1.
Walnut Creek, California
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Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located 16 miles east of the city of Oakland in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments, restaurants, as of 2014, the citys total estimated population is 67,673. Diablo, and the Tactan at Danville and Walnut Creek, on San Ramon Creek, todays Walnut Creek is located amidst the earlier site of four Mexican land grants. One of these land grants – measuring 18,000 acres – belonged to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, Ygnacio Sibrian, one of the grandsons, created the first roofed home in the valley in about 1850. The grant was called Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones, named after the principal waterway, the Arroyo de las Nueces was named for the occurrence in the valley of the native species of walnut tree, the California Walnut. With the coming of American settlers following the Mexican-American War, a settlement called The Corners emerged, named because it was the place where roads from Pacheco. The site of this first American settlement is today at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The first town settler was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, in the year 1855, Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named Walnut Creek House in the corners. A blacksmith shop and a store soon joined the hotel, two decades later, the community changed its name from The Corners to Walnut Creek. In December 1862 a United States Post Office was established, the downtown street patterns laid out in 1871–1872 by pioneer Homer Shuey on a portion of one of his familys large cattle ranches are still present today. Walnut Creek began to grow with the arrival of Southern Pacific Railroad service in 1891, on October 21,1914, the town and the surrounding area of 500 acres ), were incorporated as the 8th city in Contra Costa County. A branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad ran through Walnut Creek until the late 1970s, the East Bay Regional Park Districts Iron Horse Trail, used by walkers, runners and bikers, runs over what were portions of that branch line. The mainline of the Sacramento Northern Railway passed through Walnut Creek, today, the Pittsburg/Bay Point – SFO Line line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit serves Walnut Creek with a station adjacent to Highway 680. Walnut Creek is located at 37°54′23″N 122°03′54″W, portions lie in both the San Ramon Valley and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of Mount Diablo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.8 sq mi,0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any community in the state of California. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7 million bond measure that allowed the city to purchase 1,800 acres of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, the East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both in Walnut Creek
2.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Shopping mall
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A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
5.
Nordstrom
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Nordstrom, Inc. is an American chain of luxury department stores headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1901 by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin, the company began as a retailer and expanded its inventory to include clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics. Select Nordstrom stores also include wedding and home furnishings departments, Nordstrom also serves customers through nordstrom. com, nordstromrack. com, and its online private sale site, HauteLook. Nordstrom, Inc. s common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN. In 1887, at the age of 16, like many other Swedes in the late 19th century and he was born in the village of Alvik, close to the city of Luleå in Northern Sweden. His name at birth was Johan Nordström which he later anglicized to John Nordstrom, after landing in New York, he first began working in Michigan. As he moved across the country, he worked a series of menial jobs and he was able to save enough money to purchase a 20-acre potato farm in Arlington, Washington, near Seattle. In 1897, he joined the Klondike Gold Rush in Canadas Yukon Territory, after two years of prospecting, he finally struck gold, but sold his disputed claim for $13,000. Returning to Seattle with his wealth, he married Hilda Carlson and looked for a business venture, finally settling on a shoe store that opened in 1901. Carl F. Wallin, the co-founder of the store, was the owner of the adjacent shoe repair shop, John and Hilda had five children, three of whom would follow him into the family business, Everett W. Elmer J. and Lloyd N. Nordstrom. By the time Wallin & Nordstrom opened their store in Seattle in 1923, Elmer. In 1928, John W. Nordstrom retired and sold his shares to two of his sons, Everett and Elmer, in 1929, Wallin also retired and sold his shares to them. The 1930 grand opening of the remodeled Second Avenue store marked the change of name to Nordstrom, Lloyd Nordstrom subsequently joined the company in 1933, and the three brothers ran the business together for almost forty years. By 1958, Nordstrom had expanded to eight stores in two states but still sold only shoes and their expansion was based on customer service, deep product offerings and full size ranges. Apparel came with its purchase of Best Apparel of Seattle in 1963, the companys name was changed to Nordstrom Absolute Best in 1969. By 1968, the second generation debated selling the company as Everett neared retirement, instead, they were convinced by the third-generation Nordstroms—Bruce A. James F. and John N. together with John A. MacMillan -- to take the public instead, and allow the cousins to take over the business. In 1971, the company was public on NASDAQ under the ticker NOBE
6.
Macy's
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Macys, originally R. H. Macy & Co. is a department store owned by Macys, Inc. It is one of two owned by the company, with the other being Bloomingdales. Macys has conducted the annual Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1924 and has sponsored the citys annual Fourth of July fireworks display since 1976, Macys Herald Square is one of the largest department stores in the world. The value of Herald Square has been estimated at around $3 billion, in 2015 Macys was the largest U. S. department store company by retail sales. Macys was the 15th-largest retailer in the United States for 2014 by revenue and they all failed, but he learned from his mistakes. On the companys first day of business on October 28,1858 sales totaled US$11.08, equal to $306.15 today. From the beginning, Macys logo has included a star, which comes from a tattoo that Macy got as a teenager when he worked on a Nantucket whaling ship and it also offered a money back guarantee, although it accepted only cash into the 1950s. The store also produced its own clothing for both men and women, assembled in an on-site factory. In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine, a nephew, and Abiel T, la Forge of Wisconsin, who was the husband of a cousin. Macy died in 1877 from inflammatory kidney disease, la Forge died the following year, and Valentine died in 1879. This latter 5-story building was purchased by Robert H. Macys ignored the tactic, and simply built around the building, in 1912, Isidor Straus died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 67 with his wife, Ida. The original Broadway store was designed by architects De Lemos & Cordes, was built in 1901–02 by the Fuller Company and has a Palladian facade, but has been updated in many details. There were further additions to the west in 1924 and 1928, and the Seventh Avenue building in 1931, all designed by architect Robert D. Kohn, the newer buildings were increasingly Art Deco in style. In 2012, Macys began the first full renovation of the iconic Herald Square flagship store at a reported cost of US$400,000,000, STUDIO V Architecture, a New York-based firm, was the overall Master Plan architect of the project. STUDIO Vs fresh design of the department store raised controversy over the nature of contemporary design, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The store has several wooden escalators still in operation, the problem of pre-existing buildings also presented itself when Macys built a store on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, in the New York City borough of Queens. This resulted in a unique round department store on 90 percent of the lot, Macys no longer fully occupies this building, which now contains the Queens Place Mall, with Macys Furniture Gallery as a tenant, instead it moved its full outlet to the nearby Queens Center. This relocation was the result of Macys merger with Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Abraham & Straus, in 1994, more distant acquisitions included Lasalle & Koch, Davison-Paxon-Stokes, L. Bamberger & Co
7.
Neiman Marcus
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Neiman Marcus, originally Neiman-Marcus, is an American luxury department store owned by the Neiman Marcus Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Neiman Marcus is currently owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, in 1907 the trio found themselves with $25,000 from the successful sales-promotion firm they had built in Atlanta, Georgia, and two potential investments into which to invest the funds. Rather than take a chance on an unknown sugary soda pop business, for this reason, early company CEO Peb Atera was quoted in 1957 as saying in jest that Neiman Marcus was founded on bad business judgment. The store, established on September 10,1907, was furnished and stocked with clothing of a quality not commonly found in Texas. Within a few weeks, the initial inventory, mostly acquired on a buying trip to New York made by Carrie, was completely sold out. Oil-rich Texans, welcoming the opportunity to flaunt their wealth in more sophisticated fashion than was previously possible, flocked to the new store. In spite of a financial panic set off only a few weeks after its opening, Neiman Marcus was instantly successful. In 1914 a fire destroyed the Neiman Marcus store and all of its merchandise, a temporary store was set up and opened in 17 days. By the end of 1914, Neiman Marcus opened in its new, permanent location at the corner of Main Street and Ervay Street. In its first year at the new building, Neiman Marcus recorded a profit of $40,000 on sales of $700,000, in 1927 the store expanded and Neiman Marcus premiered the first weekly retail fashion show in the United States. The store staged a show called One Hundred Years of Texas Fashions in 1936 in honor of the centennial of Texas independence from Mexico. During the 1930s and 1940s Neiman Marcus began to include less expensive clothing lines along with its high-end items, in response to the Great Depression, between 1942 and 1944, sales at Neiman Marcus grew from $6 million to $11 million. Despite a major fire in 1946, the continued to profit. Herbert Marcus, Sr. died in 1950, and Carrie Neiman died two years later, leaving Stanley Marcus in charge of the companys operations, the 1950s saw the addition of a $1.6 million store at 8300 Preston Road. It was 63, 000-square-foot, inspired by the art and culture of Southwestern Indians, copied from Indian weaving, pottery, and sand paintings. The themed decor included Kachina figures on colored-glass murals and an Alexander Calder mobile named Mariposa, area teachers cited the Gauguin exhibits as spurring a dramatic increase in art study. In the 1950s and 1960s Gittings operated a studio in Neiman Marcus. Clients included Hope Portocarrero, Lyndon Johnson, Howard Hughes, a late 1960s Christmas Book featured portraits of Wyatt Cooper, his wife Gloria Vanderbilt, and children Carter and Anderson Cooper
8.
Tesla, Inc.
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Tesla, Inc. is an American automaker, energy storage company, and solar panel manufacturer based in Palo Alto, California. The company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, although the company also considers Elon Musk, JB Straubel. The company specializes in electric cars, Lithium-ion battery energy storage, Tesla first gained widespread attention following its production of the Tesla Roadster, the first electric sports car, in 2008. The companys second vehicle, the Model S, a luxury sedan. In Q12013, Tesla released its stock profits for the first time from its NASDAQ ticker symbol, the Model S has been the worlds best-selling plug-in electric car for two years in a row,2015 and 2016. Its global sales achieved the 150,000 unit milestone in November 2016, four years, as of December 2016, the Model S ranks as the worlds all-time second best-selling plug-in after the Nissan Leaf. The Model S was then followed by the Model X, a crossover SUV, Teslas next vehicle is the Model 3, which was unveiled in March 2016. It is slated for release in 2017 with a price at US$35,000, for two years running,2015 and 2016, Tesla ranked as the worlds second best selling manufacturer of plug-in electric cars after BYD Auto. Musk, the CEO, has said that he envisions Tesla as a company and independent automaker. Tesla has a network of high-powered Superchargers located across North America, Europe, the company also operates a Destination Charging program, under which shops, restaurants and other venues are offered fast chargers for their customers. Although Tesla operates a number of production and assembly plants, the companys most iconic facility is the Gigafactory 1 near Reno, Nevada, Tesla also manufactures the Tesla Powerwall, Powerpack batteries, and solar panels for home and industry applications. Elon Musk owns 20. 8% stake in the company as of March 2017, Tesla is named after electrical engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla. The Tesla Roadster uses an AC motor descended directly from Nikola Teslas original 1882 design, the Roadster, the companys first vehicle, was the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV with a range greater than 200 miles per charge. Between 2008 and March 2012, Tesla sold more than 2,250 Roadsters in 31 countries, Tesla stopped taking orders for the Roadster in the U. S. market in August 2011. In December 2012, Tesla employed almost 3,000 full-time employees, by December 31,2015, this number had grown to 13,058 employees, and to over 30,000 after acquiring Grohmann and SolarCity in late 2016. Tesla unveiled the Tesla Model S all-electric sedan on March 26,2009, Tesla unveiled the Model X crossover SUV on February 9,2012 and first deliveries began in September 2015. Global sales of the Model S passed the 100,000 unit milestone in December 2015, the Model 3, the companys first model aimed for the mass market, was unveiled in March 2016. A week after the unveiling, global reservations totaled 325,000 units, as of November 2016, the Model S ranks as the worlds second-best-selling plug-in electric car in history after the Nissan Leaf, and ahead of the Volt/Ampera family of plug-in hybrids
9.
J. C. Penney
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J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a department store with 1,014 locations in 49 U. S. states and Puerto Rico. Most JCPenney stores are located in shopping malls. Before 1966, most of its stores were located in downtown areas, as shopping malls became more popular during the latter half of the 20th century, JCPenney followed the trend by relocating and developing stores to anchor the malls. In more recent years, the chain has continued to follow consumer traffic, echoing the retailing trend of opening some freestanding stores, certain stores are located in power centers. The company has been an Internet retailer since 1998 and it has streamlined its catalog and distribution while undergoing renovation improvements at store level. James Cash Penney was born in Hamilton, Missouri, after graduating from high school, Penney worked for a local retailer. He relocated to Colorado at the advice of a doctor, hoping that a better climate would improve his health, in 1898, Penney went to work for Thomas Callahan and Guy Johnson, who owned dry goods stores called Golden Rule stores in Colorado and Wyoming. In 1899, Callahan sent Penney to Evanston, Wyoming, to work with Johnson in another Golden Rule store, Callahan and Johnson asked Penney to join them in opening a new Golden Rule store. Using money from savings and a loan, Penney joined the partnership and moved with his wife and infant son to Kemmerer, Wyoming, Penney opened the store on April 14,1902. He participated in the creation of two stores, and purchased full interest in all three locations when Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership in 1907. In 1909, Penney moved his headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah to be closer to banks. By 1912, Penney had 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States, in 1913, all stores were consolidated under the J. C. Penney banner. The so-called mother store, in Kemmerer, opened as the second location in 1904. It still operates, as of 2011, albeit with shorter hours than other locations. In 1913, the company was incorporated under the new name, J. C. Penney Company, in 1914, the headquarters was moved to New York City to simplify buying, financing, and transportation of goods. By 1917, the company operated 175 stores in 22 states in the United States, J. C. Penney acquired The Crescent Corset Company in 1920, the companys first wholly owned subsidiary. In 1922, the companys oldest active private brand, Big Mac work clothes, was launched, the company opened its 500th store in 1924 in Hamilton, Missouri, James Cash Penneys hometown. By the opening of the 1, 000th store in 1928, in 1940, Sam Walton began working at a J. C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa
10.
F. W. Woolworth Company
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The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was arguably the most successful American and international business, setting trends. The first Woolworth store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworth on February 22,1878, as Woolworths Great Five Cent Store in Utica, though it initially appeared to be successful, the store soon failed. When Woolworth searched for a new location, a friend suggested Lancaster, using the sign from the Utica store, Woolworth opened his first successful Woolworths Great Five Cent Store on July 18,1879, in Lancaster. He brought his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, into the business, the two Woolworth brothers pioneered and developed merchandising, direct purchasing, sales, and customer service practices commonly used today. The chain went out of business in July 1997, when the decided to focus primarily on sporting goods. By 2001, the company focused exclusively on the goods market, changing its name to the present Foot Locker. Retail chains using the Woolworth name survive in Austria, Germany, Mexico and, until the start of 2009, however, Woolworths Limited did take their name from the original company, as it had not been registered or trademarked in Australia at the time. Similarly, in South Africa, Woolworths Holdings Limited operates a Marks & Spencer-like store and uses the Woolworth name, the property development company Woolworth Group in Cyprus began life as an offshoot of the British Woolworths company, originally operating Woolworths department stores in Cyprus. In 2003, these stores were rebranded Debenhams, but the property arm of the business retained the Woolworths name. The F. W. Woolworth Co. had the first five-and-dime stores, Woolworth, as the stores popularly became known, was one of the first American retailers to put merchandise out for the shopping public to handle and select without the assistance of a sales clerk. Earlier retailers had kept all merchandise behind a counter and customers presented the clerk with a list of items they wished to buy, the store failed and closed in May 1878, after Frank earned enough money to pay back William Moore. Frank soon made an attempt, and opened his Woolworths Great Five Cent Store, using the same sign, on June 21,1879, in Lancaster. Lancaster proved a success, and Frank never forgot the city for the rest of his life, Frank wanted to open a second store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and so he asked his brother Charles Sumner Sum Woolworth to join him by managing it. The Harrisburg store opened as, 5¢ Woolworth Bros Store on July 19,1879, after a falling-out with the landlord, that store moved to York, Pennsylvania, opening in March 1880. That store did not last long either, closing three months later, Frank searched for a larger, low-rent building. He found a location in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at 125 Penn Avenue. The Scranton store is where Sum fully developed the brothers 5¢ & 10¢ merchandising model, Sum spent a lot of time working the sales floor, talking with customers and employees
11.
Oakland, California
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Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1852, Oaklands territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the citys population, increasing its housing stock and it continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry. Oakland is known for its sustainability practices, including a top-ranking for usage of electricity from renewable resources, in addition, due to a steady influx of immigrants during the 20th century, along with thousands of African-American war-industry workers who relocated from the Deep South during the 1940s. Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. The earliest known inhabitants were the Huchiun Indians, who lived there for thousands of years, the Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone. In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, in 1772, the area that later became Oakland was claimed, with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the King of Spain. In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted the East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio, the grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons, Most of Oakland fell within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called encinal—Spanish for oak grove—due to the oak forest that covered the area. In 1851, three men—Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what is now downtown Oakland, on May 4,1852, the Town of Oakland incorporated. Two years later, on March 25,1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland, with Horace Carpentier elected the first mayor, the city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, a number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, at the time of incorporation, Oakland consisted of the territory that lay south of todays major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north, Oaklands rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in the town of Alameda being made an island
