The Atomium was originally built for the 1958 World Fair and since its construction it has become the symbol of Belgium. The 102-metre-tall steel and aluminum structure is meant to be a symbol of the atom concept, increased by 165 billions times! It offers a superb panoramic view of Brussels and its surroundings.joi, 27 decembrie 2007
The Atomium
The Atomium was originally built for the 1958 World Fair and since its construction it has become the symbol of Belgium. The 102-metre-tall steel and aluminum structure is meant to be a symbol of the atom concept, increased by 165 billions times! It offers a superb panoramic view of Brussels and its surroundings.
marți, 18 decembrie 2007
The Plaza
The famous Plaza Hotel is scheduled to reopen at the end of 2007 with a 100 year anniversary celebration. This $350 million renovation will contain 130 rooms and 152 condo-hotel units. Prices for the 152 condominium suites range from $1.6 million to more than $9 million, which works out to $3,800 to $6,000 per square foot. Mike Naftali of Elad Properties, which is redeveloping the Plaza Hotel, is focusing on the most expensive condos with prices starting at $1.6 million for a one-bedroom suite. Elad is betting that the top end of the market will remain very strong with record Wall Street bonuses and high hedge-fund performance that could continue into 2009. Furthermore, there’s a tremendous pool of buyers from the business and financial world, prosperous retirees empty nesters and baby boomers. The hotel portion, to be managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, will have HDTV’s wireless Internet access and a touch-screen for ordering room service, retrieving a car from the valet and making dinner reservations.
In addition, the completely-renovated Plaza will contain 182 unfurnished private residence condominiums starting at $2.5 million and high-end retail stores. The fabled food and beverage outlets: the Palm Court, the Oak Bar and Oak Room and the Edwardian Room will be restored including a replica of the original stained glass ceiling in the Palm Court. A 1921 addition to the hotel blocked the natural light and the skylight itself was removed during World War II to prevent it from being a beacon during air raids. The new plan calls for artificial lights above the glass ceiling to created the impression of sunlight.
Hopefully, these renovations will restore it to its original grandeur when it opened on October 1, 1907. The Plaza Hotel was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who was already well known for the Dakota Apartments, one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York. The Plaza had 800 rooms, 500 bathrooms, large private suites, 10 elevators a two-story ballroom and the Palm Court with a Tiffany leaded glass-domed ceiling. On this same site, an earlier Plaza Hotel opened in 1890 with 400 rooms but was demolished 17 years later for the 18 story current Plaza Hotel.
The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission recently recommended the approval of a waiver that will allow 39,000 square feet of commercial space. It gave permission to make changes to the exterior of the building including adding a new entrance for the stores. The commission also bestowed landmark status on eight of the hotel’s famous public rooms, adjacent corridors and vestibules, including murals, chandeliers and decorative metalwork. The rooms include the Palm Court, the setting for a scene from the movie “The Great Gatsby”; the Terrace Room, where Marilyn Monroe’s dress strap once slipped off her shoulder during an interview; the Oak Bar, where Cary Grant’s character was kidnapped in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest”. Walter Matthau in “Plaza Suite” and Barbra Streisand in “The Way We Were” used the Plaza as a stage set. The Plaza in 1930 was the backdrop in a scene for “No Limit”, the first talking picture filmed on location in New York City. Its star was the famous “It Girl”, Clara Bow.
Of all the show people who have been part of the Plaza’s history, only one has a permanent monument there. He’s an American theatrical icon named George M. Cohan who was an actor, composer, playwright, producer, theater owner and a legend; the only person ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for a song, the World War I favorite “Over There”. The Plaza is the only 10 minutes away from Broadway and it was a convenient place for him to unwind before the curtain went up on the evening performance. From 4 PM to 7 PM each day, he had pre-theater cocktails in the Oak Room where his reserved table was a booth in the northwest corner. After he died in the early ‘40’s, the Lambs Club put a bronze plaque on the wall above his booth which reads, “Here in this corner where he spent many happy hours, the Lambs have placed this tablet in honor of the most brilliant and versatile gentleman in the theatre of his day, George M. Cohan”. The Plaza, then owned by Conrad Hilton, officially named the Oak Room’s northwest corner, “The Cohan Corner”. In 1959, the municipal statue of Cohan was finally erected in Duffy Square on Broadway between forty-sixth and forty-seventh streets- the same site that had earlier been proposed for General William Tecumsah Sherman’s monument which now stands in Grand Army Plaza opposite the Plaza Hotel. Will “The Cohan Corner” survive the current renovation?
For nearly 40 years, the Persian Room, a legendary nightclub at the Plaza, presented the most talented live performers. It opened on April 1, 1934, four months after the repeal of Prohibition, in the southern half of the Fifth Avenue dining room. It was designed in Art Deco style by the Viennese designer Joseph Urban with murals by Lillian Gaertner Palmedo. Until it closed in 1975, the Persian Room featured such stars as Liberace, Carol Channing, Burl Ives, Eddy Duchin, Kitty Carlisle, the Mills Brothers, Bob Fosse, Victor Borge, Marge and Gower Champion, Eddie Fisher, Xavier Cugat, the McGuire Sisters, Dinah Shore, Vic Damone, Bob Hope, Robert Goulet, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Eartha Kitt, Henny Youngman and Hildegarde, among others.
In 1943, the Plaza was sold to Conrad Hilton for $7.4 million after thirty-six years of continuous original ownership. Hilton made important physical changes:
Removed the brokerage firm of E. F. Hutton from its ground-floor office (monthly rent $416) and converted it to the Oak Bar
Converted a basement storage area (once the Grill Room) into the Rendez-vous supper club
Mezzanine writing rooms overlooking the lobby were converted into private meeting rooms
Vitrines were installed throughout the lobby.
The leaded-glass dome over the Palm Court was removed.
Hilton sold the Plaza to the Boston industrialist A.M. Sonnabend for $15 million in 1953, whose Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) kept the legend alive until 1975. Harry Mullikin of Western International Hotels (later Westin) bought the Plaza from HCA in 1975 for $25 million after owning the 1000 room Savoy-Plaza Hotel until it was demolished to make way for the General Motors Building on the east side of Fifth Avenue at 59th Street. Incidentally, the Savoy Plaza was built in 1927 on the site of the old Savoy Hotel which was designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1890.
In 1988, Donald Trump purchased the Plaza for $390 million. Trump said “This isn’t just a building, it’s the ultimate work of art- it’s the Mona Lisa. I’m in love with it.” With his then-wife, Ivana, Trump revitalized the hotel with careful renovation of the lobby, banquet rooms and certain suites.
In 1995, Trump sold the Plaza to Prince Alwalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Saud, partial owner of Fairmont Hotels and CDL Hotels for $325 million.
As Curtis Gathje wrote in “At the Plaza: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Hotel” (St. Martin’s Press, New York 2000) “Thanks to a number of serendipitous events- a prime location, visionary builders and management, and most recently, the movies—the Plaza has become the most famous hotel in the world. That it has maintained its dignity and reputation over the century is the most remarkable thing about it.”
Will the new Plaza continue to be the most famous hotel in the world?
In addition, the completely-renovated Plaza will contain 182 unfurnished private residence condominiums starting at $2.5 million and high-end retail stores. The fabled food and beverage outlets: the Palm Court, the Oak Bar and Oak Room and the Edwardian Room will be restored including a replica of the original stained glass ceiling in the Palm Court. A 1921 addition to the hotel blocked the natural light and the skylight itself was removed during World War II to prevent it from being a beacon during air raids. The new plan calls for artificial lights above the glass ceiling to created the impression of sunlight.
Hopefully, these renovations will restore it to its original grandeur when it opened on October 1, 1907. The Plaza Hotel was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who was already well known for the Dakota Apartments, one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York. The Plaza had 800 rooms, 500 bathrooms, large private suites, 10 elevators a two-story ballroom and the Palm Court with a Tiffany leaded glass-domed ceiling. On this same site, an earlier Plaza Hotel opened in 1890 with 400 rooms but was demolished 17 years later for the 18 story current Plaza Hotel.
The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission recently recommended the approval of a waiver that will allow 39,000 square feet of commercial space. It gave permission to make changes to the exterior of the building including adding a new entrance for the stores. The commission also bestowed landmark status on eight of the hotel’s famous public rooms, adjacent corridors and vestibules, including murals, chandeliers and decorative metalwork. The rooms include the Palm Court, the setting for a scene from the movie “The Great Gatsby”; the Terrace Room, where Marilyn Monroe’s dress strap once slipped off her shoulder during an interview; the Oak Bar, where Cary Grant’s character was kidnapped in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest”. Walter Matthau in “Plaza Suite” and Barbra Streisand in “The Way We Were” used the Plaza as a stage set. The Plaza in 1930 was the backdrop in a scene for “No Limit”, the first talking picture filmed on location in New York City. Its star was the famous “It Girl”, Clara Bow.
Of all the show people who have been part of the Plaza’s history, only one has a permanent monument there. He’s an American theatrical icon named George M. Cohan who was an actor, composer, playwright, producer, theater owner and a legend; the only person ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for a song, the World War I favorite “Over There”. The Plaza is the only 10 minutes away from Broadway and it was a convenient place for him to unwind before the curtain went up on the evening performance. From 4 PM to 7 PM each day, he had pre-theater cocktails in the Oak Room where his reserved table was a booth in the northwest corner. After he died in the early ‘40’s, the Lambs Club put a bronze plaque on the wall above his booth which reads, “Here in this corner where he spent many happy hours, the Lambs have placed this tablet in honor of the most brilliant and versatile gentleman in the theatre of his day, George M. Cohan”. The Plaza, then owned by Conrad Hilton, officially named the Oak Room’s northwest corner, “The Cohan Corner”. In 1959, the municipal statue of Cohan was finally erected in Duffy Square on Broadway between forty-sixth and forty-seventh streets- the same site that had earlier been proposed for General William Tecumsah Sherman’s monument which now stands in Grand Army Plaza opposite the Plaza Hotel. Will “The Cohan Corner” survive the current renovation?
For nearly 40 years, the Persian Room, a legendary nightclub at the Plaza, presented the most talented live performers. It opened on April 1, 1934, four months after the repeal of Prohibition, in the southern half of the Fifth Avenue dining room. It was designed in Art Deco style by the Viennese designer Joseph Urban with murals by Lillian Gaertner Palmedo. Until it closed in 1975, the Persian Room featured such stars as Liberace, Carol Channing, Burl Ives, Eddy Duchin, Kitty Carlisle, the Mills Brothers, Bob Fosse, Victor Borge, Marge and Gower Champion, Eddie Fisher, Xavier Cugat, the McGuire Sisters, Dinah Shore, Vic Damone, Bob Hope, Robert Goulet, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Eartha Kitt, Henny Youngman and Hildegarde, among others.
In 1943, the Plaza was sold to Conrad Hilton for $7.4 million after thirty-six years of continuous original ownership. Hilton made important physical changes:
Removed the brokerage firm of E. F. Hutton from its ground-floor office (monthly rent $416) and converted it to the Oak Bar
Converted a basement storage area (once the Grill Room) into the Rendez-vous supper club
Mezzanine writing rooms overlooking the lobby were converted into private meeting rooms
Vitrines were installed throughout the lobby.
The leaded-glass dome over the Palm Court was removed.
Hilton sold the Plaza to the Boston industrialist A.M. Sonnabend for $15 million in 1953, whose Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) kept the legend alive until 1975. Harry Mullikin of Western International Hotels (later Westin) bought the Plaza from HCA in 1975 for $25 million after owning the 1000 room Savoy-Plaza Hotel until it was demolished to make way for the General Motors Building on the east side of Fifth Avenue at 59th Street. Incidentally, the Savoy Plaza was built in 1927 on the site of the old Savoy Hotel which was designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1890.
In 1988, Donald Trump purchased the Plaza for $390 million. Trump said “This isn’t just a building, it’s the ultimate work of art- it’s the Mona Lisa. I’m in love with it.” With his then-wife, Ivana, Trump revitalized the hotel with careful renovation of the lobby, banquet rooms and certain suites.
In 1995, Trump sold the Plaza to Prince Alwalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Saud, partial owner of Fairmont Hotels and CDL Hotels for $325 million.
As Curtis Gathje wrote in “At the Plaza: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Hotel” (St. Martin’s Press, New York 2000) “Thanks to a number of serendipitous events- a prime location, visionary builders and management, and most recently, the movies—the Plaza has become the most famous hotel in the world. That it has maintained its dignity and reputation over the century is the most remarkable thing about it.”
Will the new Plaza continue to be the most famous hotel in the world?
sâmbătă, 15 decembrie 2007
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was presented by the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886 to honor the friendship between the two nations. Today, it is recognized as a symbol of liberty throughout the world.
It was established as a national monument in 1924 and placed under the management of the National Park Service (NPS) in 1933. It underwent an extensive $86 million renovation, just in time for the Statue's 100th birthday in 1986. More than 5 million people visit the statue each year.
For 91 years, the NPS has endeavored to preserve America's parklands for generations to come. The NPS and concessioner Evelyn Hill, the concessioner, work to provide everything you may need for a memorable visit.
This American Park Network guide to the Statue of Liberty is provided to enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of the monument.
It was established as a national monument in 1924 and placed under the management of the National Park Service (NPS) in 1933. It underwent an extensive $86 million renovation, just in time for the Statue's 100th birthday in 1986. More than 5 million people visit the statue each year.
For 91 years, the NPS has endeavored to preserve America's parklands for generations to come. The NPS and concessioner Evelyn Hill, the concessioner, work to provide everything you may need for a memorable visit.
This American Park Network guide to the Statue of Liberty is provided to enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of the monument.
The World's Promise of Freedom
Nowhere else on earth is there a symbol that expresses the concept and ideals of personal freedom as dramatically as the Statue of Liberty.
Perhaps it is fitting that hundreds of thousands of ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to her construction and that millions more contributed millions of dollars to ensure her continued existence.
The Statue of Liberty may have been created by the genius of a few visionaries, but the concept she represents speaks to the minds and resonates in the hearts of ordinary men and women everywhere
Nowhere else on earth is there a symbol that expresses the concept and ideals of personal freedom as dramatically as the Statue of Liberty.
Perhaps it is fitting that hundreds of thousands of ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to her construction and that millions more contributed millions of dollars to ensure her continued existence.
The Statue of Liberty may have been created by the genius of a few visionaries, but the concept she represents speaks to the minds and resonates in the hearts of ordinary men and women everywhere
About the Statue of Liberty
Size and Weight: Statue: 151 feet tall, nearly 225 tons, copper over steel. Pedestal: 89 feet tall, granite.
Designers: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, born in Colmar, France, in 1834. The interior iron framework was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, also designer of the Eiffel Tower. The statue's pedestal was designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt.
Exhibit: A permanent exhibit in the museum at the base of the statue details the statue's origin and construction as well as the story of her evolution into an international symbol of liberty.
Size and Weight: Statue: 151 feet tall, nearly 225 tons, copper over steel. Pedestal: 89 feet tall, granite.
Designers: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, born in Colmar, France, in 1834. The interior iron framework was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, also designer of the Eiffel Tower. The statue's pedestal was designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt.
Exhibit: A permanent exhibit in the museum at the base of the statue details the statue's origin and construction as well as the story of her evolution into an international symbol of liberty.
joi, 6 decembrie 2007
Tower of Pisa
This is the monument that, among the others of the "Piazza dei Miracoli", stirs the imagination of everybody, from the old to the young. Firstly we like to give you some information and events regarding its long history.
The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century.
The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.
This very famous work is of Romanesque style, and as already stated dates back to the year 1174. Cylindrical in shape it is supplied whit six open galleries. A cornice separates these galleries one from the other and each presents a series of small arches fitted on the capitals of the slender columns. In the base there is a series of big blind arcades with geometrical decorations. In the belfry there is the same design of arcades as that of the base, with the difference that here, there are, apart from the reduced proportions, the housings of the bells.
The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century.
The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.
This very famous work is of Romanesque style, and as already stated dates back to the year 1174. Cylindrical in shape it is supplied whit six open galleries. A cornice separates these galleries one from the other and each presents a series of small arches fitted on the capitals of the slender columns. In the base there is a series of big blind arcades with geometrical decorations. In the belfry there is the same design of arcades as that of the base, with the difference that here, there are, apart from the reduced proportions, the housings of the bells.
Louvre
The Louvre, in its successive architectural metamorphoses, has dominated central Paris since the late 12th century. Built on the city's western edge, the original structure was gradually engulfed as the city grew. The dark fortress of the early days was transformed into the modernized dwelling of François I and, later, the sumptuous palace of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Here we explore the history of this extraordinary edifice and of the museum that has occupied it since 1793. 
During the forty-three-year reign of Philippe Auguste (1180–1223), the power and influence of the French monarchy grew considerably, both inside and outside the kingdom. In 1190, a rampart was built around Paris, which was Europe’s biggest city at the time. To protect the capital from the Anglo-Norman threat, the king decided to reinforce its defenses with a fortress, which came to be known as the Louvre. It was built to the west of the city, on the banks of the Seine.
duminică, 2 decembrie 2007
Niagara
The world has been beating a path to the Buffalo Niagara region since shortly after Father Louis Hennepin became the first European to describe the "prodigious cadence of water" that is the mighty Falls in 1678. That early trickle of tourists became a steady stream after the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 and a torrent when the railroad linked Western New York with points east. Today, millions of tourists from around the world continue to come by plane, train and automobile to experience the grandeur of Niagara Falls.
World-class attractions like the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds await the visitor who makes the short 20-minute drive from downtown Buffalo to Niagara Falls.
You'll savor the spectacular views, the thundering roar, the delicate mists and shimmering rainbows of this true national treasure.
Take a family photo overlooking the Falls at Terrapin Point in Frederick Law Olmsted's lush, beautiful and natural Niagara Falls State Park. Amid the distractions and developments of modern life, the Park still provides a glimpse of the original splendor that awaited the first visitors to the region. This is the Falls at its best.
Step aboard the legendary Maid of the Mist and experience the power and majesty of the combined waters of four Great Lakes. You'll be ferried to the base of the Horseshoe Falls and feel the rush of the water as it pounds the rocks below. From the moment you put on your giant blue poncho you'll know you're having a one-of-a-kind experience.
World-class attractions like the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds await the visitor who makes the short 20-minute drive from downtown Buffalo to Niagara Falls.
You'll savor the spectacular views, the thundering roar, the delicate mists and shimmering rainbows of this true national treasure.
Take a family photo overlooking the Falls at Terrapin Point in Frederick Law Olmsted's lush, beautiful and natural Niagara Falls State Park. Amid the distractions and developments of modern life, the Park still provides a glimpse of the original splendor that awaited the first visitors to the region. This is the Falls at its best.
Step aboard the legendary Maid of the Mist and experience the power and majesty of the combined waters of four Great Lakes. You'll be ferried to the base of the Horseshoe Falls and feel the rush of the water as it pounds the rocks below. From the moment you put on your giant blue poncho you'll know you're having a one-of-a-kind experience.
Next, be sure to visit the awe-inspiring Cave of the Winds. As you make your way to the Hurricane Deck, you'll get an up-close-and-personal view of the roaring waters pouring over the precipice of Bridal Veil Falls. On a hot summer day, this is the ultimate run-through-the-sprinkler.
Nearby, you'll find all manner of ways to experience this world wonder: Helicopter rides, balloon rides, observation decks and towering vantage points that will give you a bird's eye view of one of nature's universally-acclaimed masterpieces. Bring plenty of film or an extra memory card. You'll need it.
Nearby, you'll find all manner of ways to experience this world wonder: Helicopter rides, balloon rides, observation decks and towering vantage points that will give you a bird's eye view of one of nature's universally-acclaimed masterpieces. Bring plenty of film or an extra memory card. You'll need it.
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