Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library that serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States; the Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C.. The Library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol; the Library of Congress has claimed to be the largest library in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages."The Library of Congress moved to Washington in 1800 after sitting for 11 years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s. Most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812, the library sought to restore its collection in 1815.
They bought Thomas Jefferson's entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of slow growth, another fire struck the Library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection, including many of Jefferson's books. After the American Civil War, the Library of Congress grew in both size and importance, which sparked a campaign to purchase replacement copies for volumes, burned; the Library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to deposit two copies of books, maps and diagrams printed in the United States. It began to build its collections, its development culminated between 1888 and 1894 with the construction of a separate, extensive library building across the street from the Capitol; the Library's primary mission is to research inquiries made by members of Congress, carried out through the Congressional Research Service. The Library is open to the public, although only high-ranking government officials and Library employees may check out books and materials.
James Madison is credited with the idea of creating a congressional library, first making such a proposition in 1783. The Library of Congress was subsequently established April 24, 1800 when President John Adams signed an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. Part of the legislation appropriated $5,000 "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress... and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them." Books were ordered from London, the collection consisted of 740 books and three maps which were housed in the new United States Capitol. President Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of Congress. On January 26, 1802, he signed a bill that allowed the president to appoint the Librarian of Congress and establishing a Joint Committee on the Library to regulate and oversee it; the new law extended borrowing privileges to the President and Vice President.
The invading British army burned Washington in August 1814 during the War of 1812 and destroyed the Library of Congress and its collection of 3,000 volumes. These volumes had been left in the Senate wing of the Capitol. One of the few congressional volumes to survive was a government account book of receipts and expenditures for 1810, it was taken as a souvenir by British Admiral George Cockburn, whose family returned it to the United States government in 1940. Within a month, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library as a replacement. Congress accepted his offer in January 1815; some members of the House of Representatives opposed the outright purchase, including New Hampshire Representative Daniel Webster who wanted to return "all books of an atheistical and immoral tendency." Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating a wide variety of books in several languages and on subjects such as philosophy, law, architecture, natural sciences, studies of classical Greece and Rome, modern inventions, hot air balloons, submarines, fossils and meteorology.
He had collected books on topics not viewed as part of a legislative library, such as cookbooks. However, he believed, he remarked: I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection. Jefferson's collection was unique in that it was the working collection of a scholar, not a gentleman's collection for display. With the addition of his collection, the Library of Congress was transformed from a specialist's library to a more general one, his original collection was organized into a scheme based on Francis Bacon's organization of knowledge. He grouped his books into Memory and Imagination, which broke down into 44 more subdivisions; the Library followed Jefferson's organization scheme until the late 19th century, when librarian Herbert Putnam began work on a more flexible Library of Congress Classification structure that now applies to more than 138 million items. In 1851, a fire destroyed two thirds of the Jefferson collection, with only 2,000 books remaining.
By 2008, the Librarians of Congress had found replacements for all but 300 of the works that were in Jefferson's original collection. On December 22, 1851 the largest fire in the Library's history destroyed 35,000 books, about two–thi
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on twin-track routes due to cost-effective reasons, they are useful within larger stations where local and express services for the same direction of travel can be provided from opposite sides of the same platform thereby simplifying transfers between the two tracks. An alternative arrangement is to position side platforms on either side of the tracks; the historical use of island platforms depends upon the location. In the United Kingdom the use of island platforms is common when the railway line is in a cutting or raised on an embankment, as this makes it easier to provide access to the platform without walking across the tracks. Island platforms are necessary for any station with many through platforms. Building small two-track stations with a single island platform instead of two side platforms does have advantages.
Island platforms allow facilities such as shops and waiting rooms to be shared between both tracks rather than being duplicated or present only on one side. An island platform makes it easier for wheelchair users and other people with physical limitations to change services between tracks or access facilities. If the tracks are above or below the entrance level, an island platform layout requires only one staircase and one elevator be built to access the platforms. Building the tracks and entrance at the same level creates a disadvantage. If an island platform is not wide enough to cope with passenger numbers, overcrowding can be a problem. Examples of stations where a narrow island platform has caused safety issues include Clapham Common and Angel on the London Underground. An island platform requires the tracks to diverge around the center platform, extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station on high-speed lines. Track centers vary for rail systems throughout the world but are 3 to 5 meters.
If the island platform is 6 meters wide, the tracks must slew out by the same distance. While this requirement is not a problem on a new line under construction, it makes building a new station on an existing line impossible without altering the tracks. A single island platform makes it quite difficult to have through tracks, which are between the local tracks. A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines is a pair of island platforms, with slower trains diverging from the main line so that the main line tracks remain straight. High-speed trains can therefore pass straight through the station, while slow trains pass around the platforms; this arrangement allows the station to serve as a point where slow trains can be passed by faster trains. A variation at some stations is to have the slow and fast pairs of tracks each served by island platforms A rarer layout, present at Mets-Willets Point on the IRT Flushing Line, 34th Street – Penn Station on the IRT Seventh Avenue Line and 34th Street – Penn Station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, uses two side platforms for local services with an island in between for express services.
The purpose of this atypical design was to reduce unnecessary passenger congestion at a station with a high volume of passengers. Since the IRT Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line have adjacent express stations at 42nd Street, passengers can make their transfers from local to express trains there, leaving more space available for passengers utilizing intercity rail at Pennsylvania Station; the Willets Point Boulevard station was renovated to accommodate the high volume of passengers coming to the 1939 World's Fair. Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway were constructed in this form; this was. If this happened, the lines would need to be compatible with continental loading gauge, this would mean it would be easy to change the line to a larger gauge, by moving the track away from the platform to allow the wider bodied continental rolling stock to pass while leaving the platform area untouched. Island platforms are a normal sight on Indian railway stations. All railway stations in India consist of island platforms.
In Toronto, 29 subway stations use island platforms. In Sydney, on the Eastern Suburbs Railway and the Epping Chatswood Railway, the twin tunnels are spaced and the tracks can remain at a constant track centres while still leaving room for the island platforms. A slight disadvantage is. In Edmonton, all 18 LRT stations on the Capital Line and Metro Line use island platforms; the Valley Line under construction, utilizes the new low-floor LRT technology, but will only use island platforms on one of the twelve stops along the line. In southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, PATCO uses island platforms in all of its 13 s
Vermont/Sunset station
Vermont/Sunset is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located at Vermont Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, among the East Hollywood neighborhoods of Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Little Armenia; this station is served by the Red Line. The intersection of Vermont/Sunset is home to three major area hospitals: Kaiser Permanente, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center; the station's main entrance is on the northeast corner of Vermont and Sunset, next to the Saban Research building of CHLA. There is an elevator-only entrance on the northwest corner, in front of Kaiser. Michael Davies is the artist for the Vermont/Sunset station, depicting several different themes, the main ones being medical colors and slides blended with a futuristic space theme; the medical slides placed into circular orbits on the floor of the upper platform area are real slides of human cellular structures, including red blood cells, chromosomes and sperm.
Red Line service hours are from 5:00 AM until 12:45 AM daily. Metro services Metro Local: 2, 175, 204, 206, 302 Metro Rapid: 754Other local services LADOT DASH: Hollywood, Los Feliz, Griffith Observatory Shuttle Station connections overview
Pershing Square station
Pershing Square is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located on Hill Street between 4th and 5th Streets, near Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles; this station is served by the Metro Red Line and the Metro Purple Line and various local bus services. The Metro Silver Line heading northbound to El Monte Station stops at the street level; the Metro Silver Line heading southbound to Harbor Gateway Transit Center does not stop near the station. The station uses an island platform layout and is decorated with a neon art piece by Stephen Antonakos; the work pays tribute to the first neon sign in the United States, hung in 1924 in the Pershing Square area. The station installed station canopies for the stations entrance in 2014. Pershing Square is near Angels Grand Central parking. Rail services: Red and Purple Line service hours are from 5:00 AM until 12:45 AM daily. Silver Line service hours are from 4:15 AM until 1:45 AM Monday- Friday & 5:00 A. M.- 1:45 A.
M. Saturdays/ Sundays & Holidays. Metro bus services: Metro Local: 2, 4, 10, 14, 16, 18, 28, 30, 33, 37, 38, 40, 45, 48, 53, 55, 62, 68, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96, 302*, 316* & 378* Metro Express: 442*, 460, 487 & 489* Metro Rapid: 720, 728, 733, 745, 770 & 794 Metro Liner: Metro Silver Line Other local and commuter bus services: Foothill Transit: Silver Streak LADOT Commuter Express: 419* LADOT DASH: B, D Montebello Transit: 40, 50, 90* Orange County Transportation Authority: 701*, 721* Torrance Transit: 4* Note: * indicates commuter service that operates only during weekday rush hours. Pershing Square Historic Core/Broadway Angels Flight Grand Central Market Hilton Checkers Hotel Library Tower Jewelry District Millennium Biltmore Hotel Omni Los Angeles Hotel Richard J. Riordan Central Library Title Guarantee and Trust Company Building Angels Knoll parkOUE Skycrape LA Days of Summer S. W. A. T. Lethal Weapon 3 Speed He Was a Quiet Man "Takers" Bad Day 2005 video by musician Daniel Powter Pershing Square Station connections overview
West Santa Ana Branch
The West Santa Ana Branch is a rail right-of-way used by the Pacific Electric's Santa Ana route in Los Angeles County and Orange County in Southern California, United States. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority now owns the part of the ROW in Los Angeles County, the Orange County Transportation Authority owns the part of the ROW in Orange County; the right-of-way was owned by the Pacific Electric Railway. The ROW runs from the Watts Towers in the city of Los Angeles, southeast to the intersection of 4th Street and Santa Ana Boulevard in downtown Santa Ana. A two-mile portion of it is occupied by the Green Line; the ROW runs dead-straight for nearly 20-miles on a diagonal between these two cities, in stark contrast to the cardinal grid of Orange County. As such, the route is visible from aerial photographs from high altitude; the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad attraction at Knott's Berry Farm uses a PE depot located at Hansen station along the ROW in Stanton as the main station building.
The building was moved to the theme park in 1952. The Southern California Association of Governments, in conjunction with Metro and OCTA, conducted an alternatives analysis to determine the list of all feasible alternatives for the project; these alternatives may use all or part of the ROW. Modes under consideration were light rail, commuter rail and high-speed rail. SCAG organized a first round of public meetings in June 2010. A second round of public meetings were held in November and December 2010. Metro has prioritized the corridor on its Long Range Transportation Plan, funding for it was guaranteed in the LA County Measure R and Measure M transportation funding ballot measures; as proposed, the light rail line will travel between Artesia and Union Station, using the ROW between Paramount and Artesia. As of 2016, the Orange County Transportation Authority is collaborating with the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove to build a streetcar line; the western terminus of the proposed route would follow the Pacific Electric right-of-way near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.
Anaheim Rapid Connection West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor project at the Metro website OC Streetcar project at the OCTA website Eco-Rapid Transit Joint Powers Authority Pacific Electric Right-of-Way/West Santa Ana Branch Corridor Alternatives Analysis and Technical Refinement by the Southern California Association of Governments
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks is a major transport hub and Los Angeles County Metro Rail station on the Blue Line and Green Line. The station, located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Wilmington Avenue in the Willowbrook community of Los Angeles County, is a major transfer point for commuters; as a major transfer station, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station acts as a major bus hub, serving many bus routes operated by Metro and other regional/municipal transit agencies. The station has park and ride facilities, including 975 parking spaces and 4 bike lockers. To the east of the station is the Metro Rail Operations Center, the dispatch hub for all Metro Rail train operators; the station is located in unincorporated Willowbrook, near the Los Angeles community of Watts in the South Los Angeles region. It is directly across the street from the Imperial Courts Housing Project, located within the City of Los Angeles; the Green Line platform for this station is located in the middle of the I-105 Freeway.
The station's official name memorializes Rosa Parks, an important African-American civil rights activist. The station was known as Imperial/Wilmington. From the Blue Line's opening on July 14, 1990 until the Green Line opened on August 12, 1995 the Blue Line station platform was known as Imperial station while the Green Line station platform was planned to be called Wilmington station; the Blue Line portion of the station is closed from January 26 to September 2019 for a major renovation project as part of the Blue Line Improvements Project. Blue Line service hours are from 4:00 AM until 1:00 AM daily. Green Line service hours are from 4:00 AM until 12:30 AM daily. Metro Local: 55, 120, 202, 205, 355, 612 Gardena Transit: 5 LADOT DASH: Watts Los Angeles County Department of Public Works: Hahn's Trolley and Shuttle Service The Blue Line is on the lower platform, the Green Line is on the upper platform; the two levels are connected by stairs/escalators/elevators via a mezzanine. Ticket machines are located on the mezzanine.
A $10.25 million grant from the United States Department of Transportation in 2014 will be used to fund $53 million in major upgrades to the station, including improved lighting, new paintings, new central plaza and extended platforms. King-Drew Medical Center King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science Kenneth Hahn Plaza Verbum Dei High School Metro website Station connections overview — Willowbrook Plusmetro.com
Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, buses and was the largest electric railway system in the world in the 1920s. Organized around the city centers of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, it connected cities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County; the system shared dual gauge track with the 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge Los Angeles Railway, "Yellow Car," or "LARy" system on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, on 4th Street, along Hawthorne Boulevard south of downtown Los Angeles toward the cities of Hawthorne and Torrance. The system had four districts: Northern District: San Gabriel Valley, including Pasadena, Mount Lowe, South Pasadena, Alhambra, El Monte, Duarte, Azusa, Sierra Madre, Monrovia. Eastern District: Pomona, San Bernardino, Arrowhead Springs, Riverside and Redlands in the Inland Empire. Southern District: Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, San Pedro via Dominguez, Santa Ana, El Segundo, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro Via Torrance.
Western District: Hollywood, Glendale/Burbank, San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Manhattan/Redondo/Hermosa Beaches, Playa Del Rey. Electric trolleys first appeared in Los Angeles in 1887. In 1895 the Pasadena & Pacific Railway was created from a merger of the Pasadena and Los Angeles Railway and the Los Angeles Pacific Railway The Pasadena & Pacific Railway boosted Southern California tourism, living up to its motto "from the mountains to the sea." The Pacific Electric Railway was created in 1901 by railroad executive Henry E. Huntington and banker Isaias W. Hellman; as a Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad, operated by his uncle, Collis P. Huntington, Huntington had a background in electric trolley lines in San Francisco where he oversaw SP's effort to consolidate many smaller street railroads into one organized network. Hellman, the President of the Nevada Bank, San Francisco's largest, became one of the largest bond holders for these lines and he and the younger Huntington developed a close business relationship.
The success of their San Francisco trolley adventure and Hellman's experience in financing some early Los Angeles trolley lines led them to invest in the purchase of some existing downtown Los Angeles lines which they began to standardize and organize into one network called the Los Angeles Railway. When uncle Collis died, Henry lost a boardroom battle for control of the Southern Pacific to Union Pacific President E. H. Harriman. Huntington decided to focus his energies on Southern California. In May 1901, Southern California's leading banker for three decades, wrote Huntington that "the time is at hand when we should commence building suburban railroads out of the city." Hellman added that he had tasked engineer Epes Randolph to survey and lay out the company's first line which would be to Long Beach. In that same year and Hellman incorporated a new entity, the Pacific Electric Railway of California, formed to construct new electric rail lines to connect Los Angeles with surrounding cities.
Hellman and his group of investors owned the controlling majority of stock and the newspapers of the time referred to it as the Huntington-Hellman syndicate. Using surrogates, the syndicate began rights-of-ways; the new company's first main project, the line to Long Beach, opened July 4, 1902. Huntington experienced periods of opposition from organized labor with the construction of the new railways. Tensions between union leaders and like-minded Los Angeles businessmen were high from the early 1900s up through the 1920s. Strikes and boycotts troubled the Pacific Electric throughout those years until they reached the height of violence in the 1919 Streetcar Strike of Los Angeles; the efforts of organized labor simmered with the onset of World War I. Railroads were one part of the enterprise. Revenue from passenger traffic generated a profit, unlike freight; the real money for the investors was in supplying electric power to new communities and in developing and selling real estate. To get the railways and electricity to their towns, local groups offered the Huntington interests opportunities in local land.
Soon Huntington and his partners had significant holdings in the land companies developing Naples, Bay City, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Redondo Beach. Harriman, who controlled the powerful Southern Pacific Railroad, was concerned with the competition that these new electric lines gave his steam railroad traffic, had been prodding Huntington for joint ownership of the lines but Huntington refused to negotiate. In early 1903, Harriman proposed a franchise plan with three-cent fare plan to the Los Angeles City Council, a plan which, if accepted, would have handicapped the other railways severely. Huntington countered with a ticket book which gave the rider 500 miles of travel for $6.25, which undercut the Harriman strategy. The Council vetoed the franchise idea, unable to believe adequate service could be provided for such a low fare. On April 14, 1903, Harriman bought Hook’s Los Angeles Traction Company, which ran lines within the downtown area and, through its California Pacific subsidiary, was constructing a line from Los Angeles to San Pedro.
The final confrontation came over a bidding war for the 6th Street franchise, in which the franchise went to the top bidder for $110,000, with Harriman the secret winner. In May 1903, Huntington made an overnight
Media related to Long Beach (Los Angeles Metro station) at Wikimedia Commons
