1.
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri and the sixth largest city in the Midwest. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city had an population of 475,378 in 2015. It is the city of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west, on June 1,1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated, shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to them soon thereafter. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, but portions spill into Clay, Cass, along with Independence, it serves as one of the two county seats for Jackson County. Major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Independence and Lees Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City. The city is composed of neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east. Kansas City is also known for its cuisine, its craft breweries, Kansas City, Missouri was officially incorporated as a town on June 1,1850, and as a city on March 28,1853. The territory straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers was considered a place to build settlements. The Antioch Christian Church, Dr. James Compton House, the first documented European visitor to Kansas City was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Criticized for his response to the Native American attack on Fort Détroit, Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in a village about 90 miles east near Brunswick, Missouri, where he illegally traded furs. In the documents, he describes the junction of the Grande Riv des Cansez and Missouri River, French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the areas first reasonably accurate map. The Spanish took over the region in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French continued their fur trade under Spanish license. After the 1804 Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark visited the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, in 1831, a group of Mormons from New York settled in what would become the city. They built the first school within Kansas Citys current boundaries, but were forced out by mob violence in 1833, in 1833 John McCoy established West Port along the Santa Fe Trail,3 miles away from the river. In 1834 McCoy established Westport Landing on a bend in the Missouri to serve as a point for West Port. Soon after, the Kansas Town Company, a group of investors, began to settle the area, in 1850, the landing area was incorporated as the Town of Kansas
2.
Missouri
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Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1821. With over six million residents, it is the eighteenth most populous state, the largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia. The capitol is in Jefferson City on the Missouri River, the state is the twenty-first most extensive by area and is geographically diverse. The Northern Plains were once covered by glaciers, then tallgrass prairie, in the South are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Mississippi River forms the border of the state, eventually flowing into the swampy Missouri Bootheel. Humans have inhabited the land now known as Missouri for at least 12,000 years, the Mississippian culture built cities and mounds, before declining in the 1300s. When European explorers arrived in the 1600s they encountered the Osage, the French established Louisiana, a part of New France, and founded Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764, after a brief period of Spanish rule, the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Americans from the Upland South, including enslaved African Americans, rushed into the new Missouri Territory, many from Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee settled in the Boonslick area of Mid-Missouri. Soon after, heavy German immigration formed the Missouri Rhineland, Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States, as memorialized by the Gateway Arch. The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, as a border state, Missouris role in the American Civil War was complex and there were many conflicts within. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became centers of industrialization and business, today, the state is divided into 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis. Missouris culture blends elements from the Midwestern and Southern United States, the musical styles of ragtime, Kansas City jazz, and St. Louis Blues, developed in Missouri. The well-known Kansas City-style barbecue, and lesser known St. Louis-style barbecue can be found across the state, St. Louis is also a major center of beer brewing, Anheuser-Busch is the largest producer in the world. Missouri wine is produced in the nearby Missouri Rhineland and Ozarks, Missouris alcohol laws are among the most permissive in the United States. Outside of the large cities popular tourist destinations include the Lake of the Ozarks, U. S. President Harry S. Truman is from Missouri. Other well known Missourians include Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Chuck Berry, some of the largest companies based in the state include Express Scripts, Monsanto, Emerson Electric, Edward Jones, and OReilly Auto Parts. Missouri has been called the Mother of the West and the Cave State, however, Missouris most famous nickname is the Show Me State, the state is named for the Missouri River, which was named after the indigenous Missouri Indians, a Siouan-language tribe
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
J. C. Nichols
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Jesse Clyde Nichols, better known as J. C. Nichols, was an American developer of commercial and residential estate in Kansas City. He was born in Olathe, Kansas, attended the University of Kansas and his most notable developments are the Country Club District and Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, which influenced suburban developments in other parts of the United States. He served leadership roles in local and national real estate and organizations, through these organizations, his ideas about real estate and planning helped to shape methods for restrictive covenants and zoning. Jesse Clyde Nichols was born in 1880, a son of farmers living near Olathe and he worked various jobs while attending high school, and worked for a year after graduation selling wholesale meat. While he matriculated at the University of Kansas, he managed the football team, reported for a newspaper. Graduating at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902, he accepted a scholarship at Harvard University. Nichols returned to Kansas City and joined some friends to establish Reed, Nichols & Company. In 1905, he married Jessie Miller, a woman from Olathe, Nichols advocated preservation of trees and natural contours, while proscribing gridiron street networks. His Country Club District in Kansas City placed many restrictions on the use of property within the subdivision, Builders were required to observe large minimum lot sizes and large setbacks from the street. Nichols also imposed racially based covenants on all properties in the Country Club District, the Country Club District, Nichols master-planned community in Kansas City, Missouri, was the inspiration of River Oaks in Houston, Texas. Will Hogg, his brother Mike, and Hugh Potter visited the area, Nichols had a short list of what he considered to be exemplary communities, and urged Potter to visit them. These included Forest Hill Gardens in Queens, New York, Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County, Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland, Potter eventually was appointed President of the River Oaks Corporation, and continued to seek the advice of Nichols during his tenure. Nichols invented the percentage lease, where rents are based on gross receipts. The percentage lease is now a practice in commercial leasing across the United States. Modern outdoor shopping centers, now common in the United States, share an ancestor in the Country Club Plaza. The Urban Land Institutes J. C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development is named in his honor, Nichols served in leadership positions of local and national real estate and planning organizations. He was a member of the General Committee of the National Conference on City Planning. He headed the Kansas City Real Estate Board and the National Conference of Subdividers and he was a founder of the Urban Land Institute and chaired its Community Builders’ Council
5.
Macerich
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Macerich is a self-managed Real Estate Investment Trust headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States and it traces its antecedents to the MaceRich Real Estate Company founded in New York in 1964 by Mace Siegel and Richard Cohen who combined their first names to name their company. After years of buying and owning shopping centers privately, in 1994 the company went public as The Macerich Company, in 2006, the company name was rebranded to Macerich. In 2002, Macerich acquired Phoenix-based Westcor Partners for $1.475 billion, the purchase added nine properties to Macerichs portfolio, including Scottsdale Fashion Square. Three years later, it acquired Rochester-based Wilmorite Properties for $2.333 billion, on April 12015, the company rejected a $16.8 Billion takeover offer from Simon Property Group. Macerich rejected the bid on the grounds that Simon undervalued the company. The Macerich Company was a NORAD Tracks Santa program partner and sponsor for the 2005 and 2006 NORAD Tracks Santa seasons, the overall experience provided retail centers with multiple benefits such as extended stays of visit, additional, and changing foot-traffic patterns and property brand recognition. The result was a wonderful, and inventive boost to the shopping experience at the Macerich malls featuring NORAD/Santa Tracking Stations. Shopping property management firms Macerich Home Page
6.
Shopping center
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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
7.
Country Club District
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Ward Parkway, a wide, manicured boulevard, traverses the district running south from the Country Club Plaza, the first suburban shopping district in the United States. J. C. Nichols began developing the district in 1906 with a neighborhood he called Bismarck Place, eventually, Nichols acquired a tract of land crossing from Missouri into Kansas, which now includes the neighborhood of Sunset Hill and the city of Mission Hills. Nichols also built the nearby Country Club Plaza, the first shopping district in the United States designed to accommodate patrons arriving by automobile, today, the Country Club District is the largest contiguous planned community built by a single developer in the United States. Nichols used restrictive covenants, or deed restrictions, in property in the district to control the use of the land. Most of the covenants pertain to the uses to which the property owner could put his land, or setback, a controversial aspect of the covenants in the district, however, was the use of racial restrictions that prohibited ownership and occupation by African Americans. The 1948 Supreme Court decision Shelley v. Kraemer rendered such restrictions unenforceable, nevertheless, restrictions continue to appear in the deeds to Country Club District properties. This practical difficulty is the racial restrictions continue to appear throughout the district. While he utilized the restrictive covenant model to bar non-whites from his neighborhoods, in fact, such practice had been in full force in Kansas City since the time Nichols was born in the 1880s. Today the Country Club District is still white, and still is home to Kansas Citys wealthiest residents. On the Missouri side, many Country Club residents formerly sent their children to Southwest High School, at its peak in the mid-1960s, Southwest enrolled more than 2,400 students, 20% of whose parents were Southwest alumni. After the end of segregation in schools under Brown v. Board of Education, however, Kansas City, Missouri. It wasnt until the 1970s Southwest High School experienced large scale desegregation, the 1972-1973 school year, Southwest was 2% Black. In the following years, the school saw increases of Black students until becoming predominantely Black in the late 1970s and this was due to full scale busing which began in the 1975-1976 school year. By the 1997-1998 school year, Southwests final year in existence, the Country Club district includes many homes by or after plans of many noted architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, McKim, Mead, and White, Louis Curtiss, and Mary Rockwell Hook. Several homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, hallmark Cards founder Joyce Hall composer John Kander businessman R. Crosby Kemper Jr. Price II columnist Calvin Trillin professional golfer Tom Watson Mayor Charles Wheeler. In 1970, members of the Students for a Democratic Society were charged with bombing the home of J. C. Nichols. See United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division, Criminal Case Files, Evan S. Connell, Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge. Novels set in the Country Club District between the 1920s to the 1940s, with frequent references to the district and the Country Club Plaza, Evan McKenzie, Privatopia, Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government
8.
Brush Creek (Blue River tributary)
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Brush Creek is a 10. 5-mile-long stream that runs from Johnson County, Kansas, through Jackson County, Missouri. It is a tributary of the Blue River, and by the Blue, Brush Creek begins near West 80th Street and Lamar Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas, and drains to the Blue River at Blue Banks Avenue and Hardesty Avenue in Kansas City. Brush Creek was named for the brush once lining its course, the Battle of Westport, the biggest battle in the American Civil War west of the Mississippi River, was fought on either side of it. The Country Club Plaza is built on the banks of the creek, the expansive lawn of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art runs from the steps of the museum down to the creek. Attempts to control flooding on the creek by paving it with concrete produced by companies owned by Boss Thomas Pendergast were a scandal in the 1930s, heavy rainfall in September 1977 resulted in Brush Creek flooding the Plaza with 5 to 6 feet of water. The next stream westward, Turkey Creek on the Kansas side, twenty-five people died in the flood, and damage exceed $66 million. Kansas City, Missouri, has a storm water and sanitary sewer system. During heavy rains, sewage from the sanitary sewer can overflow into the storm sewer, several waterways, including Brush Creek, are posted with signs discouraging contact with the water after rain. Because of this, one nickname for this stream is Flush Creek. As part of a settlement with the EPA, Kansas City has started a 25-year, $2.5 billion project to improve the sanitary and storm sewers. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Brush Creek
9.
Downtown Kansas City
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Downtown Kansas City is the central business district of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. According to the Downtown Council of Kansas City, as of 2013, the Downtown area has a population of 19,899 residents with 11,790 housing units, also as of 2013, Downtown has 137 units under construction and 1,326 in the planning stages. The United States Census in 2010 suggests Downtown has a population of 22,576, in 2000, the population may have been as low as 10,000 people with 7,330 units. In 2005, Downtown Kansas City had a density of approximately 5,617 inhabitants per square mile in its 3. 0-square-mile area. According to Local Market reports, Downtown houses approximately 20,000,000 square feet of office space, however, the vacancy of this space is at about 15%. There are also about 12,800,000 square feet of Class A&B office space in Downtown, there are over 100,000 employees working in the Downtown area. Downtown has a total of 5,606 hotel rooms, accounting for 22. 5% of the amount of hotel rooms in the metropolitan area. The average occupancy of these rooms is about 56. 5%, as of 2007, about 2,800,000 square feet of office space are under construction in Downtown Kansas City. Current investments into downtown redevelopment have exceeded $6 billion, oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park In recent years, Downtown Kansas City has been undergoing a massive boom in renovations and new construction. Since 2000, the estimated cost of projects has totaled over $5.5 billion. The Power & Light District, also known as the Entertainment District, is an area to the immediate south of the Central Business District. Originally to be named Kansas City Live, Cordish, Inc. of Baltimore, the present headquarters of the Kansas City Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy, is also on the districts northern side. Instead, an area near the new H&R Block headquarters tower – devoted to live music venues – was named Kansas City Live. This ties together a theme of new, glass-walled buildings in the area, also including the Sprint Center, groundbreaking on the complex began in March 2006. The Entertainment District practically shares a border with I-670, enclosed between the residential towers and H&R Blocks new building will be many shops and restaurants new to the Kansas City area. The Sprint Center, an 18, 500-seat arena, is a project that was announced shortly after the Power & Light District, in 2004, a ballot initiative to fund the proposed arena through a tax on car rentals and hotels was effectively passed by area voters. Some city officials, as well as those who did not desire to pay the increased tax, One of the most prominent of these individuals was Sandra McFadden-Weaver, a member of the City Council of Kansas City, Missouri. Despite the outcry from a few dissenters, the vote passed decidedly
10.
Kansas
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Kansas /ˈkænzəs/ is a U. S. state located in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribes name is said to mean people of the wind or people of the south wind. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous, tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. When it was opened to settlement by the U. S. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided. The abolitionists eventually prevailed, and on January 29,1861, after the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. By 2015, Kansas was one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. Kansas, which has an area of 82,278 square miles is the 15th largest state by area and is the 34th most populous of the 50 United States with a population of 2,911,641, residents of Kansas are called Kansans, officially. Mount Sunflower is Kansass highest point at 4,041 feet, for a millennia, the land that is currently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, in 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Southwest Kansas, however, was still a part of Spain, Mexico, from 1812 to 1821, Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory. The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, wagon ruts from the trail are still visible in the prairie today. In 1827, Fort Leavenworth became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state, the Kansas–Nebraska Act became law on May 30,1854, establishing the U. S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and opening the area to broader settlement by whites. Kansas Territory stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present-day Denver, Colorado Springs, Missouri and Arkansas sent settlers into Kansas all along its eastern border. These settlers attempted to sway votes in favor of slavery, the secondary settlement of Americans in Kansas Territory were abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free-Staters, who attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri. Directly presaging the American Civil War, these forces collided, entering into skirmishes that earned the territory the name of Bleeding Kansas, Kansas was admitted to the United States as a free state on January 29,1861, making it the 34th state to enter the Union. He was roundly condemned by both the conventional Confederate military and the partisan rangers commissioned by the Missouri legislature and his application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre-war criminal record
11.
Seville, Spain
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Seville is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the river Guadalquivir, the inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Its Old Town, with an area of 4 square kilometres, the Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in the geographical Western Europe, Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis. It later became known as Ishbiliya after the Muslim conquest in 712, in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan departed from Seville for the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Spal is the oldest known name for Seville and it appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia and, according to Manuel Pellicer Catalán, meant lowland in the Phoenician language. During Roman rule, the name was Latinised as Hispalis, nO8DO is the official motto of Seville. It is popularly believed to be a rebus signifying the Spanish No me ha dejado, meaning It has not abandoned me, the eight in the middle represents a madeja, or skein of wool. The emblem is present on the flag and features on city property such as manhole covers. Seville is approximately 2,200 years old, the passage of the various civilisations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre. The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis, important archaeological remains also exist in the nearby towns of Santiponce and Carmona. The walls surrounding the city were built during the rule of Julius Caesar. Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals, the Suebi, Seville was taken by the Moors, Muslims from North of Africa, during the conquest of Hispalis in 712. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with herbaje and small fountains the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, in 1247, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon began the conquest of Andalusia. The decisive action took place in May 1248 when Ramon Bonifaz sailed up the Guadalquivir, the city surrendered on 23 November 1248. The citys development continued after the Castilian conquest in 1248, Public buildings constructed including churches, many of which were built in the Mudéjar style, and the Seville Cathedral, built during the 15th century with Gothic architecture
12.
Ward Parkway
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Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Kansas-Missouri state line. It then continues south for four miles, terminating at Wornall Road near West 95th Street, Ward Parkway has a wide, landscaped median, which is decorated with fountains and statuary. Many of Kansas Citys finest large houses are along Ward Parkway in the Country Club District. The street name derives from the family of pioneer Seth E. Ward who owned property on both sides of the parkway and whose house at 1032 West 55th St. is on the National Register of Historic Places. 39°02′22″N 94°35′07″W Southern terminus, Wornall Road 38°57′33″N 94°35′44″W Ward Parkway was created as part of developer J. C. Nicholss overall plans for the Country Club District, as Nichols platted the district, beginning in 1906, he reserved space for Ward Parkway. The largest lots in the district were reserved for houses to be built along the boulevard, the Kansas City Parks Department added Ward Parkway into its formal boulevard system. Nichols traveled to Italy and England to buy statues and monuments to place in the wide median. He also placed ponds and decorative urns throughout the parkways length, to promote his development, Nichols periodically placed photographs of the large houses being built along Ward Parkway in Sunday editions of the Kansas City Star. Nichols even moved into a house just off Ward Parkway, on West 55th Street. By the time Evan S. Connell wrote Mrs. Bridge in 1959, around that time, a sociological research study undertaken by the University of Chicago determined that Ward Parkway and its vicinity was the most desirable neighborhood in all of Kansas City. One project that benefited from the District is the Ward Parkway Center, in addition, the city also allocated more than $9 million for the maintenance and improvements of park grounds, fountain and monuments, and recreational facilities along parkways. Several sites and buildings along Ward Parkway are designated as National Historic Sites and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1996, design guidelines for building along the parkway were adopted, and new construction on the parkway requires a certificate from the Historic Preservation Committee. Tom Pendergast, political boss Keith A. Tucker, former CEO of Waddell & Reed mutual fund company Scott Ward, head of the Russell Stover Candy Co. Peter Brown, CEO and Co-founder of AMC Theaters
13.
Kansas City Country Club
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The Kansas City Country Club, founded in 1896, is a country club in Mission Hills, Kansas, USA, an affluent suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the club for which the Country Club District and the Country Club Plaza of Kansas City are named, the club claims to be the third oldest country club west of the Mississippi River. The club has its roots in a golf course in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City. The tract of land belonged to Wards father Seth E. Ward, in 1907, J. C. Nichols began buying land surrounding the course to develop the Country Club District, and later to develop the Country Club Plaza. In 1925, the club moved its course a mile west to the banks of Brush Creek in Mission Hills, the clubs former grounds then became Loose Park. The three J. C. Nichols Clubs became the most socially desirable in the Kansas City Metropolitan area with Kansas City Country Club being first, the course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast and later redesigned by Robert Trent Jones, the clubs most famous player is Tom Watson, whose father, Ray Watson, still holds the amateur record of 64 for the course. Tom Watson holds the record of 60
14.
Loose Park
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Loose Park is the third largest park in Kansas City. It is located at 51st Street and Wornall Road, the park is home to a lake, a shelter house, Civil War markers, tennis courts, a water park, picnic areas and a Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is popular for all types of special events including theatrical performances. The park was once a pasture belonging to Kansas City pioneer Seth Ward, during the Battle of Westport in American Civil War Confederate General Sterling Price is said to have to commanded his forces from gun emplacements on the south end of the park. In 1897 Ward leased the land to the Kansas City Country Club for its first golf course, in 1907 J. C. Nichols bought land around the course to form the Country Club District and Country Club Plaza. In 1925 when the club moved to Mission Hills, Kansas the land became a city park. In 1977 artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Walk Ways with 12,500 m2 of orange-yellow coloured shiny nylon fabric, in 1979 Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig and Paul Gorup founded the Cerner Corporation while on a picnic in the park. The Loose Park Garden Center was built in 1957 for meetings and it is located in Loose Park at 5200 Pennsylvania Avenue. The garden center has two meeting rooms with small kitchens attached to the meeting rooms. Loose Park Website Loose Park Garden Center
15.
The Pembroke Hill School
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It is located on two campuses in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza. Vassie James Ward Hill, a prominent Kansas Citian and Vassar College graduate born in 1875, gained a fortune upon the death of her first husband, Hugh Ward. She then married Albert Ross Hill, formerly president of the University of Missouri, at the time, Kansas Citians of means commonly sent their children to boarding schools on the east coast. Hill did not want to send her daughter and three sons back east and she believed they should be able to have an equal education in Kansas City. This led her to research the workings of college preparatory schools, in 1910, using funds from twelve Kansas City businessmen, Hill founded the Country Day School for boys, which accepted both day students and boarders. The initial enrollment was 20 students but grew to 52 within three years, the first country day school in the Midwest, it sat on what is today Pembroke Hills Ward Parkway Campus, to the west of the Country Club Plaza at the intersection of State Line Road. Three years later, Ruth Carr Patton and Frances Matteson Bowersock joined with Hill to found the Sunset Hill School, Sunset Hill was located on what today is Pembroke Hills Wornall Campus, south of the Country Club Plaza. At the time of its founding, the campus overlooked the Kansas City Country Club and it also includes a portion of the battlefield from the Battle of Westport. In 1925, some educators and students left the Country Day School to form the Pembroke School for boys and their endeavor failed amidst the Great Depression, and the two schools re-merged in 1933 to form the Pembroke-Country Day School, keeping the Country Day Schools original campus. It usually was referred to as Pem-Day, from the start, Sunset Hill and Pembroke-Country Day worked cooperatively. Often, teachers taught at both schools, for generations, many Kansas City families would send their boys to Pem-Day and their girls to Sunset Hill. School activities, such as plays and dances, often were combined, in 1963, the schools began coeducational classes in upper level math, science, and languages. In the early 1980s, the two schools began merger discussions, ultimately merging in 1984 to become the Pembroke Hill School, the class of 1985 elected to have separate graduation ceremonies. True coeducation began the next year, the former Sunset Hill campus became home to the primary and lower schools, and the former Pem-Day campus became home to the middle and upper schools. In 1988, Kansas City Magazine notoriously published an article titled A High School on Easy Street, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pembroke Hill completed a $50 million capital improvement project, which renovated both campuses. The Ward Parkway campus gained a new school building, Boocock Middle School, a new upper school building, Jordan Hall, a new arts center, and a new library. In 1997,1998, and 1999, Pembroke Hills boys basketball won the Missouri Class 2A state title. In the Class of 2013,29 seniors have been recognized by National Merit, of these 29 students,21 or 21 percent of the class, are National Merit Semifinalists
16.
Edward Buehler Delk
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Edward Buehler Delk was a prominent architect who designed many landmark buildings in the Midwest and Southwest regions of The United States. Delk was born on 22 Sep 1885 Schoharie, New York and he graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1907. After serving in the Army Air Corps during World War I where he studied at the University of London after the war. Among his most famous works were Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture buildings in the 1920s for Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols, on September 1,1956, Edward B. Delk died unexpectedly at sea aboard the S. S. Excambion while returning with his wife Jane from a trip to Europe and he was buried in Philadelphia. com Delk profile
17.
New Urbanism
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New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has influenced many aspects of real estate development, urban planning. These ideas can all be circled back to two concepts, building a sense of community and the development of ecological practices, the organizing body for New Urbanism is the Congress for the New Urbanism, founded in 1993. They believe their strategies can reduce congestion by encouraging the population to ride bikes, walk. They also hope that this set up will increase the supply of affordable housing, the Charter of the New Urbanism also covers issues such as historic preservation, safe streets, green building, and the re-development of brownfield land. The ten Principles of Intelligent Urbanism also phrase guidelines for new urbanist approaches, architecturally, new urbanist developments are often accompanied by New Classical, postmodern, or vernacular styles, although that is not always the case. Until the mid 20th century, cities were generally organized into, but with the advent of cheap automobiles and favorable government policies, attention began to shift away from cities and towards ways of growth more focused on the needs of the car. This new system of development, with its rigorous separation of uses, arose after World War II, the majority of U. S. citizens now live in suburban communities built in the last fifty years, and automobile use per capita has soared. Although New Urbanism as a movement would only arise later. Social philosopher and historian Lewis Mumford criticized the development of post-war America. The French architect François Spoerry has developed in the 60s the concept of architecture that he applied to Port Grimaud. The success of project had a considerable influence and led to many new projects of soft architecture like Port Liberté in New Jersey or Le Plessis Robisson in France. The term new urbanism itself started being used in context in the mid-1980s. Named the Ahwahnee Principles, the presented the principles to about one hundred government officials in the fall of 1991. Calthorpe, Duany, Moule, Plater-Zyberk, Polyzoides, and Solomon founded the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism in 1993, the CNU has grown to more than three thousand members, and is the leading international organization promoting New Urbanist design principles. It holds annual Congresses in various U. S. cities, the Canons are a set of operating principles for human settlement that reestablish the relationship between the art of building, the making of community, and the conservation of our natural world. They promote the use of heating and cooling solutions, the use of locally obtained materials, and in general. New Urbanism is a movement that spans a number of different disciplines
18.
Land development
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In an economics context, land development is also sometimes advertised as land improvement or land amelioration. It refers to investments making land more usable by humans, for accounting purposes it refers to any variety of projects that increase the value of the property. Most are depreciable, but some improvements are not able to be depreciated because a useful life cannot be determined. Home building and containment are two of the most common and the oldest types of development and this profit enhancement means identifying and developing the best scheme for the local marketplace, whilst satisfying the local planning process. Development Analysis puts development prospects and the development process itself under the microscope, development analysis can add significantly to the value of land and development, and as such is a crucial tool for landowners and developers. It is a step in Kevin A. Lynchs 1960 book The Image of the City. The landowner can share in additional planning gain via an awareness of the development potential. This is done via a residual development appraisal or residual valuation, the residual appraisal calculates the sale value of the end product, and hypothetically deducts costs, including planning and construction costs, finance costs and developers profit. The residue, or leftover proportion, represents the land value, therefore, in maximising the GDV, land value is concurrently enhanced. Land value is highly sensitive to supply and demand, build costs, planning and affordable housing contributions, understanding the intricacies of the development system and the effect of value drivers can result in massive differences in the landowners sale value. Land improvement in the economic sense can often lead to degradation from the ecological perspective. Land development and the change in land value does not usually take into account changes in the ecology of the developed area, new creation of farmland will rely on the conversion and development of previous forests, savannas or grassland. Recreation of farmland from wasteland, deserts or previous impervious surfaces is considerably less frequent because of the degraded or missing fertile soil in the latter, starting from forests, land is made arable by assarting or slash-and-burn. Agricultural development furthermore includes, Hydrological measures Soil improvement, road construction Because the newly created farmland is more prone to erosion than soil stabilized by tree roots, such a conversion may mean irreversible crossing of an ecological threshold. The resulting deforestation is not easily compensated for by reforestation or afforestation. Examples of land restoration/land rehabilitation counted as land development in the strict sense are still rare, however, renaturation, reforestation, stream restoration may all contribute to a healthier environment and quality of life, especially in densely populated regions. The same is true for planned vegetation like parks and gardens, but restoration plays a particular role, because it reverses previous conversions to built and agricultural areas
19.
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
20.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
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The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. is the parent company to the luxury hotel chain, The Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Ritz-Carlton operates 91 luxury hotels and resorts in cities around the world, the hotel company is today a subsidiary of Marriott International. The story of The Ritz-Carlton begins with Swiss hotelier César Ritz who was known in the hotel industry as the king of hoteliers. Ritz redefined luxury accommodation in Europe with his management of The Ritz in Paris, the restaurants on those ships ceased operating in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. Although Ritz died in 1918, his wife Marie continued the tradition of opening hotels in his name, the Ritz-Carlton Investing Company was established by Albert Keller, who bought and franchised the name in the United States. The first Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the U. S. opened in New York in 1911 and it was located at 46th Street and Madison Avenue. Louis Diat ran the kitchens and invented Vichyssoise there, the Ritz-Carlton Montreal opened in 1912, not owned by Keller as it was located in Canada. Kellers Ritz-Carlton Atlantic City opened in 1921, the trust sold $2.1 million of bonds to finance the construction of an apartment building to be called the Mayflower. The 18-story, 201-foot brick building, designed by Strickland, Blodget & Law Architects, was far taller than anything else along Newbury Street at the time. Construction had started on the floor when Wyner was persuaded by then-Mayor James Michael Curly to make the Mayflower a world-class, 300-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Room rates were $5 to $15 per night, $40 per night for suites, after a hugely successful opening, the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Depression brought financial difficulties. The Wyner family funded the hotel’s operating losses during the early 1930s, still in 1933, when only 30 guests were registered in the hotel, Wyner turned on the lights in every guest room to give the appearance the hotel was full. The Philadelphia location was converted to a building after only a few years in operation. The Atlantic City hotel was sold to Schine Hotels in the late 1940s, the New York hotel was demolished in 1951, leaving only the Boston location. Edward Wyner died of an attack on December 5,1961. His six sons tried to continue operation of the Boston hotel, but were unable to overcome difficulties, the unpaid interest on the bonds dissuaded many from trying to buy the hotel. But Cabot, Cabot & Forbes principal Gerald F. Blakeley Jr. was interested.8 million, “Out of the 20 years I owned it, it made money three years. In the late 1960s Blakeley obtained the rights to the Ritz-Carlton name in North America, in June 1978, Blakeley was awarded the rights and privileges of the Ritz-Carlton trademark in the United States and was given a US Service Mark Registration
21.
Gucci
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Gucci is an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by the French holding company Kering. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921, Gucci is also the biggest-selling Italian brand. Gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of September 2009, in the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes Worlds Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, as of January 2015, the creative director is Alessandro Michele. With beginnings at the end of the 19th century, the Gucci company became one of the world’s most successful manufacturers of leather goods, clothing. As an immigrant hotel worker in Paris and later London, young Guccio Gucci was impressed with the luggage he saw urbane guests bring with them. Before leaving, he visited the manufacturer, H. J. Cave & Sons, upon returning to his birthplace of Florence, a city distinguished for high-quality materials and skilled artisans, he established a shop in 1920 that sold fine leather goods with classic styling. Although Gucci organized his workrooms for industrial methods of production, he maintained traditional aspects of fabrication, initially, Gucci employed skilled workers in basic Florentine leather crafts, attentive to finishing. With expansion, machine stitching was a method that supported construction. Together with three of his sons, Aldo Gucci, Vasco Gucci, and Rodolfo Gucci, Gucci expanded the company to include stores in Milan and Rome as well as additional shops in Florence. Guccis stores featured such finely crafted leather accessories as handbags, shoes, the company made handbags of cotton canvas rather than leather during World War II as a result of material shortages. The canvas, however, was distinguished by a signature double-G symbol combined with prominent red, after the war, the Gucci crest, which showed a shield and armored knight surrounded by a ribbon inscribed with the family name, became synonymous with the city of Florence. Aldo and Rodolfo Gucci further expanded the horizons in 1953 by establishing offices in New York City. Film stars and jet-set travelers to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s brought their glamour to Florence, movie stars posed in Guccis clothing, accessories, and footwear for lifestyle magazines around the world, contributing to the company’s growing reputation. Guccis distinctive lines made its products among the most frequently copied in the world in the early 2000s, pigskin, calf, and imported exotic animal skins were subjected to various methods of fabrication. Waterproof canvas and satin were used for evening bags, bamboo was first used to make handbag handles by a process of heating and molding in 1947, and purses made with a shoulder strap and snaffle-bit decoration were introduced in 1960. In 1964 Gucci’s lush butterfly pattern was custom-created for silk foulards, the original Gucci loafer was updated by a distinctive snaffle-bit ornament in 1966, while the Rolls-Royce luggage set was introduced in 1970. Watches, jewelry, ties, and eyewear were then added to the product lines
22.
Ralph Lauren Corporation
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Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American corporation. They are known for the clothing, marketing and distribution of premium products in four categories, apparel, home. The Companys brand names, which include Polo Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, Chaps, Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American, publicly traded holding company headquartered in New York City. Ralph Lauren Corporation began with the 1967 founding of the Polo Ralph Lauren company by American designer Ralph Lauren, the Ralph Lauren started in 1967 with men’s ties. At 28 years-old, Lauren worked for the tie manufacturer, Beau Brummell, at that time, he persuaded the companys president to let him start his own line. Drawing on his interests in sports, Ralph Lauren names his first full line of menswear ‘Polo’ in 1968 and he works out of a single drawer from a showroom in the Empire State Building and makes deliveries to stores himself. By 1969, the Manhattan department store Bloomingdales sold Lauren’s men line exclusively and it was the first time that Bloomingdale’s had given a designer his own in-store shop. In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, the first full women’s collection was launched the following year. 1971 also marked the opening of Ralph Lauren’s store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and this is the first freestanding store for an American designer. 1977 Ralph Lauren Corporation introduces a signature cotton mesh Polo shirt in various colours, featuring the polo player logo at the chest, the shirt becomes emblematic of the preppy look--one of Ralph Laurens signature styles. In 1977, Diane Keaton and Woody Allen wear Lauren’s clothes throughout their Oscar-winning film, the first Ralph Lauren fragrances, produced by Warner-Lauren, Ltd. are first launched at Bloomingdales. Lauren, a fragrance for women, debuts on March 12,1978, and Polo and this is the first time that a designer has introduced two fragrances – one for men and one for women – simultaneously. The company entered the European market, and went international, in 1981 with the opening of the first freestanding store for an American designer New Bond Street in the West End of London, England. Ralph Lauren opens his first flagship in the Rhinelander mansion, on Madison Avenue, on June 12,1997, the company becomes a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The 98-seat restaurant, RL, opens in March 1999 in a building adjacent to the largest Ralph Lauren store at the corner of Chicago. It was followed by the opening of two additional restaurants – Ralph’s at 173 Boulevard Saint Germain Paris flagship store in 2010 and The Polo Bar at Polo’s flagship in New York in 2015. The company launched its web site, and online shop in 2000 as polo. com by RL Media. In 2007, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media, on 29 September 2015, it was announced that Stefan Larsson would replace the companys founder, Ralph Lauren, as CEO in November
23.
FAO Schwarz
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FAO Schwarz, founded in 1862, was once the oldest toy store in the United States. The company is known for its unique high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, dolls, the FAO Schwarz flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City was a popular tourist destination, and has gained iconic status for its floor piano and cameos in major motion pictures. The store closed in July 2015 after parent company Toys R Us announced it was giving up the nearly two years early to save money. The FAO Schwarz brand is currently the property of the descendants of the founder through the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation but is now operated by ThreeSixty Group. FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name Toy Bazaar by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore, additional locations of Toy Bazaar followed in Philadelphia and Boston. By then, The New York Times described Schwarz as the largest dealer in toys in this city. Beginning in November 1869, the Schwarz Toy Bazaar held an exhibition of toys that would be available for the Christmas season, in 1896, Schwarz proclaimed the store as the Original Santa Claus Headquarters in New York. The FAO Schwarz holiday catalog has been published annually since 1876, in 1889, Schwarz added his initials to newspaper advertisements, branding the store at that time as simply F. A. O. Schwarz, although the Toy Bazaar identifier continued until the move in 1897 to W. 23rd Street, in 1931, the New York City location moved to 745 Fifth Avenue where it operated for 55 years. In 1963, when the Schwarz family sold their last shares in the business, the company was subsequently sold to W. R. Grace in 1970, and then to toy retailer Franz Carl Weber of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974. In 1985, Christiana Companies, a San Diego, California based company, FAO Schwarz was sold to Netherlands-based NV Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer in 1990. Throughout the 1990s, new FAO Schwarz stores opened throughout the United States, in 2001, Right Start, Inc. purchased 23 of the 42 stores from Vendex, including the famed FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue flagship store. The other 18 unsold locations were immediately closed, in 2002, Right Start Inc. changed its corporate name to FAO Inc. operating stores under The Right Start, Zany Brainy and FAO Schwarz names. In January 2003, FAO Inc. filed for bankruptcy, yet emerged from bankruptcy in April 2003, the company filed for bankruptcy a second time in December 2003. The Fifth Avenue store was closed in January 2004, in February 2004, investment firm D. E. Shaw & Co. L. P. acquired the FAO Schwarz stores in New York and Las Vegas, as well as FAO Schwarzs catalog and internet business. The New York and Las Vegas stores were reopened on Thanksgiving Day 2004, in November 2007, FAO Schwarz acquired premium childrens clothing company Best & Co. which had plans to expand, but the company ceased business in 2009. In May 2009, Toys R Us Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz, in 2009, Toys R Us subsequently put temporary FAO Schwarz boutiques in its U. S. Toys R Us stores for the holidays, and in October 2010, in addition, FAO Schwarz-branded infant and toddler items are available in all of its Babies R Us stores nationwide
24.
Saks Fifth Avenue
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Saks Fifth Avenue is an American luxury department store owned by the oldest commercial corporation in North America, the Hudsons Bay Company. Its main flagship store is located on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, Saks Fifth Avenue is the successor of a business founded by Andrew Saks in 1867 and incorporated in New York in 1902 as Saks & Company. Saks died in 1912, and in 1923 Saks & Co. merged with Gimbel Brothers, Inc. which was owned by a cousin of Horace Saks, Bernard Gimbel, operating as a separate autonomous subsidiary. On September 15,1924, Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel opened Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, with a full-block avenue frontage south of St Patricks Cathedral, facing Rockefeller Center. The architects were Starrett & van Vleck, who developed a reticent, the first full-line year-round Saks store opened in Chicago, in 1929, followed by another resort store in Miami Beach, Florida. In 1938, Saks expanded to the West Coast, opening in Beverly Hills, by the end of the 1930s, Saks Fifth Avenue had a total of 10 stores, including resort locations such as Sun Valley, Idaho, Mount Stowe, and Newport, Rhode Island. More full-line stores followed with Detroit, Michigan, in 1940 and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Downtown Pittsburgh, the company moved to its own freestanding location approximately one block from its former home on the fourth floor in the downtown Gimbels flagship. The San Francisco location opened in 1952, competing locally with I, BATUS Inc. acquired Gimbel Bros. Inc. and its Saks Fifth Avenue subsidiary in 1973 as part of its diversification strategy. More expansion followed from the 1960s through the 1990s including the Midwest, in 1990, BATUS sold Saks to Investcorp S. A. which took Saks public in 1996 as Saks Holdings, Inc. In 1990, Saks Off 5th was launched, an outlet store offshoot of the main brand, in 1998, Proffitts, Inc. the parent company of Proffitts and other department stores, acquired Saks Holdings Inc. Upon completing the acquisition, Proffitts, Inc. changed its name to Saks, since 2000 Saks has opened international locations in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and Mexico City. In August 2007, the United States Postal Service began an experimental program selling the plus zip code extension to businesses, the first company to do so was Saks Fifth Avenue, which received the zip code of 10022-SHOE for the eighth-floor shoe department in its flagship Fifth Avenue store. During the 2007-2009 recession, Saks Fifth Avenue had to some stores and to cut prices and profit margins. It took three years before it could start selling at closer to full price, on July 29,2013, the Hudsons Bay Company, owner of the competing chain Lord & Taylor, announced it would acquire Saks Fifth Avenues parent company for US$2.9 billion. Plans called for up to seven Saks Fifth Avenues to open in major Canadian markets, the store opened in February 2016 with a second Toronto area location in the Sherway Gardens shopping center opening in spring 2016. On January 6,2014, Marigay McKee, previously Chief Merchant at Harrods and she stepped down 15 months later on April 2,2015, and was replaced by Marc Metrick, a former executive at Saks’s parent company, Hudson’s Bay. Starting in 2015 Saks began a million, three-year restoration of its Fifth Avenue flagship store. In the summer of 2015, it was announced that Saks will debut a new location in Greenwich, in the fall of 2015, Saks was planning to replace its existing store at the Houston Galleria with a new store
25.
Bally Shoe
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The Bally company was founded as Bally & Co high fashion in 1851 by Carl Franz Bally and his brother Fritz in the basement of their family home in Schönenwerd in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. Bally was founded by Carl Franz Bally and his original family business was the manufacture of elastic ribbon. During a business trip to Paris in 1849, Carl Franz wanted to buy his wife some lace-up booties - the popular shoe of the day. Unable to recall her exact size, he decided to buy twelve pairs in a range of sizes, upon visiting the Parisian factory where the booties were made, he noticed that each shoe featured buttons with elastic closures similar to the kind his family produced in Switzerland. Inspired by the possibility of creating jobs and improving the lives of local residents. Together with his brother Fritz, Carl Franz employed designers to assist and together, the Bally Company was established in Schönenwerd in 1851 and three years later, the first factory located in the village centre was built. By the 1870s, Bally was recognised as an industry leader. The company’s name changed to C. F. Bally, Bally & Sons when the brand’s founding pioneer handed the company reins to his sons in 1892. Carl Franz died in 1899 but undeniably passed on his spirit to his sons. Bally grew internationally and opened stores in Geneva and Montevideo in 1870, followed by Buenos Aires, Paris, in the 1880s, Bally was also one of the very first European luxury goods brands to open in post-reform and opening China. Bally is currently under the leadership of CEO Frédéric de Narp, with Pablo Coppola as Design Director, today, the company is headquartered in Caslano, Ticino, Switzerland and run by JAB Holdings. The company announced that Frédéric de Narp, an executive at Harry Winston. Bally has boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne, Doncaster, Perth, and Sydney International Airport
26.
Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany & Company is an American luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered in New York City. Tiffany sells jewelry, sterling silver, china, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watches, personal accessories, many of these goods are sold at Tiffany stores, as well as through direct-mail and corporate merchandising. Tiffany is renowned for its goods and is particularly known for its diamond jewelry. Tiffany markets itself as an arbiter of taste and style, and was once a purveyor to the Russian imperial family, founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. The name was shortened to Tiffany & Company in 1853 when Charles Tiffany took control, Tiffany & Company has since opened stores in major cities all over the world. Unlike other stores at the time in the 1830s, Tiffany clearly marked the prices on its goods to forestall any haggling over prices, in addition, against the social norm at the time, Tiffany only accepted cash payments, and did not accept payments on credit. Such practices, fixed prices for ready money, were first introduced by Palmers of London Bridge in 1750, who employed the young Robert Owen, the later social reformer. The first Tiffanys mail order catalog, known as the Blue Book, was published in 1845 in the United States, in 1862, Tiffany & Company supplied the Union Army with swords, flags and surgical implements. In 1867, Tiffany & Co. was the first US firm to win an award for the excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 1870, the built an new store building at 15 Union Square West, Manhattan, designed by John Kellum. It was described by The New York Times as a palace of jewels, Tiffany stayed at this site until 1906. In 1877, an insignia that would become the famous New York Yankees NY logo was struck on a medal of honor by Tiffany & Company. In 1878, Tiffany won the medal for jewelry and a grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition. In 1887, Tiffany bought the French Crown Jewels, which attracted publicity, the company revised the Great Seal of the United States in 1885. In 1902, after the death of Charles Lewis Tiffany, his son, Louis Comfort Tiffany, in 1919, the company made a revision to the Medal of Honor on behalf of the United States Department of the Navy. This Tiffany Cross version was rare because it was awarded only for combat, in 1942 the Navy established the Tiffany version for non-combat heroism, but in August 1942 the Navy eliminated the Tiffany Cross and the two-medal system. In 1956, legendary designer Jean Schlumberger joined Tiffany, and Andy Warhol collaborated with Tiffany to create Tiffany Holiday Cards. In 1968 Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the U. S. at the time, in November 1978, Tiffany & Co. was sold to Avon Products Inc. for about US$104 million in stock
27.
St. John (clothing)
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St. John Knits International Inc. commonly referred as St. John, is an upscale American fashion brand that specializes in womens knitwear founded in 1962 by Robert and Marie Gray. The company is best known for its wool and rayon yarn knits, Chanel inspired jackets. St. John was founded in 1963 by former model Marie St John, while working in Los Angeles as a model, St John hand knit simple straight knit skirts and matching short sleeved tops for her own use. Her designs proved popular among her fellow models and she began designing and producing samples and her fiancé at the time, Robert Gray, showed the designs to local retailer Bullocks who ordered 84 dresses. St John and Gray hired their mothers and another knitter and quickly set about production, the couple, now married, divided duties over the fledgling Irvine, CA business. St John designed the clothes and oversaw production while Gray handled the marketing and their collections included tailored suits and dresses as well as casual sportswear. In 1990, Escada, formed by husband and wife team Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley. St John Knits used the funding to launch its own boutique stores, St John became a publicly owned company in 1993, with St John and Gray retaining 20% of the company. St John continued to manage the creative direction of the company while Gray served as CEO and their daughter, Kelly Gray, was appointed President of the company in 1996, ascending to the CEO position after her fathers retirement in 2002. The Grays left St John Knits in 2005 when the company was purchased by an equity firm. The pair were brought back two years later as creative consultants after a series of disappointing collections and declining sales. The original face of the brand was model Kelly Gray, the daughter of the founders, following Gray, supermodel Gisele Bündchen became the new face of St. John in 2005. Beginning in 2005, Angelina Jolie became the face and spokeswoman for St. John, the campaigns were all shot by Mario Testino. In 2011, Kate Winslet was named the face of St John, the St. John Sport line contains more on trend styles. Headquartered in Irvine, California, the brand has its collections, the company has an estimated 1,300 employees and 2010 sales of $325 million
28.
Michael Kors
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Michael Kors is a New York City-based American sportswear fashion designer. Kors was the first women’s ready-to-wear designer for the French house Celine, Kors was born Karl Anderson, Jr. on Long Island, New York, the son of Joan Hamburg, a former model, and her first husband, Karl Anderson, Sr, a college student. His mother remarried Bill Kors when he was five, and his surname was changed to Kors, Kors mother is Jewish and his father was of Swedish descent. Kors married his partner, Lance Le Pere, on August 16,2011, in Southampton, Kors affinity for fashion started when he was very young. His mother thought his affinity might have caused in part by his exposure to the apparel industry through her modeling career. Michael, at the age of five, even redesigned his mothers wedding dress for her second marriage, as a teen, Kors began designing clothes and selling them out of his parents basement, which he renamed the Iron Butterfly. Kors also took acting lessons when he was young, but stopped when he was 14 when he decided to focus on becoming a fashion designer, in 1977, he enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. However, he dropped out after nine months and took a job at a boutique across from Bergdorf Goodman on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Shortly after, Dawn Mello, the director at Bergdorf. She asked if he would show his collection to Bergdorf Goodmans buyers, in 1981, Kors launched the Michael Kors womenswear line at Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1990, the company launched KORS Michael Kors, a bankruptcy in 1993 forced him to discontinue the KORS line for a time. He managed to get back on his feet by 1997 and launched a lower priced line, in his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with successful accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand, Kors launched his menswear line in 2002. The MICHAEL Michael Kors and KORS Michael Kors lines were launched in 2004, the MICHAEL Michael Kors line includes womens handbags and shoes as well as womens ready-to-wear apparel. Currently, Kors has Collection boutiques in New York, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, as of the end of the first fiscal quarter in 2016, Kors has over 770 Lifestyle stores around the world. The year 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of Kors business, michelle Obama wore a black sleeveless dress from the designer for her first term official portrait as First Lady and later sported Kors again at the 2015 State of the Union address. Joan Allen wore his gown when she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the The Contender, jennifer Garner wore a custom creation as an Academy Award presenter in 2006. As creative director of Celine, Kors designed many outfits for actresses to wear on screen, including Gwyneth Paltrow in Possession, one of his gowns was worn by Alicia Keys for her performance at Barack Obamas inaugural ball on January 21,2013
29.
Kate Spade New York
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Kate Spade New York is an American fashion design house founded in January 1993 by Kate Spade and Andy Spade. Jack Spade is the line for men. Kate Spade New York competes with Michael Kors and Coach Inc. Katherine Noel Brosnahan was born on December 4,1962 in Kansas City and she grew up in Kansas City and went to an all-girls Catholic high school. She moved to Arizona, where she attended Arizona State University and it is there that she met her future husband, Andy Spade. Katherine majored in journalism, while Andy majored in architecture, after they completed their education, the couple had moved to New York City by 1986. It was in New York that Katherine worked as an editor for Mademoiselle. To get inspiration, Kate browsed local flea markets and secondhand stores and she also researched the styles, fabrics, and potential production costs of making her own handbags. The team slowly worked their way up the ladder until they were able to create a company that would be noticed by the public. Kate Spade New York was founded in 1993 by Katherine Noel Brosnahan, Kate Spade New York was started when Katherine Brosnahan walked around New York City and all she saw was lifeless purses. “The nothing black bag” was going to be brought down by Kate, originally the business started out with the Sam handbag and was only making color lively bags for consumers. Eventually, Andy withdrew $35,000 from his 401K account to fund the production of Kate’s handbags. Her debut line infused classic shapes, colors and fabrics into a now iconic square bag with a black label sewn to the outside of the bag that said “Kate Spade New York. ”Their main target market at this time was the upper middle class. In 1996, Spades company opened its first shop in New York Citys SoHo, Kate Spade rose in eight months after a journalist at Cleveland Research Co. recommended buying the shares because of the brand’s growth potential. Everywhere people went in New York from about 1997-2000, it would have been impossible to avoid seeing a few women carrying that simple nylon bag. The business was one of the first of its time to go digital, by using iPads, cell phones, the company started from nothing, and after 1998 it started to expand, being worth $70 million. Although she remained active, Kate Spade was sold in 1999 to the Neiman Marcus Group, in 2004, Kate Spade operated only 13 stores in the United States, and did not ship out of the country. The company initially sold handbags, but eventually extended to include stationery, personal organizers, address books, shoes, beauty products, perfume, raincoats, pajamas and it now has a full womens clothing line. The business’ clothing and handbag lines are featured in retail stores all across America
30.
Cole Haan
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Cole Haan is a global lifestyle brand with a focus on mens and womens footwear and accessories. Founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1928, the company name comes from founders Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan, and was originally named Cole, Rood & Haan when the company was strictly a mens footwear label. Today it offers many products, including mens and womens dress and casual footwear, belts, hosiery, handbags, gloves, scarves, hats, outerwear, Cole Haan was sold to a group of partners headed by George Denney in 1975. These executives built upon the established by Cole and Haan over the following decade. They launched a division in 1982, which comprised 40 plus stores worldwide. Nike Inc. announced on May 31,2012, that it will be removing its stake in Cole Haan to focus on other complementary brands, the Cole Haan Maine headquarters relocated from Yarmouth to Scarborough in summer 2011. In October 2013 it was announced that the headquarters would relocate to Greenland, horween Leather Company supplies leather shells for footwear to Cole Haan. Additionally, Cole Haan has stores and shop-in-shops globally in countries including Indonesia, Korea, China, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Thailand, The Philippines, and Canada. However, Cole Haan was hoped to expand its business in Europe, on February 25,2008, the company announced it would discontinue using real animal fur in its products for business and sustainability reasons. Cole Haan chose Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova to headline its Spring 2009, Cole Haan is known for collaborations with designers, athletes, and tastemakers
31.
Eileen Fisher
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Eileen Fisher is an American clothing designer and founder of the womens clothing brand Eileen Fisher, Inc. Fishers designs are characterized by simplicity, and her company is known for using non-traditional models in its print advertisements, Fisher grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois, the second of seven children. Fisher explained in an interview to Inc. in 2013, It didnt upset me — it was the times, I never expected a penny from my parents. I paid my way through the University of Illinois working as a waitress and she started as a math major before switching to interior design. Fisher moved to New York City in 1973 and she worked as an interior designer and as a graphic artist before establishing her own fashion business inspired by style and longevity of the classic kimono. She has two children, Zackary and Sasha, and she lives in Irvington, New York, Eileen Fisher Inc. is an American privately held company founded by Fisher in 1984 with US$350 in startup money. Her first order at a New York clothing design show was for $3,000 and she opened her first retail store in 1986, on East 9th Street in Manhattan. In 2002, the company earned $144 million in revenue, estimated revenue in 2015 grew to over $300 million. As of 2003,35 percent of the clothing was manufactured in the United States while the rest was made in China in compliance with Social Accountability Internationals SA8000. The company has over 1200 employees with over 56 retail stores in fifteen states, in 2011, the company expanded outside the U. S. opening its first Canadian store in Vancouver, British Columbia and then more stores in London, England, in October 2012. Fishers company emphasizes sustainability, with 70% of the used in its clothing sourced from organic cotton. In order to reduce fabric and fiber waste, the started a recycling program. Customers donate their gently used Eileen Fisher clothing in return for a $5 gift certificate per article, after dry cleaning, the garments are resold—with the income funding business grants for women and leadership programs for young women
32.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
33.
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
34.
Oak Park Mall
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Oak Park Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Overland Park, Kansas, containing over 180 stores in a covered area of 1,607,803 sq ft. It is the largest mall in the Kansas City Metro Area as well as the state of Kansas. It was developed by Copaken, White & Blitt in conjunction with Frank Morgan and Sherman Dreiseszun, in May 2011, it was announced that TIAA-CREF would receive 50% ownership of Oak Park Mall and several other CBL malls in an attempt to reduce CBLs debt. The mall received a renovation in 2011, including altering the food court dining area. In June 2012, the areas first Microsoft Store opened at the mall in the former Talbots space, in the center of the mall, near Dillards North, is a double-decker carousel. The carousel was located in the atrium nearest Dillards South. In the early 2000s, the carousel was removed and the area was remodeled to a theme with a regular carousel appearing alongside a miniature ride-on train. In 2009, the double-decker carousel returned, relocated to the main atrium. The mall used to be home to the Kansas City Metros only Rainforest Cafe, the addition of the Rainforest Cafe necessitated a small expansion to the north of the existing mall to house most of the restaurant. Rainforest Cafe remained at the mall for a decade and decided not to renew their lease, the former space was then divided into three spaces with the American Girl store taking up much of the former restaurants area. These retailers include, Abercrombie & Fitch American Girl Bachrach The Disney Store Fossil The LEGO Store Lush Microsoft Store Nordstrom Oakley Bebe Swarovski Official Website
35.
Seville Cathedral
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The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also the largest cathedral in the world, as the two churches, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St. Peters Basilica, are not the seats of bishops. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the Alcázar palace complex, See refers to the episcopal see, i. e. the bishops ecclesiastical jurisdiction. After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, the cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The Archbishops Palace is located on the side of the cathedral. Seville Cathedral was built to demonstrate the wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista in 1248. In July 1401 it was decided to build a new cathedral, according to local oral tradition, the members of the cathedral chapter said, Hagamos una Iglesia tan hermosa y tan grandiosa que los que la vieren labrada nos tengan por locos. Construction began in 1402 and continued until 1506, the clergy of the parish gave half their stipends to pay for architects, artists, stained glass artisans, masons, carvers, craftsman and labourers and other expenses. Five years after construction ended, in 1511, the dome collapsed, the dome again collapsed in 1888, and work was still being performed on the dome until at least 1903. The 1888 collapse occurred due to an earthquake and resulted in the destruction of every precious object below the dome at that time, the interior has the longest nave of any cathedral in Spain. The central nave rises to a height of 42 meters and is decorated with a large quantity of gilding. This altarpiece was the work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart. The builders used some columns and other elements from the ancient mosque, including its minaret, the Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville. Its height is 343 feet, and its base is 23 feet above sea level and 44 feet long per side. The Giralda is the minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule. It was converted into a tower for the cathedral after the Reconquista. It was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the tower is 104.5 m in height and was one of the most important symbols in the medieval city
36.
Giralda
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The Giralda is the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. The Giralda was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO along with the Alcazar, the tower is 104.1 m in height and remains one of the most important symbols of the city, as it has been since medieval times. Construction of the tower began under architect Ahmad Ben Baso in 1184, after Ben Basos death, other architects continued work on the tower. The mathematician and astronomer Jabir ibn Aflah is also credited with the towers design. The tower was completed March 10,1198 with the installation of copper spheres on the towers top, the Almohads built similar towers in what are now Spain and Morocco during this period. The tower of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh served as a model for the Giralda and its sister, the towers first two-thirds is a former minaret from the Almohad period of Seville, the upper third Spanish Renaissance architecture. After Seville was taken by the Christians in 1248 during the Reconquista, the tower survived the earthquake, but the copper spheres that originally topped the tower fell during a 1365 earthquake, and the spheres were replaced with a cross and bell. This newer section of the tower contains an inscription of Sevilles motto, NO8DO, spoken No me ha dejado. Alfonso X of Castile gave the motto to the city when it continued to support his rule during an insurrection, covering the top of the tower is the Lily section which surrounds the enclosure with the bell. The statue stands 4 m in height –7 m with the pedestal –, the oldest person to have successfully climbed the bell tower was Joan Vane, aged 93, who visited Giralda on October 15th 2016. The base at street level is a square of 13.6 m on the side, the foundation is built with solid, rectangular stones, some taken and reused from the Roman wall nearby. The part which corresponds to the original Moorish minaret is about 51 m high, with the Christian addition it is 98.5 m high, the wind vane, which gives name to the building, is over 4 m tall,7 m including the base. The tower has a ramp with 35 segments wide and tall enough to allow a person to ride on horseback to the top of the Moorish tower, the Christian addition has a final stair with 17 steps leading up to the bells. Many towers have borrowed from the Giraldas design throughout history, several church towers in the province of Seville also bear a resemblance to the tower, and may have been inspired by the Giralda. These towers, most notably those in Lebrija and Carmona, are known as Giraldillas. The building has also inspired buildings outside the US and Spain, such as, seven Sisters, seven Soviet-era skyscrapers in Moscow, Russia Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland Blueprints of Sevilles Cathedral and Giralda, by Hernán Ruiz
37.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
38.
Manifest destiny
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In the 19th century, manifest destiny was a widely held belief in the United States that its settlers were destined to expand across North America. Generated by the potentialities of a new earth for building a new heaven, historians have emphasized that manifest destiny was a contested concept—pre-civil war Democrats endorsed the idea but many prominent Americans rejected it. Historian Daniel Walker Howe writes, American imperialism did not represent an American consensus, Whigs saw Americas moral mission as one of democratic example rather than one of conquest. The term was used by Democrats in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico, but manifest destiny always limped along because of its internal limitations and the issue of slavery, says Merk. It never became a national priority, Merk concluded, From the outset Manifest Destiny—vast in program, in its sense of continentalism—was slight in support. It lacked national, sectional, or party following commensurate with its magnitude, the reason was it did not reflect the national spirit. The thesis that it embodied nationalism, found in historical writing, is backed by little real supporting evidence. There was never a set of principles defining manifest destiny, therefore it was always a general rather than a specific policy made with a motto. Andrew Jackson, who spoke of extending the area of freedom, typified the conflation of Americas potential greatness, the nations budding sense of Romantic self-identity, yet Jackson would not be the only president to elaborate on the principles underlying manifest destiny. Owing in part to the lack of a definitive narrative outlining its rationale, while many writers focused primarily upon American expansionism, be it into Mexico or across the Pacific, others saw the term as a call to example. Without an agreed upon interpretation, much less a political philosophy. This variety of possible meanings was summed up by Ernest Lee Tuveson, A vast complex of ideas, policies and they are not, as we should expect, all compatible, nor do they come from any one source. This destiny was not explicitly territorial, but OSullivan predicted that the United States would be one of a Union of many Republics sharing those values. Six years later, in 1845, OSullivan wrote another essay titled Annexation in the Democratic Review, in this article he urged the U. S. Overcoming Whig opposition, Democrats annexed Texas in 1845, OSullivans first usage of the phrase manifest destiny attracted little attention. OSullivans second use of the phrase became extremely influential, on December 27,1845, in his newspaper the New York Morning News, OSullivan addressed the ongoing boundary dispute with Britain. That is, OSullivan believed that Providence had given the United States a mission to spread republican democracy, because Britain would not spread democracy, thought OSullivan, British claims to the territory should be overruled. OSullivan believed that manifest destiny was an ideal that superseded other considerations
39.
American Century Companies
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American Century Investments is a privately controlled and independent investment management firm. The company was founded by James E. Stowers, Jr. in 1958 as Twentieth Century Mutual Funds, after both suffering from cancer, Stowers and his wife founded the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in 1994. The Stowers dedicated their personal fortune to endow the Institute with gifts totaling $2 billion, today the 600, 000-square-foot biomedical research facility is situated on a 10-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City, near the headquarters of American Century Investments. More than 40% of ACIs profits support research to find cures for such genetically based diseases as cancer, diabetes, in 2011, JP Morgan Chase sold their 41% stake in ACI to Toronto based bank CIBC. CIBC resold its stake to Nomura Holdings for around $1 billion as it could not gain control of ACI. The stake gave Nomura 10. 1% of the voting rights
40.
Russell Stover Candies
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Russell Stover Candies, Inc. founded by Russell and Clara Stover, is a supplier of candy, chocolate, and confections in the United States. The corporate headquarters are in Kansas City, Missouri, in July 2014 the company was acquired by the international company Lindt & Sprüngli. Russell Stover Candies did not start with candy, in 1921, Russell Stover and his partner, Iowa schoolteacher Christian Kent Nelson, created the worlds first chocolate-dipped ice cream bar. At a dinner party, Russells wife Clara Stover suggested calling it an Eskimo Pie, the product was a success for them, making them quite a fortune in their first year. However, as other companies began to release similar chocolate-dipped ice cream products. The Stovers sold their share of the company for $25,000 and moved to Denver, in 1923, Russell and Clara created the new eponymous company from their home, packaging and selling boxed chocolates. They were originally named Mrs. Stovers Bungalow Candies, however,20 years later, in 1943, it was renamed Russell Stover Candies. The company remained in the Stover family until 1969 when it was purchased by Louis Ward, the company expanded is chocolate brands by acquiring Whitmans in 1993 and Pangburns in 1999. It was owned by the Ward family until July 14,2014, Russell Stover Candies is the nation’s leading manufacturer of boxed chocolates and the third largest American chocolate manufacturer, trailing only Hershey and Mars. The company’s three brands – Russell Stover, Whitmans, and Pangburns – account for more than 60 percent of all boxed chocolate sales in the United States. Russell Stover candies are sold in nearly 40 company-owned retail stores and through 70,000 wholesale accounts in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, the company manufactures nearly 100 million pounds of chocolate annually
