1.
Winter Haven, Florida
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Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 33,874 at the 2010 census, according to the U. S. Census Bureaus 2015 estimates, the city had a population of 37,689, making it the second most populated city in Polk County. It is a city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Timucua and the Calusa were the earliest known inhabitants of the land that would become Winter Haven, both of these groups were deeply impacted, by war and disease, from the Spanish conquest of Florida in the early 1500s. The Timucua were particularly affected by the expedition of Hernando de Soto, by the 19th century, both these groups no longer existed. During the Seminole Wars, the Seminole leader, Chipco, several small skirmishes during the war were fought in and around Winter Haven. In 1819, after the signing of the Adams-Onís Treaty, the United States gained control of Florida, the first American or European settlers in the area were encouraged to settle here by the Armed Occupation Act of 1842. This act was created to increase the white population in the area as a way to weaken the Native Americans populations after the Second Seminole War. It created generous land grants and other incentives for settlers who were willing to defend themselves against the native populations, during the 1840s and 1850s, the United States government conducted the first surveys of the area. Henry Washington conducted the first survey of the area in 1843, in 1849, Dr. John Westcott completed an extensive survey of the area, including mapping many of the local lakes. The first maps of the area were published by the United States government in 1854, in 1883, Col. Henry Haines working for Henry Plant and the Plant System, successfully built the first railroad across Polk County, passing just north of Winter Haven. Lake Haines, in Winter Haven, was named after Col. Haines, the arrival of the railroad created the first real growth in area. The area was platted in 1884 and would first be known as Harris Corners and this name was in reference to F. A. K. Harris, who opened the first mercantile store in the area around this time, the name Winter Haven was later suggested, in reference to the areas pleasant climate. By the end of the century, the population grew to approximately 400 and in 1911, the Chain of Lakes canals were begun in 1915. The first Florida boom took place in the 1920s as towns sprang up all over the peninsula, floridas potential as a place to live and a place to visit was first realized in the 1920s, but the Great Depression slowed growth until after World War II. Winter Haven Hospital was founded in 1926 and has been in the city ever since, during this period, the population of Winter Haven began to grow substantially. Many beautiful single-family homes were built in Winter Haven at this time in the revival style
2.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Lego
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Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The companys flagship product, Lego, consists of interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in ways, to construct objects, vehicles, buildings. Anything constructed can then be taken again, and the pieces used to make other objects. The Lego Group began manufacturing the interlocking toy bricks in 1949, since then a global Lego subculture has developed. Supporting movies, games, competitions, and six Legoland amusement parks have developed under the brand. As of July 2015,600 billion Lego parts had been produced, in February 2015, Lego replaced Ferrari as Brand Finances worlds most powerful brand. The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, in 1934, his company came to be called Lego, derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means play well. In 1947, Lego expanded to begin producing plastic toys, in 1949 Lego began producing, among other new products, an early version of the now familiar interlocking bricks, calling them Automatic Binding Bricks. These bricks were based in part on the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, Lego modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick after examining a sample that they received from the supplier of an injection-molding machine that Lego purchased. The bricks, originally manufactured from cellulose acetate, were a development of the traditional wooden blocks of the time. The Lego Groups motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means only the best is the best. This motto, which is used today, was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality. Although a common sentiment, Lego toys seem to have become a significant exception to the dislike of plastic in childrens toys, by 1954, Christiansens son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with a buyer that led to the idea of a toy system. In 1958, the brick design was developed, however, it took another five years to find the right material for it. The modern Lego brick design was patented on 28 January 1958, in 1978, Lego produced the first minifigures, which have since become a staple in most sets. The results will be shared with schools as part of an educational project, in May 2013, the largest model ever created was displayed in New York and was made of over 5 million bricks, a 1,1 scale model of an X-wing fighter
5.
Cypress Gardens
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Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida, billed as Floridas first commercial tourist theme park, Cypress Gardens opened on January 2,1936 as a botanical garden planted by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie. Over the years it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows, gardens, and Southern Belles. It became known as the Water Ski Capital of the World because it was the site of many of the sports landmark firsts, during World War II, soldiers visited and waterskiing was introduced for their entertainment. In the 1950s the Southern Belles attraction was introduced, in young women dressed in the crinolines reminiscent of the Antebellum South. During the American Civil War Centennial young men dressed in Confederate uniforms would be photographed with the Southern Belles, in the early 1960s a custom photography boat named Miss Cover Girl was introduced, and the park became a popular site for the filming of television commercials. Many celebrities and dignitaries have skied and visited at the park, including Elvis Presley, King Hussein of Jordan and his son and successor and it was also the site of a Johnny Carson special. On April 14,2014, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, competition for guests increased after Walt Disney World Resort opened nearby in 1971. In the early 1980s, the Popes retired and transferred the park to their son, Dick Pope, in the 1980s book publisher Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich purchased the park along with SeaWorld, Circus World and Stars Hall of Fame. Harcourt sold most of the businesses to Anheuser-Busch in 1989, busch continued to operate Cypress Gardens until April 1,1995, when a group of the parks managers, led by Bill Reynolds, bought the property. Under President and CEO Reynolds, the park operated until April 13,2003,529 people were put out of work with three days notice. On February 22,2004, Adventure Parks Group, owned by Kent Buescher, purchased the property, the purchase of the amusement park portion of the Cypress Gardens property was part of a larger conservation transaction. In that transaction, the entire 150-acre site was purchased from its previous owner, First Gardens, L. C. by The Trust for Public Land, Adventure Parks Group purchased the balance of the property, also subject to the conservation easement. Bueschers plan to reopen the park in September 2004 was delayed by damages created by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Cypress Gardens Adventure Park finally opened in November 2004. One of its new attractions, the Triple Hurricane roller coaster, was named for the storm season. The adjacent Splash Island water park opened in 2005, along with the Galaxy Spin roller coaster, in September 2006, Adventure Parks Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the Florida site following approximately $30 million in damages sustained by the 2004 hurricanes. On Monday, November 10,2008, Land South Holdings announced the closure of the park. It reopened on March 28,2009, with a water park named Splash Island
6.
Legoland Windsor Resort
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Legoland Windsor Resort, also known as Legoland Windsor, is a child-oriented theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the former Windsor Safari Park site as the second Legoland after Legoland Billund in Denmark, in common with the other Legolands across the world, the parks attractions consist of a mixture of Lego-themed rides, models, and building workshops. The park was acquired by Merlin Entertainments in 2005, which now operates the park, the facilities are mainly targeted at children between three and twelve. In 2015, the park had 2,250,000 million visitors, making it the most visited park in the United Kingdom. From 1969 to 1992, the site of today´s Legoland Windsor belonged to Windsor Safari Park, the Lego Group began research for the development of a second Legoland park after Legoland Billund in 1987, with over 1000 sites considered. In January 1992, Windsor Safari Park went into receivership and the 150-acre site was chosen, throughout 1992 and 1993, planning, design, site preparation and the design and construction of models began, and new homes were secured for all the safari animals. 1994 saw the installation of services, foundations and infrastructures, and in 1995, one prior to opening. By this time, buildings and attractions were becoming established and in September, final installations were completed by the beginning of 1996 and at this point, the Legoland Windsor staff-base was recruited. Legoland Windsor opened in March 1996, during its first season, the park attracted over 1.4 million guests. In April 2005, Lego decided to sell the Legoland parks, on 13 July 2005, Legoland was acquired by the Blackstone Group and control of the parks passed to Merlin Entertainments. The Beginning is the entrance to the park and is accessible before park opening, also in the area is the Hill Train, a funicular,3 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway down a curved slope, using previously abandoned vehicles from Brazil. It is the only attraction retained from Windsor Safari Park, being revamped when the park opened with stained glass made from translucent Lego bricks by local school children. It travels 300 metres between The Beginning and Lego City and with a difference between the top and bottom stations of approximately 27 metres. The Creation Centre closed and was converted into three new areas, the first area is a Lego Star Wars model display. The second area is the Lego Star Wars shop and the area is the Last Chance Marketplace. It features educational attractions Build & Test Workshops, Lego Mindstorms NXT-based Lego Mindstorms Workshop, Miniland is a miniature park in Lego form, depicting towns and cities from around the world, using nearly 40 million Lego bricks in models often at 1,20 scale. The area features a number of animated models, interacting each other. Motor vehicles use cables under the paths emitting radio wave signals to steer and allow charging when required, the system, with lights and sounds, is run by 14 computers using 300 kilometres of underground cabling
7.
Charlie Crist
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Charles Joseph Charlie Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who is the U. S. Representative for Floridas 13th congressional district and he had also previously served as the 44th Governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011. After initially leading in the race for the Republican nomination, he was overtaken in the polls by Marco Rubio, in the general election, he lost to Rubio in a three-way race, taking 30% of the vote to Rubios 49% and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meeks 20%. Crists term as Governor ended in January 2011, on December 7,2012, he joined the Democratic Party, having endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012. On November 1,2013, he announced that he was running for governor in the 2014 election, however, he was defeated by incumbent Governor Rick Scott, losing by a 1% margin. In 2016 Crist was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Floridas 13th congressional district, defeating incumbent David Jolly by a margin of 52%-48%. Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on July 24,1956, to Charles Joseph Crist, Sr. an American physician of Greek Cypriot and Lebanese descent, and Nancy, of Scots-Irish, Swiss and his family name is adapted from the original Greek name Christodoulou. Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child, where he attended Riviera Middle School and he is the second of four children and has three sisters, Margaret Crist Wood, Elizabeth Crist Hyden, and Catherine Crist Kennedy. He attended Wake Forest University for two years, where he played quarterback for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University where he was elected Vice President of the student body and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He received his J. D. from Samford University Cumberland School of Law, drawn to politics, Crist was a candidate for public office for the first time in 1986, as a Republican, in the primary race for a state Senate seat in Pinellas County. Crist was elected to a term to the Florida Senate in 1992 from the 20th District. Crist defeated longtime incumbent Democratic State Senator Helen Gordon Davis of Tampa,58.3 to 41. 7%, Crist was able to unseat Gordon Davis following the 1992 decennial redistricting process, which significantly reconfigured the districts in the Tampa Bay area. He was known as a senator, sponsoring legislation requiring inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole. He supported teacher salary increases, charter schools, and a specialty license plate for Everglades conservation, chiles testified before the committee and admitted that his campaign had made the calls. Crist was reelected to the Senate in 1994 to a four-year term, Crist gained recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to the incumbent Democratic U. S. He lost to Graham by 26 percentage points and he was elected Education Commissioner of Florida in 2000 – a position he held until it became an appointed office 2003, due to a 1998 constitutional amendment. Crist left his position after he was elected Attorney General, in 2002 Crist was elected as the Attorney General in Florida. He received support of his candidacy from the host of Americas Most Wanted, Walsh and other supporters of his work commented and cited his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children
8.
Water park
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Water parks in more current states of development may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment such as a wave pool or FlowRider. Water parks have grown in popularity since their introduction in the late 1940s, the United States has the largest and most concentrated water park market, with over a thousand water parks and dozens of new parks opening each year. Major organizations are IAAPA and WWA, which is the trade association. Water parks which emerge from spas tend to closely resemble mountain resorts. For example, Splash Universe Water Park Resort, a member of the WWA, is themed to match the community in which it is located, the theme is intended to enhance the communitys destination appeal. Therefore, the amusement and leisure-time industry is becoming more concentrated, a process of concentration can be observed in the hybrid versions of theme-, amusement-, and water parks. Some water parks are more spa-oriented, for example, SchwabenQuellen, a member of European Waterpark Association, has no water slides, it has instead many saunas, steam rooms, adventure showers, and relaxation-oriented water play areas. In the 2000s, an effort was made to reduce long waiting lines by introducing conveyor belts to lift passengers or use water jets, an unusual feature at a water park is ice skating. Deep River Water Park in northwestern Indiana features ice skating, made possible by cooling pipes installed under their massive plaza during a recent expansion. The first-ever indoor water park was built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, World Waterpark is the worlds second largest indoor water park, at over 225,000 sq ft in size. It includes the worlds largest indoor pool, water slides of varying degrees, tube rides, bungee jumping. Tropical Islands Resort, with an area of 710,000 sq ft, is currently the largest indoor water park in the world, with five indoor water parks, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, is recognized as the Water Park Capital of the World. It showcases several of Americas largest indoor and outdoor water parks, indoor water parks in Wisconsin Dells debuted in 1994 after the Polynesian Resort Hotel built the first one in the U. S. Success in extending the tourist season and turning water park resorts into vacation destinations has resulted in tremendous industry growth, usually, resort hotels featuring massive indoor water parks have been reserved for overnight guests. Companies like Great Wolf Resorts/Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts have branched out from their origin in Wisconsin Dells to open new locations around the country, mt. Olympus Theme and Water Park is another huge water park in the Dells. The largest indoor water park in the UK is Sandcastle Water Park in Blackpool, England, there are many water parks in southern Europe where the climate suits a long season. For example, in Portugal on the Algarve there are three main parks - Aqualand, Aquashow, and Slide and Splash. Water play areas are similar to parks and include urban beaches, splash pads
9.
The Lego Movie
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Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman provide their voices for the films main characters. The film was released theatrically on February 7,2014 through Warner Bros, Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures to near-unanimous acclaim, critics praised its visual style, humor, voice cast and heartwarming message. It earned more than $257 million in the U. S, a sequel to the film is scheduled for release on February 8,2019, as well as a third spin-off, The Billion Brick Race. In a Lego world populated by anthropomorphic minifigures, the evil Lord Business finds a weapon called the Kragle. The wizard Vitruvius attempts to him, but is blinded by Business robots, he prophesies that a person called the Special will find the Piece of Resistance. 8½ years later, construction worker Emmet Brickowski finds a woman named Wyldstyle searching for something at his construction site after hours, when he investigates, Emmet falls into a hole and finds the Piece of Resistance. Compelled to touch it, Emmet experiences vivid visions and passes out and he awakens with the Piece of Resistance attached to his back, in the custody of Bad Cop, Lord Businesss lieutenant. Wyldstyle rescues Emmett, believing him to be the Special, Emmet learns that Wyldstyle and Vitruvius are Master Builders—people capable of building anything from their imagination without the need of instructions—who oppose Business. Wyldstyle explains Business wants to use the Kragle, a tube of Krazy Glue with a weathered label, to freeze the world into perfection. Though disappointed to find Emmet is not a Master Builder, Wyldstyle, Emmet, Wyldstyle, and Vitruvius evade Bad Cops forces with the aid of Batman, Wyldstyles boyfriend. They go to the hidden Cloud Cuckooland where they attend a council of Master Builders, Bad Cops forces attack, having placed a tracking device on Emmett, and capture everyone except Emmet and a small team of Master Builders. Trying to retaliate, Vitruvius is decapitated by Business, who sets a self-destruct protocol, as he dies, Vitruvius reveals he made up the prophecy. He soon reappears to Emmet as a ghost and tells him that his belief makes him the Special, strapped to the self-destruct mechanisms battery, Emmet jumps into the abyss outside the tower and severs the connection, saving his friends. Inspired by Emmets sacrifice, Wyldstyle rallies the Lego people across the universe to use whatever creativity they have to build machines, Emmet finds himself in the human world as a Lego minifigure unable to move. The events of the story are being played out by a boy named Finn on his fathers expansive Lego set in their basement. Realizing the danger his friends are in, Emmet wills himself to move, Finn returns Emmet and the Piece of Resistance to the set, where Emmet now possesses the powers of a Master Builder and confronts Business. Meanwhile, Finns father looks at his sons creations and realizes that Finn had based the villainous Business on him, through a speech Emmet gives Business, Finn tells his father that he is special and has the power to change everything. Finn reconciles with his father, which plays out as Business having a change of heart, capping the Kragle, Emmet is hailed as a hero, and begins a relationship with Wyldstyle with Batmans blessing
10.
Banyan
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A banyan, also spelled banian, is a fig that begins its life as an epiphyte, i. e. A plant that grows on plant, when its seed germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or human edifice. Like other fig species, including the edible fig Ficus carica. The syncarp of Ficus species supplies shelter and food for fig wasps and, in turn, frugivore birds disperse the seeds of banyans. The seeds are small, and because most banyans grow in woodlands, for this reason banyans bear the colloquial name strangler fig. A number of tropical species that compete for sunlight, especially of the genus Ficus. The leaves of the tree are large, leathery, glossy, green. Like most figs, the bud is covered by two large scales. As the leaf develops the scales abscise, young leaves have an attractive reddish tinge. Older banyan trees are characterized by aerial roots that mature into thick, woody trunks. Old trees can spread laterally by using these prop roots to grow over a wide area, in some species, the prop roots develop over a considerable area that resembles a grove of trees, with every trunk connected directly or indirectly to the primary trunk. The topology of this root system inspired the name of the hierarchical computer network operating system Banyan VINES. In a banyan that envelops its host tree, the mesh of roots growing around the latter eventually applies considerable pressure to, such an enveloped, dead tree eventually decomposes, so that the banyan becomes a columnar tree with a hollow, central core. In jungles, such hollows are very desirable shelters to many animals, the name was originally given to F. benghalensis and comes from India, where early travellers observed that the shade of the tree was frequented by banias or Indian traders. In the Gujarati language, banya means grocer or merchant, not tree, the Portuguese picked up the word to refer specifically to Hindu merchants, and passed it along to the English as early as 1599 with the same meaning. By 1634, English writers began to tell of the banyan tree, the tree provided a shaded place for a village meeting or for merchants to sell their goods. Eventually, banyan became the name of the tree itself, the original banyan, F. benghalensis, can grow into a giant tree covering several hectares. Over time, the name became generalized to all strangler figs of the Urostigma subgenus, the many banyan species include, Ficus microcarpa, which is native from Sri Lanka through New Caledonia, is a significant invasive species elsewhere
11.
Wells Fargo
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Wells Fargo & Company is an American international banking and financial services holding company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with hubquarters throughout the country. It is the worlds second-largest bank by market capitalization and the third largest bank in the U. S. by assets, Wells Fargo surpassed Citigroup Inc. to become the third-largest U. S. bank by assets at the end of 2015. Wells Fargo is the second-largest bank in deposits, home mortgage servicing, the firms primary U. S. operating subsidiary is national bank Wells Fargo Bank, N. A. which designates its main office as Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2016, Wells Fargo ranked 7th on the Forbes Magazine Global 2000 list of largest public companies in the world, in 2015, the company was ranked the 22nd most admired company in the world, and the 7th most respected company in the world. As of October 2015, the company had a rating of AA−. However, for a period in 2007, the company was the only AAA-rated bank. Along with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, as of December 31,2015, it had 8,700 retail branches and 13,000 automated teller machines. The company operates across 35 countries and has over 70 million customers globally, in February 2014, Wells Fargo was named the worlds most valuable bank brand for the second year running in The Banker and Brand Finance study of the top 500 banking brands. In December 2016, following the scandal, the company amended its by-laws to separate the roles of chairman, in January 2017, it emerged that Wells Fargo had kept its talks with the U. S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the fake account investigation silent from shareholders for up to six months beginning as early as March 2016. A regulatory filing by Wells Fargo revealed in November 2016 that it was under investigation by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to its accounts sales practices. Also in November 2016, three U. S. senators alleged that Wells Fargos sales scandal had extended from retail bankers to its employees. Wells Fargo delineates three different business segments when reporting results, Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Wealth, Brokerage, the Community Banking segment includes Regional Banking, Diversified Products, and the Consumer Deposits groups, as well as Wells Fargo Customer Connection. Wells Fargo also has around 2,000 stand-alone mortgage branches throughout the country, in March 2017, Wells Fargo announced a plan to offer smartphone-based transactions with mobile wallets including Wells Fargo Wallet, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the largest retail mortgage lender in the United States, as of Q32011, originating one out of every four home loans. Wells Fargo services $1.8 trillion in home mortgages, the 2nd largest servicing portfolio in the U. S. Now, in 2013 its share is closer to 22%, of which eight percentage points is aggregation. Wells Fargo private student loans are available to students to pay for college expenses, such as, tuition, books, computers. Loans are available for undergraduate, career and community colleges, graduate school, law school, Wells Fargo also provides private student loan consolidation and student loans for parents
12.
Rockefeller Center
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Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 high-rise commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st Streets in New York City. Commissioned by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is famous for its annual Christmas tree lighting, Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it beginning in 1930. Rockefeller stated, It was clear there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development, the other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone. The initial cost of acquiring the space, razing some of the existing buildings and it was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times. Construction of the 14 buildings in the Art Deco style began on May 17,1930, principal builder and managing agent for the massive project was John R. Todd. The construction of the project employed over 40,000 people and it was the public relations pioneer Ivy Lee, the prominent adviser to the family, who first suggested the name Rockefeller Center for the complex, in 1931. Rockefeller, Jr. initially did not want the Rockefeller family name associated with the commercial project, what could have become a major controversy in the mid-1930s concerned the last of the four European buildings that remained unnamed. Ivy Lee and others attempts to rent the space to German commercial concerns. Rockefeller ruled this out after being advised of Hitlers Nazi march toward World War II and this subsequently became the primary location of the U. S. In 1985, Columbia University sold the land beneath Rockefeller Center to the Rockefeller Group for $400 million, in 1989, Mitsubishi Estate, a real estate company of the Mitsubishi Group, purchased the entire Rockefeller Center complex, and its owner, Rockefeller Group. In 1996, the complex was purchased by a consortium of owners that included Goldman Sachs, Gianni Agnelli, Stavros Niarchos, and David Rockefeller. Tishman Speyer, led by Jerry Speyer, a friend of David Rockefeller. The landmark buildings comprise over 8,000,000 square feet on 22 acres in Midtown, bounded by Fifth and Sixth avenues and these are co-owned by Tishman-Speyer, and open to the public. 1 Rockefeller Plaza – The original Time–Life Building, a tenant was General Dynamics. 10 Rockefeller Plaza – Originally the Holland House, then the Eastern Air Lines Building, currently home of Today Show studios. 30 Rockefeller Plaza – Originally the RCA Building, in 1988 it was renamed the GE Building, headquarters of NBC, the Rainbow Room restaurant is located on the 65th floor
