1.
St. Louis
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St. Louis is an independent city and major U. S. port in the state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River, on the border with Illinois. Prior to European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, in 1764, following Frances defeat in the Seven Years War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, during the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States and it separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics, the economy of metro St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods, and tourism. This city has become known for its growing medical, pharmaceutical. St. Louis has 2 professional sports teams, the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the city is commonly identified with the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis. The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture and their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the Mound City and these mounds were mostly demolished during the citys development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane. The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River founded Ste. In early 1764, after France lost the 7 Years War, Pierre Laclède, the early French families built the citys economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe, French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, the founding of St. Louis began in 1763. Pierre Laclede led an expedition to set up a fur-trading post farther up the Mississippi River, before then, Laclede had been a very successful merchant. For this reason, he and his trading partner Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent were offered monopolies for six years of the fur trading in that area
2.
Washington University in St. Louis
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Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853, and named after George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all 50 U. S. states, twenty-five Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Washington University, nine having done the major part of their pioneering research at the university. Washington Universitys undergraduate program is ranked 19th by U. S. News & World Report, the university is ranked 23rd in the world in 2016 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Washington University is made up of seven graduate and undergraduate schools that encompass a range of academic fields. To prevent confusion over its location, the Board of Trustees added the phrase in St. Louis in 1976, Washington University was conceived by 17 St. Louis business, political, and religious leaders concerned by the lack of institutions of higher learning in the Midwest. Missouri State Senator Wayman Crow and Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of the poet T. S. Eliot, the universitys first chancellor was Joseph Gibson Hoyt. Crow secured the university charter from the Missouri General Assembly in 1853, early on, Eliot solicited support from members of the local business community, including John OFallon, but Eliot failed to secure a permanent endowment. Washington University is unusual among major American universities in not having had a financial endowment. The institution had no backing of an organization, single wealthy patron. During the three following its inception, the university bore three different names. In 1854, the Board of Trustees changed the name to Washington Institute in honor of George Washington, naming the University after the nations first president, only seven years before the American Civil War and during a time of bitter national division, was no coincidence. During this time of conflict, Americans universally admired George Washington as the father of the United States, the Board of Trustees believed that the university should be a force of unity in a strongly divided Missouri. In 1856, the University amended its name to Washington University, although chartered as a university, for many years Washington University functioned primarily as a night school located on 17th Street and Washington Avenue in the heart of downtown St. Louis. Owing to limited resources, Washington University initially used public buildings. Classes began on October 22,1854, at the Benton School building, at first the university paid for the evening classes, but as their popularity grew, their funding was transferred to the St. Louis Public Schools. Eventually the board secured funds for the construction of Academic Hall, later the university divided into three departments, the Manual Training School, Smith Academy, and the Mary Institute. In 1867, the university opened the first private law school west of the Mississippi River. By 1882, Washington University had expanded to numerous departments, which were housed in buildings across St. Louis
3.
Gotham City
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Gotham City or Gotham is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batmans place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4, the city is depicted as being within close proximity to Metropolis, and the vast majority of DC Comics references place Gotham City specifically in New Jersey. Cities such as New York City and Chicago have also influenced the look, within the DC Extended Universe, the 2016 film Suicide Squad reveals Gotham City to be located in New Jersey. Writer Bill Finger, on the naming of the city and the reason for changing Batmans locale from New York City to a city, said. Then I tried Capital City, then Coast City, then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name Gotham Jewelers and said, Thats it, Gotham City. We didnt call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it, irving took the name from the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England, a place inhabited, according to folklore, by fools. The villages name derives from Old English gāt goat and hām home, literally homestead where goats are kept, the Joker references this etymology in Detective Comics #880, in which he tells Batman that the word means a safe place for goats. In contrast, Gotham as used for New York has a different pronunciation by analogy to other words spelled with th and is pronounced as /ˈɡɒθəm/ GOTH-əm, like the word Goth. In Amazing World of DC Comics #14, publisher Mark Gruenwald discusses the history of the Justice League, Worlds Finest Comics #259 also confirms that Gotham is in New Jersey. In the World’s Greatest Super Heroes comic strip, a map is shown placing Gotham City in New Jersey, New Adventures of Superboy #22 and the 1990 Atlas of the DC Universe both show maps of Gotham City in New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. Detective Comics #503 includes several references suggesting Gotham City is in New Jersey, a location on the Jersey Shore is described as twenty miles north of Gotham, and Robin and Batgirl drive from a secret New Jersey airfield to Gotham City and then drive on the Hudson County Highway. Hudson County is the name of a county in New Jersey. Batman, Shadow of the Bat, Annual #1 further establishes that Gotham City is in New Jersey, sal E. Jordans drivers license in the comic reveals his address is 72 Faxcol Dr Gotham City, NJ12345. Gotham City is the home of Batman, just as Metropolis is the home of Superman, given the close proximity of the two cities, Batman and Superman often work together and frequent each others cities. Gotham City is usually depicted to be within driving distance of Metropolis, the Atlas of the DC Universe from the 1990s places Metropolis in Delaware and Gotham City in New Jersey. During the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the Metro-Narrows Bridge was depicted as the route connecting the twin cities of Metropolis. It has been described as being the longest suspension bridge in the world, a map appeared in The New Adventures of Superboy #22, that showed Smallville within driving distance of both Metropolis and Gotham City. However, the location of the two cities has varied
4.
Batman
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Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, originally named the Bat-Man, the character is also referred to by such epithets as the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, and the Worlds Greatest Detective. Batmans secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne as a child, he swore vengeance against criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice. Wayne trains himself physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime, Batman operates in the fictional Gotham City, with assistance from various supporting characters, including his butler Alfred, police commissioner Gordon, and vigilante allies such as Robin. A large assortment of villains make up Batmans rogues gallery, including his archenemy, Batman became popular soon after his introduction in 1939 and gained his own comic book title, Batman, the following year. As the decades went on, differing interpretations of the character emerged, the late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended. Various creators worked to return the character to his dark roots, the success of Warner Bros. live-action Batman feature films have helped maintain the publics interest in the character. The character has also intrigued psychiatrists, with trying to understand the characters psyche. In 2015, FanSided ranked Batman as number one on their list of 50 Greatest Super Heroes In Comic Book History. Kevin Conroy, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Anthony Ruivivar, Jason OMara, Batman has been portrayed in both film and television by Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck. In early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications to request more superheroes for its titles, in response, Bob Kane created the Bat-Man. Collaborator Bill Finger recalled that Kane had an idea for a character called Batman, I went over to Kanes, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of. Reddish tights, I believe, with boots, with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign, the bat-wing-like cape was suggested by Bob Kane, inspired by Leonardo Da Vincis sketch of an ornithopter flying device as a child. Finger suggested giving the character a cowl instead of a domino mask, a cape instead of wings. Finger said he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the secret identity, Bruce Waynes first name came from Robert Bruce. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry, I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism
5.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
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The film stars Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie, it is an example of the dieselpunk genre. Conran spent four years making a black and white teaser with a set up in his living room. He was able to show it to Avnet, who was so impressed that he spent two years working with him on his screenplay, no major studio was interested in Sky Captain, but Avnet convinced Aurelio De Laurentiis to finance Sky Captain without a distribution deal. Ten months before Conran made it, he shot it entirely with stand-ins in Los Angeles, despite being a box office bomb, generating $58 million for a $70 million budget, Sky Captain received largely positive reviews, and is regarded as a cult classic. It is notable as one of the first major films, along with 2004s Casshern and Immortal, in a technologically advanced 1939, the zeppelin Hindenburg III arrives in New York City, mooring atop the Empire State Building. Aboard the airship is Dr. Jorge Vargas, a scientist who arranges for a package containing two vials to be delivered to Dr. Walter Jennings, moments later, as the courier looks back while leaving with the vials, Dr. Vargas is nowhere to be seen. Polly Perkins, a reporter for The Chronicle, is looking into the disappearances of Vargas and she receives a cryptic message telling her to go to Radio City Music Hall. Ignoring the warning of her editor, Mr. Paley, she meets Dr. Jennings during a showing of The Wizard of Oz, Dr Jennings tells Polly that Dr. Totenkopf is coming for him next. Suddenly, air raid sirens go off as giant, seemingly indestructible robots attack the city, clearly outmatched, the authorities call for Sky Captain Joe Sullivan, who commands a private air force known as the Flying Legion. Polly shows little regard for her safety as she photographs the action from the street. Meanwhile, Joe engages the robots with his modified Curtiss P-40 pursuit fighter, the rest of the robots leave soon after. News reports show similar attacks around the globe, the disabled robot is taken back to the Legions air base so that technology expert, Dex, can examine it. Polly follows, hoping to get information for her story and she and Joe are ex-lovers who broke up three years earlier in China, where Joe was serving with the Flying Tigers. Since it appears Polly has useful information, Joe reluctantly agrees to let her in on the investigation and her lead takes them to the ransacked laboratory of Dr. Jennings, with the scientist himself near death. Just before he dies, Jennings gives Polly the two vials from Vargas, and says they are crucial to Dr. Totenkopfs plans, Polly hides the vials and withholds the information from Joe. They return to the Legions base just before it comes under attack from squadrons of ornithopter drones, Dex manages to track the origin of the robot control signal, but is then captured. However, he leaves behind a part of a map marking the location of Dr. Totenkopfs base, Joe and Polly find Dexs map and fly to Nepal, and then on to Tibet, where they discover an abandoned mining outpost and meet up with Joes old friend Kaji. Two guides who turn out to be working for Totenkopf force Polly to turn over the vials and then lock her, the guides light fuses to the dynamite but Joe and Polly narrowly escape and are knocked unconscious by the explosion, which also destroys most of Pollys film
6.
Woolworth Building
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The Woolworth Building, at 233 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, designed by architect Cass Gilbert and constructed between 1910 and 1912, is an early US skyscraper. The original site for the building was purchased by F. W. Woolworth and his estate agent Edward J. Hogan by April 15,1910, from the Trenor Luther Park Estate. By January 18,1911, Woolworth and Hogan had acquired the site for the project. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 241.4 meters and it has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966, and a New York City landmark since 1983. Originally designed to be 420 feet high, the building was elevated to 792 feet. At its opening, the Woolworth Building was 60 stories tall and had over 5,000 windows, the construction cost was US$13.5 million. On completion, the Woolworth building topped the record set by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower as the worlds tallest building, construction was completed in 1912 and the building opened on April 24,1913. President Woodrow Wilson turned the lights on by way of a button in Washington, given its resemblance to European Gothic cathedrals, the structure was called The Cathedral of Commerce by the Reverend S. Parkes Cadman in a booklet of the same title published in 1916. The buildings tower, flush with the frontage on Broadway. The exterior decoration was cast in limestone-colored, glazed architectural terra-cotta panels, strongly articulated piers, carried—without interrupting cornices—right to the pyramidal cap, give the building its upward thrust. The Gothic detailing concentrated at the highly visible crown is over scaled, engineers Gunvald Aus and Kort Berle designed the steel frame, supported on massive caissons that penetrate to the bedrock. The high-speed elevators were innovative, and the buildings high office-to-elevator ratio made the structure profitable, the ornate, cruciform lobby, is one of the most spectacular of the early 20th century in New York City. It is covered in Skyros veined marble, has a ceiling, mosaics. Over the balconies of the mezzanine are the murals Labor and Commerce, corbel sculptures include Gilbert with a model of the building, Aus taking a girders measurements, and Woolworth counting nickels. Woolworths private office, revetted in marble in the French Empire style, has been preserved, the buildings facade was restored between 1977 and 1981 by the Ehrenkrantz Group, during which much of the terra-cotta was replaced with concrete and Gothic ornament was removed. The building was owned by the Woolworth company for 85 years until 1998, until recently, that company kept a presence in the building through a Foot Locker store. Prior to September 11,2001, the World Trade Center was often photographed in such a way that the Woolworth Building could be seen between 1 and 2 World Trade Center. Increased post-attack security restricted access to most of the lobby, previously a tourist attraction
7.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
8.
Cass Gilbert
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Not to be confused with American architect C. P. H. Gilbert Cass Gilbert was a prominent American architect and his public buildings in the Beaux Arts style reflect the optimistic American sense that the nation was heir to Greek democracy, Roman law and Renaissance humanism. Gilberts achievements were recognized in his lifetime, he served as president of the American Institute of Architects in 1908-09, Gilbert was a conservative who believed architecture should reflect historic traditions and the established social order. C. Gilbert was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the middle of three sons, and was named after the statesman Lewis Cass, to whom he was distantly related, Gilberts father was a surveyor for the United States Coast Survey. At the age of nine, Gilberts family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and he attended preparatory school but dropped out of Macalester College. He began his career at age 17 by joining the Abraham M. Radcliffe office in St. Paul. In 1878, Gilbert enrolled in the program at MIT. Gilbert later worked for a time with the firm of McKim, Mead. He was commissioned to design a number of stations, including those in Anoka, Willmar. He won a series of house and office-building commissions in Minnesota, as a Minnesota architect he was best known for his design of the Minnesota State Capitol dome and the downtown St. Paul Endicott Building. His goal was to move to New York City and gain a national reputation, the completion of the Minnesota capitol gave Gilbert his national reputation and in 1898 he permanently moved his base to New York. His break-through commission was the design of the Alexander Hamilton U. S, custom House in New York City. Commission of Fine Arts from 1910 to 1916, in 1906 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1908. Gilbert served as President of the Academy from 1926 to 1933, modernists embraced his work, John Marin painted it several times, even Frank Lloyd Wright praised the lines of the building, though he decried the ornamentation. C. In particular, his Union Station in New Haven lacks the common of the Beaux-Arts period. Gilberts drawings and correspondence are preserved at the New-York Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society, the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Hall, Loras Hall, the Service Center, a building, the refectory building, the administration building in 1894. Only Cretin, Loras, the Service Center, and Grace still stand, Minnesota State Capitol, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1895–1905. Designed in High Renaissance style, the building is not merely a replica of the United States Capitol and its brick dome is held in hoops of steel
9.
Vanity Fair (magazine)
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Vanity Fair is a magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States. The first version of Vanity Fair was published from 1913 to 1936, the imprint was revived in 1983, and came to include four European editions of the magazine. The current editor is Graydon Carter, Condé Montrose Nast began his empire by purchasing the mens fashion magazine Dress in 1913. He renamed the magazine Dress and Vanity Fair and published four issues in 1913 and it continued to thrive into the twenties. However, it became a casualty of the Great Depression and declining advertising revenues, although its circulation, Condé Nast announced in December 1935 that Vanity Fair would be folded into Vogue as of the March 1936 issue. Condé Nast Publications, under the ownership of S. I. Newhouse, the first issue was released in February 1983, edited by Richard Locke, formerly of The New York Times Book Review. After three issues, Locke was replaced by Leo Lerman, veteran features editor of Vogue and he was followed by editors Tina Brown and Graydon Carter. Regular writers columnists have included Dominick Dunne, Sebastian Junger, Michael Wolff, Maureen Orth and Christopher Hitchens. Amongst the most famous of these was the August 1991 Leibovitz cover featuring a naked, pregnant Demi Moore, in addition to its controversial photography, the magazine also prints articles on a variety of topics. In 1996, journalist Marie Brenner wrote an exposé on the tobacco industry titled The Man Who Knew Too Much, the article was later adapted into a movie The Insider, which starred Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. S. The magazine also features interviews with celebrities, including a monthly Proust Questionnaire. The magazine was the subject of Toby Youngs book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, about his search for success, from 1995, the book has been made into a movie, with Jeff Bridges playing Carter. There are currently five international editions of Vanity Fair being published, namely in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, the British Vanity Fair was first published in 1991. The Italian Vanity Fair was established in October 2003 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2013, Vanity Fair Germany launched in February 2007 at a cost of €50 million, then the most expensive new magazine in Germany in years and Condé Nasts biggest investment outside the United States. After circulation had plummeted from half a million to less than 200,000 per week, a French version started in June 2013. The Spanish version of the magazine was first published in Spain in 2008, in April 2015 Condé Nast México y Latinoamerica was to launch Vanity Fair Mexico. As a successor to a similar invitation-only event annually held by the late agent Irving Paul Lazar, during its first years, the magazines Oscar party was co-hosted by producer Steve Tisch at Mortons in West Hollywood. At first, editor Graydon Carter kept the invitation list small, between 2009 and 2013, the party was held at Sunset Tower
