12 seeking constructive debate on financial ethics.
The wedding in St Paul’s of HRH the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer gripped the nation and much of the world in 1981, and Queen Elizabeth II officially marked both her Golden and Diamond Jubilees with Thanksgiving services in St Paul’s Cathedral. There have been occasions for national mourning: in 1965 Winston Churchill (1874–1965) who had led Britain during the war received a state funeral, a ceremony reserved for heads of state and others who have given significant leadership in the defence of the nation. A large ceremonial funeral was held for former Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, in 2013. Vast crowds gathered at St Paul's following the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11 2001, as London expressed its solidarity with the people of New York at a time of grief; and the victims of the 7/7 bombings were mourned in special services in 2005. The Diamond Jubilee and the special summer service at St Paul's celebrating the Paralympic Games made 2012 a spectacular year for the Cathedral.
www.stpauls.co.uk/history-collections/history/cathedral-h...
Puri is a city and a Municipality of Odisha. It is the district headquarters of Puri district, Odisha, eastern India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Indian Hindus.
Puri was known by several names from the ancient times to the present, and locally called as Badadeula. Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Hindu and Muslim rulers, starting from the 4th century to the start of the 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the temple. Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were under the British Raj from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in independent India, the heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of Khurda still perform the ritual duties of the temple. The temple town has many Hindu religious maths or monasteries.
The economy of Puri town is dependent on the religious importance of the Jagannath Temple to the extent of nearly 80%. The festivals which contribute to the economy are the 24 held every year in the temple complex, including 13 major festivals; Ratha Yatra and its related festivals are the most important which are attended by millions of people every year. Sand art and applique art are some of the important crafts of the city. Puri is one of the 12 heritage cities chosen by the Government of India for holistic development.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
GEOGRAPHY
Puri, located on the east coast of India on the Bay of Bengal, is in the center of the district of the same name. It is delimited by the Bay of Bengal on the south east, the Mauza Sipaurubilla on the west, Mauz Gopinathpur in the north and Mauza Balukhand in the east. It is within the 67 kilometres coastal stretch of sandy beaches that extends between Chilika Lake and the south of Puri city. However, the administrative jurisdiction of the Puri Municipality extends over an area of 16.3268 square kilometres spread over 30 wards, which includes a shore line of 5 kilometres.
Puri is in the coastal delta of the Mahanadi River on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. In the ancient days it was near to Sisupalgarh (Ashokan Tosali) when the land was drained by a tributary of the River Bhargavi, a branch of the Mahanadi River, which underwent a meandering course creating many arteries altering the estuary, and formed many sand hills. These sand hills could not be "cut through" by the streams. Because of the sand hills, the Bhargavi River flowing to the south of Puri, moved away towards the Chilika Lake. This shift also resulted in the creation of two lagoons known as Sar and Samang on the eastern and northern parts of Puri respectively. Sar lagoon has a length of 8.0 km in an east-west direction and has a width of 3.2 km in north-south direction. The river estuary has a shallow depth of 1.5 m only and the process of siltation is continuing. According to a 15th-century chronicle the stream that flowed at the base of the Blue Mountain or Neelachal was used as the foundation or high plinth of the present temple which was then known as Purushottama, the Supreme Being. A 16th century chronicle attributes filling up of the bed of the river which flowed through the present Grand Road, during the reign of King Narasimha II (1278–1308).
CLIMATE
According to the Köppen and Geiger the climate of Puri is classified Aw. The city has moderate and tropical climate. Humidity is fairly high throughout the year. The temperature during summer touches a maximum of 36 °C and during winter it is 17 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1,337 millimetres and the average annual temperature is 26.9 °C.
HISTORY
NAMES IN HISTORY
Puri, the holy land of Lord Jaganath, also known popularly as Badadeula in local usage, has many ancient names in the Hindu scriptures such as the Rigveda, Matsya purana, Brahma Purana, Narada Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana, Kapila samhita and Niladrimahodaya. In the Rigveda, in particular, it is mentioned as a place called Purushamandama-grama meaning the place where the Creator deity of the world – Supreme Divinity deified on altar or mandapa was venerated near the coast and prayers offered with vedic hymns. Over time the name got changed to Purushottama Puri and further shortened to Puri and the Purusha became Jagannatha. Close to this place sages like Bhrigu, Atri and Markandeya had their hermitage. Its name is mentioned, conforming to the deity worshipped, as Srikshetra, Purusottama Dhāma, Purusottama Kshetra, Purusottama Puri and Jagannath Puri. Puri is however, a common usage now. It is also known the geographical features of its siting as Shankhakshetra (layout of the town is in the form of a conch shell.), Neelāchala ("blue mountain" a terminology used to name very large sand lagoon over which the temple was built but this name is not in vogue), Neelāchalakshetra, Neelādri, The word 'Puri' in Sanskrit means "town", or 'city' and is cognate with polis in Greek.
Another ancient name is Charita as identified by Cunningham which was later spelled as Che-li-ta-lo by Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang.When the present temple was built by the Ganga king Chodangadev in the 11th and 12th centuries it was called Purushottamkshetra. However, the Moghuls, the Marathas and early British rulers called it Purushottama-chhatar or just Chhatar. In Akbar's Ain-i-Akbari and subsequent Muslim historical records it was known as Purushottama. In the Sanskrit drama authored by Murari Mishra in the 8th century it is referred as Purushottama only. It was only after twelfth century Puri came to be known by the shortened form of Jagannatha Puri, named after the deity or in a short form as Puri. In some records pertaining to the British rule, the word 'Jagannath' was used for Puri. It is the only shrine in India, where Radha, along with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Bhudevi, Sati, Parvati, and Shakti abodes with Krishna, also known as Jagannath.
ANCIENT PERIOD
According to the chronicle Madala Panji, in 318 the priests and servitors of the temple spirited away the idols to escape the wrath of the Rashtrakuta King Rakatavahu. The temple's ancient historical records also finds mention in the Brahma Purana and Skanda Purana as having been built by the king Indradyumna of Ujjayani.
According to W.J. Wilkinson, in Puri, Buddhism was once a well established practice but later Buddhists were persecuted and Brahmanism became the order of the religious practice in the town; the Buddha deity in now worshipped by the Hindus as Jagannatha. It is also said that some relics of Buddha were placed inside the idol of Jagannath which the Brahmins claimed were the bones of Krishna. Even during Ashoka’s reign in 240 BC Odisha was a Buddhist center and that a tribe known as Lohabahu (barbarians from outside Odisha) converted to Buddhism and built a temple with an idol of Buddha which is now worshipped as Jagannatha. It is also said that Lohabahu deposited some Buddha relics in the precincts of the temple.
Construction of the Jagannatha Temple started in 1136 and completed towards the later part of the 12th century. The King of the Ganga dynasty, Anangabhima dedicated his kingdom to the God, then known as the Purushottam-Jagannatha and resolved that from then on he and his descendants would rule under "divine order as Jagannatha's sons and vassals". Even though princely states do not exist in independent India, the heirs of the Gajapati dynasty of Khurda still perform the ritual duties of the temple; the king formally sweeps the road in front of the chariots before the start of the Rathayatra.
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN PERIODS
History of the temple is the history of the town of Puri, which was invaded 18 times during its history to plunder the treasures of the Jagannath Puri temple. The first invasion was in the 8th century by Rastrakuta king Govinda-III (AD 798–814) and the last was in 1881 by the followers of Alekh Religion who did not recognize Jagannath worship. In between, from the 1205 onward there were many invasions of the city and its temple by Muslims of the Afghans and Moghuls descent, known as Yavanas or foreigners; they had mounted attacks to ransack the wealth of the temple rather than for religious reasons. In most of these invasions the idols were taken to safe places by the priests and the servitors of the temple. Destruction of the temple was prevented by timely resistance or surrender by the kings of the region. However, the treasures of the temple were repeatedly looted. Puri is the site of the Govardhana matha, one of the four cardinal institutions established by Adi Shankaracharya, when he visited Puri in 810 and since then it has become an important dham (divine centre) for the Hindus; the others being those at Sringeri, Dwaraka and Jyotirmath. The matha is headed by Jagatguru Shankarachrya. The significance of the four dhams is that the Lord Vishnu takes his dinner at Puri, has his bath at Rameshwaram, spends the night at Dwarka and does penance at Badrinath.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Bengal who established the Bhakti movements of India in the sixteenth century, now known by the name the Hare Krishna movement, spent many years as a devotee of Jagannatha at Puri; he is said to have merged his "corporal self" with the deity. There is also a matha of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu here.
In the 17th century for the sailors sailing on the east coast of India, the landmark was the temple located in a plaza in the centre of the town which they called the "White Pagoda" while the Konark Sun Temple, 60 kilometres away to the east of Puri, was known as the "Black Pagoda".
The iconographic representation of the images in the Jagannath temple are believed to be the forms derived from the worship made by the tribal groups of Sabaras belonging to northern Odisha. These images are replaced at regular intervals as the wood deteriorates. This replacement is a special event carried out ritulistically by special group of carpenters.
The town has many Mathas (Monasteries of the various Hindu sects). Among the important mathas is the Emar Matha founded by the Tamil Vaishnav Saint Ramanujacharya in the 12th century AD. At present this matha is located in front of Simhadvara across the eastern corner of the Jagannath Temple is reported to have been built in the 16th century during the reign of Suryavamsi Gajapati. The matha was in the news recently for the large cache of 522 silver slabs unearthded from a closed room.
The British conquered Orissa in 1803 and recognizing the importance of the Jagannatha Temple in the life of the people of the state they initially placed an official to look after the temple's affairs and later declared it a district with the same name.
MODERN HISTORY
In 1906, Sri Yukteswar an exponent of Kriya Yoga, a resident of Puri, established an ashram in the sea-side town of Puri, naming it "Kararashram" as a spiritual training center. He died on 9 March 1936 and his body is buried in the garden of the ashram.
The city is the site of the former summer residence of British Raj built in 1913–14 during the era of governors, the Raj Bhavan.
For the people of Puri Lord Jagannath, visualized as Lord Krishna, is synonymous with their city. They believe that the Jagannatha looks after the welfare of the state. However, after the incident of the partial collapse of the Jagannatha Temple, the Amalaka part of the tower on 14 June 1990 people became apprehensive and thought it was not a good omen for the welfare of the State of Odisha. The replacement of the fallen stone by another of the same size and weight (seven tons) had to be done only in the an early morning hours after the gods had woken up after a good nights sleep which was done on 28 February 1991.
Puri has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of the Indian Government. It is one of 12 the heritage cities chosen with "focus on holistic development" to be implemented in 27 months by end of March 2017.
Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the shrines but are allowed to view the temple and the proceedings from the roof of the Raghunandan library within the precincts of the temple for a small donation.
DEMOGRAPHICS
As of 2001 India census, Puri city, an urban Agglomeration governed by Municipal Corporation in Orissa state, had a population of 157,610 which increased to 200,564 in 2011. Males, 104,086, females, 96,478, children under 6 years of age, 18,471. The sex ratio is 927 females to 1000 males. Puri has an average literacy rate of 88.03 percent (91.38 percent males and 84.43 percent females). Religion-wise data is not reported.
ECONOMY
The economy of Puri is dependent on tourism to the extent of about 80%. The temple is the focal point of the entire area of the town and provides major employment to the people of the town. Agricultural production of rice, ghee, vegetables and so forth of the region meets the huge requirements of the temple, with many settlements aroiund the town exclusively catering to the other religious paraphernalia of the temple. The temple administration employs 6,000 men to perform the rituals. The temple also provides economic sustenance to 20,000 people belonging to 36 orders and 97 classes. The kitchen of the temple which is said to be the largest in the world employs 400 cooks.
CITY MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
Puri Municipality, Puri Konark Development Authority, Public Health Engineering Organisastion, Orissa Water Supply Sewerage Board are some of the principal organizations that are devolved with the responsibility of providing for all the urban needs of civic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, waste management, street lighting, and infrastructure of roads. The major activity which puts maximum presuure on these organizations is the annual event of the Ratha Yatra held for 10 days during July when more than a million people attend the grand event. This event involves to a very large extent the development activities such as infrastructure and amenities to the pilgrims, apart from security to the pilgrims.
The civic administration of Puri is the responsibility of the Puri Municipality which came into existence in 1864 in the name of Puri Improvement Trust which got converted into Puri Municipality in 1881. After India's independence in 1947, Orissa Municipal Act-1950 was promulgated entrusting the administration of the city to the Puri Municipality. This body is represented by elected representative with a Chairperson and councilors representing the 30 wards within the municipal limits.
LANDMARKS
JAGANNATH TEMPLE AT PURI
The Temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the major Hindu temples built in the Kalinga style of architecture, in respect of its plan, front view and structural detailing. It is one of the Pancharatha (Five chariots) type consisting of two anurathas, two konakas and one ratha with well-developed pagas. Vimana or Deula is the sanctum sanctorum where the triad (three) deities are deified on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls), and over which is the temple tower, known as the rekha deula; the latter is built over a rectangular base of the pidha temples as its roof is made up of pidhas that are sequentially arranged horizontal platforms built in descending order forming a pyramidal shape. The mandapa in front of the sanctum sanctorum is known as Jagamohana where devotees assemble to offer worship. The temple tower with a spire rises to a height of 58 m in height and a flag is unfurled above it fixed over a wheel (chakra). Within the temple complex is the Nata Mandir, a large hall where Garuda stamba (pillar). Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to stand here and pray. In the interior of the Bhoga Mantap, adjoining the Nata mandir, there is profusion of decorations of sculptures and paintings which narrate the story of Lord Krishna. The temple is built on an elevated platform (of about 39,000 m2 area), 20 ft above the adjoining area. The temple rises to a height of 214 ft above the road level. The temple complex covers an area of 4,3 ha. There is double walled enclosure, rectangular in shape (rising to a height of 20 ft) surrounding the temple complex of which the outer wall is known as Meghanada Prachira, measuring 200 by 192 metres. The inner walled enclosure, known as Kurmabedha. measures 126m x 95m. There are four entry gates (in four cardinal directions to the temple located at the center of the walls in the four directions of the outer circle. These are: the eastern gate called Singhadwara (Lions Gate), the southern gate known as Ashwa Dwara (Horse Gate), the western gate called the Vyaghra Dwara (Tigers Gate) or the Khanja Gate, and the northern gate called the Hathi Dwara or (elephant gate). The four gates symbolize the four fundamental principles of Dharma (right conduct), Jnana (knowledge), Vairagya (renunciation) and Aishwarya (prosperity). The gates are crowned with pyramid shapes structures. There is stone pillar in front of the Singhadwara called the Aruna Stambha {Solar Pillar}, 11 metres in height with 16 faces, made of chlorite stone, at the top of which is mounted an elegant statue of Arun (Sun) in a prayer mode. This pillar was shifted from the Konarak Sun temple. All the gates are decorated with guardian statues in the form of lion, horse mounted men, tigers and elephants in the name and order of the gates. A pillar made of fossilized wood is used for placing lamps as offering. The Lion Gate (Singhadwara) is the main gate to the temple, which guarded by two guardian deities Jaya and Vijaya. The main gates is ascended through 22 steps known as Baisi Pahaca which are revered as it is said to possess "spiritual animation". Children are made to roll down these steps from top to bottom to bring them spiritual happiness. After entering the temple on the left hand side there is huge kitchen where food is prepared in hygienic conditions in huge quantities that it is termed as "the biggest hotel of the world".
The legend says that King Indradyumma was directed by Lord Jagannath in a dream to build a temple for him and he built it as directed. However, according to historical records the temple was started some time during the 12th century by King Chodaganga of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It was however completed by his descendant, Anangabhima Deva, in the 12th century. The wooden images of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were then deified here. The temple was under the control of the Hindu rulers up to 1558. Then, when Orissa was occupied by the Afghan Nawab of Bengal, it was brought under the control of the Afghan General Kalapahad. Following the defeat of the Afghan king by Raja Mansingh, the General of Mughal emperor Akbar, the temple became a part of the Mughal empire till 1751 AD. Subsequently it was under the control of the Marathas till 1803. Then, when British Raj took over Orissa, the Puri Raja was entrusted with its to management until 1947.
The triad of images in the temple are of Jagannatha, personifying Lord Krishna, Balabhadra, his older brother, and Subhadra his younger sister, which are made of wood (neem) in an unfinished form. The stumps of wood which form the images of the brothers have human arms and that of Subhadra does not have any arms. The heads are large and un-carved and are painted. The faces are made distinct with the large circular shaped eyes.
THE PANCHA TIRTHA OF PURI
Hindus consider it essential to bathe in the Pancha Tirtha or the five sacred bathing spots of Puri, India, to complete a pilgrimage to Puri. The five sacred water bodies are the Indradyumana Tank, the Rohini Kunda, the Markandeya Tank, Swetaganga Tank, and the The Sea also called the Mahodadhi is considered a sacred bathing spot in the Swargadwar area. These tanks have perennial sources of supply in the form of rain water and ground water.
GUNDICHA TEMPLE
Known as the Garden House of Jagannath, the Gundicha temple stands in the centre of a beautiful garden, surrounded by compound walls on all sides. It lies at a distance of about 3 kilometres to the north east of the Jagannath Temple. The two temples are located at the two ends of the Bada Danda (Grand Avenue) which is the pathway for the Rath Yatra. According to a legend, Gundicha was the wife of King Indradyumna who originally built the Jagannath temple.
The temple is built using light-grey sandstone and architecturally, it exemplifies typical Kalinga temple architecture in the Deula style. The complex comprises four components: vimana (tower structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), nata-mandapa (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings). There is also a kitchen connected by a small passage. The temple is set within a garden, and is known as "God's Summer Garden Retreat" or garden house of Jagannath. The entire complex, including garden, is surrounded by a wall which measures 131 m × 98 m with height of 6.1 m.
Except for the 9-day Rath Yatra when triad images are worshipped in Gundicha Temple, the rest of the year it remains unoccupied. Tourists can visit the temple after paying an entry fee. Foreigners (prohibited entry in the main temple) are allowed inside this temple during this period. The temple is under the Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri – the governing body of the main temple. A small band of servitors maintain the temple.
SWARGADWAR
Swargadwar is the name given to the cremation ground or burning ghat which is located on the shores of the sea were thousands of dead bodies of Hindus are brought from faraway places to cremate. It is a belief that the Chitanya Mahaparabhu disppaeread from this Swargadwar about 500 years back.
BEACH
The beach at Puri known as the "Ballighai beach} is 8 km away at the mouth of Nunai River from the town and is fringed by casurian trees. It has golden yellow sand and has pleasant sunshine. Sunrise and sunset are pleasant scenic attractions here. Waves break in at the beach which is long and wide.
DISTRICT MUSEUM
The Puri district museum is located on the station road where the exhibits are of different types of garments worn by Lord Jagannath, local sculptures, patachitra (traditional, cloth-based scroll painting) and ancient Palm-leaf manuscripts and local craft work.
RAGHUNANDANA LIBRARY
Raghunandana Library is located in the Emmra matha complex (opposite Simhadwara or Lion gate, the main entrance gate). The Jagannatha Aitihasika Gavesana Samiti (Jagannatha Historical Center) is also located here. The library contains ancient palm leaf manuscripts of Jagannatha, His cult and the history of the city. From the roof of the library one gets a picturesque view of the temple complex.
FESTIVALS OF PURI
Puri witnesses 24 festivals every year, of which 13 are major festivals. The most important of these is the Rath Yatra or the Car festival held in the month June–July which is attended by more than 1 million people.
RATH YATRA AT PURI
The Jagannath triad are usually worshiped in the sanctum of the temple at Puri, but once during the month of Asadha (Rainy Season of Orissa, usually falling in month of June or July), they are brought out onto the Bada Danda (main street of Puri) and travel 3 kilometrer to the Shri Gundicha Temple, in huge chariots (ratha), allowing the public to have darśana (Holy view). This festival is known as Rath Yatra, meaning the journey (yatra) of the chariots (ratha). The yatra starts, according to Hindu calendar Asadha Sukla Dwitiya )the second day of bright fortnight of Asadha (June–July) every year.
Historically, the ruling Ganga dynasty instituted the Rath Yatra at the completion of the great temple around 1150 AD. This festival was one of those Hindu festivals that was reported to the Western world very early. In his own account of 1321, Odoric reported how the people put the "idols" on chariots, and the King and Queen and all the people drew them from the "church" with song and music.
The Rathas are huge wheeled wooden structures, which are built anew every year and are pulled by the devotees. The chariot for Jagannath is about 14 m high and 35 feet square and takes about 2 months to construct. Th chariot is mounted with 16 wheels, each of 2.1 m diameter. The carvings in the front of the chariot has four wooden horses drawn by Maruti. On its other three faces the wooden carvings are Rama, Surya and Vishnu. The chariot is known as Nandi Ghosha. The roof of the chariot is covered with yellow and golden coloured cloth. The next chariot is that of Balabhadra which is 13 m in height fitted with 14 wheels. The chariot is carved with Satyaki as the charioteer. The carvings on this chariot also include images of Narasimha and Rudra as Jagannath's companions. The next chariot in the order is that of Subhadra, which is 13 m in height supported on 12 wheels, roof covered in black and red colour cloth and the chariot is known as Darpa-Dalaan. The charioteer carved is Arjuna. Other images carved on the chariot are that of Vana Durga, Tara Devi and Chandi Devi. The artists and painters of Puri decorate the cars and paint flower petals and other designs on the wheels, the wood-carved charioteer and horses, and the inverted lotuses on the wall behind the throne. The huge chariots of Jagannath pulled during Rath Yatra is the etymological origin of the English word Juggernaut. The Ratha-Yatra is also termed as the Shri Gundicha yatra and Ghosha yatra
CHHERA PAHARA
The Chhera Pahara is a significant ritual associated with the Ratha-Yatra. During the festival, the Gajapati King wears the outfit of a sweeper and sweeps all around the deities and chariots in the Chera Pahara (sweeping with water) ritual. The Gajapati King cleanses the road before the chariots with a gold-handled broom and sprinkles sandalwood water and powder with utmost devotion. As per the custom, although the Gajapati King has been considered the most exalted person in the Kalingan kingdom, he still renders the menial service to Jagannath. This ritual signified that under the lordship of Jagannath, there is no distinction between the powerful sovereign Gajapati King and the most humble devotee.
CHADAN YATRA
In Akshaya Tritiya every year the Chandan Yatra festival marks the commencement of the construction of the Chariots of the Rath Yatra. It also marks the celebration of the Hindu new year.
SNANA YATRA
On the Purnima day in the month of Jyestha (June) the triad images of the Jagannath temple are ceremonially bathed and decorated every year on the occasion of Snana Yatra. Water for the bath is taken in 108 pots from the Suna kuan (meaning: "golden well") located near the northern gate of the temple. Water is drawn from this well only once in a year for the sole purpose of this religious bath of the deities. After the bath the triad images are dressed in the fashion of the elephant god, Ganesha. Later during the night the original triad images are taken out in a procession back to the main temple but kept at a place known as Anasara pindi. After this the Jhulana Yatra is when proxy images of the deities are taken out in a grand procession for 21 days, cruised over boats in the Narmada tank.
ANAVASARA OR ANASARA
Anasara literally means vacation. Every year, the triad images without the Sudarshan after the holy Snana Yatra are taken to a secret altar named Anavasara Ghar Palso known as "Anasara pindi} where they remain for the next dark fortnight (Krishna paksha). Hence devotees are not allowed to view them. Instead of this devotees go to nearby place Brahmagiri to see their beloved lord in the form of four handed form Alarnath a form of Vishnu. Then people get the first glimpse of lord on the day before Rath Yatra, which is called Navayouvana. It is said that the gods suffer from fever after taking ritual detailed bath and they are treated by the special servants named, Daitapatis for 15 days. Daitapatis perform special niti (rite) known as Netrotchhaba (a rite of painting the eyes of the triad). During this period cooked food is not offered to the deities.
NAVA KALEVARA
One of the most grandiloquent events associated with the Lord Jagannath, Naba Kalabera takes place when one lunar month of Ashadha is followed by another lunar month of Aashadha, called Adhika Masa (extra month). This can take place in 8, 12 or even 18 years. Literally meaning the "New Body" (Nava = New, Kalevar = Body), the festival is witnessed by as millions of people and the budget for this event exceeds $500,000. The event involves installation of new images in the temple and burial of the old ones in the temple premises at Koili Vaikuntha. The idols that were worshipped in the temple, installed in the year 1996, were replaced by specially made new images made of neem wood during Nabakalebara 2015 ceremony held during July 2015. More than 3 million devotees were expected to visit the temple during the Nabakalebara 2015 held in July.
SUNA BESHA
Suna Bhesha also known as Raja or Rajadhiraja bhesha or Raja Bhesha, is an event when the triad images of the Jagannath Temple are adorned with gold jewelry. This event is observed 5 times during a year. It is commonly observed on Magha Purnima (January), Bahuda Ekadashi also known as Asadha Ekadashi (July), Dashahara (Vijyadashami) (October), Karthik Purnima (November), and Pousa Purnima (December). While one such Suna Bhesha event is observed on Bahuda Ekadashi during the Rath Yatra on the chariots placed at the lion's gate or the Singhdwar; the other four Bheshas' are observed inside the temple on the Ratna Singhasana (gem studded altar). On this occasion gold plates are decorated over the hands and feet of Jagannath and Balabhadra; Jagannath is also adorned with a Chakra (disc) made of gold on the right hand while a silver conch adorns the left hand. However, Balabhadra is decorated with a plough made of gold on the left hand while a golden mace adorns his right hand.
NILADRI BIJE
Celebrated on Asadha Trayodashi. It marks the end of the 12 days Ratha yatra. The large wooden images of the triad of gods are moved from the chariots and then carried to the sanctum sanctorum, swaying rhythmically, a ritual which is known as pahandi.
SAHI YATRA
Considered the world's biggest open-air theatre, the Sahi yatra is an 11 day long traditional cultural theatre festival or folk drama which begins on Ram Navami and ending in Rama avishke (Sanskrit:anointing) every year. The festival includes plays depicting various scenes from the Ramayan. The residents of various localities or Sahis are entrusted the task of performing the drama at the street corners.
TRANSPORT
Earlier when roads did not exist people walked or travelled by animal drawn vehicles or carriages along beaten tracks. Up to Calcutta travel was by riverine craft along the Ganges and then by foot or carriages to Puri. It was only during the Maratha rule that the popular Jagannath Sadak (Road) was built around 1790. The East India Company laid the rail track from Calcutta to Puri which became operational in 1898. Puri is now well connected by rail, road and air services. A broad gauge railway line of the South Eastern Railways connects with Puri and Khurda is an important Railway junction. By rail it is about 499 kilometres away from Calcutta and 468 kilometres from Vishakhapatnam. Road network includes NH 203 that links the town with Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha which is about 60 kilometres away. NH 203 B connects the town with Satapada via Brahmagiri. Marine drive which is part of NH 203 A connects Puri with Konark. The nearest airport is at Bhubaneswar, about 60 kilometres away from Puri. Puri railway station is among the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railways.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
SAND ART
Sand art is a special art form that is created on the beaches of the sea coast of Puri. The art form is attributed to Balaram Das, a poet who lived in the 14th century. He started crafting the sand art forms of the triad deities of the Jagannath Temple at the Puri beach. Now sculptures in sand of various gods and famous people are created by amateur artists which are temporal in nature as they get washed away by waves. This is an art form which has gained international fame in recent years. One of the well known sand artist is Sudarshan Patnaik. He has established the Golden Sand Art Institute in 1995 at the beach to provide training to students interested in this art form.
APPLIQUE ART
Applique art work, which is a stitching based craft, unlike embroidery, which was pioneered by the Hatta Maharana of Pipili is widely used in Puri, both for decoration of the deities but also for sale. His family members are employed as darjis or tailors or sebaks by the Maharaja of Puri who prepare articles for decorating the deities in the temple for various festivals and religious ceremonies. These applique works are brightly coloured and patterned fabric in the form of canopies, umbrellas, drapery, carry bags, flags, coberings of dummy horses and cows, and other household textiles which are marketed in Puri. The cloth used are in dark colours of red, black, yellow, green, blue and turquoise blue.
CULTURE
Cultural activities, apart from religiuos festivals, held annually are: The Puri Beach Festival held between 5 and 9 November and the Shreeksherta Utsav held from 20 December to 2 January where cultural programmes include unique sand art, display of local and traditional handicrafts and food festival. In addition cultural programmes are held every Saturday for two hours on in second Saturday of the moth at the district Collector's Conference Hall near Sea Beach Polic Station. Apart from Odissi dance, Odiya music, folk dances, and cultural programmes are part of this event. Odishi dance is the cultural heritage of Puri. This dance form originated in Puri in the dances performed Devadasis (Maharis) attached to the Jagannath temple who performed dances in the Natamantapa of the temple to please the deities. Though the devadadsi practice has been discontinued, the dance form has become modern and classical and is widely popular, and many of the Odishi virtuoso artists and gurus (teachers) are from Puri.
EDUCATION
SOME OF THE EDUCATIONNAL INSTITUTIONS IN PURI
- Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology and Management
- Gangadhar Mohapatra Law College, established in 1981[84]
- Extension Unit of Regional Research Institute of Homoeopathy; Puri under Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), New Delhi established in March 2006
- Sri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, established in July 1981
- The Industrial Training Institute, a Premier Technical Institution to provide education in skilled, committed & talented technicians, established in 1966 of the Government of India
PURI PEOPLE
Gopabandhu Das
Acharya Harihar
Nilakantha Das
Kelucharan Mohapatra
Pankaj Charan Das
Manasi Pradhan
Raghunath Mohapatra
Sudarshan Patnaik
Biswanath Sahinayak
Rituraj Mohanty
WIKIPEDIA
PHOTO CAPTION: Construction work nears completion on three new Army Family Housing towers on Camp Humphreys. The towers are being built in anticipation of the move of U.S. Forces Korea from areas in and north of Seoul, to Humphreys. In the coming years, the number of mission personnel assigned to Humphreys will grow by 238%, from 6,657 to 22,497, and the number of Family members is expected to grow by 1,270%, from 1,883 to 25,846. During this period of rapid transformation, the garrison uses social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to communicate construction updates, road closures, service provider moves, grand openings and other construction-related news and information.
USAG Humphreys takes top honors for excellence in social media communications
Click here to visit the USAG Humphreys Social Media Network
Story and photo by Edward N. Johnson, USAG Humphreys, Public Affairs
CAMP HUMPHREYS, REPBULIC OF KOREA - The U.S. Army Installation Management Command recognized USAG Humphreys today with a first place award in the 2011 Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs Competition for "Outstanding Initiatives in New Media."
"This award is a real testament to the success of our social media communications strategy and overall public affairs program," said Col. Joseph P. Moore, USAG Humphreys commander, "but what I'm most proud of is the teamwork across the garrison that went into achieving this accomplishment."
According to Moore, engaging the community via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter has made it easier for him to share news and information, announce post status updates, answer questions and work with community members to collectively resolve problems in an open and transparent online venue.
"In the past, community members might have had to wait for the next town hall meeting, before they could voice their concerns, and that often lead to frustration," said Moore. "By opening up lines of communication in the online world and addressing issues as they happen, Facebook has become the garrison's de facto, 24/7, town hall meeting -- and that's a good thing for everyone."
The ability to communicate rapidly via social media has proven particularly important for the garrison, as it transforms to become the largest Army installation in Asia.
Home to the 2nd Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade and the Army's most active airfield in the region, the number of Soldiers stationed at Humphreys is expected to grow in the coming years by 238%, from 6,67 to 22,497 and the number of families is on track to grow by1,270 percent.
As part of its transformation, U.S. Forces Korea will relocate from areas in and north of Seoul, to two enduring hubs south of the Han River; the northwest/Pyeongtaek hub, consisting mainly of USAG Humphreys and Osan Air Base; and the southeast /Daegu hub, comprised mainly of USAG Daegu and Chinhae Naval Base.
"We are now home to the largest construction site in the history of the Army," said Steven Hoover, the garrison's chief of command information and a Facebook aficionado. "During this period of rapid transformation, being able to effectively communicate construction updates, road closures, service provider moves, grand openings and other construction-related news and information would simply not be possible without using all of the social media tools at our disposal."
Hoover believes the role social media plays in distributing news and information will continue to increase on par with the growth of the garrison.
"Our newspaper remains an important part of our communications strategy, but it's only printed once a week and can't always keep up with the pace of activity on the installation," said Hoover. "We specifically designed the garrison's social media network in a modular fashion, to ensure it expands with the garrison and remains relevant throughout the transformation process."
According to Hoover, the overall success of the garrison's social media initiatives is due in large part to the active role taken by the garrison's commander, his deputy and other members of the garrison staff, in interacting with the community on sites like Facebook.
"On a daily basis, either the commander or someone else from the command group is on Facebook fielding questions from our community and responding to comments and concerns," said Hoover. "This active involvement by our leadership goes a long way in building trust and confidence with our audience, because they know their voices are being heard by the people who can help them."
Hoover also made the observation that the popularity and growth of the garrison's social media network's audience base appears to be accelerating.
"Over the past year our Facebook audience has grown by 70 percent and more members of the community are turning to social media for their news and information than ever before," said Hoover. "I'm really blown away by the number of people who are visiting our social media sites, joining our online discussions or sharing photos and videos from our online archives."
According to data collected by YouTube and Flickr, the garrison's online video channels and photo archives are among the most visited social media sites in the Army.
"We've now uploaded more than 22 thousand photos to our Flickr photo sites and they've been viewed more than seven million times. Our videos on YouTube are also being viewed at a rate of about 100,000 times a month - these are big numbers," said Hoover. "Just yesterday, we uploaded 234 photos from one of our weekend events, and they've already been viewed more than 12,000 times."
According to Hoover, one of the advantages of social media over traditional media platforms like newspapers, television or radio, is the ability to measure analytical data, site traffic, viewer preferences and trends.
"Being able to measure what works and what doesn't, has really helped us ensure we're providing the news and information people need - when and where they want it," added Hoover.
While the garrison's social media network was primarily designed with its local community in mind, it is also used to share news, information and multimedia products with a world-wide audience.
"We currently publish videos to several sharing sites like YouTube, Break and Dailymotion," said Cpl. Han, Jae Ho, a Korean Augmentation to the United States Army Soldier and member of the garrison's social media communications team. "These sites are really useful in distributing newcomer and welcome videos, and it's a lot less expensive to use them than producing and distributing DVDs the old fashioned way."
As part of his daily routine, Han is responsible for selecting and uploading photos to the garrison's Flickr image archive, as well as publishing content from the Morning Calm Newspaper to social media sites like Scribd and Facebook.
"These tools are really powerful and it's an honor to be serving as part of this team." said Han. "Working as a social media communicator has definitely opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me."
While the garrison's social media network has already proven to be a successful tool in communicating with local, regional and world-wide audiences, garrison officials say their work is far from over.
"We're currently expanding our social media infrastructure to meet the needs of our growing community and testing new automation tools to improve the way we update our sites and push out information," said Hoover. "But of course, it's not just about the technology, it's also about ensuring we do everything in our power to build open, honest, transparent and meaningful online relationships with our audiences here and around the world."
The garrison's social media entry, along with IMCOM's other winners, will now go on to compete alongside winning entries from other major Army commands, at the Department of the Army level.
To the memory of
David Richmond GAGE
- MEMBER OF –
MAORI FOOTBALL TEAM 1888-89
& N.Z. REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALLER
BORN 11TH JANUARY 1868,
DIED 12TH OCTOBER 1916.
ERECTED BY PONEKE F.C.
AND FRIENDS
And his daughter
Erina Haumihi TARRANT
[Nell]
1900 – 2.2.1987
And her son
David Charles Saywell TARRANT
1.8.1920 – 6.5.1981
Block CH ENG Plot 307 A
He was the third official New Zealand Captain in 1896 [see timeline link below]
Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 850, 20 October 1916, Page 19
David Richmond Gage: A Rugby Football Champion.
THE passing of D. I. Gage last week removes from this scene of care and trouble one of the finest players who ever donned a Rugby football jersey.
There have been many Rugby Champions in New Zealand —equal to rank- with the best the world has produced —-but not a solitary one can be placed on a higher pedestal than this half-caste Maori. He was born at Kihikihi, in the South Auckland district 48 years ago. His father being Captain Gage, who fought on the pakeha side in the Maori wars, and was an assessor of the Native Land Court when the war was over. "Davy's" , mother is a Maori woman, and a good, mother at that. The old captain himself only died a few months ago, well past the allotted three score and ten.
His Schooldays
Davy Gage was a scholar at the St. Stephen's School for Maori boys in Parnell, Auckland, a place that has produced many fine athletes at one time or another. Gaining a scholarship that entitled him to attend Te Aute College, in Hawke's Bay, the subject of this sketch was educated at this famous Maori educational institution at the same time as the late T. R. Ellison. T. G. Pou, Hiroa, Taaku, Friday Tomoana. and James were being taught the higher branches of knowledge, and incidentally laying the foundation for the greatness they attained in the Rugby world.
A Good Story
… that has been retailed to me is worth telling just here. When Mr. Thornton was principal of Te Aute College he
made it a hard and fast rule that the scholars in speaking of and to one another should not abridge their Christian names in any way. This by way of preamble.
The late Tom Ellison arrived in Wellington and joined the Poneke Club in 1885 and one day the following year a fellow player noticed him hurrying down Willis-street towards the wharf. Through communication by rail between Wellington and Napier was not an accomplished fact those days, and the only way to get from the Hawke's Bay town to the Empire City was by boat.
"Where are you going to in such a hurry, Tom?" was the way the old Poneke forward tried to stop Ellison.
"I'm going to meet David."
"Who's David?"
"David Gage." The Poneke boys did not have to ask who David was once he got into a red and black jersey, but it was remarkable that both these, half-caste Maoris for many years spoke of and addressed each other as Thomas and David. It is also a tradition in the Poneke Club that they had a supreme faith in each other's abilities. If the opposition got into their stride, Ellison was wont to remark. "It's all right. David is there to stop them." and with Thomas in the forwards Davy was perfectly satisfied that it would not be long before the tables were turned.
As a Wellington Player
…Davy Gage soon made his mark, and in iris first year as a member of the Poneke Club he gained his cap as a Wellington representative player. From 1887 to 1901 he played in the black and gold jersey on twenty-nine occasions as follows ; - v. Hawke's Bav. 1887-91-92.
v., Wairarapa, 1887 (twice). 1889-92- 96
v. Canterbury. 1887-91-92-96
v. Manawatu, 1887-92.
v. Otago. 1887-91-96.
v. England. 1888.
v. Auckland,. 1889-94-1901.
v. Queensland, 1896.
v. South Canterbury, 1894.
v. Poverty Bay, 1894.
v. Taranaki 1894-1901.
v. New South Wales, 1894-96.
v. Wanganui. 1896.
The New Zealand Native Team
…organised by Mr. T. Eyton and the late J. A. Warbrick, left for England early in the 1888 season, and Davy Gage was
one of the team. He was originally chosen as reserve full-back to the late W. Warbrick, but before the tour finished he had played in every position among the backs, and was generally voted the best all-round back in the team. That is what George Williams, a member of the team, and now in charge of the Police District of Seddon, in the Marlborough Province, says of D. R. Gage, in his book of the "Tour of the Native Team": —
"D. Gage (11st 21b)— 'Pony' was one of the best plums (gage) in our football basket. As full, three-quarter, or halfback he seemed equally at home, and invariably played a first-class game. His record of 68 matches played in out of 74 in Great Britain shows the great service he rendered, and no other member of the team can equal him in this respect.
E. McCausland, the well-known Auckland centre three-quarter of the eighties, who acted as secretary of the Native Team on this tour, declared, on his return to New Zealand, that he was -the best all-round player in the combination .
It is just twenty-eight years since this team of Maoris and native-born New Zealanders started out on their famous tour, a tour that will stand as a monument to the stamina of the members composing the party. The 1905 "All Blacks" made New Zealand famous by the quality of the Rugby they played but it is agreed that when they met Wales in the only match in which they were defeated they were showing signs of staleness. Comparisons are odious, it is true, but the full programme of the "All Blacks' consisted of thirty-three matches, while the Native Team's record was : —
Matches played 108
Matches won – 80
Matches lost 23
Matches drawn 5
The above were played, between July, 1888, and August, 1889 out of which period about four months were spent in travelling, so that the average all through was about three matches a week. In Great Britain alone, from October 3rd, 1888, to March 27, 1889, 74 matches were played.
The Grim Reaper.
Death has been busy in the ranks of the native players since the completion of their tour. Of the original twenty-six the following have passed away : —
J A. Warbrick, captain and organiser, whose death was the result of a premature explosion of the Waimangu Geyser many years ago: he was acting as guide to a party, and heroically lost his life in endeavouring to get into safety those he was in charge of; William Warbrick, who died in Australia after a long innings at the game both in New South Wales and Queensland after leaving New Zealand: Arthur Warbrick who met his death as the result of a boating accident on one of the rivers of the East Coast; D. R, Gage. C. Madigan Taare (C. Goldsmith), H. Lee, T R. Ellison, W. Anderson. D. Stewart T. Rene, R. Maynard. A. Webster, and Karauria.
Of the Others,
Alfred Warbrick is the tourist guide at Rotorua; W. T. Wynyard is Wellington district agent of the Agricultural Department; H J. Wynyard is in the service of the Gear Company at Petone; G. Wynyard is an employee of the Sydney Harbour Trust; E McCausland was, the last I heard of him, the manager of a bank in a country district of New South Wales; P. Keogh is in the Dunedin Mental Hospital; W. Elliott is in the Railway Workshops at Newmarket Auckland; Ihimaira (Smiler) went back to the Pah in Hawke's Bay as soon as he from the jaunt round the world and has been lost to sport and almost to memory ever since; George A. Williams invariably drops in to have a chat about old times when on annual leave or official duties calls him to Wellington from his police duties over Marlborough way; W. Nehua is in Whangarei; and R. Taiaroa is in Dunedin.
After this Digression, which may or may not have been warranted, but which I hope has proved interesting. I will get back to the history of Davy Gage as a Rugby footballer. He was a member of the. New Zealand team, that toured to Australia in 1893 under the captaincy of the late T. R. Ellison, and with Mr G. F. C. Campbell as manager. In 1894 he was a member of the North Island team that played against the New South Wales representatives that toured New Zealand that year. Davy Gage then went to Auckland for a while, and the next year returned to Wellington as an Auckland representative, taking part in that memorable match in 1890 on the Newtown Park.
Mr. G. H. Dixon, the present Chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, was the then-secretary of the Auckland Rugby Union, and was manager of the visitors. He had under his charge some of the finest players who ever donned a jersey, but the Wellington side was also a strong one, and the Aucklanders had to submit to a 9 to 5 points defeat. Some day the occasion may arise to tell the history of that game and the players that took part in it, but this is not a suitable time, although I feel inclined to let my pen run riot.
Back in Wellington in 1896, Davy Gage was at the top of his form, playing against Otago, Canterbury, Wairarapa, and Queensland, and also for New Zealand against Queensland in one of the first matches played on the Athletic Park. He drifted to Hawke's Bay after this, and it was not until 1901 that he again figured in Wellington football, playing his last match against Auckland that year. And this ends a cursory summary of the activities as a player of a great half-caste Maori on the fields of Rugby football.
Some Incidents in Davy Gage's Rugby Career.
One could fill a book in the telling of incidents of Davy Gage's playing days. It has been told before that he potted three goals one afternoon for Poneke against a strong Athletic team. As a matter of fact, four goals was his tally on that occasion, but the referee was not in a position to determine the matter. The game was played with two umpires and a referee those days, and unless two of the parties were in agreement a decision could not be given. On this occasion Harry Roberts was one of the umpires, and he was the only one of the three officials, who was able to give a decision, and he unhesitatingly said it was a goal. The referee (the late J. Eman Smith) was too far away to say whether, it was a goal or not, and so also was the other umpire, and, therefore, it could not be awarded. It hardly matters probably at this late stage to discuss it, but the three potted goals do not constitute a record for New Zealand football, as J. Breen (now a Union Company official on the Wellington Wharf) playing for Ponsonby against Grafton in Auckland in the long ago potted three goals from the field. That, by the way, but the point I am striving for is that if that fourth goal of Davy Gage's had been awarded the performance would have been a record one.
In 1894 the Wellington team looked like winning the senior championship, having disposed of Melrose and Athletic in cavalier fashion. It was in that year that Ken Duncan put up a New Zealand record by converting eight tries into goals in the one match, not missing a solitary shot. Dr. Newman - then as now President of the Poneke Club —got into an argument with some of his friends at the Wellington Club, with the result that he appealed to T. R. Ellison, who was standing by through an injury to his knee, which, as a matter of fact, caused that player's retirement long before he was played out.
The Wellington team were playing at Petone, and Ellison went out to watch them. He concluded that Ken and Arthur Duncan at half and five-eighths respectively and Harley in the three-quarter line were the strong men in the Wellington team, and- if they could be scotched the win would come the way of Poneke. The late Archie Merlet —a real fine tackler—was set the task of coping with Arthur Duncan, and the Poneke front-rankers were given instructions to let the Wellington men have the ball every time in the early stages of the game. So effective were the tactics suggested by Ellison that the attack by the opposition was thrown right out of gear.
Davy Gage was the Poneke half-back, and directly the Wellington men were at sixes and sevens he called on his forwards to give him the ball, and in the end the strong Wellington team were beaten by three tries to nothing. One of the tries was a real beauty. Davy made a fine run right up to Strang, a big, strong Wellington three-quarter (14st was his weight). He gathered the nuggety half-caste in all right, but his face was a study when he noticed Galloway, Poneke's three-quarter, streaking for the line with the ball in his possession. He could not understand how and when Gage had made his pass. [1]
His portrait
www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/david-gage
New Zealand Natives’ rugby tour of 1888-9
www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/the-new-zealand-natives-rugb...
Maori rugby timeline
www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/maori-rugby
David married c1899 to Amiria HAKARAIA[2]
They had at least 8 children [Erina above is noted as Nellie]:
Kiti Hemi married Henry Joseph FALLENI c1921
Nellie married Charles James TARRANT c1919
John Porokow/Porokuru married Violet Annie LONGHURST c1927
Tiripa
Te Kura [Kura] married Richard John SMITH c1924
Joseph David
Harry
Alexander Mennie
SOURCES:
[1]
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NZ...
[2]
NZ Department Internal Affairs: Marriage registration 1899/830
The Tay Rail Bridge
---------------------------
The Tay Bridge (sometimes unoffically the Tay Rail Bridge) is a railway bridge approximately 2.75 miles (3.5 kilometers) long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland,between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife.
As with the Forth Bridge,the Tay Bridge has als been called the Tay Bridge since the construction of the road bridge over the Firth of Tay,the Tay Road Bridge.The rail bridge replaced an earl train ferry.
"Tay Bridge" was also the codename for the funeral plans for Queen Elizabeth,The Queen Mother.
The First Tay Bridge
----------------------------
The original Tay Bridge was designed by noted railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch,who received a knighthood following the bridge's completion.It was a lttice-grid design,combining cast and wrought iron.The design was well known,having been used first by Kennard in the Crumlin Viaduct in South Wales in 1858,following the innovative use of cast iron in Crystal Palace of London England.However,the Crystal Palace was not as heavil loaded as a railway bridge.A previous cast iron desing,the Dee Bridge in Chester,England which collapsed in 1847,failed due to poor use of cast-iron cirders.Later,Alexander Gustave Eiffel used a similar design to create several large viaducts in the Massif Central ,France (1867).
Proposal for constructing a bridge across the River Tay date back to at least 1854.The North Britsh Railway (Tay Bridge) Act receiving the Royal Assent on July 15,1870 and the foundation stone was laid on July 22,1871.
The Bridge Design -The Basic Concept
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The original design was for lattice griders supported by brick piers resting on bedrock shown by trail borings to lie at no great depth under the river.At either end of the bridge the single track rail ran on top of the bridge girder,most of which therefore lay below the pier tops.However,in the center section of the bridge,(the "high girder") the railway ran inside the bridge,which could then run above the pier tops to give the required clearance to allow passage of sailing ships upriver(e.g. to Perth).To accommodate thermal expansion there were few rigid connectiions between girders and piers.
However as the bridge extended out into the river,it became clear (December 1873) that the bedrock really much deeper,to act as a foundation for the bridge piers.Sir Thomas Bouch had to redesign the bridge.
He reduced the number of piers and correspondingly increased the span of the girders.The pier foundations were no longer taken down to bedrock,instead they were constructed by sinking brick-lind wrought-iron caissons onto the riverbed,removing sand until the caissons rested upon the consoildated gravel layer which had been misreported as rock,and then filling the caissons with concrete.To reduce the weight the ground under the caissons would have to support the brick piers were replaced by lattice iron skeleton piers(each pier had multiple cast-iron columns taking the weight of the bridge girder,with wrought iron horizontal braces and diagonal tiebars lining the columns of the pier to give rigidity and stability). the basic concept was well known,having been used first by Kennard in the Crumlin Viaduct in South Wales in 1858;Sir Thomas Bouch had used it for Viaducts (notable the Beelah Viaducts (1860) on the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway line over Stainmore,England,but for the Tay Bridge,even with the largest praticale caissons pier dimensions were significantly constrained by the caissons in a hexagon; this maximsed the pier widtgh but not the amount of diagononal bracing directly resiting sidewalk forces.
The Bridge Design -- Design Details
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The engineering details on the Tay Bridge was considerably simpler,lighter,and cheaper then on earlier Viaducts.On these the machined based of each column section docked securely into a machine enlarged section of the top of the section below.The joint was then secured by bolts through matching holes on lugs (Crumlin) or flanges (Belah) on the two sections.This 'spigot and faucet' configuration was used (apparently without machining) on some Tay Bridge pier columns,but on some the bolts were relied upon to ensure correct alignment.(In the event,the joint were using undersized bolts.This give greater tolerances when assembling the column,but the less positive alignment of the column joints as initially assembled and after any subsequent 'working' of the joint would have weakened the column).
On the Tay Bridge the diagonal bracing was by means of flat bars running from one lug at the column section top (and integral part of the column casting) to two sling plates bolted to the diagonally opposite lug.Bar and sling plates all had a matching longditudinal slot in them; the tie bar was placed between the sling plates with all three slots aligned and overlapping and a gib driven through all three slots and secured.Two cotters (medal wedges) were then positioned to fill the rest of the slot overlap,and driven in hard to put the tie under tension.Horizontal Bracing was provided by (wrought iron) channel iron.The various bolt head were too close to each other,and to the column for easy tightening up with spanners;this coupled with lack of precision in the preparation of the channeliron braces led to various on the site fitting expedients (one of them described by a witness to the enquirey as "about' as alovently a piece of work as ever i saw in my life').
On the Crumin Viaduct and Belah Viaduct,however,horizontal bracing was provided by substantial fitting cast-iron girders securely attached to the columns with the diagonal braces the girders.The Chairman of the court of Inquiry quoted at length from a contemporary book praising the detailed engineering of the belah Viaduct pier (and describing the Viaduct as one of the lightest and cheapest of the kind that had ever beenerected.)
...it is a distinguished feature in the Viaduct that the cross,or distance girders of the piers encircle the columns,which are turned up at that point,the girder being bored oput to fit the turned part with great accuracy.No cement of any kind was used in the whole structure,and the piers when completed,and the vertical horizontal wrought-iron bracing keyed up,are nearly as riged as though they were one solid piece...
...The fitting was all done by machines,which were specially designed for the purposed,finshed the work with mathematical accuracy.The flanges of the column were all faced up and their edges turned,and ever column was stepper into the one below it with a lip of about 5/8 of an inch (1.5 centimeters) in depth,the lip and socket for it being actualyly turned and bored,That portion of the column against which the cross girders rested was also turned.The whole operations were performed at one time,the column being centered in a hollow mandriil lathe.After being turned the column passed on to a drilling machine,in which all the holes in each flange were drilled out the solid simultaneously.And as this was done with them all in the same machine,the holes of couse,perfectly coincided when the columns were placed on the other in the progress of erection.Similar care was taken with the cross-girders,which were bored out at the ends by machines designed for the purpose.Thus,when the pieces of the Viaduct had to be put together at the place of erction these was literally not a tool required,and neither chipping or filing to retard the program to work.
Either,said the Chairman,the Belah Viaduct had been over-engineered.
Bridge Construction
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Whilst Sir Thomas Bouch was revising his design,A Grothe C.E.G,manage of the Tay Bridge contract,the company which had the contract for construction went out of business and the contract passed (June 1874) to Hopkins Gilkes and Company,successors to the Middlesbrough Company which had made the ironwork for the Belah Viaduct Hopkin Gilkes and Company originally intended to produce all the bridge ironwork on Teesside,but in the event continued to use a foundry at Wormit to oroduce the cast-iron components,and carry out limited post-casting machine operations.
The change in design increased cast and necessitated dalay,intensified after two of the high girders fell when being lifted into place (Fedruary 1877).
The fallengirders had to be removed and new ones built.One of the fallen griders was recovered and reused and piers to be earcted again;and this threatened seirously to interfere with the expection of having the bridge finshed passage of a train by September.Only eight months were now available for the erection and floating out of six,and the lifting of ten 245 feet (74.6 meters) spans.Five andseven respectively of the 145 feet (44.1 meters) spans had yet to go through the same process.Seven large piers and three small piers had to be built.The weight of the iron which to be put in its place was 2,700 tons,and it seemed incredible that all could he done in eight months.A good deal would depend on the weather but this was far from favourable.
Dispite this,the first enging crossed the bridge on September 22,1877,and upon its completion in early 1878 the Tay Bridge was the longest in the world.While visiting the city former United States Presidend Ulysses Simpon "SAM" Grant commented that was "a big bridge for a small city".
Inspection and opening
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Like all rail lines,the Tay Bridge was subject to a Board of Trade inspection before it could carry passenger trains.The inspection was conducted Febuary 25,1878 -- February 27,1878 by Major General Charles Scrope Hutchinson Corps of Royal Engineers Companions of the Order of Bath of the Railway Inspectorate,who measured the deflection of the 245 feet (774.6 meters) bridge girder under a distributed load of 1.5 tons per foot (5 T/M) due to heavy locomotives (travelling at up to 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour) as less then 2 inchs 50 milimeters).He reported that "these results are in my opinion to be satisfactory.The lateral oscillation,as observed by the theodolite ehen the engines ran over at speed,was very slight and the stucture overall showed great stiffness.He required some minor remedial work and 'recommended' a 25 miles per hour speed limit over the bridge.(Major General Charles Scrope Hutchinson Corps of Royal Engineers Comanions of the Order of Bath subsequently explained to the Inquire that he had suggested the speed limit because of minimal taper on the piers.) The inspection report added '... when again visiting the sport should whish,if possible,to have an opportunity of observing the effects of high wind when a train of carriages is running over the bridge...'.
The bridge was opened for passenger traffic on June 1,1878,formal opening cememonies having taking place the previous day,in the couse of which Sior Thomas Bouch was made a Burgess of Dundee "in respect of his meritorious service as engineer of the bridge...".
The following year (une 20,1879)Her Majesty Queen Victoria of Great Britain crossed the bridge to return south from Balmoral Castle;Sir Thomas Bouch was presented to Her Majesty before she did so,on June 26,1879 he was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria of Great Britain at Windsor Castle.
The Tay Bridge Disaster
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On the night of December 28,1879 at 7:15 pm,the first bridge collapsed after its central span gave way during high winter gales.A train with six carriages carry seventy-five passengers and crew,crossing at the time of the collapse,plunged into the icy waters of the River Tay.All seventy-five were lost.The disaster stunned the whole contry and sent shock waves through the Victorian engineering community.The ensuring enquiry revealed that the bridge did not allow for high winds.At the time gale estimated at force ten or eleven (Tropical Storm force winds: 55 miles per hour -- 75 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour -- 117 kilometers per hour0 had been blowing down the River Tay estury at right angles to the bridge.The engine itself was salvaged from the river and restored to the railway service.The collapsed of the bridge,opened only nineteen months earlier and passed as safe by the Board of Trade,is still the most famous bridge disaster of the British Isles.The disaster was commenorated in "The Tay Bridge Disaster",one of the best-known verse efforts of William Topaz McGonagall.German pote Theodor Fontane within 10 days of the disaster wrote his famous poem Die Bruck'am Tay.
The stumps of the original bridge piers are still visible above the surface on the River Tay even at high tide.
The Second Tay Bridge
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A new double-track bridge was designed by William Henry Borlow and built by Sir William Arrol & Company 18 meters (59 feet) upstream of ,and parallel to the original bridge.The bridge proposal was formally incorported in July 1881 and the foundation stone laid on July 6,1883.Contruction involed 25,000 metric tons (28,000 short tons) of iron and steel,70,000 metric tons 77,000 short tons) of concrete ten million bricks (weighing 37,500 metric tons (41,300 short tons) and three million rivets.Fourteen men lost their lives during construction,most by browning.
The second bridge opened on July 13,1887 and remain's in use.A $33,516,60.00 million strenghtening and refurbishment project ($32,976,480.00 million),on the bridge won the Bridge Construction Industy Civil Engineering Award,in consideration of the staggering scale logistics involed.More than 1,000 metric tons (1,100 short tons) of bird broppings were scraped off the bridge ironwork lattice of the bridge using hand tools,and bagged into 25 kllogram (55 pound) sacks.Hundeds of thousands of riviets were removed and replaced,all work being done in very exposed conditions high over a Firth of Tay with fast -running tides.
Double-heading of locomotives is prophibited across the bridge;consecutive locomotives must be separated by at 60 feet (18 meters) using barrie or reach wagons.
Riyadh, Elf-One, AWACS, Aug-Nov 1981
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In May 1981, I re-enlisted in the Air National Guard at the completion of my first 4 year hitch. I had made E-5, Staff Sergeant, and was enjoying my time in the service. Our unit had gone to Korea for a Team Spirit exercise in the spring and Pusan had been a lot of fun.
I was working as a security guard and going to Sac State. When the Air Guard asked me if I would like to spend a couple fo months in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in August, I jumped at the chance to travel again. My aunt Clyda had been working as a nurse at King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh for several years and liked it (and the money she was making) well enough to stay there.
So, some time in August 1981 (don't remember exact dates) I boarded a flight for Oklahoma City, site of Tinker AFB, the headquarters of the 552nd AWACS Wing as well as the 3rd Combat Comm Group, a regular Air Force equivalent to my own ANG 162nd Combat Comm Group. I was on loan to the 3rd Herd for my stay in Saudi.
After a day or two at Tinker, we flew via C-141 to Rhein Main AFB in Frankfurt, Germany,refueled and from there continued on to Riyadh. Like Rhein Main, the air base at Riyadh shared runways with the commercial airport.
We were supporting Exercise Elf One, which was playing I Spy on the Iran-Iraq War. The Saudis had asked the US to fly AWACS radar planes and have radar ships in the Gulf to watch the Iranians, in case they decided to attack Saudi Arabia, which was suporting the Iraqis in the war. I don't think the Iranians ever did attack the Saudis, but they did bomb Kuwait one day when we were there. After that, I think the Kuwaits asked that we warn them if any Iranian planes came their way. We had picked up the Iranian planes going to and from Kuwait, but had no agreement to inform them before that.
In those days, the Iranians were flying US made F4s and F14s, while the Iraqis had Soviet MiGs and French Mirages. We didn't know it at the time, but the Iranians were getting parts for their planes under the Iran-Contra deal.
There are western compounds in Riyadh, where the normal Saudi rules are relaxed. The US Army had a training mission, and companies such as Lockheed and British Aircraft also had compounds. Alcohol was strictly forbidden under Saudi Sharia law, but the western compounds would brew jungle juice and serve it at parties, with the Saudis turning a blind eye, as they needed the Americans, Brits and others to keep things working. I saw the aftereffects of bathtub grapefruit wine on some of the guys and decided I could wait until I got back to Germany and have some decent German beer.
Our compound or Elf One was the ai Yamama Hotel on Airport Road between downtown and the airport (duh!!!). It was a regular hotel, but had been taken over by USAF for the Elf One people. The regular staff managed it, and we ate breakfast and dinner in the hotel dining room for free. After a while, the same 6 or 7 items for dinner did get old, and we would sometimes eat at other restaurants in town, but Riyadh is not known for its swinging night life.
I was one of two Teletype techs in Riyadh while I was there. We also had crypto, sattelite radio, HF radio, ground power, HVAC maint people, who hung out in our shop van near the flight line on base, as well as a bunch of radio and Teletype operators who did the work of running the gear. The maint people mainly hung out, repaired problems, and did periodic maintenance on the equipment. That explains the photos of us hanging out in the shop van, reading, napping, playing cards and generally goofing off.
The aircraft maint people worked elsewhere.
USAF had KC-135 tankers and E3 AWACS planes in Riyadh for Elf One. An E3 was in the air at all times, flying in 12 hour shifts. We could, if we wanted to, go on "morale flights" on the AWACS, but I never did as sitting in a plane for 12 hours with nothing to do sounded slightly less appealing than sitting in the shop van for 12 hours with nothing to do.
We could also, take morale flights on the KC-135s when they went up to refuel the AWACS every afternoon. They left about the same time every day, taking off southbound over downtown Riyadh and our hotel and you could always tell the 135 by the distinctive sound of its water injection turbojets as it flew over.
I went up on two morale flights on KC-135s and on the first one I remarked to the pilot that I would love to take photos of the refueling. He was cool with it, so the second time I went up, I brought my camera and asked permision from the pilot on that trip. He didn't care, although I think the Saudis did not want people taking arial photos of the country. Oh well. This was 35 years ago and all of the air crews on these planes are out of the service or retired by now.
I have to say that the midair refueling of the AWACS as seen from next to the boom operator on the KC-135 is one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. Boom operators joke that they have 3 college graduates fly them around so they can pass gas, and USAF does midair refueling dozens of times a day all over the world, but it is remarkable to see two planes flying close together, connected by a refueling boom.
My TDY was originally for 2 months, but with no job to return to and having missed the Fall 1981 semester at Sac State, I extended it for another month.
In 1981, Riyadh had a rail connection to the Gulf at Damman with a daily passenger train, and freight service. I saw the passenger train at Riyadh, but did not feel comfortable taking out my camera to get any photos. It had a GP38 (IIRC) pulling new stainless steel cars that had been made in Europe. I've heard that one of the Twin/Nebraske Zephyr sets wound up in Saudi Arabia (the other is at Illinois Railway Museum), but I saw no sign of it and I did not try to take a ride on the railway as we only had one day off a week and a round trip required an overnight stay. I did get a few photos another day when I found the yard and shop. One is posted here, and when I find the others, I will post them. The Saudis had some F7s and I saw a couple of those as well as what I think is a GL8, an EMD export model.
I tried to meet Aunt Clyda during the whole time I was there, but she could not get into the al Yamama and I could not get into her nurse's quarters, and,as I said, there were not a lot of places to meet in downtown Riyadh. I knew she worked at the hospital's blood bank and we could give blood there, so toward the end of my stay, I joined the guys donating blood and at least was able to say hi to Clyda for a few minutes.
The weather was very hot when we got there, dry heat, of course, but by November, things had cooled off and we even had a bit of rain before I left in mid-November.
I planned to stop off in Europe and travel around for a month before returning to the US, so I mailed most of my stuff home before I left and when our plane got to Rhein Main, I joined the crowd heading to the bar for a beer, then went to the base hotel for the night.
The next morning was rainy and green and rain and green never looked so good!
031815: GREENVILLE, S.C. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s Office of Air and Marine (OAM) announced the completion of its 12th P-3 Orion aircraft overhaul. This is the ninth consecutive delivery ahead of schedule for OAM’s Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).
Photo provided by: U.S Customs and Border Protection
Vertical construction of the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense project continues Jan. 14 in Deveselu, Romania. The land-based BMD facility is in the final stage of construction and the system is expected to be fully operational in late 2015. U.S. Naval Support Facility Deveselu was established in October and about 200 U.S. military personnel, government civilians and support contractors will man the complex. Phase three of the U.S. European Phased Adaptive Approach to ballistic missile defense will include a second facility in Poland, set to be complete in 2018. The projects in Romania and Poland are designed to support NATO’s collective defense and overall missile defense system in Europe. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by John Rice)
Governor Hochul announces the completion of Plug Power's newest manufacturing facility, located at the Vista Technology Campus in Slingerlands, Albany County. The new location supports the company's efforts to significantly expand its line of GenDrive fuel cell systems, which are used to power electric motors in the electric mobility market. The company has committed to creating more than 1,600 new green jobs at this Capital Region location, complementing New York State's efforts to be a national leader in growing the green economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and combating climate change.
The Obama Administration has restored America’s standing and leadership in the world, repaired frayed relations and ended needless U.S. isolation on a range of issues. As a result, we have secured strong cooperation on the issues most important to U.S. national security and upheld American values. President Obama has delivered on his promise of a “new era of engagement.”
The United States has led at the United Nations to rebuild a strong basis for international cooperation to respond to the threats of the 21st Century. These results include: the stiffest UN sanctions ever against Iran and North Korea; vigorous and sustained defense of our ally Israel; renewed momentum to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials; strong sanctions and an unprecedented mandate to save lives in Libya; a peaceful political transition in Yemen; support for the historic and peaceful independence of South Sudan; vital UN assistance in Afghanistan and Iraq; backing for a democratically elected government in Cote d’Ivoire; the historic and long overdue completion of the political transition in Somalia; reinvigorated global efforts to counter the scourge of international terrorism; lifesaving humanitarian assistance in crisis zones; and progress in improving the UN Human Rights Council.
Addressing Key National Security Challenges
•Iran: With American leadership, the UN Security Council imposed the toughest UN sanctions regime ever on Iran for its continued failure to live up to its obligations. Resolution 1929 restricts Iran’s nuclear activities, ballistic missile program, and ability to acquire certain conventional weapons. It put in place a framework to stop Iranian smuggling and crack down on Iran's use of banks and financial transactions to fund proliferation. The United States engages the international community to ensure that these sanctions are vigorously enforced, just as we continue to strengthen and enforce our national sanctions alongside those of our friends and allies.
As a result, Iran is more isolated than it has ever been and facing the toughest economic pressure that has ever been mustered. Iran is increasingly cut off from the global financial system; significant amounts of Iranian oil are coming off the market; the Iranian currency is plummeting in value; and firms all over the world are divesting themselves of business with Iran. In less than a year, Iran’s oil production has dropped 40% -- from 2.5 million barrels per day in 2011, to 1.5 million barrels in June. Their economy, which had been growing steadily, is now shrinking at 1% a year. While their official inflation rate is slated to be around 20%, unofficial estimates put it at 30 to 40%, and the Iranian currency has lost 50% of its value since December.
•North Korea: In response to North Korea’s announced 2009 nuclear test, the United States secured the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 1874, which imposed the strongest array of measures ever placed on North Korea, including asset freezes, financial sanctions, a broad-based embargo on arms exports and imports, and an unprecedented framework for the inspection of suspect vessels. Since the adoption of Resolution 1874, countries have intercepted and seized tons of contraband cargo.
In May of this year, following a prohibited missile test by North Korea, the United States successfully led the Security Council to strongly condemn the test, impose new sanctions on North Korea, tighten enforcement of existing ones, and demand that North Korea not proceed with any further provocations or face additional Council actions.
These actions have helped slow the pace of North Korea’s WMD program, strengthened our defenses against proliferation, rallied international consensus to condemn the North’s nuclear and missile programs, and sharpened Pyongyang’s choices by driving up the cost of its irresponsible behavior.
•Nuclear Nonproliferation: In 2009, the President outlined his vision for a world without nuclear weapons and set the United States on a realistic path to help advance this goal, including taking several critical steps at the United Nations.
Ø UN Security Council Resolution 1887: In September 2009, under the United States presidency of the UN Security Council, President Obama chaired an historic Council Summit on nonproliferation and disarmament, culminating in the unanimous passage of Security Council Resolution 1887. This resolution, the first comprehensive action on nuclear issues in the Security Council in over a decade, resolved to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons. It also called on countries to adhere to their obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)--including cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, supported better security for nuclear weapons materials to prevent terrorists from acquiring materials essential to make a bomb, and called on nations to reduce their numbers of nuclear weapons.
Ø Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference: In May 2010, NPT parties adopted by consensus a Final Document that includes calls for strengthened verification and compliance, recognizes the New START agreement and the need for deeper reductions of nuclear weapons, and supports efforts to pursue international fuel banks and related mechanisms to broaden access to peaceful nuclear energy without creating new proliferation risks.
Ø UN Security Council Resolution 1977: In April 2011, the Security Council unanimously extended the mandate of the 1540 Committee for an additional ten years. The 1540 Committee is charged with assisting UN Member States in the implementation of UNSCR 1540’s obligations to take and enforce effective measures against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery, and related materials.
•Iraq: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has continued to play a critical role as the United States completed the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The United States strongly supports the work of UNAMI as it continues to provide important technical assistance to the Government of Iraq, assists displaced persons and provides humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the United States played a key role in the passage of three resolutions that mark an important milestone in normalizing Iraqi ties to the international community. The Security Council, in a special session chaired by Vice President Biden in 2010, passed Resolutions 1956, 1957 and 1958 to help return Iraq to the legal and international standing it held prior to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
From February to September 2012, UNAMI orchestrated the relocation of residents from former Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya, a significant milestone in efforts to achieve a sustainable humanitarian solution to one of the most difficult remaining post-war issues in Iraq. The United States will continue to work with the Iraqi Government and the United Nations to provide a path for the safe permanent relocation of former Ashraf residents out of Iraq.
•Afghanistan: The United States has pursued a strategy in Afghanistan that assists its people as they take responsibility for the security of their country. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is leading and coordinating international civilian efforts and cooperating with the International Security Assistance Force on reconciliation efforts, elections, regional cooperation, the protection of human rights and the provision of humanitarian assistance. The United States has worked to ensure that UNAMA carries out its vital mission to lay the foundation for sustainable peace.
•Countering International Terrorism: The United States remains committed to actively countering the actions and ideologies of terrorist organizations and violent extremists. These efforts take many forms, including multilateral efforts at the United Nations, such as:
Ø Reinvigorating the UN’s al-Qaeda Sanctions Regime: Eleven years after the Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban and al-Qaida, the United States led efforts at the UN Security Council to respond to the evolving and distinct threats posed by these groups, creating a new sanctions regime targeted against extremists in Afghanistan (UNSCR 1988) and refocusing the 1267 sanctions regime exclusively on the threat posed by al-Qaeda (UNSCR 1989).
Ø Calling Iran Into Account: In the fall of 2011, the United States joined Saudi Arabia to gain the General Assembly’s overwhelming condemnation of the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., sending a very clear message to the Iranian government that the international community will not tolerate the targeting of diplomats. We continue to work closely with our allies and partners around the world to ensure that Iran understands that such outrageous acts only deepen Iran’s isolation.
•Standing up for Israel at the UN: The Obama Administration has consistently and forcefully opposed unbalanced and biased actions against Israel in the Security Council, the UN General Assembly, and across the UN system.
In 2009, the United States withdrew from the Durban Review Conference, which advanced anti-Israel sentiment, and did not participate in a 2011 commemoration of the original 2001 Durban conference. The United States also stood up strongly for Israel’s right to defend itself in 2009 after the deeply flawed Goldstone Report was released. In 2010, the United States worked assiduously in the aftermath of the flotilla incident to ensure other delegations understood the event in its proper context and to underscore Israel's right to conduct its own independent investigation. The subsequent report of the Secretary-General’s panel served as the primary vehicle for the international community to review the parties’ investigations into the episode. In 2011, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution on settlements, which risked bringing final status issues onto the UN Security Council agenda. In 2012, after a seven-year silence, the UN Security Council twice unanimously condemned terrorist attacks against Israelis and Israeli diplomatic missions—first in February following the attacks in New Delhi and Tblisi and again in July following the attack in Bulgaria.
The United States has opposed Palestinian attempts to upgrade their UN status in advance of a negotiated settlement with Israel, and when anti-Israel resolutions come up at the UN Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, UNESCO, and elsewhere, we consistently oppose them.
The United States has also constantly promoted full Israeli participation throughout the UN system and in other multilateral institutions, including leadership positions in UN commissions and membership in consultative and negotiating groups in New York and Geneva. We have also fought hard to ensure the accreditation of Israeli NGOs.
•Addressing the Challenges Associated with the Arab Spring: The United States has worked tirelessly across the UN system to respond dynamically to the myriad challenges and opportunities posed by the Arab Spring: leading the international community’s efforts to support these political transitions, providing humanitarian aid and speaking out and holding accountable those responsible for atrocities.
Ø Libya: In March 2011, the United States led efforts at the UN to respond to the calls of help from the Libyan people and the region and took unprecedented action to protect civilians in Libya. Resolution 1973 saved thousands of lives in Libya by authorizing states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians. The UN is helping the people of Libya as they take the initial steps to rebuild their country, transition to an inclusive democracy and secure their borders.
Ø Yemen: The United States backed Security Council efforts to support a successful and peaceful political transition in Yemen on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council transition initiative. The Security Council has supported the Yemeni people as they secure a more peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future without illegitimate interference or terrorism. The United States has also repeatedly pressed for additional international resources to enable the UN to deliver immediate humanitarian assistance to Yemen, given the acute needs.
Ø Syria: When the Assad regime responded to calls for democratic reform with violence and oppression, the United States worked closely with the United Nations and the League of Arab States as part of our approach to resolving the crisis in a way that would lead to a political transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people. The United States supported the establishment of the Joint Special Envoy for Syria, and fought tirelessly in the Council in support of his Six Point Plan and the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) created to monitor implementation of it. Regrettably, when it became clear that the Assad regime would not adhere to its commitments under the plan, Russia and China blocked efforts to create consequences for the regime’s non-compliance, one of three double vetoes that have prevented meaningful action in the Security Council on Syria. However, the United States continues our work with a diverse range of partners outside the Security Council to bring pressure to bear on the Assad regime and to deliver humanitarian aid to those in need.
In the Human Rights Council, U.S. leadership has led to a total of four special sessions and an urgent debate on the situation in Syria, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate violations of international human rights law by Syrian Authorities. Subsequently, the Council created a Special Rapporteur to maintain focus on the human rights situation in Syria and to lay the groundwork for accountability when the day comes that the Assad regime finally leaves power.
In the General Assembly last year, the United States guided efforts to adopt an unprecedented human rights related resolution on Syria condemning the Assad regime and calling for a political transition. Additionally, earlier this year the United States worked hard with key Arab delegations to ensure adoption, by an overwhelming margin, of a General Assembly resolution condemning the Syrian authorities' abuses, demanding that the first step in the cessation of violence be made by the Assad regime and welcoming the Arab League's decision to call for Assad to step down and for a transitional government to be formed.
On the humanitarian front, where more than 20,000 civilians have been killed and approximately two and a half million are in need of assistance, the United States is working with the United Nations, Syria’s neighbors, and others in the international community to deliver life-saving aid. The United States is one of the leading providers of humanitarian relief, providing more than $100 million to date through multiple UN agencies, including the World Food Program, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
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U.S. Mission to the United Nations: FACT SHEET: Advancing U.S. Interests at the United Nations
09/26/2012 04:20 PM EDT
Weeks from completion, a methane reactor with endothermic gasifier surrounds Doug Jernigan, a three-generation family farm owner (with his wife Aileen) and employer who, a few months earlier, refinanced a first of it’s kind, in the nation, swine-turkey waste to renewable energy system (RES), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) loan guarantee in Mt. Olive, NC, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015.
Typical systems separate methane gas for energy, solids are disposed or repurposed and liquids are cleaned. This new system addition takes the watery manure effluent to a new and as Mr. Jernigan say’s “prolific profit” producing state through savings and sales. “There is an opportunity for the farm to make money doing a good thing for the environment.”
The system handles about 75,000 gallons of swine and turkey waste effluent each day. Piped to a series of tanks, and mechanical equipment that separates solids, and liquids. The current treatment facility biologically removes ammonia nitrogen with bacteria adapted to high-strength wastewater; removes phosphorus via alkali precipitation; and reduction emissions of odorant compounds, ammonia, pathogens, and heavy metals to the environment. The water is cleaned for reuse in the swine and turkey operations that wash more manure into the cycle of the system.
The new methane reactors (under the framework of what will be a C-span structure) use an endothermic gasifier that heats the waste solids to very high temperatures to the point that they release gases. The clean methane gas will fuel an engine that turns a 300KW electrical generator producing electricity; ethanol will help fuel farm equipment, and resulting potash solids can be used or sold for agricultural fertilizer. Excess amounts of electricity, that the farms cannot use, will be sold and transmitted to the local energy company, for use by residents and businesses; renewable energy credits (REC) are sold to a different energy company.
With a system that eliminates all ammonia and other odor creating compounds, Mr. Jernigan says, “What I’m doing is good for the environment; it’s good for the farm in the respect that you’re getting rid of waste that you’re creating in a high-tech way. There’s no footprint. It’s just gone.”
Doug and Aileen are lifelong farmers and they have three grown children that work in the farm operation. Their farm currently operates a 21,600 finishing farm operation, an eight house turkey operation, a 250 head cow /calf operation. The farm also consists of 2,400 acres of row crop production (cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat).
Doug Jernigan’s grandfather started farming here in 1941, and he continues the tradition with his business that began in 1974.
In talking about the greater potential of this technology and what others should consider, Jernigan says, “I see it as a win-win thing.”
For more information about USDA, RD and REAP please see: www.usda.gov, www.rd.usda.gov, and www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-pr...
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
*The treatment system (without the methane reactor) was documented to remove, on a mass basis, approximately 99% of total suspended solids, 98% of COD, 99% of TKN, 100% ammonia, 100% odor compounds, 92% phosphorus, 95% copper, and 97% zinc from the flushed manure. Fecal coliform reductions were measured to be 99.98%
The SR 509 Completion Project in the SeaTac/Des Moines, WA area includes a new Veteran's Drive tunnel under I-5. The tunnel will create a link between the southbound off-ramp (on the right) to Military Road (visible in the photo's upper left).
To build the tunnel, crews are excavating from the middle of I-5, working on the west half of the tunnel first.
The SR 509 Completion project is part of the Puget Sound Gateway program which completes critical missing links in Washington state's highway and freight network.
I recently took part in my first Triathlon - The 2008 Blenheim Triathlon. The story of how I got to this starts at the end of my first ear of University, in the year 2000. I contracted glandular fever, and a doctor told me that I would feel "awful for two weeks, low in energy for a year, and have less energy for the rest of my life". I thought it would be a good idea to pull my finger out and work on getting fit, to prove the doctor wrong. My first efforts were extremely painful, and very short, and showed me quite how unfit I had become after a year of partying and very little exercise. When I spent two years in Japan, things moved up a couple of gears, and I started running, cycling and swimming longer distances. I found that the more exercise one does, the more one is inclined to do, until I was running half-marathon distances after work and cycling up mountains with friends (there's material for a retrospecitve blog if ever there was). Since these were the main sports I was doing, I wanted to do Triathlon, but I knew running was still my weak spot. With this in mind, I entered the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham on my return to the UK.
The marathon was massively painful in one of my knees, but because it was the event I had been building up to, I ran to the finish. Afterwards, it took about a week to be able to walk normally, and I concluded that running is not good for me. Supporting evidence for this is the fact that several members of my family on both my mother and father's sides have had knee problems to the point of surgery, and there is a history of arthiritis, so I decided to listen to the painful alarm bells. The training route to the triathlon consisted mainly of carrying on as before, and in fact the main hurdle was getting hold of all the equipment. I had foreseen the main expense as being the bike, but in fact it turned out to be the wetsuit. I managed to snag a basic raodbike for a mere 116 quid at Decathlon in their winter sale, and she is still going strong after over 700 miles.
My wetsuit is an Aquasphere Mako, hurriedly purchased from "Mike's Diving" in the week leading up to the Triathlon, and fortunately it fits like a glove. Thus prepared, George, his girlfriend and I headed up to Blenheim Palace on the day of the event, though not without a hitch as the following photo illustrates:
On arrival, we had to rack up, which basically means putting your bike and running gear in a rack in the transition zone and hopefully remembering their location. We then made our way down to the lake in our as-yet untested wetsuits, and had a briefing. Briefing over, we made our way to the pier, and followed the triathletes, leaping like lemmings into the remarkably chilly lake. The icy bite of the lake made things painful during the seemingly long wait for the starting claxon. I reassured George that the pain would go away once we started swimming, having no idea whether it actually would. Finally the claxon sounded and the lake transformed from idyllic tranquility to a frothing tumult of swimmers, all vying for position. I had read that the first 200-400 metres are the most stressful part of any triathlon, and that a lot of triathletes freak out at this point due to the combination of cold water on the face, sudden exertion, and being in water teeming with other people, all of whom seem to want to swim over you. Having been forewarned, I was prepared for this and kept switching from crawl to breast stroke to keep my bearings, and my head.
At the end of the swim, we clambered out of the water and some helpful attendants unzipped our wetsuits as we made our way up the hill for the 400m run to the transition zone.
At transition, I spent about two minutes trying to extricate myself from my wetsuit, writhing around on the gravel in a most undignified fashion, before finally emerging and grabbing my t-shirt and bike from the rack, clipping on my helmet and wheeling the bike towards the exit of the transition. There are so many tules dictating what one can and cannot do in transition, I was quite worried about getting disqualified for doing something that was banned, like putting my helmet on at the wrong time, or walking inappropriately... Once on the bike I made a mental note to not go too hard, as I am wont to do on my commute when anyone overtakes me. I wanted to pace myself to leave something in reserve for the run. The route was three laps of a track through the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace, adding up to just under 20km. There were several downhill sections marked with "slow down", which obviously were the most fun parts to go as fast as possible on, and build up some momentum for the ensuing hill-climbs. I still had not encountered George by the end of the third lap, and was pondering this when I heard a shout of "COME ON CHUFFY!" as George flew by on his trusty steed. I gave chase and we entered transition at the same time, in our appalling-looking skimpy swimming trunks.
The second transition should have been more straightforward than the first, as no wetsuit removal was necessary. Despite this fact, I managed to remove my helmet too early, earning a shouting-at from one of the marshalls. George and I then headed out of transition heading in completely the wrong direction, and the same marshall alerted us to our glaring error before witheringly shouting "The run exit is over there where there's a huge sign saying 'RUN EXIT'!". Thus informed, we set off on the run leg of the event. George had to drop back briefly as he was suffering from cramp owing to the transition from one leg-intensive exercise to another. I didn't want to go into cramp so I kept jogging steadily. I ran alongside a friendly Aussie called Coops and we chatted until the end, when he had challenged me to a sprint finish.
As the time approached, Coops said he didn't really feel the sprint coming on, and I could totally sympathise with him after my previous marathon experience, so I went for it, and here is a video of the finish: [video:youtube:O7cHwRKMHZI] All in all, it was a fantastic event, with much less painful after effects than the half marathon. It is definitely something I want to repeat. In fact, George and I have booked places at the Nottingham Triathlon on August 3rd.
Liking the darker reds, this will make a find stand-in for the otherwise older dinky Bloodthirster from the 90's (80's?).
100% Games Workshop components, and alarmingly easy to accomplish.
Details on how it was built and painted can be found at my blog: battle-brothers.blogspot.com
The good doctors celebrated the return of spring and the completion of our Pataphysical Slot Machine on a balmy Saturday afternoon.
We held a ritual blessing of the ‘Pataphysical Slot Machine, to guide it on its way to its new home at the Figurines Ranch. We ended with another butt-shaking dance break to cap it all off.
We then gathered in the art garden for a special awards ceremony led by Dr. Truly, who presented the beautiful medals she created for each doctor: they are amazing works of art, carefully designed to highlight the unique talents of each creator. Thank you for these wonderful gifts, Dr. Truly!
In other news, Drs. Rindbrain and Figurine completed a new ‘pataphysical flagpole, with the help of Dr. Maurizzio, visiting from Lucca, Italy. Dr. Pozar hobbled over with his new crutches and supervised the playground with his acolytes, while Dr. Tout d’Suite created more ‘pataphysical talismans and Dr. Jardin decorated her lab coat. Dr. Igor inspected the slot machine one last time and pronounced it ready for next week's move. Dr. Really gave our last slot machine demo in this studio. Drs. Canard and Fabio finally got the sounds to work on Mother of Yes — which was the last thing we wanted to fix before our move. :)
The mojo is stronger than ever in the art garden. Fire in the hole!
View more 'Pataphysical photos: www.flickr.com/photos/fabola/albums/72157623637793277
Watch 'Pataphysical videos: vimeo.com/album/3051039
Learn more about Pataphysical Studios: pataphysics.us/
The southern facade of the Ingenium Building (nearing completion) adjacent to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
As per Wikipedia:
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Ingenium, (Long name: Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation) formerly called the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation, is a Canadian Crown corporation responsible for overseeing national museums related to science and technology. The name is based off the Latin root of the word ingenuity.
The corporation oversees the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The organization is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.
The corporation's museums are associated with the Canadian Museum Association, the Virtual Museum of Canada and the Canadian Heritage Information Network. Ingenium has an
open documents portal where the corporation shares working documents and corporate plans. It also maintains an open data portal.
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Alumni Hall—built in 1925 as the university’s first student center and listed on the National Register of Historic Places—is nearing completion of the only renovation in its 88-year history. The renewed Collegiate Gothic-style building will offer expanded terraces, an exercise room, a café, and new classroom and gathering spaces.
The new track, sports field, grandstands, bus parking, playground and multipurpose room are nearing completion for use by the Kaiserslautern Raiders in Vogelweh, Germany April 11, 2013. The Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe project is 97 percent complete and will be ready for the DODDS-E track and field championships in late May. The state-of-the-art, all-weather running track surrounds a fully-lit turf soccer/football field. The field will require less water and maintenance than a traditional grass field. The project also includes a multipurpose room for the local elementary school. The MPR features a basketball court, rock climbing wall, performance stage and a fully-functional kitchen. In addition to this project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District is working with DoDDS-E to build new 21st century high-, middle- and elementary schools on U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, the largest U.S. community overseas. USACE is currently designing and building 21st century schools for DoDDS throughout Germany, Italy, Belgium and the U.S., for more information read the following article: www.usace.army.mil/Media/NewsArchive/tabid/204/Article/42... (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Jennifer Aldridge)
Riyadh, Elf-One, AWACS, Aug-Nov 1981
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In May 1981, I re-enlisted in the Air National Guard at the completion of my first 4 year hitch. I had made E-5, Staff Sergeant, and was enjoying my time in the service. Our unit had gone to Korea for a Team Spirit exercise in the spring and Pusan had been a lot of fun.
I was working as a security guard and going to Sac State. When the Air Guard asked me if I would like to spend a couple fo months in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in August, I jumped at the chance to travel again. My aunt Clyda had been working as a nurse at King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh for several years and liked it (and the money she was making) well enough to stay there.
So, some time in August 1981 (don't remember exact dates) I boarded a flight for Oklahoma City, site of Tinker AFB, the headquarters of the 552nd AWACS Wing as well as the 3rd Combat Comm Group, a regular Air Force equivalent to my own ANG 162nd Combat Comm Group. I was on loan to the 3rd Herd for my stay in Saudi.
After a day or two at Tinker, we flew via C-141 to Rhein Main AFB in Frankfurt, Germany,refueled and from there continued on to Riyadh. Like Rhein Main, the air base at Riyadh shared runways with the commercial airport.
We were supporting Exercise Elf One, which was playing I Spy on the Iran-Iraq War. The Saudis had asked the US to fly AWACS radar planes and have radar ships in the Gulf to watch the Iranians, in case they decided to attack Saudi Arabia, which was suporting the Iraqis in the war. I don't think the Iranians ever did attack the Saudis, but they did bomb Kuwait one day when we were there. After that, I think the Kuwaits asked that we warn them if any Iranian planes came their way. We had picked up the Iranian planes going to and from Kuwait, but had no agreement to inform them before that.
In those days, the Iranians were flying US made F4s and F14s, while the Iraqis had Soviet MiGs and French Mirages. We didn't know it at the time, but the Iranians were getting parts for their planes under the Iran-Contra deal.
There are western compounds in Riyadh, where the normal Saudi rules are relaxed. The US Army had a training mission, and companies such as Lockheed and British Aircraft also had compounds. Alcohol was strictly forbidden under Saudi Sharia law, but the western compounds would brew jungle juice and serve it at parties, with the Saudis turning a blind eye, as they needed the Americans, Brits and others to keep things working. I saw the aftereffects of bathtub grapefruit wine on some of the guys and decided I could wait until I got back to Germany and have some decent German beer.
Our compound or Elf One was the ai Yamama Hotel on Airport Road between downtown and the airport (duh!!!). It was a regular hotel, but had been taken over by USAF for the Elf One people. The regular staff managed it, and we ate breakfast and dinner in the hotel dining room for free. After a while, the same 6 or 7 items for dinner did get old, and we would sometimes eat at other restaurants in town, but Riyadh is not known for its swinging night life.
I was one of two Teletype techs in Riyadh while I was there. We also had crypto, sattelite radio, HF radio, ground power, HVAC maint people, who hung out in our shop van near the flight line on base, as well as a bunch of radio and Teletype operators who did the work of running the gear. The maint people mainly hung out, repaired problems, and did periodic maintenance on the equipment. That explains the photos of us hanging out in the shop van, reading, napping, playing cards and generally goofing off.
The aircraft maint people worked elsewhere.
USAF had KC-135 tankers and E3 AWACS planes in Riyadh for Elf One. An E3 was in the air at all times, flying in 12 hour shifts. We could, if we wanted to, go on "morale flights" on the AWACS, but I never did as sitting in a plane for 12 hours with nothing to do sounded slightly less appealing than sitting in the shop van for 12 hours with nothing to do.
We could also, take morale flights on the KC-135s when they went up to refuel the AWACS every afternoon. They left about the same time every day, taking off southbound over downtown Riyadh and our hotel and you could always tell the 135 by the distinctive sound of its water injection turbojets as it flew over.
I went up on two morale flights on KC-135s and on the first one I remarked to the pilot that I would love to take photos of the refueling. He was cool with it, so the second time I went up, I brought my camera and asked permision from the pilot on that trip. He didn't care, although I think the Saudis did not want people taking arial photos of the country. Oh well. This was 35 years ago and all of the air crews on these planes are out of the service or retired by now.
I have to say that the midair refueling of the AWACS as seen from next to the boom operator on the KC-135 is one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. Boom operators joke that they have 3 college graduates fly them around so they can pass gas, and USAF does midair refueling dozens of times a day all over the world, but it is remarkable to see two planes flying close together, connected by a refueling boom.
My TDY was originally for 2 months, but with no job to return to and having missed the Fall 1981 semester at Sac State, I extended it for another month.
In 1981, Riyadh had a rail connection to the Gulf at Damman with a daily passenger train, and freight service. I saw the passenger train at Riyadh, but did not feel comfortable taking out my camera to get any photos. It had a GP38 (IIRC) pulling new stainless steel cars that had been made in Europe. I've heard that one of the Twin/Nebraske Zephyr sets wound up in Saudi Arabia (the other is at Illinois Railway Museum), but I saw no sign of it and I did not try to take a ride on the railway as we only had one day off a week and a round trip required an overnight stay. I did get a few photos another day when I found the yard and shop. One is posted here, and when I find the others, I will post them. The Saudis had some F7s and I saw a couple of those as well as what I think is a GL8, an EMD export model.
I tried to meet Aunt Clyda during the whole time I was there, but she could not get into the al Yamama and I could not get into her nurse's quarters, and,as I said, there were not a lot of places to meet in downtown Riyadh. I knew she worked at the hospital's blood bank and we could give blood there, so toward the end of my stay, I joined the guys donating blood and at least was able to say hi to Clyda for a few minutes.
The weather was very hot when we got there, dry heat, of course, but by November, things had cooled off and we even had a bit of rain before I left in mid-November.
I planned to stop off in Europe and travel around for a month before returning to the US, so I mailed most of my stuff home before I left and when our plane got to Rhein Main, I joined the crowd heading to the bar for a beer, then went to the base hotel for the night.
The next morning was rainy and green and rain and green never looked so good!
Goodyear Corsair FG-1D (G-FGID)
When the Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair was introduced in 1940 it boasted the most powerful engine along with the largest diameter propeller of any fighter aircraft in history. The result of this engine and propeller combination was the first fighter to exceed 400mph. Corsairs were built right up to 1952, giving the type the honour of having the longest production run of any American piston-engined fighter.
The first service engagement for the Corsair was with the US Marine Corps operating from makeshift land bases across the Pacific, and it was not until later that she was operated from aircraft carriers initially with the British Fleet Air Arm. The Corsair proved to be a formidable air superiority fighter during World War II when she was the scourge of the skies across the Pacific, and continued to deliver sterling service in later years during the Korean War.
Our Corsair was built under licence by the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation at their facility in Akron, Ohio and allocated Bu No 88297. She was accepted by the US Navy on 9th April 1945 and delivered a mere two days later. She was initially dispatched to Guam in the Pacific, being allocated to the Aircraft Pool Airwing 2. The next piece of her known history has her at a Repair Depot in the Philippines, possibly Samar, for repairs in October 1945 and following this was returned ‘State-side’. Our Corsair then spent a number of years being allocated to various US Naval Air Reserve squadrons as well as varying periods of storage until she was eventually put up for disposal in March 1956 with a total of 1652 flying hours on the airframe. She was purchased by ALU-MET Smelters in January 1959 and languished in their yard until being rescued a year later by legendary stunt-pilot Frank Tallman. In his book The Great Planes, Frank Tallman calls her his all-time favourite aircraft.
Frank Tallman parted with the Corsair in 1966, and she passed through a number of other civilian owners until joining The Fighter Collection fleet in 1986.
The Fighter Collection’s Corsair is an extremely original example of the type as she has never been restored and has the distinction of being one of the few still flying with fabric wings.
Our Corsair is painted in the colours of a British Fleet Air Arm machine, KD345 of 1850 Squadron during December 1945, when they were embarked on HMS Vengeance of the British Pacific Fleet.
North American TF-51D Mustang 44-84847, Miss Velma, (N251RJ)
Built too late to see combat service in World War Two, P-51D 44-84847 was one of the last Mustangs constructed at North American Aviation’s Dallas, Texas, plant. Details of her post war service career are limited, but there is photographic evidence, from September 1951, of her serving with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Kimpo, South Korea, during the Korean War.
By late 1951 the 45th TRS were replacing their aging Mustangs with RF-80 Shooting Star jets, and so 44-84847 was shipped back the US to serve with the Air National Guard until around 1956. Around this time she slips off the radar until January 1999 when she re-appears in North Dakota as a restoration project. The airframe joined The Fighter Collection fleet the following year and was moved to Chino, California for a full restoration with the decision made to modify her to two-seat TF-51D configuration.
The restoration culminated in a first flight in May 2007 with Steve Hinton at the controls. Following this our Mustang was painted in the 55th Fighter Group scheme of Capt Frank Birtciel’s P-51D 44-14561, Miss Velma. Following the successful completion of her flight testing, Miss Velma was fitted with external drop tanks and flew across the Atlantic to the UK, where she arrived at Duxford on the 4th July 2007
NAA P-51D “Ferocious Frankie”
The P-51 was the most successful long-range fighter escort of World War II, but it was not an instant success. Designed for the British in only 120 days to meet their requirement to purchase more fighters, the first Mustangs were built with Allison engines; while remarkable at low altitudes, these variants were considered under-powered and disappointing at higher altitudes. Happily, in late 1942 the aircraft was transformed when, in the UK, Rolls Royce Merlin engines were tested in place of the Allison. The Merlin, as used in the Spitfire, was then license-built by Packard in the USA and in 1943 was installed in the P-51B & C models. This near perfect marriage of engine and platform made the 1944 P-51D, with its bubble canopy and six-guns, one of the most iconic and potent fighters of all time.
The P-51D’s range was an incredible 2,055m (3,327km), thanks to its huge fuel capacity of 1,000 litres internally and 815 litres in drop tanks. Equally impressive was a level maximum speed of 437mph (703kph) at 25,000 feet, a max diving speed of 505mph (818kph) and a service ceiling of 41,900 feet (12,800m).
The OFMC Mustang was built at the North American Aviation Factory at Inglewood, California and accepted by the USAAF on 27/02/1945. One month later it was sent to the 8th Air Force, via Newark and Liverpool docks, serving at Leiston in Suffolk among other stations. The aircraft stayed in England for only 11 months before returning to Newark in January 1946. Briefly kept in storage, in January 1947 it was sent to the Royal Canadian Air Force, operating from Suffield, Alberta. In 1953 with only total 433 flying hours it was completely overhauled in Winnipeg and with only an additional 81 hours time thereafter, was put into outside storage in Carberry Manitoba. Happily, in 1957, it was sold into private hands and registered as N6340T. The aircraft was bought for $5,400 in 1962 with a total of 511 airframe hours. Flying in the Unlimited Race at Reno in 1974, the effectively stock (original) aircraft finished second with an average speed of 384mph.
In April 1980 the aircraft flew across the Atlantic to new owners, The Fighter Collection. Re-sprayed, it became known as Candyman / Moose, with the name on one side of the fuselage and the Moose’s head on the other. The Mustang was first displayed in the UK at Biggin Hill in 1981, flown by Ray Hanna, the OFMC’s founder.
In 1989, after filming in ‘Memphis Belle’, the aircraft was given a complete overhaul by The Fighter Collection at Duxford. The airframe was remarkably free of corrosion and damage, but a full strip down and component overhaul was undertaken. An overhauled original flying panel was installed. The rear fuel tank in the fuselage was removed and a wartime style modification made to fit a ‘dickey’ seat. This ‘mod’ in 1944 allowed Eisenhower to survey the D-day beaches from the back of a Mustang. A special 1760hp Merlin engine currently powers the aircraft.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXb G-ASJV
• Aircraft Type: Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXb
• Operator: The Old Flying Machine Company
• Year of Manufacture: 1943
• Powered by: Rolls-Royce Merlin
• Colour Scheme: 222 Sqn. RAF 1943
Air tested by the legendary Alex Henshaw in early August 1943, the illustrious history of this much loved aircraft then continued service with 222 Sqn. MH434 was was flown in combat by South African pilot Flt. Lt. Henry Lardner-Burke, DFC, with seven and a half kills, three damaged. On the 27th August 1943 in the St Omar area over France, Lardner-Burke shot down a Focke-Wulf FW-190 and damaged a second during a mission to escort USAAF B-17 bombers. On the 5th September 1943 Lardner-Burke and MH434 shot down another FW-190 in the Nieuport area, and on the 8th September 1943 claimed a half share in the downing of a Messerschmitt Bf-109G in Northern France. Later flown by Flt. Sgt. (later Wing Co) Bill Burge who declared it to be ‘the perfect Spitfire’. Post war service was seen with both the Dutch and Belgian air forces before finally returning home to civilian life. Ray Hanna began his outstanding partnership with MH434 in 1970 and it has been operated by his OFMCo since 1983. She remains the jewel in the company’s crown.