"Bog in a Cup" and its ingredients are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Market partnership with the Ocean Spray agricultural cooperative to features cranberries on Friday, Sept. 17, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Part of the day-long presentation included "Bog in a Cup" where visitors could learn and assemble the proper growing medium of clay, gravel, peaty moss, and sand to help start a cranberry vine grow into a shrub. The mini-bog demonstrates how water is used as a tool to float berries for a more efficient harvest. Live cranberry shrubs that came from and will return to a bog for continued use in future demonstrations surround the water. The shrub’s vine has cranberries grown this year, its buds that will become next year’s cranberries.

 

HOW TO PICK

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. The cranberry plant is a creeping evergreen shrub or bush that grows in sandy bogs and marshes. It produces berries on long-running vines. The berries first appear as a white creamy color before turning a shiny crimson, signaling they are ready to harvest. There are two common methods for harvesting cranberries, dry and wet. Cranberries that are harvested dry (without water added to the bog) are sold as fresh fruit and only available during the fall and holiday season from September to December. Cranberries harvested wet are picked by flooding the bogs. Because cranberries float, farmers use water to harvest the fruit. Bogs are flooded and a machine is used to loosen the cranberries from the vines. The floating cranberries are then corralled and loaded into waiting trucks for delivery to processing facilities.

 

HOW TO PREPARE

Simply rinse cranberries thoroughly and use as directed If frozen, there is no need to thaw before using. Sometimes a few white cranberries might be in the bag; they are fine to use. These berries haven't been exposed to as much sunlight as the redder ones. Cranberries are a prized element in the Thanksgiving dinner of most Americans. Use cranberries to make sauces, conserves and preserves, in baked goods, to make juice, or enjoy dried.

 

HOW TO STORE

These crimson berries can be stored up to four weeks in the refrigerator.

Advice about freezing. To freeze cranberries place in a freezer safe plastic bag without pre-washing. Store for up to one year.

 

FUN FACTS

• The cranberry is indigenous to North America and was used by Native Americans in both fresh and dried form. Native Americans introduced cranberries to early European settlers.

• The cranberry got its name from early settlers, who nicknamed it the “crane berry” due to the shape of its blooms, which resemble the head of a crane.

 

OCEAN SPRAY

Founded in 1930, Ocean Spray is the world’s leading producer of cranberry products, but it’s not your typical food company. It’s an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers who receive the profits from every berry sold. The cooperative allows family farms to thrive ensuring economic sustainability for future generations. The average Ocean Spray family farm is just 18 acres. While cranberries are uniquely American, they are exported and enjoyed all over the word. Ocean Spray is focused on international expansion of its products, with the Cooperative’s cranberries featured in more than 1,000 in over 100 countries worldwide.

 

The USDA Farmers Market Vegucation tent offers informational presentations every Friday between 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM, May to October, in the VegU tent. Short 10-minute classes are free. The market is located on the corner of Independence Ave. and 12th St., SW, in Washington, DC 20250.

 

For more information visit usda.gov/farmersmarket

@USDA_AMS

#USDAFarmersMkt

#VEGU

 

USDA multimedia by Lance Cheung.

PHOTO: ROBERT KERIAN

ARTICLE: JOHN PEARLEY HUFFMAN

 

www.caranddriver.com/features/game-boy-how-a-sega-outrun-...

 

Toe in to a new car’s throttle, and you’re asking a computer to send air and fuel into the engine. Computers ­mediate braking and steering and almost always decide when the ­transmission should shift gears. Cars are evolving into video games.

 

So, why not make a video game into a car? Specifically, give a vintage-1986 Sega OutRun arcade game some wheels and a motor and let the gamer drive the concoction through physical space. Think of OutRun as Gran Turismo’s great-grandfather, fulfilling the preteen dream of ripping through various landscapes in an exotic car. Today, its roofless, eight-bit Ferrari Testarossa looks stone-ax primitive; in 1986, it was high-tech rad.

 

Sega eventually ported OutRun to home gaming systems, but it first appeared as an arcade game. Canadian-born academic Dr. ­Garnet Hertz, 38, saw one of  the old arcade versions in 2006. “That’s crazy, how large the cabinet is,” he recalls thinking. “It’s like a fake car.”  Two years later, he bought an OutRun arcade unit via an internet group for $300, then paid $800 to ship its 800 pounds to Irvine, California, where he started tinkering.

 

CHASSIS: After experimenting with an ancient three-wheeled golf cart, Hertz secured support from UC Irvine’s Center for Computer Games & Virtual Worlds and bought a 2007 E-Z-Go powered by a 4.4-hp electric motor. Using parts from the frames of the golf cart and game cabinet, Hertz and his eight-student team built a custom chassis, moved the cart’s steering to suit the game’s center-drive position, and relocated two of the four 12-volt batteries from the back of the cart to the front. Their budget for the build? A thick $100,000.

 

WITH ITS HEAVY CABINET, the OutRun cart isn’t fast—top speed is just 13 mph. But it is disconcerting to drive, what with limited peripheral vision and the knowledge that, while those blocky, eight-bit graphics scroll down the screen, you’re actually moving.

 

THE ELECTRONICS AND THE SOFTWARE required the most exhaustive development. Two high-def digital cameras mounted atop the cart feed images to a flat-screen display (it replaces OutRun’s original monitor) and to an Apple MacBook Pro, which uses its video feed to detect real-world topographical features. The computer then determines where to place the horizon (in the game’s primitive 3-D perspective, players constantly chase the road’s vanishing point in the distance) and how to depict the road. The gamer/driver sees the road ahead of him on-screen, rendered in OutRun graphics with the real world above the game’s horizon. Original game music pumps through speakers located in the headrest.

Pagani Huayra Full Carbon with Dark Red Features spotted in front of the factory

The main features of the refurbished sanctuary are the alter, tabernacle, carved ecclesiastical chairs, bronze & glass screen to the rear and other fittings. The centrepiece alter is a 7.5 ton solid block of Carrera marble finished by Dublin artist, Thomas Glendon. The tabernacle was designed and created by Imogen Stuart and Vicki Donovan which is finished in sculpted hammered silver sheet depicting Celtic motifs and inset with hand-carved crystal cabochons. The seats are by Irish Contracting Seating Ltd of Dromod in County Leitrim, who also manufactured and supplied all the pews. The flooring area is finished in polished marble.

 

St Mel’s of Longford town is the cathedral church for the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Ambitious plans for a fine church building in Longford began to take form after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 and became a reality when sufficient funds had been collected. Construction began in 1840 with the laying of the foundation stone which was taken from the original cathedral of St. Mel at Ardagh, only a few miles from Longford. The main body of the new cathedral was completed in 1856 to a neo-classical design by the architect Joseph Benjamin Keane, work having been delayed during the period of the Great Famine (1846 and recommenced 1853). After Joseph’s death in 1849, work was continued after by his assistant John Bourke (d.1871) who was also responsible for the belfry tower completed in 1860, but with major alterations to its original design. The neo-classical portico was designed by George Coppinger Ashlin (1837-1921) and completed in 1889 with its pediment and sculpted tympanum depicting the enthronement of St. Mel as Bishop of Ardagh along with three statues above the pediment. By this time, the cathedral building has taken on its definitive form with no further major alterations until its refurbishment after the devastating fire of 2009.

 

On 25th December 2009, the entire building was gutted by a fire which accidently started within the boiler chimney flue at the rear and quickly spread. The alarm was raised just after 5am but fire-fighting attempts were hampered by frozen pipes as the country was in the grip of one of its worst and prolonged periods of freezing temperatures for decades. By daylight, the entire building had been reduced to a burnt-out shell with the loss of all its furnishing, fittings and diocesan museum. The museum contained many priceless artefacts that included the Crozier of Saint Mel and the book-shrine of St. Caillin (1536), the latter damaged beyond restoration but it may be possible to conserve some of the remnants. The 28 supporting columns were also damaged beyond repair and had to replaced anew. Very little was recoverable that survived the worst of the 1,000 deg.C fire and even these suffered some degree of fire damage such as The Bell of Fenagh which is undergoing conservation treatment at the National Museum of Ireland and the original baptismal font with its brass fittings and surrounding mosaic floor. But the most puzzling of all and described by many as nothing short of a miracle was the survival of the Holy Family painting in the northern transept and the undamaged Eucharistic Host still inside the fire damaged tabernacle. The Holy Family oil painting on a cotton-based canvas should have readily gone up in flames due to its highly combustible materials but somehow survived relatively unscathed despite the intense fire around it. This painting was of Italian origins by an unknown artist and is now back on display requiring little more than a cleaning!

 

After five years of work by many expert disciplines using traditional methods, the cathedral building has been totally refurbished and which included quarried blue-limestone for 28 columns with hand-carved capitals that support the roof. Both Harry Clarke Studio windows were salvaged from the transepts and restored to their former glory by Abbey Stained Glass Ltd of Dublin, a company with much experience in the restoration of stained glass windows. Other replacements such as the wooden pews, alter, stained glass, Stations of the Cross tablets, pipe-organ, fixtures and fitting were all made in a modern style to the best materials and craftsmanship available. It is also planned to open a diocesan museum in the cathedral’s new crypts. The total cost of refurbishment and fitting out came to around €30 million, funded mostly from the insurance cover and after five years of hard work the cathedral was reopened for services at Christmas 2014.

 

Photos taken Thursday 22nd January 2015.

  

References:

 

www.facebook.com/StMelsRestoration (St Mel’s Cathedral restoration – Facebook page).

 

www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2014/1215/667007-longford... (RTE News article about TV program The Longford Phoenix).

 

www.longfordtourism.ie/event/st-mels-cathedral-rise-from-...

 

irishcatholic.ie/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/... (Sculptor Ken Thompson working on one of his Stations of the Cross panels).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mel%27s_cathedral,_Longford

 

l7.alamy.com/zooms/5e9904767cdb4317b39e15ee189488c3/shrin... (Image of St. Caillin book shrine created in 1536 before it was damaged beyond repair in the 2009 fire at St. Mel’s cathedral).

 

www.alamy.com/stock-photo-st-mels-crozier-longford-cathed... (Image of the 10th century St. Mel’s Crozier and sadly, completely destroyed in the cathedral fire of 2009).

 

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - APRIL 8: Dom "soulcas" Sulcas of Team Liquid poses for the VALORANT Masters Features Day on April 8, 2022 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

The topmost floor features a small bar area - together with the small swimming pool this is THE place for parties!

Lincoln & Powell-Norton bathroom view

Pemberton lobby view.

Originally dating to around 1320, the building is important because it has most of its original features; successive owners effected relatively few changes to the main structure, after the completion of the quadrangle with a new chapel in the 16th century. Pevsner described it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county", and it remains an example that shows how such houses would have looked in the Middle Ages. Unlike most courtyard houses of its type, which have had a range demolished, so that the house looks outward, Nicholas Cooper observes that Ightham Mote wholly surrounds its courtyard and looks inward, into it, offering little information externally.[9] The construction is of "Kentish ragstone and dull red brick,"[10] the buildings of the courtyard having originally been built of timber and subsequently rebuilt in stone.[11]

  

The moat of Ightham Mote

The house has more than 70 rooms, all arranged around a central courtyard, "the confines circumscribed by the moat."[10] The house is surrounded on all sides by a square moat, crossed by three bridges. The earliest surviving evidence is for a house of the early 14th century, with the great hall, to which were attached, at the high, or dais end, the chapel, crypt and two solars. The courtyard was completely enclosed by increments on its restricted moated site, and the battlemented tower was constructed in the 15th century. Very little of the 14th century survives on the exterior behind rebuilding and refacing of the 15th and 16th centuries.

 

The structures include unusual and distinctive elements, such as the porter's squint, a narrow slit in the wall designed to enable a gatekeeper to examine a visitor's credentials before opening the gate. An open loggia with a fifteenth-century gallery above, connects the main accommodations with the gatehouse range. The courtyard contains a large, 19th century dog kennel.[12] The house contains two chapels; the New Chapel, of c.1520, having a barrel roof decorated with Tudor roses. [13] Parts of the interior were remodelled by Richard Norman Shaw.[14] wikipedia

 

16th century-late 19th century

The house remained in the Selby family for nearly 300 years.[3] Sir William was succeeded by his nephew, also Sir William, who is notable for handing over the keys of Berwick-upon-Tweed to James I on his way south to succeed to the throne.[4] He married Dorothy Bonham of West Malling but had no children. The Selbys continued until the mid-19th century when the line faltered with Elizabeth Selby, the widow of a Thomas who disinherited his only son.[5] During her reclusive tenure, Joseph Nash drew the house for his multi-volume illustrated history Mansions of England in the Olden Time, published in the 1840s.[6] The house passed to a cousin, Prideaux John Selby, a distinguished naturalist, sportsman and scientist. On his death in 1867, he left Ightham Mote to a daughter, Mrs Lewis Marianne Bigge. Her second husband, Robert Luard, changed his name to Luard-Selby. Ightham Mote was rented-out in 1887 to American Railroad magnate William Jackson Palmer and his family. For three years Ightham Mote became a centre for the artists and writers of the Aesthetic Movement with visitors including John Singer Sargent, Henry James, and Ellen Terry. When Mrs Bigge died in 1889, the executors of her son Charles Selby-Bigge, a Shropshire land agent, put the house up for sale in July 1889.[6]

 

Late 19th century-21st century

The Mote was purchased by Thomas Colyer-Fergusson.[6] He and his wife brought up their six children at the Mote. In 1890-1891, he carried out much repair and restoration, which allowed the survival of the house after centuries of neglect.[7] Ightham Mote was opened to the public one afternoon a week in the early 20th century.[7]

 

Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson's third son, Riversdale, died aged 21 in 1917 in the Third Battle of Ypres, and won a posthumous Victoria Cross. A wooden cross in the New Chapel is in his memory. The oldest brother, Max, was killed at the age of 49 in a bombing raid on an army driving school near Tidworth in 1940 during World War II. One of the three daughters, Mary (called Polly) married Walter Monckton.

 

On Sir Thomas's death in 1951, the property and the baronetcy passed to Max's son, James. The high costs of upkeep and repair of the house led him to sell the house and auction most of the contents. The sale took place in October 1951 and lasted three days. It was suggested that the house be demolished to harvest the lead on the roofs, or that it be divided into flats. Three local men purchased the house: William Durling, John Goodwin and John Baldock. They paid £5,500 for the freehold, in the hope of being able to secure the future of the house.[8]

 

In 1953, Ightham Mote was purchased by Charles Henry Robinson, an American of Portland, Maine, United States. He had known the property when stationed nearby during the Second World War. He lived there for only fourteen weeks a year for tax reasons. He made many urgent repairs, and partly refurnished the house with 17th-century English pieces. In 1965, he announced that he would give Ightham Mote and its contents to the National Trust. He died in 1985 and his ashes were immured just outside the crypt. The National Trust took possession in that year.[8]

 

In 1989, the National Trust began an ambitious conservation project that involved dismantling much of the building and recording its construction methods before rebuilding it. During this process, the effects of centuries of ageing, weathering, and the destructive effect of the deathwatch beetle were highlighted. The project ended in 2004 after revealing numerous examples of structural and ornamental features which had been covered up by later additions.[1]

Douglaston Historic District, Douglaston, Queens, New York City, New York, United States

 

Type: Freestanding house with attached garage (on lot 93) Style: Vernacular cottage Stories: 1

 

Structure/material: Frame with stucco facing

 

Notable building features: Intersecting gable roofs, flared over front porch; round-arched, batten door; brick chimney; brick stoop with non-original wrought-iron railings; some brick veneer; windows with historic multi-pane sash and casements.

 

Notable site features: Mature trees; flagstone walkway; gravel driveway; perimeter hedge; storage shed; cobblestone curb.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The Douglaston Historic District contains more than 600 houses set along landscaped streets on a mile-long peninsula extending into Little Neck Bay, at the northeastern edge of Queens adjoining Nassau County.

 

Its history over the past four centuries ranges from a native American settlement to an eighteenth-century farm, a nineteenth-century estate called Douglas Manor, and an early twentieth-century planned suburb, also called Douglas Manor.

 

The Douglaston Historic District encompasses the entire Douglas Manor suburban development, plus several contiguous blocks. Most of the houses in the proposed district date from the early- to mid-twentieth century, while a few survive from the nineteenth century, and one from the eighteenth century.

 

The landscape includes many impressive and exotic specimen trees planted on the mid-nineteenth-century estate, as well as a great white oak, located at 233 Arleigh Road, believed to be 600 years old.

 

Douglaston's location on a peninsula jutting into Flushing Bay at the eastern border of Queens County is an important factor in establishing the character of the district. The very early buildings surviving in the district include the c.1735 Van Wyck House, the c. 1819 Van Zandt manor house (expanded in the early twentieth century for use as the Douglaston Club), and the Greek Revival style c. 1848-50 Benjamin Allen House.

 

Much of the landscaping, including the specimen trees, survives from the estate of Douglas Manor, established by George Douglas and maintained by his son William Douglas.

 

Most of the houses in the historic district were built as part of the planned suburb of Douglas Manor, developed by the Rickert-Finlay Company, that was part of the residential redevelopment of the Borough of Queens following its creation and annexation to the City of Greater New York in 1898.

 

A set of covenants devised by the Rickert-Finlay Company helped assure a carefully planned environment, including a shorefront held in common, winding streets following the topography of the peninsula, and single-family houses ranging in size from substantial mansions along Shore Road on the west to more modest cottages closer to Udalls Cove on the east.

 

The houses of the historic district, which are representative of twentieth-century residential architecture, were designed in a variety of styles including the many variants of the Colonial Revival, many houses in the English manner incorporating Tudor Revival, English cottage, and Arts and Crafts motifs, as well as the Mediterranean Revival. In most cases, they were designed by local Queens architects, including over a dozen who lived in Douglaston itself.

 

The district includes three houses of the Craftsman type pioneered by Gustav Stickley. Eight of the houses in the district were designed by Josephine Wright Chapman, one of America's earliest successful women architects, and they constitute an important body of her work.

 

The Douglaston Historic District survives today as an important example of an early twentieth-century planned suburb adapted to the site of a nineteenth-century estate. The stylistically varied suburban residences, the distinctive topography, the landscaped setting, and the winding streets create a distinct sense of place and give the district its special character.

 

HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL BACKGROUND OF THE DOUGLASTON HISTORIC DISTRICT

 

Native American and Colonial antecedents

 

The Native American presence on the Little Neck peninsula today known as Douglaston included the Matinecoc,1 one of a group on western Long Island linked by culture and language to others in the area surrounding Manhattan Island (including the Nayack, Marechkawieck, Canarsee, Rockaway, and Massapequa). A number of finds from those settlements have been identified at various sites on the peninsula.2 The Matinecoc, who fanned the peninsula and apparently also produced wampum, were summarily evicted in the 1660s by Thomas Hicks, later Judge Hicks, in what has been described as the only such seizure of property recorded in Flushing town records. In the 1930s, according to local histories, a Matinecoc burial ground was destroyed to make way for a widening of Northern Boulevard, and the remains reinterred in the cemetery of Zion Church.3

 

The property seized by Thomas Hicks in the 1660s passed through the hands of several of his family members, and several subsequent sales to other families, before being acquired in 1813 by Wynant Van Zandt. In 1819 Van Zandt bought an adjoining farm from the Van Wyck family. Both tracts had been farmed during the eighteenth century. The Van Wycks built and lived in a shorefront house which still stands (the Cornelius Van Wyck House, at 126 West Drive aka 37-04 Douglaston Parkway, a designated New York City landmark).

 

Nineteenth-century country seat: Wynant Van Zandt. George and William Douglas, and Douglas Manor

 

Wynant Van Zandt (1767-1831) kept his property in agricultural use. Unlike his predecessors, mostly local formers, Van Zandt was a prominent New York City merchant, active in New York civic affairs. As a city alderman, Van Zandt served as chairman, starting in 1803, of the building committee for City Hall, and in 1804 as chairman of a committee on water supply, among other duties. Van Zandt established his Queens County property as a country estate, and built himself a manor, or country seat, in 1819; the building survives, with additions, as the Douglaston Club.

 

In May 1835, following Wynant Van Zandt's death, George Douglas acquired the estate from Robert B. Van Zandt; the deed identifies Van Zandt as a "farmer" and Douglas as a "gentleman."5 One obituary, in the Flushing Journal Weekly, described Douglas as "what the world would call an eccentric man."6 Another, in the New York Evening Post, described him as a wealthy young man from Scotland, who during a fifteen-year stay in Europe "collected some very valuable pictures," and later turned to philanthropy.7

 

Douglas's son, William Proctor Douglas, inherited the property after his father's death in 1862. The younger Douglas served as vice-commodore of the New York Yacht Club in 1871-74. During his tenure, Douglas Manor became a center for New York society yachting and polo. In later years, Douglas rented out the estate house to a variety of well-connected tenants, including European royalty.8

 

In 1869, Douglas hired landscape architect William McMillen to, in the words of McMillen's daughter, "superintend the Estate, improve driveways, and lay out plantings and trees and ornamental shrubs."9 McMillen was later associated with Frederick Law Olmsted and his work on the park system in Buffalo, New York.10 Although McMillen spent six years working on the estate, it is not known exactly what he undertook for Douglas. From turn-of-the-century photographs and other records analyzed in a landscape history undertaken in 1994, it appears that under Douglas's

 

ownership the landscape was characterized by "an informal 'English' look...with English ivy, winterberry, Boston ivy and wisteria."11

 

It was also during Douglas's tenure that a number of exotic specimen trees were planted on the property. Local histories suggest a connection with Samuel Parsons (1819-1906), a pioneer horticulturist with a nursery in Flushing; Parsons owned land near the Douglas Estate. The trees have been a distinguishing characteristic of Douglas Manor since William Douglas's day.12

 

Early suburban subdivision

 

Although the suburban development called Douglas Manor dates from 1906, William Douglas apparently attempted a suburban subdivision half a century earlier south of Douglas Manor. The dominant force propelling development was the gradual extension of the Long Island Railroad, which ran as far as Flushing until 1866 (with stage coach connections for points east), when its extension to Great Neck opened. Even in the 1850s, anticipating the railroad's extension to the Little Neck peninsula, William Douglas had subdivided part of his property (the area today known as "the Hill").

 

Douglas donated land for the railroad's right of way, and later, according to local histories, relocated one of his farm buildings to be used as a railroad station, asking in exchange that the new village be called "Douglaston" (instead of Marathon, a competing name).13 He named a number of new streets after the abundant trees on his property (Pine, Poplar, Willow, Cherry).

 

The Rickert-Finlav Realty Company

 

Besides the three early surviving houses already mentioned (the Van Wyck House, the Douglaston Club, and the Allen House), almost all the rest of the houses in the historic district were built as part of the early twentieth-century planned suburb of Douglas Manor, named for Douglas's estate, laid out by the Rickert-Finlay Realty Company. The redevelopment of Douglas Manor was part of the vast transformation of much of the newly created Borough of Queens into new residential neighborhoods. In 1906, the year Rickert-Finlay bought Douglas Manor, several major transportation projects to speed connections between Manhattan and Queens were underway: the Pennsylvania Railroad and Long Island Railroad tunnels under the East River, and the Queensborough Bridge at 59th Street.14 According to the Real Estate Record and Guide of that year:

 

The development of numerous farms into building lots and the erection of hundreds of new buildings have necessarily advanced the value of real estate in that section of Greater New York. It is said that more than 8,000 new apportionments have been made in the Borough of Queens during 1906, and that considerably more than 10,000 acres of land have been cut up into lots....

 

Chief among the new developments cited:

 

Title has just been taken to the Douglass [sic] homestead of about 180 acres by the Douglass Manor Co. This will probably be the highest class development on the island. It has a mile of water front and most magnificent shade trees. This property will be subdivided immediately.16

 

The Rickert-Finlay Realty Company, which bought Douglas Manor, was active in real-estate development in Queens and Nassau Counties in the early years of the century, buying up large farms and estates on the north shore of Long Island, preferably those with attractive topographical features, and subdividing them into new suburban communities. Their projects included Norwood in Long Island City, Broadway-Flushing in Flushing, Bellcourt in Bayside, Douglas Manor in Douglaston, and Westmoreland in Little Neck.17 By 1908, the company, with offices at 45 West 34th Street in Manhattan,18 was advertising itself as "The Largest Developers of Real Estate in Queens Borough ~ over 10,000 lots within the limits of New York City."19

 

The company's typical strategy for selecting development sites was described by E.J. Rickert in a 1914 article in Architecture and Building: "It was selected because it was on high ground, with a splendid outlook . . . and only four blocks from a railway station. It was . . . noted for the magnificent row of maples and lindens, nearly a mile long, extending through the entire property."20 The company then developed each tract according to a formula based on past successes. E.J. Rickert described the progression of the firm's ideas:

 

The first property developed was Bellcourt in Bayside, which was improved along the same lines as had heretofore prevailed on Long Island — that is, gravel sidewalks were laid, streets were graded and shade trees were set out, no other improvements being made. In the sale of Bellcourt, however, it was found that there was a demand for better improvements, and, consequently, when Douglas Manor was developed, cement sidewalks were laid, macadam roads were built and trees and hedges were set out. Broadway-Flushing and Westmoreland, which came next, were developed to about the same extent as Douglas Manor, all then being considered the best improved properties on Long Island.

 

The next development, Kensington, saw the addition of complete "sanitary sewer system, water mains and underground conduit for street lighting."

 

The new suburb of Douglas Manor

 

The qualities of the nineteenth-century Douglas Manor on which the Rickert-Finlay development capitalized included its hilly topography, its mile-long waterfront accessible to the entire narrow peninsula, and its lush plantings, especially the specimen trees planted during Douglas's tenure. The development also based its new road system on the major farm roads already in place, which became West, East, and Centre [Center] Drives.23

 

The company then established a series of protective covenants to guarantee a certain manner of development and density within the new suburb. In an era pre-dating the adoption of zoning regulations,24 the character of a new development could be guaranteed in no other way.

 

The covenants affected the architectural character of the houses only peripherally — by prohibiting flat roofs, thereby encouraging a more romantic roofline. Instead, they focused on the kind and size of houses and the nature of the landscaping of the new development. They required all houses to be single-family residences, with the sole exception of the Douglaston Club (commercial uses and two-family buildings and flats were specifically prohibited). They encouraged an economically mixed development, with a boulevard of substantial mansions along the Shore Road waterfront, while smaller, less expensive houses would predominate on the peninsula's east. (Such conditions were guaranteed by requiring houses of a certain cost and lots of a certain size). A verdant landscape was ensured by requiring houses to be set back 20 feet, leaving room for greenery, and by prohibiting fences and encouraging hedges, creating vistas not of individual, fenced-off gardens, but rather of a continuous, green, park-like, landscaped environment.

 

Rickert-Finlay went even further, taking steps to protect that environment and shape the community's social character by creating, in 1906, the Douglas Manor Association. Its stated objectives were the creation and maintenance of a club house to promote "social intercourse" among the residents, and to preserve and protect the development's physical amenities, including the roads, parks, shorefront, and plantings.26

 

Selling Douglas Manor

 

Promotional brochures prepared by Rickert-Finlay characterized the new neighborhood as a private community of houses, nestled in a landscape similar to Central Park, surrounded with a mile of shorefront, just blocks from each home.27

 

Douglas Manor's convenience to Midtown Manhattan via the Long Island Railroad was compared favorably to subway commutation to new Bronx neighborhoods. The commute was touted at "only 33 Minutes to Manhattan, 52 Trains a Day," and predicted to become "20 Minutes to Herald Square, when Pennsylvania-Long Island Tunnels are completed." The neighborhood was just three blocks from the Douglaston station, itself very near the Long Island Sound, "being the only station on the line near enough to the Sound to bring the shore front within easy walking distance. "28 The history and character of the old Douglas estate were emphasized, especially the trees planted by Douglas: "Scotch Holly, Magnolia, Japanese Maidenhair, Chinese Cypress, European Beech, Scarlet Maple, Horse Chestnut, Tulip, Lime, evergreens... Even Central Park does not possess a greater variety of rare trees....

 

" This park-like effect would be "preserved and increased by setting out hedges along winding roads, following the natural contour of the land as much as possible.... The shore drive, curving along the bay for over a mile, will be made the finest boulevard on Long Island." To all these suburban advantages, Douglas Manor also boasted the services provided by the City of New York: "city water, stone sidewalks, macadamized streets" and the "full benefit of all departments of the city government, including schools, water, police and fire protection."

 

From 1906 through the Depression, several hundred houses were erected in Douglas Manor, following the plan suggested by the Rickert-Finlay covenants. In general, the lots along Shore Road on the west were developed first, with larger, more substantial houses, followed by the more modest

 

homes to the east towards Udalls Cove. Property owners often acquired lots adjacent to those on which their houses were built to accommodate more generous lawns or gardens. The mile-long waterfront remained undeveloped, held in common by the Douglas Manor Association. The large caliper specimen trees planted in Douglas's day remained in place. The grounds of the various houses were separated by perimeter hedges only — no fences. Two smaller lots formed by irregular street intersections were planted as small parks, maintained by the Association. Together, the parks, commonly held shorefront, specimen trees, and hedged gardens created something close to Rickert-Finlay's version of Central Park, surrounded by water, with several hundred houses nestled in the landscape.

 

The Architecture of the Douglaston Historic District

 

The architectural styles of the over 600 houses and some 150 related structures (mostly garages) in the historic district reflect three centuries of Douglaston's built history. From the eighteenth-century colonial Van Wyck House, to the early nineteenth-century Van Zandt House and mid-nineteenth-century Allen House, to the twentiethth-century suburban houses of the Rickert-Finlay development, to the additions of the post-World War II period, they tell the story of the development of this part of eastern Queens, part of the larger developmental story of New York City and the country as a whole.

 

The Cornelius Van Wyck House, at 126 West Drive, survives as the oldest extant house in the district, and one of the oldest in New York City (it is a designated New York City landmark). Built c.1735 for an early Dutch settler as a farmstead, the house reflects eighteenth-century New York colonial styles. Douglas, who transformed the farm to Douglas Manor, is said to have used the house as an "entrance lodge to his estate.w29 In 1907, one year after the acquisition of the Manor by the Rickert-Finlay Company, the Douglaston Country Club enlarged the building for use as a clubhouse. In 1921, the Van Wyck House passed back into use as a single-family residence, and its owner, E.N. Wicht, hired Frank J. Forster, designer of Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival style houses in the new Douglas Manor development, to restore it to its original Dutch Colonial appearance.

 

The Wynant Van Zandt House, at 600 West Drive, reflects both the older and the newer history of Douglaston. Built in 1819 as a home for Wynant Van Zandt, it was significantly altered after 1906 for use as the Douglaston Club, but still reflects some of the character of Van Zandt's original two-story Greek Revival manor house.

 

The Benjamin P. Allen House (a/k/a the Allen-Beville House, a designated New York City landmark) at 29 Center Drive, built c. 1848-50, is another rare Queens farm house. Predominately Greek Revival in style, it also shows the influence of the newly fashionable Italianate style, especially in its cornices and brackets.

 

Almost all the other buildings in the district date from the twentieth century, and the greater number of them from its first three decades, when Douglas Manor was developed by the Rickert-Finlay Company. Douglas Manor is a contemporary of several other planned communities in New York City, notably Fieldston in the Bronx and Forest Hill Gardens in Queens, all three of which began as subdivisions in the first decade of die century, and blossomed in the late teens and twenties. Like them, Douglas Manor was developed with houses based on historic styles of the past.

 

The first few decades of the century constituted a period of ferment and development in the design of American single-family houses. The epoch has been characterized as "a resurgence of individualism and an indulgence in residential architecture, a reaction to the standardization of the previous two decades. Fanciful cottages in fairy-tale styles were part of that image."30 In some ways, that approach is a logical continuation of late nineteenth-century architectural eclecticism, characterized in the 1890s as "rampant eclecticism in all fields of life and taste, of triumphant individualism, when authority sits so lightly on men's interests and lives; in this age of archaeology, when the different periods of history are made to live again in our imagination. "31 At the same time, residential architecture was affected by notions of progress and efficiency, and a drive toward simplicity and sanitary conveniences in home design.

 

Rickert-Finlay's protective covenants left the architectural character of the buildings almost entirely in the hands of owners and architects, requiring only that building roofs not be flat.32 The result was a collection of early twentieth-century eclectic residential styles, ranging from grand Colonial Revival mansions on the Shore Road waterfront, to picturesque Tudor Revival or Mediterranean Revival houses or houses in the English cottage manner or Colonial Revival houses on the blocks between West and East Drives, to modest cottages near Udalls Cove. Houses were sited in harmony with the topography, which tends to get hillier in the southeastern section of the peninsula.

 

One Douglas Manor architect, Alfred Scheffer, expressed his point of view in an article published in 1929. He described the Tudor Revival house he designed for himself at 216 Beverly-Road — a particularly useful indication of both the architect's and the client's point of view. Tellingly, the very first observation he makes is about the siting of the house, overlooking Long Island Sound: "The water is only a stone's throw — of a conservative marksman — from our front door and the second floor bay window has a certain suggestion of the forecastle deck of a ship, for the intervening land and highway are quite lost to sight and I can get a fine sense of sailing the seas, when I stand there." Only then does he turn to the formal style of the design, and sums up in a sentence the attitude of his day towards historically-inspired styles: "The construction is quite definitely in the English manner although / was not concerned with making it exact or authentic [emphasis added]

 

Scheffer then lists the elements that make his house "English": "stucco and halftimber walls with slate roof . . . The substantial chimney of common brick is typical of many English country houses. . . . The main entrance doorway of the house, at the end of a narrow flagstone walk, forms a Gothic arch of oak timber, framing a paneled oak door with iron straps and two small leaded glass windows, the effect completed by a semi-circular stone stoop. Beside the door is a lantern of pierced wrought-iron in the shape of an inverted tunnel, with wrought-iron bracket." Clearly it is details like the paneled oak door and leaded glass windows which give the house the English "effect" Scheffer wanted. But when he turns to describing the interior, practical matters take precedence: "The interior of the house was designed to take full advantage of our gorgeous outlook over the water."

 

Historical details are listed — "The walls are of rough English hand finished plaster" - but so are the "built-in bookshelves," "built-in comer cabinets," and "convenient and numerous closets and the very large closet and bathroom which join the master bedroom and add much to its convenience." "The interior of the house," concludes Scheffer," will probably grow from year to year. Things will be taken out and others put in until eventually, it comes near to realizing my mental image of what it ought to be. Already, I think, it has the liveable quality which is most essential of all."33

 

The majority of houses in the historic district reflect a variety of styles, loosely adapted by architects like Frank Scheffer, typical of suburban residential architecture across the country. The predominant style is the Colonial Revival in several variants, ranging in date from c.1910 to the present. Most are of frame construction with shingle and/or clapboard siding. Besides a generic Colonial Revival style, the district has such distinctive variations as the Dutch Colonial Revival, New England Colonial Revival, and Cape Cod Colonial Revival. Colonial Revival houses of brick, or frame with brick facing, often have a more formal neo-Georgian appearance. The English manner, the other major stylistic mode, is expressed with Tudor Revival, English cottage, or Arts and Crafts details. These houses, too, are often of frame construction with stucco facing and brick and/or stone trim. The Mediterranean Revival style was also popular.

 

These houses usually have stucco facing and tile roofs. The district also has a handful of houses of the Craftsman type pioneered by Gustav Stickley. Suburban houses of the type found in the district were judged by their picturesque qualities. The Architectural Forum, for instance, featured a Douglas Manor house by Frank Forster, the same architect who restored the Van Wyck House to something approaching its original Dutch colonial appearance. The writer praised Forster's "excellent use of half-timber in connection with brick or stucco," but more importantly his "rare skill in grouping, which creates a picturesque and architectural composition, wholly unaffected or exaggerated and involving no sacrifice in the matter of interior planning to secure this effect."

 

An additional group of houses in the historic district, on the south side of Bay Street, predates the Douglas Manor development by several years. Designed c.1900, they are excellent examples of the Colonial Revival and Queen Anne styles popular at the end of the nineteenth century.

 

Playing an important role in the historic district are the many related garage structures, often designed in architectural styles compatible with the houses they serve. Some were constructed originally as carriage houses and stables, often with residential accommodations, and later converted for garage use. By about 1920, the automobile had supplanted the horse, and garages were built as freestanding structures, some with chauffeur's quarters at the second story, usually situated close to a side or rear lot line. By the late 1920s, some houses were constructed with attached garages, or garages were constructed later, atttached to earlier houses. After World War II, many houses were built with basement garages, while other earlier houses were modified to provide basement garages.

 

The Douglas Manor Architects

 

A few prominent New York City architects with Manhattan offices received commissions in the new neighborhood; however, the vast majority of Douglas Manor houses were designed by local Queens and Brooklyn architects, and a surprisingly large number by architects who themselves lived in Douglas Manor or had offices nearby.35

 

Among the better known firms from outside the neighborhood who worked in the historic district, Buchman & Fox, architects of many Manhattan office buildings, designed 1008 Shore Road, a substantial Colonial Revival mansion overlooking the Bay. George Keister, whose practice included churches, hotels and Broadway theaters, designed 24 Knollwood Avenue, an Arts and Crafts style house, and 104 Hollywood Avenue, a Colonial Revival house. Diego DeSuarez, who planned villa gardens at both La Pietra, outside Florence, and Vizcaya, outside Miami, designed a one-story Mediterranean fantasy at 231 Beverly Road. Lionel Moses, of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, designed a house in the English cottage manner at 1102 Shore Road overlooking Little Neck Bay. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White is credited with the formal French Renaissance Revival style house at 4 Ardsley Road. Dating from 1919, it is constructed of hollow terra-cotta block, a form of fireproof construction, and faced with stucco.36

 

Architects from Brooklyn and Queens represented in the historic district include Arthur H. Allen, an architect very active in Forest Hills (a Colonial Revival house at 217 Ridge Road); Philip Resnyk (Tudor Revival, English cottage manner, and Colonial Revival houses on Warwick, Beverly, Grosvenor, Hollywood, Knollwood, Richmond, Kenmore, Richmond and Manor); Benjamin Dreisler (an Arts and Crafts/Colonial Revival house at 243 Forest Road); Louis Feldman (English cottage type houses at 211 and 217 Forest Road); J. Sarsfield Kennedy (a Tudor Revival house at 369 Beverly Road and a grand English bungalow/Arts and Crafts house at 1114 Shore Road), and Shampan & Shampan (a Colonial Revival house at 110 Arleigh).

 

Almost 60 of the over 600 houses in the historic district, built in the first decades of the century, are known to be the work of fourteen Douglaston architects.37 Alfred Scheffer, whose views are quoted above, designed at least ten, most in the Colonial Revival style or English cottage manner with Tudor Revival or Arts and Crafts detail.

 

John C.W. Cadoo designed at least sixteen houses, mostly Colonial Revival in style. Frank Forster designed at least three houses, one Colonial Revival, the others in the English cottage manner, as well as overseeing the restoration of the eighteenth-century Van Wyck House. Albert Humble designed at least ten houses, most in the Colonial Revival style.

 

Josephine Wright Chapman

 

Eight houses in the historic district are known to have been designed in the 1910s and 1920s by one of America's earliest successful women architects, Josephine Wright Chapman (1867-?). Chapman was professionally active from 1892 to 1927, but little is known about her education or commissions.

 

She pursued her interest in a career in architecture over opposition from her family, working from 1892 to 1897 as a draftsman in the office of Boston architect Clarence H. Blackall. Very few academically trained women became architects in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, and Chapman may have entered the profession as an apprentice.

 

By 1898 she was listed in the Boston City Directory as an architect, and developed a successful practice, despite the rejection of her application for membership in the American Institute of Architects.

 

Chapman's first major project was the New England Building at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901. Other known work includes the Craigie Arms Apartments (1897) in Cambridge, Mass., the Episcopal Church in Leominster, Mass., and the Women's Clubs in Worcester and Lynn, Mass.

 

In 1905, Chapman began to devote herself to the design of houses. She preferred the "English type," long, low and rambling, with gables and timber and plaster detailing. In 1907 she moved to New York, where she was listed in directories as an architect until 1925. Among her few published works was a sixteen-story apartment building on Park Avenue, described as demonstrating "the feminine idea of correct planning . . .and many innovations were to be introduced."

 

While in New York, she also received the commission for Hillandale, an Italian Renaissance style villa in Washington, D.C., built 1922-25. In the words of historian Gwendolyn Wright: "Neither Chapman's early public success in Boston nor her conversion to professional pursuit more appropriate for a woman qualified her for coverage in the architectural press.

 

But her career was remarkable, for few women had the financial independence to experiment with their own offices."

 

Chapman's known Douglaston houses, which date from 1909 to 1917, are in the historic district's two prevalent stylistic modes — five Colonial Revival and three in the English cottage manner.

 

They share picturesque silhouetttes with rooflines that feature gambrel or gabled roofs with hipped or shed dormers, and exposed brick chimneys; and distinctive entry and porch details, including one with Tuscan columns, one with a pointed-arch batten door, and one with a panelled entrance with side-lights and transom.

 

The Craftsman style houses

 

Several Craftsman style houses, including No. 122 Arleigh Road, 140 Prospect Avenue, and 111 Hollywood Avenue, may be one of the largest such collections in any New York City neighborhood.

 

Furniture designer Gustav Stickley of Rochester, New York, created the Craftsman architectural movement and disseminated it throughout the country via his Craftsman magazine.

 

The Craftsman aesthetic drew on the English Arts and Crafts movement, California Mission design, Japanese architecture, and Native American design, and was supported by an ideology influenced by concepts of socialism, the nobility of work, and the value of manual training.

 

Stickley developed his interest in architecture in the years 1902-05, initially as a way of creating the proper environment for his furniture. He hired architect Harvey Ellis to help develop a Craftsman architecture, and the Craftsman magazine began publishing prototype houses initially designed by Ellis, encouraging the public to take them as models for their own homes.

 

The published houses included floor plans, sketches, renderings of room schemes, elevations, and descriptions of appropriate rugs, fabrics, furniture, and color schemes. Stickley then encouraged his readers to alter the plans to suit local conditions.

 

In 1909, Stickley became involved in the actual construction of houses when he organized the Craftsman Building Company, which constructed houses in New Jersey and on Long Island.

 

The company was active for just under a year; the exact number of houses built is unknown. Most "Craftsman" houses were built by contractors using Craftsman plans.

 

The Craftsman house embodies a number of characteristics in its exterior. It is generally designed to take advantage of its site and views. Picturesque in its composition, it incorporates an "honest" expression of its materials and structure.

 

It makes use of exposed or emphasized structural elements, especially a broad, overhanging roof, often supported by large, open rafters extending beyond the eaves.

 

There may be wooden elements including curved roofs, or exotic piled capitals. Often such houses include pergolas, porches, balconies or verandas. Windows are grouped together to create large openings.

 

Craftsman houses use a variety of materials, preferably local. Stonework is often textured and ornamental, with variegated colors and shapes. Other common materials include clinker brick, and stucco, often mixed with rough sand or bits of glass.

 

Historical and Architectural Introduction

 

No. 111 Hollywood Road was designed by the Craftsman architects in 1914.55 The interior follows the Craftsman aesthetic, while the exterior borrows the distinctive eyebrow window and brick Tudor arched entrance from neighboring houses.

 

No. 122 Arleigh Road corresponds to Craftsman plan number 70, a "Ten-Room House for Town or Country Life" published originally in the Craftsman in July 1909 and again in More Craftsman Homes. Its horizontal orientation, large living porch, emphasis on structural elements including low, spreading, overhanging eaves and extended rafters, and central entrance and symmetrical facade with grouped windows, all reflect the Craftsman mold.

 

No. 140 Prospect Road correspond to Craftsman plan number 85, a "Small Two-Story Cement House with Recessed Porch and Balcony," published originally in the Craftsman in March 1910 and again in More Craftsman Homes. Its low-pitched roof revealing the rafters, porch and balcony, decorative use of structural elements, and grouping of windows and openings, all fit the Craftsman aesthetic.

 

A number of other houses in the historic district reflect the Craftsman aesthetic, even though they do not follow published Craftsman plans.

 

Prominent residents and later history

 

The first residents to move into the new Douglas Manor development, in 1907, were "the Misses Butler, of Flushing." They were followed by a number of newspapermen including "Mr. Mayer, World cartoonist, on Shore Road and Knollwood Ave.," "George C. Minor, of the New York Herald" on West Drive and Knollwood, and "Arthur Greaves, city editor of the New York Times" on West Drive, as well as a Mr. Slater of Manhattan and a Mr. Burtis, "manager of the Brooklyn branch of Swift & Co."56 Country Life in America the following year showed houses for sale in Douglas Manor priced at $8500 and $10,000.

 

Over the years, the historic district has attracted many famous residents, including a number of people in theater and the arts. Besides the above mentioned Herbert Mayer, cartoonist for The World, and architect Elbert McGran Jackson, who also illustrated covers for the Saturday Evening Post, artists included Percy Crosby, author of the "Skippy" comic strip; Robbie Robinson, another

 

illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post, Norwegian born sculptor Trygve Hammer, whose house is at 329 Forest Road,59 and satirist George Grosz.

 

Douglaston's location on the Long Island Rail Road, which made it convenient to the Astoria Studios in Long Island City, an early movie center, attracted many actors in the days before the ascendancy of Hollywood.

 

Residents have included Ginger Rogers, Hedda Hopper, Richard Dix, Ward Bond, Bonita Granville, Clifton Webb, Arthur Treacher, Jack Donahue, and William Collier Sr., as well as Ziegfeld Follies star Margaret Corry.

 

Other notable residents have included author Ring Lardner, as well as Olympic swimmer Annette Kellerman, tennis pro John McEnroe, Jr., and pianist Claudio Arrau.

 

Douglaston resident Anne E. Hayes was one of the first women to attend Cornell University's medical school, and later became a clothing designer.

 

In the half century since the end of World War II, the Douglaston Historic District has seen numerous houses altered or demolished, and much new construction. Some of the new houses have maintained the scale and repeated the materials and styles of earlier houses; others have not.

 

They have ranged in style from ranch houses to modern versions of the Colonial Revival. Overall, however, the Douglaston Historic District survives, maintaining much of its original architectural character as a planned suburban community, as well as rare surviving reminders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and significant landscape features including the commonly-held waterfront, specimen trees, and generous landscaping.

 

All create a distinct sense of place, recalling a significant period in the history of Queens.

 

- From the 1997 NYCLPC Historic District Designation Report

Some cell phone pics of my ears for anyone to use for anything! I took them to study ear anatomy.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 10: Kim "Meteor" Tae-O of Gen.G Esports poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 10, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

Focus Features are teasing us with more goodies from their forthcoming erotic drama, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, which is adapted from E.L. James’ filthy page-turner. We’ve the first images of Billionaire bonker Christian Grey’s extended family. They include sister Mia Grey (played ...

 

bit.ly/123Rvsw

Story & Photos by Greg Shine, BLM

 

For millennia, people have named places in a variety of ways. Some places are named for their resemblance to objects, like Table Rock; some for their function, like Miner’s Flat or Fishermen’s Bend; and some for their features, like Split Rock.

 

Some are also named for people, or events that have taken place there. Both of these are the case with McLoughlin Canyon, a BLM recreation site just south of the Canadian border near Tonasket, Washington. In July 1858, a battle between American miners and a coalition of Chelan and Okanagan Indians resulted in the canyon’s name. While Chelan and Okanagan accounts have been largely lost to time, this incident still characterizes, in broader terms, one of the greatest conflicts in the history of the American West – the conflict between mining and native peoples.

 

Earlier in the summer of 1858, an armed party of aspiring gold miners mustered in at Oregon City, traveled through The Dalles to Wallula, and continued up the Columbia and Okanogan rivers into the lands of the Chelan, Okanagan and other tribes, bound for the gold fields of today’s British Columbia. They were just 150 of the more than 8,000 fortune seekers who would eventually use this route, and a small portion of the 30,000 individuals estimated to have traveled to the Canadian gold fields during the Fraser River rush.

 

Led by David McLoughlin, son of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s iconic chief factor Dr. John McLoughlin, the motley crew of rough-and-tumble men known as “David McLoughlin’s Company” disregarded repeated warnings from the U.S. Army and tribal representatives to stay out of the area, induced instead by potential riches –what newspapers termed the “Fraser River Fever.” Though miners, they came from a variety of locations and backgrounds, and knew the danger of encroaching on native lands. “Probably there was never a party on the Pacific Coast better qualified for Indian warfare than this,” remembered one of these men, Richard G. Willoughby, “the majority of the men having had long years of experience in this venturesome life and who had served the United States Government in the war with Mexico.”

 

Following the Okanogan River’s east bank on the morning of July 29, 1858, the party (now captained, according to one account, by a different McLoughlin) advanced into a narrow canyon long used as a north-south shortcut by native peoples and fur trade brigades. “We came to a bold rocky bluff which ran clean out to the river, and it was impossible to get around it,” recalled party-member Robert Frost, “so we had to make a detour to the right and go through what is now known as McLaughlin’s Canyon, before we could get to the river again. … As I recollect it, it is quite narrow with high perpendicular walls, and natural terraces, and benches. The benches being only accessible from the northern end; at the south end (our entrance), it was an utter impossibility to get at anyone on those benches except with a rifle.”

 

Today’s visitor can experience exactly what Frost remembered, for its distinct geography lent the canyon a particular strategic advantage. This was not lost on the Okanagans and Chelans, who, watching the mining party’s advance and anticipating its entrance into the canyon, deployed in ambush, determined to thwart the miners’ trespass. As Frost described, “they had gotten on those benches and, and thrown up rock breastworks and laid for us.” The party’s advance guard soon entered the canyon, and the Okanagan and Chelan forces initiated their attack. “As it was an Indian on one of the benches showed himself, and one of the head guard gave the alarm when they opened fire,” said Frost. “As quick as possible, the horses were rushed to the rear, back to the river, and all those available took what shelter they could get. … After the animals were down on the flat, every available man with a gun was up to the front.” In the end, six miners and an unknown number of Chelans and Okanagans were killed, and the entire party of miners retreated, fleeing back across the river.

 

Any victory was short-lived, for the mining party resumed its trek north a few days later – and continued to skirmish with native peoples in the process. However, word of the firefight soon spread. Combined with the U.S. Army’s loss to a tribal coalition of Spokanes, Palouses, and Coeur d’Alenes at the Battle of Tohotonimme or Pine Creek two months earlier--which had set in motion a larger two-pronged military offensive under Col. George Wright—this incident fostered public fear in Oregon and Washington Territories and provoked military backlash. Ultimately, it led to a treaty signed on September 23, 1858, following the Battle of Four Lakes, which relegated the area’s native people to reservations and opened up much of their tribal land to whites for mining and homesteading.

 

As for David McLoughlin, he would not return to Oregon until shortly before his death, in 1901, living out his remaining years near the Canadian border in Port Hill, Idaho. He frequently responded to letters asking about his father and his experiences with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Pacific Northwest, but any personal recollection of the battle in the canyon that today holds his name remains to be located.

 

McLoughlin Canyon today offers recreational opportunities such as hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, nature study, wildlife viewing, and picnicking. The canyon’s past is ever-present, though. Visitors can hike along the same trail—experiencing, perhaps, some of the same feelings as the miners—and stand on the rocky benches above stunning views of the canyon floor, much like the Chelan and Okanagans who defended the canyon over 150 years ago.

  

For more information on this history of miner-Indian relations, see Daniel P. Marshall, "No Parallel: American Miner-Soldiers at War with the Nlaka'pamux of the Canadian West" in Parallel Destinies: Canadian-American Relations West of the Rockies (2002).

BOX DATE: 1980

MANUFACTURER: Kenner

SPECIAL FEATURES: Cart converts to picnic table; strawberry opens with ice cream

 

PERSONAL FUN FACT: OMG this is by far one of THE most adorable doll playsets ever made. It was the photo I first saw of Escargot online that sold me on wanting vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls. As it was, the dolls themselves lured me in with their adorable freckles and sweet, old fashioned clothes. But the concept of a friendly looking snail toting around a converting picnic set...what wasn't to love?!!! I encountered photos of the Snail Cart online circa 2011. It must have been the first few months I delved back into the world of dolls. At the time, I had little to no knowledge of the Strawberry Shortcake franchise. I had grown up with a handful of Bandai dolls/accessories. But I was unaware that this line spanned several decades, and was manufactured by various companies. I was researching my childhood friends to beef up my doll inventory. That's when I stumbled upon oodles of information about the vintage dolls. They sparked my interest to the core, despite the fact that I had no prior knowledge of their existence, and I didn't play all that much with my childhood dolls. I was so drawn to these dolls, that I even recall stalking a few on eBay. I was also keen on finding this Snail Cart--I will never forget the pictures I first saw of it on someone's blog, where they were sharing pictures of their childhood collection. I vowed to myself that one day, this would be mine. Four years later, that dream came true in the most unexpected ways. Ironically during that time frame, I really didn't see many vintage Strawberry Shortcake items--just the random over priced thing here and there. But my collection went from zero 80s Strawberry Shortcake dolls and playsets to a mini hoard in just one day. And the best part is, it cost me nothing! One of my neighbors put out a bunch of free stuff while they were doing a clean out of sorts. I had seen what looked like a Barbie house on the way to pick Colleen up from work. Once we got home, Colleen went to go investigate the freebies, and returned screaming down the driveway that I needed to get the Jeep. In the end, I got a ton of mid 2000s Barbies and playsets, as well as an entire collection of 80s Strawberry Shortcake dolls (who were by far the highlight of the bin we now call "Free Friday Finds"). The story behind my Escargot is one of my favorites in my collection. He is just as adorable as I imagined he would be back in 2011. Sure his little eye decals flaked off with age, but nothing could erase his adorable molded grin!

Example of feature-rich and experience poor.

 

Warner Bros Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter

Warner Bros Studio, Aerodrome Way, Leavesden, Watford, Herts, WD25 7LS

 

A great day out for every fan of the boy wizard.

 

The Making of Harry Potter studio tour, covering 150,000 square foot, on two soundstages opened on the 31st March 2012, with stars galore at the red carpet launch at the Leavesden Studios where all eight movies were produced.

 

The home for many film productions, including several James Bond features, before a relatively new production company arrived there to make a film about a young boy who on his 11th birthday discovers he is a wizard.

 

Over the next ten years, the cast and crew of over 4,000 in total used more and more of the studios as the popularity of the books and films grew. The three young stars lived, grew up, went to school and turned into adults there on those stages.

 

Your tour begins in the foyer, with a flying Ford Anglia hanging from the ceiling and the walls adorned with huge photos of the cast, along with a few props.

 

Passing by the set of the cupboard under the stairs, you enter a room with a number of vertical TV screens showing Potter movie posters from around the world, followed by a short video sequence showing the rise of Harry’s popularity, the production teams discovery of the stories and the enormous worldwide success of the books and films.

 

Moving into the cinema, a short film introduced by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, talking about their experiences growing up on a film set for ten years, with clips from all eight films. The film ends with them standing in front of the main doors to the Great Hall and they walk in through the doors and invite you to follow them.

 

The screen at this point slowly rises to reveal the actual main doors to the Great Hall, surrounded with stone statues and carvings. What a wizard way to start the tour.

 

Walking through into the Great Hall we are told that we were now walking on the actual stone floor used in the films and seeing the actual tables where the actors ate their feasts. Dummies down each side of the hall wear the actual costumes used in the films. At the far end of the hall is the teachers’ table area, with more amazing costumes worn by Professors Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Moody, Trelawney and Flitwick, as well as Hagrid and Filch too.

 

Leaving the Great Hall you enter the first of two vast sound stages. This includes sets for the Gryffindor Common Room and Dormitory, Dumbledore’s Office, Potions Classroom, Hagrid’s Hut, Burrow’s Kitchen and parts of the Ministry of Magic, also Umbridge’s gaudy pink, feline office. Each filled to the brim with props and costumes.

 

Props can be seen everywhere, with a massive cage in the centre, chock-a-block with goblets, chandeliers, wands and armour. A huge glass case contains the wands of 24 of the major characters – less than 1 percent of the total number of wands made for the films. The ornate doors to a Gringott’s vault and to the Chamber of Secrets are seen after passing a wall dedicated to the paintings produced to decorate the walls of Hogwarts.

 

Below the giant swinging pendulum of the Hogwarts castle clock there are several huge touch screens containing an interactive Marauders Map.

 

There are sections of the soundstage dedicated to various movie-making crafts. The hair and makeup section, costumes section, animal department, graphic design and production.

The final section in this first soundstage is dedicated to the Special Effects department with three huge video screens showing all the tricks and techniques, including greenscreen footage and CGI. Props attached to their motion rigs, include the Gringott’s Vault Cart and Mad-Eye Moody’s Recumbent Broomstick.

 

In separate room you can have a go on a broomstick or drive the Ford Anglia yourself, using the greenscreen technology.

 

The Backlot about half way round the tour is an open air section between the two soundstages where refreshments are available, including Butterbeer the popular wizarding beverage.

 

Also featured on the backlot are the Knight Bus, another Ford Anglia, Hagrid’s motorbike/sidecar, the Riddle family tombstone, a section of the rickety wooden Hogwarts Bridge, Potter’s burnt out cottage from Godric’s Hollow and Number 4 Privet Drive.

 

Entering the second soundstage you pass some of the giant chess pieces from the first movie. A number of video screens here progressively show what it was like to work in the creature shop, cleverly leading you from one screen to the next, past models of Fawkes, a snapping Monster Book of Monsters and a giant animatronic head of Hagrid. The next room has the life size (i.e., ENORMOUS!) model of Aragog the spider and one of three animatronic Buckbeak models.

 

Walking around the corner (WOW) you are transported into another world entirely. The dark lighting and cobbled street can only mean one thing – you have entered Diagon Alley. The shops using the original sets have been rebuilt– Flourish & Blotts, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Potage’s Cauldron Shop and of course Ollivander’s Wand Shop, each and every one them is crammed full of detail. At the other end of the street is Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, with the bright orange shopfront standing out from the crowd of blackness and featuring a moving model of one of the red-haired twins doffing his hat.

 

At the end of Diagon Alley you move onto the Art and Design department with walls covered with architectural drawings and detailed plans, accurate down to the millimetre, for many of the props and sets already seen. A draftsman’s table serves as a projection screen for another video about the work of the art department.

 

Moving on, up the ascending path are walls full of concept paintings and artwork, also intricate cardboard models of Hogsmead and the Hogwarts.

 

You are only looking at a model of the model though, as entering the next room, there, spread over at least 15 square metres is the most amazing, complex and elaborate model built to a 1:24 scale. It has a bigger footprint than the average house.

 

The last part of the tour is a fitting tribute to the crew and cast of the most popular film franchise of all time. A much tidier recreation of the interior of Ollivander’s Wand shop, with over 4,000 wand boxes lining its shelves – one for every single person who worked on the films.

 

Exit through the Gift Shop.

The Sorolla Museum (Spanish: Museo Sorolla) is a museum located in Madrid, Spain. It features work by the artist Joaquín Sorolla.

 

The building was originally the artist's house and was converted into a museum after the death of his widow. Designed by Enrique María Repullés, it was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1962. The principal rooms continue to be furnished as they were during the artist's life, including Sorolla's large, well-lit studio, where the walls are filled with his canvasses. Other rooms are used as galleries to display Sorolla's paintings, while the upstairs rooms are a gallery for special exhibitions. [Wikipedia]

www.gomadrid.com/museums/museo-sorolla.html

www.mecd.gob.es/msorolla/en/que-ver/exposicion-permanente...

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 26: Gen.G poses at the League of Legends World Championship Semifinals Features Day on October 26, 2022 in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Fernando Decillis/Riot Games)

Douglaston Historic District, Douglaston, Queens, New York City, New York, United States

 

Date: 1906

Architect: Wilbur S. Knowles Original Owner: Solomon Mayer Type: Freestanding house

Style: Arts and Crafts/Colonial Revival Structure/material: Frame with wood shingle siding

Notable building features: Hipped roof with overhanging eaves; stucco-covered chimney with brick coping; hipped dormers; round, projecting bay at corner; wrap-around porch, partially enclosed, with Doric columns, central pediment, brick steps, and wood railings; multi-paned entrance vestibule (added after 1962); first-story oriel.

 

Alterations: Most windows are non-historic replacements; bases of porch and conservatory covered with concrete; through-the-wall air conditioners; chimney covered with stucco after 1962.

 

Related structure on lot: Attached, rear conservatory with polygonal plan and monitor roof, added in 1916; matching two-car garage, entered from Shore Road, contemporary with the house.

 

Notable site features: Mature trees; stucco-covered retaining walls with brick coping; brick garden walls with cast concrete balusters; brick steps and posts; cobblestone-framed sidewalks, driveway and curbs.

  

INTRODUCTION

 

The Douglaston Historic District contains more than 600 houses set along landscaped streets on a mile-long peninsula extending into Little Neck Bay, at the northeastern edge of Queens adjoining Nassau County.

 

Its history over the past four centuries ranges from a native American settlement to an eighteenth-century farm, a nineteenth-century estate called Douglas Manor, and an early twentieth-century planned suburb, also called Douglas Manor.

 

The Douglaston Historic District encompasses the entire Douglas Manor suburban development, plus several contiguous blocks. Most of the houses in the proposed district date from the early- to mid-twentieth century, while a few survive from the nineteenth century, and one from the eighteenth century.

 

The landscape includes many impressive and exotic specimen trees planted on the mid-nineteenth-century estate, as well as a great white oak, located at 233 Arleigh Road, believed to be 600 years old.

 

Douglaston's location on a peninsula jutting into Flushing Bay at the eastern border of Queens County is an important factor in establishing the character of the district. The very early buildings surviving in the district include the c.1735 Van Wyck House, the c. 1819 Van Zandt manor house (expanded in the early twentieth century for use as the Douglaston Club), and the Greek Revival style c. 1848-50 Benjamin Allen House.

 

Much of the landscaping, including the specimen trees, survives from the estate of Douglas Manor, established by George Douglas and maintained by his son William Douglas.

 

Most of the houses in the historic district were built as part of the planned suburb of Douglas Manor, developed by the Rickert-Finlay Company, that was part of the residential redevelopment of the Borough of Queens following its creation and annexation to the City of Greater New York in 1898.

 

A set of covenants devised by the Rickert-Finlay Company helped assure a carefully planned environment, including a shorefront held in common, winding streets following the topography of the peninsula, and single-family houses ranging in size from substantial mansions along Shore Road on the west to more modest cottages closer to Udalls Cove on the east.

 

The houses of the historic district, which are representative of twentieth-century residential architecture, were designed in a variety of styles including the many variants of the Colonial Revival, many houses in the English manner incorporating Tudor Revival, English cottage, and Arts and Crafts motifs, as well as the Mediterranean Revival. In most cases, they were designed by local Queens architects, including over a dozen who lived in Douglaston itself.

 

The district includes three houses of the Craftsman type pioneered by Gustav Stickley. Eight of the houses in the district were designed by Josephine Wright Chapman, one of America's earliest successful women architects, and they constitute an important body of her work.

 

The Douglaston Historic District survives today as an important example of an early twentieth-century planned suburb adapted to the site of a nineteenth-century estate. The stylistically varied suburban residences, the distinctive topography, the landscaped setting, and the winding streets create a distinct sense of place and give the district its special character.

 

HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL BACKGROUND OF THE DOUGLASTON HISTORIC DISTRICT

 

Native American and Colonial antecedents

 

The Native American presence on the Little Neck peninsula today known as Douglaston included the Matinecoc,1 one of a group on western Long Island linked by culture and language to others in the area surrounding Manhattan Island (including the Nayack, Marechkawieck, Canarsee, Rockaway, and Massapequa). A number of finds from those settlements have been identified at various sites on the peninsula.2 The Matinecoc, who fanned the peninsula and apparently also produced wampum, were summarily evicted in the 1660s by Thomas Hicks, later Judge Hicks, in what has been described as the only such seizure of property recorded in Flushing town records. In the 1930s, according to local histories, a Matinecoc burial ground was destroyed to make way for a widening of Northern Boulevard, and the remains reinterred in the cemetery of Zion Church.3

 

The property seized by Thomas Hicks in the 1660s passed through the hands of several of his family members, and several subsequent sales to other families, before being acquired in 1813 by Wynant Van Zandt. In 1819 Van Zandt bought an adjoining farm from the Van Wyck family. Both tracts had been farmed during the eighteenth century. The Van Wycks built and lived in a shorefront house which still stands (the Cornelius Van Wyck House, at 126 West Drive aka 37-04 Douglaston Parkway, a designated New York City landmark).

 

Nineteenth-century country seat: Wynant Van Zandt. George and William Douglas, and Douglas Manor

 

Wynant Van Zandt (1767-1831) kept his property in agricultural use. Unlike his predecessors, mostly local formers, Van Zandt was a prominent New York City merchant, active in New York civic affairs. As a city alderman, Van Zandt served as chairman, starting in 1803, of the building committee for City Hall, and in 1804 as chairman of a committee on water supply, among other duties. Van Zandt established his Queens County property as a country estate, and built himself a manor, or country seat, in 1819; the building survives, with additions, as the Douglaston Club.

 

In May 1835, following Wynant Van Zandt's death, George Douglas acquired the estate from Robert B. Van Zandt; the deed identifies Van Zandt as a "farmer" and Douglas as a "gentleman."5 One obituary, in the Flushing Journal Weekly, described Douglas as "what the world would call an eccentric man."6 Another, in the New York Evening Post, described him as a wealthy young man from Scotland, who during a fifteen-year stay in Europe "collected some very valuable pictures," and later turned to philanthropy.7

 

Douglas's son, William Proctor Douglas, inherited the property after his father's death in 1862. The younger Douglas served as vice-commodore of the New York Yacht Club in 1871-74. During his tenure, Douglas Manor became a center for New York society yachting and polo. In later years, Douglas rented out the estate house to a variety of well-connected tenants, including European royalty.8

 

In 1869, Douglas hired landscape architect William McMillen to, in the words of McMillen's daughter, "superintend the Estate, improve driveways, and lay out plantings and trees and ornamental shrubs."9 McMillen was later associated with Frederick Law Olmsted and his work on the park system in Buffalo, New York.10 Although McMillen spent six years working on the estate, it is not known exactly what he undertook for Douglas. From turn-of-the-century photographs and other records analyzed in a landscape history undertaken in 1994, it appears that under Douglas's

 

ownership the landscape was characterized by "an informal 'English' look...with English ivy, winterberry, Boston ivy and wisteria."11

 

It was also during Douglas's tenure that a number of exotic specimen trees were planted on the property. Local histories suggest a connection with Samuel Parsons (1819-1906), a pioneer horticulturist with a nursery in Flushing; Parsons owned land near the Douglas Estate. The trees have been a distinguishing characteristic of Douglas Manor since William Douglas's day.12

 

Early suburban subdivision

 

Although the suburban development called Douglas Manor dates from 1906, William Douglas apparently attempted a suburban subdivision half a century earlier south of Douglas Manor. The dominant force propelling development was the gradual extension of the Long Island Railroad, which ran as far as Flushing until 1866 (with stage coach connections for points east), when its extension to Great Neck opened. Even in the 1850s, anticipating the railroad's extension to the Little Neck peninsula, William Douglas had subdivided part of his property (the area today known as "the Hill").

 

Douglas donated land for the railroad's right of way, and later, according to local histories, relocated one of his farm buildings to be used as a railroad station, asking in exchange that the new village be called "Douglaston" (instead of Marathon, a competing name).13 He named a number of new streets after the abundant trees on his property (Pine, Poplar, Willow, Cherry).

 

The Rickert-Finlav Realty Company

 

Besides the three early surviving houses already mentioned (the Van Wyck House, the Douglaston Club, and the Allen House), almost all the rest of the houses in the historic district were built as part of the early twentieth-century planned suburb of Douglas Manor, named for Douglas's estate, laid out by the Rickert-Finlay Realty Company. The redevelopment of Douglas Manor was part of the vast transformation of much of the newly created Borough of Queens into new residential neighborhoods. In 1906, the year Rickert-Finlay bought Douglas Manor, several major transportation projects to speed connections between Manhattan and Queens were underway: the Pennsylvania Railroad and Long Island Railroad tunnels under the East River, and the Queensborough Bridge at 59th Street.14 According to the Real Estate Record and Guide of that year:

 

The development of numerous farms into building lots and the erection of hundreds of new buildings have necessarily advanced the value of real estate in that section of Greater New York. It is said that more than 8,000 new apportionments have been made in the Borough of Queens during 1906, and that considerably more than 10,000 acres of land have been cut up into lots....

 

Chief among the new developments cited:

 

Title has just been taken to the Douglass [sic] homestead of about 180 acres by the Douglass Manor Co. This will probably be the highest class development on the island. It has a mile of water front and most magnificent shade trees. This property will be subdivided immediately.16

 

The Rickert-Finlay Realty Company, which bought Douglas Manor, was active in real-estate development in Queens and Nassau Counties in the early years of the century, buying up large farms and estates on the north shore of Long Island, preferably those with attractive topographical features, and subdividing them into new suburban communities. Their projects included Norwood in Long Island City, Broadway-Flushing in Flushing, Bellcourt in Bayside, Douglas Manor in Douglaston, and Westmoreland in Little Neck.17 By 1908, the company, with offices at 45 West 34th Street in Manhattan,18 was advertising itself as "The Largest Developers of Real Estate in Queens Borough ~ over 10,000 lots within the limits of New York City."19

 

The company's typical strategy for selecting development sites was described by E.J. Rickert in a 1914 article in Architecture and Building: "It was selected because it was on high ground, with a splendid outlook . . . and only four blocks from a railway station. It was . . . noted for the magnificent row of maples and lindens, nearly a mile long, extending through the entire property."20 The company then developed each tract according to a formula based on past successes. E.J. Rickert described the progression of the firm's ideas:

 

The first property developed was Bellcourt in Bayside, which was improved along the same lines as had heretofore prevailed on Long Island — that is, gravel sidewalks were laid, streets were graded and shade trees were set out, no other improvements being made. In the sale of Bellcourt, however, it was found that there was a demand for better improvements, and, consequently, when Douglas Manor was developed, cement sidewalks were laid, macadam roads were built and trees and hedges were set out. Broadway-Flushing and Westmoreland, which came next, were developed to about the same extent as Douglas Manor, all then being considered the best improved properties on Long Island.

 

The next development, Kensington, saw the addition of complete "sanitary sewer system, water mains and underground conduit for street lighting."

 

The new suburb of Douglas Manor

 

The qualities of the nineteenth-century Douglas Manor on which the Rickert-Finlay development capitalized included its hilly topography, its mile-long waterfront accessible to the entire narrow peninsula, and its lush plantings, especially the specimen trees planted during Douglas's tenure. The development also based its new road system on the major farm roads already in place, which became West, East, and Centre [Center] Drives.23

 

The company then established a series of protective covenants to guarantee a certain manner of development and density within the new suburb. In an era pre-dating the adoption of zoning regulations,24 the character of a new development could be guaranteed in no other way.

 

The covenants affected the architectural character of the houses only peripherally — by prohibiting flat roofs, thereby encouraging a more romantic roofline. Instead, they focused on the kind and size of houses and the nature of the landscaping of the new development. They required all houses to be single-family residences, with the sole exception of the Douglaston Club (commercial uses and two-family buildings and flats were specifically prohibited). They encouraged an economically mixed development, with a boulevard of substantial mansions along the Shore Road waterfront, while smaller, less expensive houses would predominate on the peninsula's east. (Such conditions were guaranteed by requiring houses of a certain cost and lots of a certain size). A verdant landscape was ensured by requiring houses to be set back 20 feet, leaving room for greenery, and by prohibiting fences and encouraging hedges, creating vistas not of individual, fenced-off gardens, but rather of a continuous, green, park-like, landscaped environment.

 

Rickert-Finlay went even further, taking steps to protect that environment and shape the community's social character by creating, in 1906, the Douglas Manor Association. Its stated objectives were the creation and maintenance of a club house to promote "social intercourse" among the residents, and to preserve and protect the development's physical amenities, including the roads, parks, shorefront, and plantings.26

 

Selling Douglas Manor

 

Promotional brochures prepared by Rickert-Finlay characterized the new neighborhood as a private community of houses, nestled in a landscape similar to Central Park, surrounded with a mile of shorefront, just blocks from each home.27

 

Douglas Manor's convenience to Midtown Manhattan via the Long Island Railroad was compared favorably to subway commutation to new Bronx neighborhoods. The commute was touted at "only 33 Minutes to Manhattan, 52 Trains a Day," and predicted to become "20 Minutes to Herald Square, when Pennsylvania-Long Island Tunnels are completed." The neighborhood was just three blocks from the Douglaston station, itself very near the Long Island Sound, "being the only station on the line near enough to the Sound to bring the shore front within easy walking distance. "28 The history and character of the old Douglas estate were emphasized, especially the trees planted by Douglas: "Scotch Holly, Magnolia, Japanese Maidenhair, Chinese Cypress, European Beech, Scarlet Maple, Horse Chestnut, Tulip, Lime, evergreens... Even Central Park does not possess a greater variety of rare trees....

 

" This park-like effect would be "preserved and increased by setting out hedges along winding roads, following the natural contour of the land as much as possible.... The shore drive, curving along the bay for over a mile, will be made the finest boulevard on Long Island." To all these suburban advantages, Douglas Manor also boasted the services provided by the City of New York: "city water, stone sidewalks, macadamized streets" and the "full benefit of all departments of the city government, including schools, water, police and fire protection."

 

From 1906 through the Depression, several hundred houses were erected in Douglas Manor, following the plan suggested by the Rickert-Finlay covenants. In general, the lots along Shore Road on the west were developed first, with larger, more substantial houses, followed by the more modest

 

homes to the east towards Udalls Cove. Property owners often acquired lots adjacent to those on which their houses were built to accommodate more generous lawns or gardens. The mile-long waterfront remained undeveloped, held in common by the Douglas Manor Association. The large caliper specimen trees planted in Douglas's day remained in place. The grounds of the various houses were separated by perimeter hedges only — no fences. Two smaller lots formed by irregular street intersections were planted as small parks, maintained by the Association. Together, the parks, commonly held shorefront, specimen trees, and hedged gardens created something close to Rickert-Finlay's version of Central Park, surrounded by water, with several hundred houses nestled in the landscape.

 

The Architecture of the Douglaston Historic District

 

The architectural styles of the over 600 houses and some 150 related structures (mostly garages) in the historic district reflect three centuries of Douglaston's built history. From the eighteenth-century colonial Van Wyck House, to the early nineteenth-century Van Zandt House and mid-nineteenth-century Allen House, to the twentiethth-century suburban houses of the Rickert-Finlay development, to the additions of the post-World War II period, they tell the story of the development of this part of eastern Queens, part of the larger developmental story of New York City and the country as a whole.

 

The Cornelius Van Wyck House, at 126 West Drive, survives as the oldest extant house in the district, and one of the oldest in New York City (it is a designated New York City landmark). Built c.1735 for an early Dutch settler as a farmstead, the house reflects eighteenth-century New York colonial styles. Douglas, who transformed the farm to Douglas Manor, is said to have used the house as an "entrance lodge to his estate.w29 In 1907, one year after the acquisition of the Manor by the Rickert-Finlay Company, the Douglaston Country Club enlarged the building for use as a clubhouse. In 1921, the Van Wyck House passed back into use as a single-family residence, and its owner, E.N. Wicht, hired Frank J. Forster, designer of Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival style houses in the new Douglas Manor development, to restore it to its original Dutch Colonial appearance.

 

The Wynant Van Zandt House, at 600 West Drive, reflects both the older and the newer history of Douglaston. Built in 1819 as a home for Wynant Van Zandt, it was significantly altered after 1906 for use as the Douglaston Club, but still reflects some of the character of Van Zandt's original two-story Greek Revival manor house.

 

The Benjamin P. Allen House (a/k/a the Allen-Beville House, a designated New York City landmark) at 29 Center Drive, built c. 1848-50, is another rare Queens farm house. Predominately Greek Revival in style, it also shows the influence of the newly fashionable Italianate style, especially in its cornices and brackets.

 

Almost all the other buildings in the district date from the twentieth century, and the greater number of them from its first three decades, when Douglas Manor was developed by the Rickert-Finlay Company. Douglas Manor is a contemporary of several other planned communities in New York City, notably Fieldston in the Bronx and Forest Hill Gardens in Queens, all three of which began as subdivisions in the first decade of die century, and blossomed in the late teens and twenties. Like them, Douglas Manor was developed with houses based on historic styles of the past.

 

The first few decades of the century constituted a period of ferment and development in the design of American single-family houses. The epoch has been characterized as "a resurgence of individualism and an indulgence in residential architecture, a reaction to the standardization of the previous two decades. Fanciful cottages in fairy-tale styles were part of that image."30 In some ways, that approach is a logical continuation of late nineteenth-century architectural eclecticism, characterized in the 1890s as "rampant eclecticism in all fields of life and taste, of triumphant individualism, when authority sits so lightly on men's interests and lives; in this age of archaeology, when the different periods of history are made to live again in our imagination. "31 At the same time, residential architecture was affected by notions of progress and efficiency, and a drive toward simplicity and sanitary conveniences in home design.

 

Rickert-Finlay's protective covenants left the architectural character of the buildings almost entirely in the hands of owners and architects, requiring only that building roofs not be flat.32 The result was a collection of early twentieth-century eclectic residential styles, ranging from grand Colonial Revival mansions on the Shore Road waterfront, to picturesque Tudor Revival or Mediterranean Revival houses or houses in the English cottage manner or Colonial Revival houses on the blocks between West and East Drives, to modest cottages near Udalls Cove. Houses were sited in harmony with the topography, which tends to get hillier in the southeastern section of the peninsula.

 

One Douglas Manor architect, Alfred Scheffer, expressed his point of view in an article published in 1929. He described the Tudor Revival house he designed for himself at 216 Beverly-Road — a particularly useful indication of both the architect's and the client's point of view. Tellingly, the very first observation he makes is about the siting of the house, overlooking Long Island Sound: "The water is only a stone's throw — of a conservative marksman — from our front door and the second floor bay window has a certain suggestion of the forecastle deck of a ship, for the intervening land and highway are quite lost to sight and I can get a fine sense of sailing the seas, when I stand there." Only then does he turn to the formal style of the design, and sums up in a sentence the attitude of his day towards historically-inspired styles: "The construction is quite definitely in the English manner although / was not concerned with making it exact or authentic [emphasis added]

 

Scheffer then lists the elements that make his house "English": "stucco and halftimber walls with slate roof . . . The substantial chimney of common brick is typical of many English country houses. . . . The main entrance doorway of the house, at the end of a narrow flagstone walk, forms a Gothic arch of oak timber, framing a paneled oak door with iron straps and two small leaded glass windows, the effect completed by a semi-circular stone stoop. Beside the door is a lantern of pierced wrought-iron in the shape of an inverted tunnel, with wrought-iron bracket." Clearly it is details like the paneled oak door and leaded glass windows which give the house the English "effect" Scheffer wanted. But when he turns to describing the interior, practical matters take precedence: "The interior of the house was designed to take full advantage of our gorgeous outlook over the water."

 

Historical details are listed — "The walls are of rough English hand finished plaster" - but so are the "built-in bookshelves," "built-in comer cabinets," and "convenient and numerous closets and the very large closet and bathroom which join the master bedroom and add much to its convenience." "The interior of the house," concludes Scheffer," will probably grow from year to year. Things will be taken out and others put in until eventually, it comes near to realizing my mental image of what it ought to be. Already, I think, it has the liveable quality which is most essential of all."33

 

The majority of houses in the historic district reflect a variety of styles, loosely adapted by architects like Frank Scheffer, typical of suburban residential architecture across the country. The predominant style is the Colonial Revival in several variants, ranging in date from c.1910 to the present. Most are of frame construction with shingle and/or clapboard siding. Besides a generic Colonial Revival style, the district has such distinctive variations as the Dutch Colonial Revival, New England Colonial Revival, and Cape Cod Colonial Revival. Colonial Revival houses of brick, or frame with brick facing, often have a more formal neo-Georgian appearance. The English manner, the other major stylistic mode, is expressed with Tudor Revival, English cottage, or Arts and Crafts details. These houses, too, are often of frame construction with stucco facing and brick and/or stone trim. The Mediterranean Revival style was also popular.

 

These houses usually have stucco facing and tile roofs. The district also has a handful of houses of the Craftsman type pioneered by Gustav Stickley. Suburban houses of the type found in the district were judged by their picturesque qualities. The Architectural Forum, for instance, featured a Douglas Manor house by Frank Forster, the same architect who restored the Van Wyck House to something approaching its original Dutch colonial appearance. The writer praised Forster's "excellent use of half-timber in connection with brick or stucco," but more importantly his "rare skill in grouping, which creates a picturesque and architectural composition, wholly unaffected or exaggerated and involving no sacrifice in the matter of interior planning to secure this effect."

 

An additional group of houses in the historic district, on the south side of Bay Street, predates the Douglas Manor development by several years. Designed c.1900, they are excellent examples of the Colonial Revival and Queen Anne styles popular at the end of the nineteenth century.

 

Playing an important role in the historic district are the many related garage structures, often designed in architectural styles compatible with the houses they serve. Some were constructed originally as carriage houses and stables, often with residential accommodations, and later converted for garage use. By about 1920, the automobile had supplanted the horse, and garages were built as freestanding structures, some with chauffeur's quarters at the second story, usually situated close to a side or rear lot line. By the late 1920s, some houses were constructed with attached garages, or garages were constructed later, atttached to earlier houses. After World War II, many houses were built with basement garages, while other earlier houses were modified to provide basement garages.

 

The Douglas Manor Architects

 

A few prominent New York City architects with Manhattan offices received commissions in the new neighborhood; however, the vast majority of Douglas Manor houses were designed by local Queens and Brooklyn architects, and a surprisingly large number by architects who themselves lived in Douglas Manor or had offices nearby.35

 

Among the better known firms from outside the neighborhood who worked in the historic district, Buchman & Fox, architects of many Manhattan office buildings, designed 1008 Shore Road, a substantial Colonial Revival mansion overlooking the Bay. George Keister, whose practice included churches, hotels and Broadway theaters, designed 24 Knollwood Avenue, an Arts and Crafts style house, and 104 Hollywood Avenue, a Colonial Revival house. Diego DeSuarez, who planned villa gardens at both La Pietra, outside Florence, and Vizcaya, outside Miami, designed a one-story Mediterranean fantasy at 231 Beverly Road. Lionel Moses, of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, designed a house in the English cottage manner at 1102 Shore Road overlooking Little Neck Bay. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White is credited with the formal French Renaissance Revival style house at 4 Ardsley Road. Dating from 1919, it is constructed of hollow terra-cotta block, a form of fireproof construction, and faced with stucco.36

 

Architects from Brooklyn and Queens represented in the historic district include Arthur H. Allen, an architect very active in Forest Hills (a Colonial Revival house at 217 Ridge Road); Philip Resnyk (Tudor Revival, English cottage manner, and Colonial Revival houses on Warwick, Beverly, Grosvenor, Hollywood, Knollwood, Richmond, Kenmore, Richmond and Manor); Benjamin Dreisler (an Arts and Crafts/Colonial Revival house at 243 Forest Road); Louis Feldman (English cottage type houses at 211 and 217 Forest Road); J. Sarsfield Kennedy (a Tudor Revival house at 369 Beverly Road and a grand English bungalow/Arts and Crafts house at 1114 Shore Road), and Shampan & Shampan (a Colonial Revival house at 110 Arleigh).

 

Almost 60 of the over 600 houses in the historic district, built in the first decades of the century, are known to be the work of fourteen Douglaston architects.37 Alfred Scheffer, whose views are quoted above, designed at least ten, most in the Colonial Revival style or English cottage manner with Tudor Revival or Arts and Crafts detail.

 

John C.W. Cadoo designed at least sixteen houses, mostly Colonial Revival in style. Frank Forster designed at least three houses, one Colonial Revival, the others in the English cottage manner, as well as overseeing the restoration of the eighteenth-century Van Wyck House. Albert Humble designed at least ten houses, most in the Colonial Revival style.

 

Josephine Wright Chapman

 

Eight houses in the historic district are known to have been designed in the 1910s and 1920s by one of America's earliest successful women architects, Josephine Wright Chapman (1867-?). Chapman was professionally active from 1892 to 1927, but little is known about her education or commissions.

 

She pursued her interest in a career in architecture over opposition from her family, working from 1892 to 1897 as a draftsman in the office of Boston architect Clarence H. Blackall. Very few academically trained women became architects in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, and Chapman may have entered the profession as an apprentice.

 

By 1898 she was listed in the Boston City Directory as an architect, and developed a successful practice, despite the rejection of her application for membership in the American Institute of Architects.

 

Chapman's first major project was the New England Building at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901. Other known work includes the Craigie Arms Apartments (1897) in Cambridge, Mass., the Episcopal Church in Leominster, Mass., and the Women's Clubs in Worcester and Lynn, Mass.

 

In 1905, Chapman began to devote herself to the design of houses. She preferred the "English type," long, low and rambling, with gables and timber and plaster detailing. In 1907 she moved to New York, where she was listed in directories as an architect until 1925. Among her few published works was a sixteen-story apartment building on Park Avenue, described as demonstrating "the feminine idea of correct planning . . .and many innovations were to be introduced."

 

While in New York, she also received the commission for Hillandale, an Italian Renaissance style villa in Washington, D.C., built 1922-25. In the words of historian Gwendolyn Wright: "Neither Chapman's early public success in Boston nor her conversion to professional pursuit more appropriate for a woman qualified her for coverage in the architectural press.

 

But her career was remarkable, for few women had the financial independence to experiment with their own offices."

 

Chapman's known Douglaston houses, which date from 1909 to 1917, are in the historic district's two prevalent stylistic modes — five Colonial Revival and three in the English cottage manner.

 

They share picturesque silhouetttes with rooflines that feature gambrel or gabled roofs with hipped or shed dormers, and exposed brick chimneys; and distinctive entry and porch details, including one with Tuscan columns, one with a pointed-arch batten door, and one with a panelled entrance with side-lights and transom.

 

The Craftsman style houses

 

Several Craftsman style houses, including No. 122 Arleigh Road, 140 Prospect Avenue, and 111 Hollywood Avenue, may be one of the largest such collections in any New York City neighborhood.

 

Furniture designer Gustav Stickley of Rochester, New York, created the Craftsman architectural movement and disseminated it throughout the country via his Craftsman magazine.

 

The Craftsman aesthetic drew on the English Arts and Crafts movement, California Mission design, Japanese architecture, and Native American design, and was supported by an ideology influenced by concepts of socialism, the nobility of work, and the value of manual training.

 

Stickley developed his interest in architecture in the years 1902-05, initially as a way of creating the proper environment for his furniture. He hired architect Harvey Ellis to help develop a Craftsman architecture, and the Craftsman magazine began publishing prototype houses initially designed by Ellis, encouraging the public to take them as models for their own homes.

 

The published houses included floor plans, sketches, renderings of room schemes, elevations, and descriptions of appropriate rugs, fabrics, furniture, and color schemes. Stickley then encouraged his readers to alter the plans to suit local conditions.

 

In 1909, Stickley became involved in the actual construction of houses when he organized the Craftsman Building Company, which constructed houses in New Jersey and on Long Island.

 

The company was active for just under a year; the exact number of houses built is unknown. Most "Craftsman" houses were built by contractors using Craftsman plans.

 

The Craftsman house embodies a number of characteristics in its exterior. It is generally designed to take advantage of its site and views. Picturesque in its composition, it incorporates an "honest" expression of its materials and structure.

 

It makes use of exposed or emphasized structural elements, especially a broad, overhanging roof, often supported by large, open rafters extending beyond the eaves.

 

There may be wooden elements including curved roofs, or exotic piled capitals. Often such houses include pergolas, porches, balconies or verandas. Windows are grouped together to create large openings.

 

Craftsman houses use a variety of materials, preferably local. Stonework is often textured and ornamental, with variegated colors and shapes. Other common materials include clinker brick, and stucco, often mixed with rough sand or bits of glass.

 

Historical and Architectural Introduction

 

No. 111 Hollywood Road was designed by the Craftsman architects in 1914.55 The interior follows the Craftsman aesthetic, while the exterior borrows the distinctive eyebrow window and brick Tudor arched entrance from neighboring houses.

 

No. 122 Arleigh Road corresponds to Craftsman plan number 70, a "Ten-Room House for Town or Country Life" published originally in the Craftsman in July 1909 and again in More Craftsman Homes. Its horizontal orientation, large living porch, emphasis on structural elements including low, spreading, overhanging eaves and extended rafters, and central entrance and symmetrical facade with grouped windows, all reflect the Craftsman mold.

 

No. 140 Prospect Road correspond to Craftsman plan number 85, a "Small Two-Story Cement House with Recessed Porch and Balcony," published originally in the Craftsman in March 1910 and again in More Craftsman Homes. Its low-pitched roof revealing the rafters, porch and balcony, decorative use of structural elements, and grouping of windows and openings, all fit the Craftsman aesthetic.

 

A number of other houses in the historic district reflect the Craftsman aesthetic, even though they do not follow published Craftsman plans.

 

Prominent residents and later history

 

The first residents to move into the new Douglas Manor development, in 1907, were "the Misses Butler, of Flushing." They were followed by a number of newspapermen including "Mr. Mayer, World cartoonist, on Shore Road and Knollwood Ave.," "George C. Minor, of the New York Herald" on West Drive and Knollwood, and "Arthur Greaves, city editor of the New York Times" on West Drive, as well as a Mr. Slater of Manhattan and a Mr. Burtis, "manager of the Brooklyn branch of Swift & Co."56 Country Life in America the following year showed houses for sale in Douglas Manor priced at $8500 and $10,000.

 

Over the years, the historic district has attracted many famous residents, including a number of people in theater and the arts. Besides the above mentioned Herbert Mayer, cartoonist for The World, and architect Elbert McGran Jackson, who also illustrated covers for the Saturday Evening Post, artists included Percy Crosby, author of the "Skippy" comic strip; Robbie Robinson, another

 

illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post, Norwegian born sculptor Trygve Hammer, whose house is at 329 Forest Road,59 and satirist George Grosz.

 

Douglaston's location on the Long Island Rail Road, which made it convenient to the Astoria Studios in Long Island City, an early movie center, attracted many actors in the days before the ascendancy of Hollywood.

 

Residents have included Ginger Rogers, Hedda Hopper, Richard Dix, Ward Bond, Bonita Granville, Clifton Webb, Arthur Treacher, Jack Donahue, and William Collier Sr., as well as Ziegfeld Follies star Margaret Corry.

 

Other notable residents have included author Ring Lardner, as well as Olympic swimmer Annette Kellerman, tennis pro John McEnroe, Jr., and pianist Claudio Arrau.

 

Douglaston resident Anne E. Hayes was one of the first women to attend Cornell University's medical school, and later became a clothing designer.

 

In the half century since the end of World War II, the Douglaston Historic District has seen numerous houses altered or demolished, and much new construction. Some of the new houses have maintained the scale and repeated the materials and styles of earlier houses; others have not.

 

They have ranged in style from ranch houses to modern versions of the Colonial Revival. Overall, however, the Douglaston Historic District survives, maintaining much of its original architectural character as a planned suburban community, as well as rare surviving reminders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and significant landscape features including the commonly-held waterfront, specimen trees, and generous landscaping.

 

All create a distinct sense of place, recalling a significant period in the history of Queens.

 

- From the 1997 NYCLPC Historic District Designation Report

Sylvester, 2 Feb 2014

Ford, McKinney, & Weller vending machine view.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - APRIL 8: Jake "Boaster" Howlett of team Fnatic poses for the VALORANT Masters Features Day on April 8, 2022 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 30: Team Sentinels' Tyson "TenZ" Ngo poses at the VALORANT Champions Features Day on November 30, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

The ultra modern mosque, with its design based upon the Grand Mosque in Mecca, with 48 smaller green domes dotting the courtyard, and one large blue tiled dome. It has a large capacity of 15,000 people and is surrounded by lush greenery which expands to a 13-acre land (53,000 m2). Around the compound are many reflecting pools and fountains.

 

The mosque was actually built on the site of a church in 1965. The original structure was designed by a three-person team from the Public Works Department: UK architect Howard Ashley, and Malaysians Hisham Albakri and Baharuddin Kassim.The mosque has been standing firm on its grounds since then and is now deemed as an important symbol of the Islamic country of Malaysia.

 

The best features of the mosque are the 73 meters ( 240ft) high minaret and its 18 pointed star which is its main roof. The main roof's design was inspired from the idea of an open blue umbrella while the minaret is like a folded umbrella. The roof symbolizes the 5 pillars of Islam and the 13 states of Malaysia.

 

The building itself includes a hall, a mausoleum, a library, offices, an open courtyard.

The mausoleum, situated at the rear of the mosque, stands in a circular reflecting pool and is connected to the main building by a covered foot-bridge. It is circular in shape and is covered by a pleated shell concrete dome similar in shape to that of the Grand Hall but with only seven folds, one of which covers a reserve for the national hero’s tomb.

 

Non-muslims are welcome, however there is a different entrance for “tourists” and of course there are set hours around the prayer times. Special purple hooded cloaks are provided if you are not appropriately dressed.

Near the main prayer hall, there are volunteers who would be more than willing to explain the history and some information about the building and the religion to you.

  

Sony FE 28mm F2 搭廣角 / 魚眼外接鏡實拍體驗 chinese.engadget.com/2015/04/24/sony-fe-28mm-f2-review/

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - APRIL 8: Joaquin Ignacio "delz1k" Espinoza Soto of KRU Esports poses for the VALORANT Masters Features Day on April 8, 2022 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 28: (L-R) Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart, Benedict "Benkai" Tan and Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee of Paper Rex pose at VALORANT Champions 2022 Istanbul Features Day on August 28, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 19: Wan "CHICHOO" Shunzhi of EDward Gaming poses during the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN features day on February 19, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

The new BMW 1 Series.

Unmistakably sporty, with a higher quality feel and greater presence.

  

New special-edition models, an enhanced premium interior, extended

connectivity features and the latest-generation iDrive operating system: this is

the next generation of the BMW 1 Series. The sportiest representative of the

premium compact class comes with a broad range of efficient engines

encompassing powerful three-, four- and six-cylinder variants. Uniquely in this

class, the BMW 1 Series has rear-wheel drive, with the intelligent xDrive allwheel-

drive system available as an option. The new edition of the

BMW 1 Series will be launched in July 2017 in 3-door and 5-door versions.

  

The BMW 1 Series: a tour de force in the premium compact class.

The success story of this sporty compact model dates back to late-summer

2004 and the introduction of the original BMW 1 Series. Thanks to its

superior agility and driving dynamics, it rapidly positioned itself as the epitome

of sporting prowess in the compact segment. To date, more than two million

units of the BMW 1 Series have been sold worldwide, of which approximately

960,000 are from the latest model generation. Germany is the most important

international market and this is where one in four BMW 1 Series is sold,

followed by the UK (20 per cent) and China (eight per cent). The

BMW 1 Series is built in Germany at the plants in Regensburg (3-door and 5-

door models) and Leipzig (5-door). There are also assembly plants for the

Asia-Pacific region in Chennai (India) and Rayong (Thailand).

  

New special-edition models with striking looks.

The BMW 1 Series is unmistakeably sporty: dynamic contours, the distinctive

kidney grille, long bonnet and a sportily stylish rear define its appearance. New

special-edition models – the Edition Sport Line Shadow, Edition M Sport

Shadow and BMW M140i Edition Shadow – see BMW emphasising the

youthfully refreshing, sporty character of the 1 Series. The special editions

stand out from their siblings with a kidney grille frame painted in black, LED

headlights with black inserts and darkened rear lights which likewise feature

LED technology. The BMW 1 Series Edition M Sport Shadow has black

exhaust tailpipes, too. The new exterior colours Seaside Blue and Sunset

Orange also contribute to the new car’s more striking looks.

  

The Sport Line, Urban Line and M Sport variants of the BMW 1 Series remain

in the line-up alongside the standard model. And now there are also specialedition

models to choose from. The handover from one model to the next

sees five new light-alloy wheels being added to the range in 17- and 18-inch

formats. A total of 16 different wheel designs – in sizes ranging from 16 to

18 inches – provide plenty of scope for personalisation. The new

BMW 1 Series Edition Sport Line Shadow comes with exclusive 17-inch lightalloy

wheels (725) as standard. The Edition M Sport Shadow has 18-inch

wheels in either Jet Black or Bicolour Jet Black (719 M) to complement its

shadow-like character. And an additional 18-inch light-alloy wheel design is

offered for the M140i/M140i xDrive Edition Shadow (436 M in Orbit Grey).

  

Upgraded interior, redesigned instrument panel.

Moving inside the new BMW 1 Series, an array of details add to the cabin’s

exclusive, high-quality feel. With a clear and stylish design, the instrument

panel has been completely reworked to place an even greater emphasis on

driver focus. The black-panel instrument cluster has likewise been

reconfigured. Contrast stitching gives the various model variants a

sophisticated appearance. The centre stack, which houses the control panels

for the radio and air conditioning system, features a high-gloss black surface.

There is a roll cover for the cupholders in the centre console, giving the new

interior a clean look. And the window buttons in the doors now have chrome

trim. Thanks to virtually imperceptible gaps, the glove compartment blends

seamlessly into the overall ambience. The air vents for the air conditioning

have been revised and also contribute to the generous impression of space

created by the interior of the new BMW 1 Series.

  

Customers can also specify an optional new seat covering in Cognac Dakota

leather, while the interior trim strips are now available with Pearl Chrome

accents. The Urban Line offers exclusive new combinations of white or black

acrylic glass with chrome detailing. The standard model, Sport Line and

M Sport variants can be ordered with new combinations of Piano Finish Black,

aluminium or Fineline wood trim with chrome. When it comes to the seat

coverings, BMW 1 Series customers can choose from seven cloth variants,

some including leather or Alcantara.

  

Using iDrive, the touchscreen or voice control to operate various functions.

 

The new BMW 1 Series is equipped with the latest generation of the iDrive

operating system as standard. Using the iDrive Touch Controller allows the

driver to comfortably access and activate a variety of vehicle, navigation and

entertainment functions with one hand. Thanks to the touchpad integrated

into the Controller, it is easy to enter destinations for the navigation system in

handwriting style. If the optional Navigation system Professional is fitted, the

high-resolution central 8.8-inch display now comes in touchscreen form.

Intelligent voice control is the third way of operating these functions.

 

Perfectly connected from the word go.

Thanks to the standard built-in SIM card in the BMW 1 Series,

ConnectedDrive provides optimum connectivity and access to BMW services

without having to rely on the customer’s smartphone. These include the

Concierge Services, where personal assistants select destinations such as

restaurants or hotels for the driver while en route, make reservations and then

send the information directly to the vehicle’s navigation system, complete with

all contact details. Online Entertainment gives BMW 1 Series occupants a

choice of millions of music tracks and audio books, while RTTI (Real Time

Traffic Information) finds a smart way around traffic jams. RTTI now also

includes a hazard preview based on fleet information, meaning that in addition

to the real-time traffic situation, the service also notifies drivers of dangerous

situations – such as accidents or heavy rain – detected by other BMW

vehicles. Anonymised sensor data is used for this purpose. Hazard reports

and rain are shown on the map in the vehicle’s display, while a warning and

message appear on the navigation map when approaching the location of the

danger.

  

Plus, in selected cities in Germany and the USA, the On-Street Parking

Information service uses the Navigation system Professional display to

indicate the probability of finding an available roadside parking space.

  

The all-encompassing digital concept BMW Connected seamlessly integrates

the BMW 1 Series into the user’s digital life via touchpoints such as an

iPhone, Apple Watch, Android smartphone or smartwatch. BMW Connected

detects mobility-related information, such as the addresses contained in the

appointments calendar, and transmits this automatically to the vehicle. The

user then receives a message on their smartphone notifying them in advance

of the ideal departure time based on real-time traffic information. In addition,

places the user drives to regularly and personal mobility patterns are also

stored automatically. This means that manually entering destination

addresses in the navigation system is set to largely become a thing of the

past. If navigation details such as the destination address and desired arrival

time have already been set outside the vehicle on the user’s smartphone, the

link between phone and car will allow BMW Connected to transfer the

information seamlessly and make it available to the BMW navigation system.

  

BMW Connected and the Remote Services allow BMW 1 Series drivers to

stay in touch with their car at all times, no matter where they are. They can

control the heating and ventilation, lock and unlock the doors and call up

vehicle-related information, quickly and easily using their smartphone. And if

they happen to forget where they parked their car, they can check its location

on a map via BMW Connected. Alternatively, the vehicle’s horn or headlight

flasher can be activated remotely in order to locate it in a large car park, for

example. With the help of Alexa and Alexa-capable devices, BMW 1 Series

drivers in Germany and the UK can even manage their appointments in the

BMW Connected mobility agenda and operate vehicle functions by voice

control from the comfort of their home.

  

For the first time, BMW now offers Microsoft Office 365 users a secure server

connection for exchanging and editing emails, calendar entries and contact

details in the BMW 1 Series, thanks to the car’s built-in Microsoft Exchange

function.

  

The optional in-car WiFi hotspot provides a high-speed mobile internet

connection for up to ten devices. Apple CarPlay is also available for the

BMW 1 Series via a BMW navigation system. Integrating the smartphone into

the vehicle’s system environment allows the phone and selected apps to be

operated using the iDrive Controller, voice commands or the touchscreen

display (if the Navigation system Professional is specified). Compatible

smartphones can also be supplied with power wirelessly by means of an

optional inductive charging tray.

  

Driver assistance systems: extra help for the driver.

The assistance systems on the options list for the new BMW 1 Series include

Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, which enables the vehicle to

move along with the flow of traffic automatically up to near its maximum

speed. The system alerts the driver and applies the brakes if it detects an

obstacle. The Driving Assistant is also available as an option and comprises

the Lane Departure Warning system and City Collision Mitigation, which

applies the brakes automatically at speeds up to 60 km/h (37 mph) in

response to an imminent collision with a car, motorcycle or pedestrian, for

instance. The Parking Assistant, meanwhile, manoeuvres the car into parking

spots that are either parallel or perpendicular to the road. Its ultrasonic sensors

help to search for suitable spaces while travelling at up to 35 km/h (22 mph).

  

Highly efficient three-, four- and six-cylinder power units.

The new BMW 1 Series comes with a wide choice of petrol and diesel

engines, comprising three-, four- and six-cylinder variants. They all hail from

the state-of-the-art BMW EfficientDynamics engine family and feature

BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. With the exception of the BMW 116i,

116d EfficientDynamics Edition and 118d xDrive, all models can be specified

with the eight-speed Steptronic or eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission

as an alternative to the six-speed manual gearshift. The M140i xDrive can only

be ordered with the eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission.

 

On the petrol side, the line-up ranges from the BMW 116i – whose

turbocharged three-cylinder unit produces 80 kW/109 hp (fuel consumption

combined: 5.4 – 5.0 l/100 km [52.3 – 56.5 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions

combined: 126 – 116 g/km)* – to the BMW M140i M Performance model,

which stirs 250 kW/340 hp from its six-cylinder in-line engine (fuel

consumption combined: 7.8 – 7.1 l/100 km [36.2 – 39.8 mpg imp]; CO2

emissions combined: 179 – 163 g/km)*.

  

The diesel models likewise draw their power from cutting-edge engine

technology. In addition to a basic concept that is inherently more efficient, all

the three- and four-cylinder units feature new turbocharger technology and

enhanced common-rail direct injection systems. At the lower end of the

power spectrum is the BMW 116d, delivering 85 kW/116 hp and maximum

torque of 270 Newton metres (199 lb-ft). In the process, it burns

4.1 – 3.6 litres of fuel per 100 km (68.9 – 78.5 mpg imp), equating to CO2

emissions of 107 – 96 g/km*. In extra-efficient BMW 116d EfficientDynamics

Edition guise, fuel consumption is a frugal 3.8 – 3.4 l/100 km

(74.3 – 83.1 mpg imp), resulting in CO2 emissions of 101 – 89 g/km*. The

most powerful four-cylinder diesel engine in the line-up can be found in the

new BMW 125d. The multi-stage turbocharging technology, including

variable turbine geometry for the high-pressure turbocharger, results in

remarkably quick response, output of 165 kW/224 hp and peak torque of

450 Newton metres (332 lb-ft). Combined fuel consumption comes in at

4.6 – 4.3 l/100 km [61.4 – 65.7 mpg imp] and combined CO2 emissions are

120 – 114 g/km*.

  

Intelligent all-wheel drive for optimum power transmission.

The BMW M140i, BMW 118d and BMW 120d can be specified with

BMW xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive as an alternative to classical rear-wheel

drive. Besides the specific benefits of AWD – such as optimum transmission

of power to the road, supreme driving safety and maximum traction in wintry

conditions, for example – BMW xDrive also reduces understeer and oversteer

through corners. The result is sharper handling in situations such as when

turning into bends.

  

Two new elite athletes from BMW M GmbH: the M140i andM140i xDrive.

The sportiest member of the BMW 1 Series range also boasts a new look. To

mark the new model year, the BMW M140i M Performance model is also

available in M140i Edition Shadow trim. Black inserts are added to the

standard LED headlights and the kidney grille surround is painted black. The

darkened rear light assemblies lend further impact to the car’s sporting aura,

* Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified.

as do the standard 18-inch light-alloy wheels, which are now available for the

first time in Style 436 M Orbit Grey and Style 719 M Jet Black or Bicolour Jet

Black, to go with the previously available Ferric Grey (Style 436 M). The

sportiest BMW 1 Series leaves the factory shod with high-performance

mixed-size tyres as standard, with dimensions of 225/40 at the front and

245/35 at the rear.

  

The BMW M140i is powered by a three-litre straight-six engine complete with

direct injection, M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology with twin-scroll

turbocharging, fully variable valve timing (VALVETRONIC) and Double-

VANOS variable camshaft control. This all combines to give the BMW M140i

an output of 250 kW/340 hp and maximum torque of 500 Newton metres

(369 lb-ft), which can be summoned from as low down as 1,520 rpm and

remains on tap up to 4,500 rpm. This gives the BMW M140i all the right

credentials for delivering extraordinary performance: with the six-speed

manual gearshift, this compact racer sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in

4.8 seconds, while top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (155 mph).

When the optional eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission is specified, the

BMW M140i reaches the 100 km/h (62 mph) mark from rest in an even

quicker 4.6 seconds (fuel consumption combined: 7.1 l/100 km

[39.8 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 163 g/km)*. Performance is even

more remarkable in the BMW M140i xDrive versions, thanks to the presence

of intelligent all-wheel drive. Equipped with the eight-speed Steptronic Sport

transmission as standard, the M140i xDrive surges from 0 to 100 km/h

(62 mph) in 4.4 seconds, while returning combined fuel consumption of

7.4 l/100 km (38.2 mpg imp) and CO2 emissions of 169 g/km*.

  

Variable sport steering adds to the impression of exceptional agility at the

wheel of the BMW M140i. It comes with electromechanical power assistance

and adapts the steering angle of the front wheels to the prevailing driving

situation. This allows lightning-fast evasive manoeuvres but also produces a

sensation of excellent directional and straight-line stability in motorway driving.

The M Sport suspension, M Sport braking system and shorter throw for the

six-speed manual gearshift have all been perfectly matched to the might of

the six-cylinder in-line engine, as have high-performance tyres designed to

ensure that acceleration and braking force are transmitted to the road to

optimum effect. The Driving Experience Control switch in the BMW M140i

features the same modes included in all models in the range, such as

Comfort, Sport and ECO PRO, but also adds the ultra-dynamic Sport+ mode.

In this setting, the configuration of the Dynamic Stability Control system

allows the driver to perform controlled drifts.

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 11: KRÜ Fem poses at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2022 Features Day on November 11, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Wolfman checking out the US flag liveried Diablo! Shots from this year’s Cannonball Irish Road Trip starting at the 3 Arena in Dublin, Ireland 09/09/2016. The Cannonball features each year over 150 of the world’s best cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, McLaren, Maserati, Aston Martin, Bentley, AMG etc. Cannonball Ireland over the past few years has raised over € 850,000 for Irish Children’s charities.

Shot with Nikon D-750 & Nikon D-800 camera bodies and zoom Nikkor’s 24-70mm f/2.8 IF-ED & 70-200 f/2.8 IF-ED VR2 lenses and Nikon SB-910 Speedlite/Godox power pack (on the 750).

Please note:

These images are not public domain and are protected by copyright law.

All images © MSI (Motorsport Images Ireland) 2016. All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT: The copyright and intellectual property rights of this image is owned by MSI (Ireland), and is protected by copyright laws of Ireland and international intellectual property right treaties. You may not copy any portion of the images in any form whatsoever. You may not alter the images in any way.

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Photography by JOB/MSI Ireland

 

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All Rights Reserved

 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 06: DRX poses at the League of Legends World Championship Groups Features Day on October 5, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

These are close up shots of different parts of my body, without concealing any flaws. I've chosen The Year of Hibernation by Youth Lagoon as the soundtrack for these pictures.

Gumayusi of T1 at League of Legends Worlds 2025 Semifinal Features on October 27, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by David Lee/Riot Games)

Faker of T1 at League of Legends Worlds 2025 Semifinal Features on October 27, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by David Lee/Riot Games)

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 27: Benedict "Benkai" Tan of Paper Rex poses for a portrait at VALORANT Champions 2022 Istanbul Features Day on August 27, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Angel Franco/Riot Games)

BOX DATE: 2021

MANUFACTURER: M.G.A.

DOLLS IN LINE: Precious; Pop Heart; Baby Next Door; Go-Go Gurl; Foxy; D.J.; Daring Diva; Surfer Babe; Sis Cheer; Merbaby: Pranksta; Genie

BODY TYPE: No date; painted bodysuit

HEAD MOLD: 2016 "Madame"; ear slots, open mouth

SPECIAL FEATURES: Color Change

IMPORTANT NOTES: This doll is nearly identical to the original 2017 Series 3 Confetti Pop Go-Go Gurl. However, she has a color change painted body suit and color change hair.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - AUGUST 27: Fnatic poses at VALORANT Champions 2022 Istanbul Features Day on August 27, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

The postcard features a man in the gardens at Reservoir Park located in Bartonville near Crown Point in East Hamilton.

 

The postcard is addressed to Miss Lillian Bull, Box 68, Brampton, Ont. Canada. The verso has a 2 cent red Canadian stamp featuring King Edward VII with wavy cancellation marks. The return stamp is dated [1907], Hamilton. The recto has the following transcription written on the top "There are other pretty places you have not seen, love R.L." The postcards corners are worn and bent.

 

Ontario Engraving Co.

 

Postcard Collection HPL_PC_s18_104v_32022206616142

 

Cite Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives

 

The postcard features the Gore Park fountain in the centre with the Right House department store to the left. The image faces east.

 

The postcard is addressed to Mr. Jeffery Bull, Hawthorne Lodge, Brampton, Ont. The transcription reads: "Suppose you got home O.K. old man, and found the estate in good order? I have just finished phoning your sister on West Ave. She is in great demand here, it seems. Mother had a little evening for Dr. Rose and family and very kindly invited Florence without me knowing it it was quite a surprise. You'll have to excuse this scribble. I have just been promoted to a better position at the foundry with an increase in pay. Tell Lillian its her turn now to come to H. directly after Flo leaves. Yours t. A.L.R. Have just had a Prince from [N.Z.] to dinner. I met him in Kingston at Queen's." The recto has "Summer Scene" written underneath the image. The verso has a 1 cent green Canadian stamp with wavy cancellation marks. The return stamp is dated January 11, [1906], Hamilton. The number 1876 is printed on the recto. The postcard corners are slightly bent.

 

Warwick Bro's & Rutter, Limited, Publishers, Toronto

 

Postcard Collection HPL_PC_s18_74r_32022206615821

 

Cite Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives

  

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 27: Diego “Brance” Amaral of LOUD poses at the League of Legends World Championship Play-Ins Features Day on September 27, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Hotel Ca' Sagredo in Venice is a masterpiece in itself! Set in an elegant, 15th century palace overlooking the Grand Canal, it features antique furnitures and original works of art in all rooms. From the most important Venetian painters of the 17th and 18th century: Nicolò Bambini, Giambattista Tiepolo, Sebastiano Ricci, Pietro Longhi, amongst many others. This wonderfull 5 star hotel in Venice is near the Rialto Bridge. Its original architecture and impressive collection of art make this hotel really special. If you dream of Venice you will dream of Ca’ Sagredo: romantic, mysterious, unforgettable. A Private Palazzo, a Noble Residence, a Museum, a Luxury Hotel and much more… this all is Ca’ Sagredo.

 

The water streets of Venice are canals which are navigated by gondolas and other small boats. During daylight hours the canals, bridges, and streets of Venice are full of tourists eager to experience the romance of this great travel destination. As night engulfs the town, tourists enjoy some fine dining at one of the many restaurants, leaving the waterways and streets quiet.

 

The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were once the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in the city, serving as ferries over the Grand Canal. They are also used in special regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their main role, however, is to carry tourists on rides throughout the canals. Gondolas are hand made using 8 different types of wood (fir, oak, cherry, walnut, elm, mahogany, larch and lime) and are composed of 280 pieces. The oars are made of beech wood. The left side of the gondola is longer than the right side. This asymmetry causes the gondola to resist the tendency to turn toward the left at the forward stroke.

Fountain Paint Pot trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

Map (link):

[ www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=https://4.bp.blogspot.com/... and Spasm Geysers, Fountain Paint Pot trail, Yellowstone National Park images&ved=0ahUKEwjkgubQv8XeAhUC3Y8KHaFRCQ8QMwhNKBowGg&iact=mrc&uact=8 ]

 

This part of Lower Geyser Basin seen from a half-mile trail has all four of the hydrothermal features found in the park:

Clepsydra Geyser is a geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. Clepsydra plays nearly continuously to heights of 45 feet. The name Clepsydra is derived from the Greek word for water clock. Prior to the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, it erupted regularly every three minutes.

Yellowstone National Park has several hydrothermal areas, so what makes the Fountain Paint Pot Area worth visiting? For starters, this part of Lower Geyser Basin has all four of the hydrothermal features found in the park (mudpots, geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles) and you can see them all from a compact half-mile long boardwalk loop. While none of the many Fountain Paint Pot Area geysers are as famous as Old Faithful, they erupt so frequently that you are almost guaranteed a great show on your short hike. Since the walkway passes all four of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal formations, the hike comes with a guaranteed lesson in hydrothermal volcanism.

Hiking the loop in a clockwise direction, you will first pass through a forest of lodgepole pine snags that were drowned and left lifeless by the surrounding hot springs. As you approach the northwest end of the loop, you will spot a lively collection of geysers. Clepsydra Geyser, Fountain Geyser, Jelly Geyser, Jet Geyser, Morning Geyser, Spasm Geyser, and Twig Geyser erupt with various levels of regularity.

 

As you progress around the walkway toward the northeast corner, you will pass Red Spouter, which behaves like a fumarole, a hot spring, and a mudpot throughout the year. It is like a hot spring in the winter, a muddy reddish pool in the spring and a steaming fumarole in the drier summer and fall. Wrapping down the east side of the boardwalk, you will pass Leather Pool and a slope of fumaroles. These gaps in the surface whistle and hiss as gasses and steam escape from the ground. Just below the fumaroles, where a little more water is present, the trail circles Fountain Paint Pot. These mudpots bubble and pop as globs of mud springs from the surface like miniature trapeze artists.

 

Continuing downhill, the hydrothermal features become even wetter as you arrive at Silex Spring. Look down into the small blue pool rimmed with white silica. Water spills over the sides of the spring creating an orange-colored surface covered in rippling runoff. These colors are created by thermophiles, heat-loving microorganisms that live in Yellowstone’s hot springs.

( www.hikespeak.com/trails/fountain-paint-pot-trail-yellows... )

  

Geothermal features of Yellowstone NP- A brief note:

There are four geothermal features found in the park – Hot springs, Geysers, Fumaroles , and Mud volcanoes/pots.

  

What is a Hot spring?

Hot spring, also called thermal spring, spring with water at temperatures substantially higher than the air temperature of the surrounding region. Most hot springs discharge groundwater that is heated by shallow intrusions of magma (molten rock) in volcanic areas.

Some thermal springs, however, are not related to volcanic activity. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth. The rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. In such cases, the water is heated by convective circulation: groundwater percolating downward reaches depths of a kilometre or more where the temperature of rocks is high because of the normal temperature gradient of the Earth’s crust—about 30 °C / kilometer in the first 10 km. The water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner.

But in active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park, water may be heated by coming into contact with magma (molten rock). The high temperature gradient near magma may cause water to be heated enough that it boils or becomes superheated. If the water becomes so hot that it builds steam pressure and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, it is called a geyser.

[ Warm springs are sometimes the result of hot and cold springs mixing. They may occur within a volcanic area or outside of one. One example of a non-volcanic warm spring is Warm Springs, Georgia (frequented for its therapeutic effects by paraplegic U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who built the Little White House there) ].

List of hot springs:

[ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hot_springs ]

  

The science of colors of a hot spring:

[ ttps://www.britannica.com/science/hot-spring]

Many of the colours in hot springs are caused by thermophilic (heat-loving) microorganisms, which include certain types of bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, and species of archaea and algae. Many thermophilic organisms grow in huge colonies called mats that form the colourful scums and slimes on the sides of hot springs. The microorganisms that grow in hot springs derive their energy from various chemicals and metals; potential energy sources include molecular hydrogen, dissolved sulfides, methane, iron, ammonia, and arsenic. In addition to geochemistry, the temperature and pH of hot springs play a central role in determining which organisms inhabit them.

Examples of thermophilic microorganisms found in hot springs include bacteria in the genera Sulfolobus, which can grow at temperatures of up to 90 °C (194 °F), Hydrogenobacter, which grow optimally at temperatures of 85 °C (185 °F), and Thermocrinis, which grow optimally at temperatures of 80 °C (176 °F). Thermophilic algae in hot springs are most abundant at temperatures of 55 °C (131 °F) or below.

 

What is a Geyser?

A geyser is formed when water collecting below the surface is heated by a magma source. When the water boils, it rises to the surface. If the water has an unobstructed path, it will pool on the surface in the form of a steaming hot springs. If the passage of the water is imposed upon, the pressure will increase. When the pressure becomes too great, the water converts into to steam. Steam takes up 1,500 times the volume of water, and at this point, the pressure becomes so intense that the steam and surrounding water droplets shoot out of the ground in geyser form, erupting until the pressure has abated and the process starts all over again.

 

What is a fumarole?

It’s a vent in the Earth’s surface from which steam and volcanic gases are emitted. The major source of the water vapour emitted by fumaroles is groundwater heated by bodies of magma lying relatively close to the surface. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide are usually emitted directly from the magma. Fumaroles are often present on active volcanoes during periods of relative quiet between eruptions.

Fumaroles are closely related to hot springs and geysers. In areas where the water table rises near the surface, fumaroles can become hot springs. A fumarole rich in sulfur gases is called a solfatara; a fumarole rich in carbon dioxide is called a mofette. If the hot water of a spring only reaches the surface in the form of steam, it is called a fumarole. [ www.britannica.com/science/fumarole ]

  

What is a mud volcano/ mud pot/ paint pot?

Usually mud volcanoes are created by hot-spring activity where large amounts of gas and small amounts of water react chemically with the surrounding rocks and form a boiling mud.

Geo-chemistry of mud volcano: Hydrogen sulfide gas rising from magma chamber, as in Yellowstone’s, causes the rotten-egg smell. Microorganisms, or thermophiles, use this gas as a source of energy, and then help turn the gas into sulfuric acid. The acid then breaks down the rocks and soil into mud. Many of the colors seen are vast communities of thermophiles, but some of the yellow is pure sulfur. When iron mixes with sulfur to form iron sulfide, gray and black swirls sometimes appear in the mud (From description of the display board in the park).

If the water of a hot spring is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud pot. Variations are the porridge pot (a basin of boiling mud that erodes chunks of the surrounding rock) and the paint pot (a basin of boiling mud that is tinted yellow, green, or blue by minerals from the surrounding rocks).

There are other mud volcanoes, entirely of a nonigneous origin, occur only in oil-field regions that are relatively young and have soft, unconsolidated formations.

 

Sources: [ www.britannica.com/science/mud-volcano ], and display boards of the YNP.

  

A quick overview of YNP

 

Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Approximately 96 percent of the land area of Yellowstone National Park is located within the state of Wyoming. The Park spans an area of 8,983 km2 comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests eco-region.

   

It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years. Aside from visits by mountain -men during the early to mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s.

 

The park contains the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, from which it takes its historical name. Although it is commonly believed that the river was named for the yellow rocks seen in the ‘Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone’, the Native American name source is unclear.

 

Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered as an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million year. The Yellowstone Caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America. It has been termed a "supervolcano" because the caldera was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions. The magma chamber that lies under Yellowstone is estimated to be a single connected chamber, about 60 km long, 29 km wide, and 5 to 12 km deep. Yellowstone Lake is up to 400 feet deep and has 180 km of shoreline.The lake is at an elevation of 7,733 feet above sea levels. Half of the world's geysers and hydrothermal features are there in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. In 1978, Yellowstone was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

In May 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, Yellowstone National Park, and the University of Utah created the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), a partnership for long-term monitoring of the geological processes of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, for disseminating information concerning the potential hazards of this geologically active region.

   

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous mega fauna location in the contiguous United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in this park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States.

   

Forest fires occur in the park each year. In the largest forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt.

   

Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobiles.

     

Fire in Yellowstone NP:

 

Causes of wildfire in Yellowstone NP

Wildfire has had a role in the dynamics of Yellowstone’s ecosystems for thousands of years. Although many fires were caused by human activities, most ignitions were natural. The term "natural ignition" usually refers to a lightning strike. Afternoon thunderstorms occur frequently in the northern Rocky Mountains but release little precipitation, a condition known as ‘dry lightning’. In a typical season there are thousands of lightning strikes in Yellowstone. Lightning strikes are powerful enough to rip strips of bark off of a tree in a shower of sparks and blow the pieces up to 100 feet away. However, most lightning strikes do not result in a wildfire because fuels are not in a combustible state.

   

The great fire incidence of 1988

 

The Yellowstone fires of 1988 collectively formed the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Starting as many smaller individual fires, the flames quickly spread out of control due to drought conditions and increasing winds, combining into one large conflagration which burned for several months. The fires almost destroyed two major visitor destinations and, on September 8, 1988, the entire park closed to all non-emergency personnel for the first time in its history. Only the arrival of cool and moist weather in the late autumn brought the fires to an end. A total of 793,880 acres, or 36 percent of the park was affected by the wildfires.

   

Fire incidence, 2016

 

As of September 21, 2016, 22 fires (human and lightning-caused) have burned more than 62,000 acres in Yellowstone National Park, making it the highest number of acres burned since the historic 1988 fire.

   

Heritage and Research Center

 

The Heritage and Research Center is located at Gardiner, Montana, near the north entrance to the park. The center is home to the Yellowstone National Park's museum collection, archives, research library, historian, archeology lab, and herbarium. The Yellowstone National Park Archives maintain collections of historical records of Yellowstone and the National Park Service. The collection includes the administrative records of Yellowstone, as well as resource management records, records from major projects, and donated manuscripts and personal papers. The archives are affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration.

 

The Rolls Royce Phantom, a car that divides pretty much everyone. The first product of the new Rolls Royce company following the brand's acquisition by BMW in 2003, the Phantom was the company's flagship from its launch the same year to 2016, but its reputation among fans and customers have kept it somewhat in limbo, be it the styling, the size, the features of its internal design, or even its background origin.

 

The Rolls Royce Phantom, unofficially known as the Phantom VII, was first considered in around 2000 by BMW prior to the handover of the Rolls Royce brand to them in 2003. At the time, BMW and Volkswagen jointly owned Rolls Royce and Bentley, under the agreement that while BMW provided engines, such as the BMW V12 found in the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, Volkswagen would build the cars. In 2003, the contract came to an end, and Rolls Royce was split from Bentley for the first time since 1931, Bentley to Volkswagen, Rolls Royce to BMW. As part of the contract split, Bentley would retain the Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, whilst Rolls Royce itself would move to a new factory in Goodwood on the south coast of England. The last Rolls Royce's to leave their home factory in Crewe, the Silver Seraph and the Corniche V, departed in 2002.

 

As mentioned, BMW had prepared, and were planning to make their company flagship based largely of the BMW 7-Series, though not exactly. The car is built on its own unique platform, with the body constructed predominantly from aluminium. The dimensions of the Phantom are 5.35ft tall, 19ft long and 6.5ft wide, and weighs 2.4 Tons. The car is fitted with a 6.75L BMW V12 producing 453hp, accelerating this behemoth of a car to 60mph in 5.9 seconds, which is pretty impressive.

 

The acquisition of Rolls Royce by BMW also meant the company could be flung into the 21st Century in terms of luxury amenities, the kind of which the later years of the previous Rolls Royce Company had been lacking. While the Silver Seraph was a beautiful car and a capable machine, the car was very much traditional old England, and in the 1990's this was no longer impressive to the potential market. As such, it lost out heavily to contemporary Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series that cost less and gave more than the Seraph.

 

The Phantom on the other hand would give you more for your money so that its contemporaries could never compete. The car was available in 44,000 colours, came with rear-hinged 'coach doors' for easier access to the back, inside of which were located umbrellas, navigation system with voice recognition, power sunroof, upgraded leather upholstery, rear-view camera, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, 26-speaker premium sound system, 8-disc CD changer, 18-way power front seats, 16-way power rear seats, heated and cooled cup holders, rear-seat tables, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, power tilt/telescopic heated wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio, climate, and navigation controls, power open/close boot lid, power closing doors, wireless headphones, iPod adapter, refrigerator, and air conditioning with 5-zone climate controls.

 

After a year of no sales, Rolls Royce burst back onto the motoring scene upon the car's launch in 2003, with a price tag of £250,000. Immediately, the car was lauded by the motoring press for being the best Rolls Royce ever built, and a clear sign that BMW's influence had brought the company into the 21st Century whilst still retaining some of its old world charm. It would later win Top Gear's Car of the Year Award for 2003, and would be featured consistently on the show over the following years.

 

However, while the Phantom was lauded by critics, the traditional customer base were overwhelmed with disbelief, and it, and its derivatives, have almost been unanimously shunned. The first point of contention was the external styling, being seen as bland, boxy and boring. The next was its size, being far bigger than any previous Rolls Royce, even the bombastic designs of the 1940's and 50's.

 

The third was its image. While in the 1970's, 80's and 90's, Rolls Royce attempted to make themselves more subtle by toning down their designs to look more mundane and therefore less conceited, the Phantom screamed that it was a Rolls Royce, being as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window! The Phantom gave an aura of deluded wealth and snobbery that was being enjoyed by the new money, something in the vibe of "Hello world! Look at me!"

 

For the crime of being considered bland, oversized and dripping with vanity and narcissism, the Phantom was punished by disassociating itself with regular Rolls Royce customers, who preferred Bentley's more subtle designs such as the Continental and the Arnage. However, it was still very popular with the aforementioned new money, who created a maddening variety of unique designs to fit their somewhat tacky needs. You could get a Phantom gold-plated, in chrome, in velvet, in ultra-reflective red or matte black! The choices were almost limitless, and the new customer base were more than happy to exploit it.

 

The Phantom gave rise to a huge number of derivatives throughout its construction life, including; the Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Phantom Coupe, the Phantom Extended Wheelbase, the Armoured Rolls Royce Phantom, the Centenary Edition, the Naples Winter Wine Festival car, the 80th Anniversary Edition, the Rolls Royce Phantom Black, the Rolls Royce Phantom Silver, Rolls Royce Phantom Tungsten, the Grey Goose Extended Wheelbase Phantom, the Pininfarina Hyperion, the 100EX Concept, the 101EX Concept, the 102EX Concept, the Peony edition, the Phantom Sapphire, the Middle East Phantom Bespoke Collection, the Yas Eagle edition, the 60th Anniversary Special Edition Phantom Drophead Coupé, the 2010 Paris Motor Show Phantom, the Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection, the Masterpiece London 2011 Drophead Coupé, the Year of the Dragon Collection, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection, Phantom Series II Coupé, 2012 London Olympic Games Phantom Drophead Coupé, Phantom Art Deco cars, Home of Rolls Royce Collection Phantom, Celestial Phantom, Chicane Phantom Coupé, Pinnacle Travel Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed Collection, Phantom Limelight and the Phantom Metropolitan Collection.

 

Construction of the Phantom ended after 13 years on February 24th, 2016, with 4,915 examples produced. The Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe are to remain in production until a successor car is launched in 2018.

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 30: Team Cloud9 poses at the VALORANT Champions Features Day on November 30, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

Labrov of G2 Esports at MSI 2026 Features Day on July 02, 2026 at Daejeon Convention Center II in Daejeon, South Korea. (Photo by Christina Oh/Riot Games)

Sony FE 28mm F2 搭廣角 / 魚眼外接鏡實拍體驗 chinese.engadget.com/2015/04/24/sony-fe-28mm-f2-review/

BrokenBlade of G2 Esports at MSI 2026 Features Day on July 02, 2026 at Daejeon Convention Center II in Daejeon, South Korea. (Photo by Christina Oh/Riot Games)

T1 at the League of Legends Worlds 2025 Features Day on October 11, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)