Portcullis House

Portcullis House (PCH) is an office building in Westminster, London, England, that was commissioned in 1992 and opened in 2001 to provide offices for 213 members of parliament and their staff. The public entrance is on the Embankment. Part of the Parliamentary Estate, the building augments limited space in the Palace of Westminster and surroundings.
History and use.
The architects, Michael Hopkins and Partners, published their design in 1993 and the existing buildings on the site were demolished in 1994. At the same time, the London Underground was building the Jubilee Line Extension, including a new interchange station at Westminster tube station which occupies the same area; the two were thus designed and built as a single unit. Construction began with works to the existing District line station at sub-basement level. The track had to be lowered slightly and underpinned to allow the extensive excavation to the Jubilee line many feet below. The building above ground began to rise in 1998 and opened in 2001. It is located at the corner of Bridge Street (at the western end of Westminster Bridge) and Victoria Embankment – overlooking the River Thames – and adjacent to the Norman Shaw South Building, which also overlooks the river.
The building is named after the chained portcullis used to symbolize the Houses of Parliament on letterheads and official documents. Portcullis House accommodates about one third of members of parliament; other Members and Parliamentary departments have offices in the two Norman Shaw Buildings (formerly known as Scotland Yard), in the buildings at 1 Parliament Street and at 7 Millbank, and in the Palace of Westminster itself.
The first floor of Portcullis House is open to members of the public to allow attendance at Committee sessions. Throughout the rest of the building, as with the rest of the Parliamentary Estate, members of the public must remain with a passholder. The entrance is guarded by police, and all visitors must submit their bags and coats for X-raying, as well as passing through a metal detector and undergoing a body check. There is a Post Office branch within Portcullis House that is not open to the public.
Design.
The building was designed by Michael Hopkins and Partners and incorporates Westminster tube station below it. A thick slab of concrete separates Portcullis House from the station, reportedly to defend against any underground bomb attacks. The load is borne by the walls, without interior posts. The corners of the building are hung from the roof using massive steel beams . The design life of 120 years meant that aluminium bronze was chosen for exposed metal on the roof and walls. The structure also includes Devonian granite and was the last consignment to be excavated at Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor. The columns between the windows are constructed of Birchover Gritstone.
The building's curious profile, with its rows of tall chimneys, is intended to recall the Victorian Gothic design of the Palace of Westminster and to fit in with the chimneys of the Norman Shaw Building next door. Portcullis House's chimneys are not used to expel fumes but are part of an unpowered air conditioning system, which is designed to draw air through the building by exploiting natural convection flows. It is based on the system used in 1996 in the Eastgate Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe.
The building itself was designed to look and feel like a ship inside. All the offices and passages are made up with bowed windows and light oak finishing. Each floor looks identical to the others except the ground floor which houses the main courtyard with ship-like metallic sails suspended overhead. The courtyard is decorated with trees and two shallow baths of water.
The offices at Portcullis House are generally in sets of two sharing a common bay in the centre. Each floor is unofficially allocated to a different political party so that generally MPs with similar politics are kept together. The first floor houses a number of conference suites and committee rooms, which are named after famous politicians Betty Boothroyd, Harold Macmillan, Margaret Thatcher, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, and Jo Grimond. These Committee rooms are accessible to the public and are fitted with television cameras and microphones, to broadcast the proceedings via BBC Parliament and via parliamentlive.tv.
All rooms in the building are fitted with "annunciators" (monitors which announce in real-time the current business in the Chambers of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, or both). "Division bells" are also installed throughout the building, which alert MPs to the calling of a division (vote) in the Chamber of the House of Commons. Along with this, visual aids (a flashing image of a bell) are displayed on television sets and computer desktops in MPs' offices when the Division bell sounds.
On the ground floor are a range of services including a waiter-service restaurant ("The Adjournment"), informal cafeteria ("The Debate") and a coffee shop ("The Despatch Box"), available only to pass holders and their guests. There is also a post office and an "e-library", an enquiry point where Members and staff can use networked computers, run by the House of Commons Library. There is also an underground passage into the Palace of Westminster and a connection to the 1 Parliament Street building and to the Norman Shaw Buildings. For security reasons this is now the main route of access for Parliament.
Cost.
When commissioned in 1992 the cost of Portcullis House was to be £165m. After building cost inflation and delays, the price increased to £235m. Costs included £150,000 for decorative fig trees, £2m for electric blinds and, for each MP, a reclining chair at £440. A parliamentary inquiry into the over-spend was carried by Sir Thomas Legg. Although completed in 2000, the report was never published. By April 2012 the fig trees, which were rented, had cost almost £400,000.
In film.
In the traditional pre-credits sequence of the James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough", released in November 1999, Bond chases a villain by speedboat along the Thames from the MI6 Building at Vauxhall Cross to the Millennium Dome. The Houses of Parliament, with Portcullis House then under construction, can be seen along the way.


Spixworth Park

Spixworth Hall was an Elizabethan stately home situated in the civil parish of Spixworth, Norfolk, located just north of the city of Norwich on the Buxton Road, until it was demolished in 1952.
Location.
The Hall was located in Spixworth, close to the Buxton road and was 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Norwich and some 10 miles (16.1 km) south of North Walsham.
History.
The hall was constructed by William Peck in 1607. The park itself was 200 acres which ran parallel to the present Buxton Road whilst the complete estate was in excess of over 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) situated on the edge of Norwich with land bordering the present Norwich International Airport. Both Longe Road and William Peck Road are named in honour of the former owners of Spixworth Hall.
The Longe family, who were considerable land owners, owning Reymerston Hall, Norfolk, Hingham Hall, Norfolk, Dunston Hall, Norfolk, Abbot's Hall, Stowmarket and Yelverton Hall, Norfolk, bought the estate from the Pecks in 1685. Spixworth Hall and the surrounding parkland remained in the Longe family for 257 years until 1952, when it was demolished. In 1920, the hall was tenanted to Reginald and Maud Gurney of Gurney's Bank, Norwich who had recently moved from Earlham Hall. Many buildings of the former estate still remain including the gate house, dove cote, stable block and the ice house. The Longe family were traditionally clergymen and lawyers.
The hall's library consisted of one of the most extensive collections of first-edition books of any stately home in the UK with works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Miquel de Cervantes.
As was fashionable with large households, records show that the Longe family kept animals including a large monkey who used to live in the stable block and a bear who lived in the butler's cottage and the wine cellar. The Lordship of the Manor is still held by the Longe family as well as much of the surrounding parkland.
There are in existence, but now dispersed, a number of paintings of notable Bacons and Longes, perhaps the most famous being the Gainsborough of the Longe family in Spixworth Park. This must have been painted pre-1788 for that is the year in which Gainsborough of Sudbury died. The superb Temple cabinet which housed Sir William Temple's old medals and seals stood in the library. Another treasure was Dorothy Osborne's plain gold engagement ring engraved ‘the love I owe I cannot showe’. Sir William Temple of Moor Park was married to Dorothy Osborne and they were close friends of the Longes. Until 1787, when it was unbricked, an alcove in the gallery contained the ‘soul’ of Sir William Peck. Documents do not state when this act occurred, but it is documented that Sir William desired this ‘bricking up’ to save his soul from adversaries.
Longe family.
The Longe family are believed to have settled in Norfolk prior to 1299 with reference being made to both "Robert le Longe" and "John le Longe" who were traders of saltpetre in Norwich and the City of London. The family are notably descended from William of Wykeham, Chancellor of England and Bishop of Winchester from which much of the family wealth can be attributed. Another branch of the family settled in Suffolk in the 1300s with "Walterus le Longe" and "Rogerus le Longe" both mentioned as bailiffs in Dunwich, Suffolk in 1332 and 1333. The family is a senior branch of the House of Longe. In 1619, the Longe family purchased estates of Reymerston Hall and later Spixworth Hall in 1685 and Dunston Hall in 1859. In 1903, the Suffolk branch purchased Abbot's Hall in Stowmarket, Suffolk which is now the Museum of East Anglian Life. A number of the family served as High Sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk. In 2011, the will of "Thomas Longe of Ashwellthorpe" was discovered, giving historians the first positive identification of a common soldier fighting for the House of York during the Battle of Bosworth.
High Sheriffs of Norfolk:
High Sheriffs of Suffolk:
Descent of the senior Norfolk branch:
The descent of the Norfolk branch of the Longe family of Hingham and latterly Spixworth Hall and Reymerston Hall is as follows:
Other notable members of the Longe family:


Otava (publisher)

Otava Publishing Company Ltd (, ) is a major Finnish publisher of books. It was founded in 1890 and now is the second largest in Finland. It publishes fiction, non-fiction, books for teenagers and children, multimedia and teaching materials. The number of new titles a year exceeds 400. Otava has also been at the forefront of encyclopedia-publishing in Finland, with many well-known series, such as the "Otavan Suuri Ensyklopedia" (Otava's Big Encyclopedia). Writers whose work Otava has published over the years include Frans Emil Sillanpää, Eino Leino, Paavo Haavikko, Pentti Saarikoski and Laila Hirvisaari. The parent company Otava Group also owns Suomalainen Kirjakauppa.
The name "Otava" refers to the Big Dipper.
History.
Otava was founded in 1890 by Hannes Gebhard and Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä to publish Finnish national literature. became managing director in 1893 and was the main figure during the company's early years. His descendants (surname fennicized to "Reenpää") have continued his work so that Otava remains, in spite of its size, to a large extent a family company. 1906 saw the completion of the new headquarters right in the centre of Helsinki. In 1908 printing press operations began and in 1916 the printing of magazines got under way. The first magazine to be launched was "Suomen Kuvalehti", which still comes out weekly. From 1945 to 1991 the company was listed in the Helsinki Stock Exchange. In 1955 a new printing house was put up in Keuruu, near Jyväskylä. During the 1960s Otava faced grave financial difficulties but was able to pull through by rationalizing operations. In 1998 it bought out its rival company WSOY from the jointly owned Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet, a large publisher of magazines.


Cashel Palace Hotel

The Cashel Palace Hotel, in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland, was built around 1730 in a late Queen Anne/early Georgian-style. It was originally the residence of the Church of Ireland archbishops, until they moved to Waterford.
The hotel's main restaurant, The Bishop's Buttery, is a fine dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star in 1982 and 1983. The Egon Ronay Guide awarded the restaurant one star in 1982. The kitchen style of the restaurant is Modern. The head chef and owner at the time of the Michelin star was Declan Ryan.
The hotel ceased trading in 2015 and was later sold to developer John Magnier. In 2017, redevelopment started with plans in to reopen the hotel by 2019.


Horsley Hall, Gresford

Horsley Hall was a Jacobethan-style house with formal gardens, near to Gresford, Wrexham County Borough, that was destroyed in 1963.
Pre-Victorian era.
The first house built on the site around the early fifteenth century by Ieuan ap David ap Madog ap David Hen of Burton, otherwise known as Dafydd Hen of Burton. Ieuan Llwyd ap Gruffydd ap David Fychan inherited the hall followed by Howel ap David ap Gruffydd Fychan of Talwrn. The children of Howel ap David ap Gruffydd Fychan of Talwrn adopted the surname Powell. A succession of the Powell family owned the hall. Members of the Powell family who owned the hall included, in about 1540, Thomas Powell, the Constable of Holt Castle, who built ‘Plas Y Horsli’ a timber building surrounded with a moat on the site.
In 1792, John Hughes possessed Horsley Hall, with it passing to Dr Francis James Hughes. Townshead and Frederick Potts jointly bought the hall, but through a deal, Frederick Potts became the sole owner.
Late Victorian era.
In about 1875, the owner Frederick Potts demolished the timber building and replaced it with a stone building. He resided at the hall until his death in 1898. Between 1898 and 1910, Alfred Ashworth owned Horsley Hall. In 1906, he extended the estate by purchasing 700 acres of the adjoining Parkside estate. Between 1907 and 1912, the hall was enlarged, remodelled in a Jacobethan style, and had a formal garden laid out by the architect George Herbert Kitchin (1870-1951). In 1910, Phillip Henry Ashworth, his only son, inherited the estate.
In 1917, the hall was bought by Colonel Hall Walker MP and further improvements made to it. On 27 July 1933, Horsley Hall was sold by auction. The advertisement for the sale describes the Hall in detail. The hall had an outer and entrance hall, Saloon, hall with beamed ceiling, library, gallery, four reception rooms, 20 principle bedrooms and dressing rooms, theatre room, school room, 9 bathrooms, servants bedrooms, head grooms house, chauffeurs cottage, gardeners flat, stabling for 18 horses and 3 garages. Mentioned was the formal gardens and golf course. The sale also included the contents of the hall. On 5 July 1934, the remaining parts of the estate were due to be auctioned. In 1934 a decision was made to demolish Horsley Hall.
Post-1939.
At the start of the Second World War, Horsley Hall was still standing and requisitioned by the army. During the war, it was for training and accommodation by Number 12 Camp, Royal Pioneer Corp. Built in the formal gardens were Nissen huts, garages and military building. On 20 April 1950, Horsley Hall was mentioned in the House of Commons when a Member of Parliament raised a question about Lance-Corporal Sankey, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, never seen again and reported as a deserter after leaving the camp on 25 September 1944. In 1955, the army left the site. Horsley Hall, for a short time, was used as a private school but demolished in 1963. Until 1978 a feature of the gardens was a baroque gateway from Great Buckingham Street, London, where Peter the Great once stayed.
Horsley Hall, and in the grounds, a dovecote and gazebo are Grade II listed buildings by CADW. The main reason for the listing is, "survival of a structure of an extensive Edwardian garden, with some massive rock work and a few fine ornamental trees". Some badly deteriorated parts of the hall remain, and the formal gardens are overgrown. The site is now privately owned with no public access.
People connected to Horsley Hall.
Alfred Ashworth (1843-1910)
Alfred Ashworth was born in 1843. Between 1898 and 1910, he owned of Horsley Hall. He was known for being a Justice of the Peace, and in 1909 as the High Sheriff for Denbighshire. He was a long-term member of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. On 21 October 1910, he died at Horsley Hall. In 1910, Phillip, his only son, inherited Horsley Hall.
Phillip Henry Ashworth
In 1910, Phillip Ashworth inherited Horsley Hall from his father, Alfred Ashworth. Between 1913-1914 he was the High Sheriff of Denbighshire. In 1917, he sold the hall.
Dafydd Hen of Burton
A son of Dafydd Hen of Burton was builder of the first house on the estate in the early fifteenth century.
Frederick Potts (1819-1898)
Frederick Potts was born on 4 July 1819. He was a solicitor and a local businessman. In about 1875, he demolished the timber building and replaced it with a stone building. He died at the hall on 5 June 1898.
Francis James Hughes
Francis James Hughes, a Doctor of Physics, and Justice of the Peace, was an owner at the Hall.
John Hughes
In 1792, he possessed the hall. Between 1796-1798 he was the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.
George Herbert Kitchin (1870-1951)
Between 1907 -1912 George Herbert Kitchin was the architect responsible for remodelling the Hall into a Jacobean style and laid out the formal gardens. Amongst other places, he was the architect for developments at Lygrove House, also known as Lyegrove House, Sodbury, and Compton End, Winchester.
Lord Wavertree (Colonel Hall Walker)
In 1917, Colonel Hall Walker (later Lord Wavertree), became the owner of the hall.
Thomas Powell
A Constable of Holt Castle, who build 'Plas Y Horsli' on the estate in about 1540.
Thomas Powell
A resident of the Hall. Between 1591-1598 the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.
Thomas Powell
A resident of the Hall. Between 1616-1620 the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.
Thomas Powell
A resident of the Hall. Between 1684-1685 the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.
Sir Thomas Powell
A resident of the Hall. Between 1639-1640 the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.
Sir Thomas Powell
A resident of the Hall. Between 1657- 1663 the High Sheriff for Denbighshire.


Anhembi Sambadrome

The Polo Cultural e Esportivo Grande Otelo, commonly known as Anhembi Sambadrome, is a Sambadrome and one of the largest outdoor venues for major events in the city of São Paulo in Brazil. It opened in 1991, and has a capacity of 103,200 people. It hosts around 30 events per year, including the São Paulo carnival, Independence Day celebrations, and music events.
Location.
The Sambadrome is one of the largest outdoor venues for major events in the city of São Paulo in Brazil. It is managed by São Paulo Turismo. It is part of the Anhembi Convention Center, at 1.209 Avenida Olavo Fontoura in Santana, near to the Portuguesa–Tietê metro station.
Design.
It was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer. It opened in 1991, with an initial capacity of 10,000 people. In 1992 it doubled capacity to 20,000 people with the opening of new grandstands. On 12 February 1996 the full stadium was completed, with a total capacity of 30,000 people, of which 26,246 can be seated. Today's capacity on the website of the Anhembi Sambadrome is mentioned as 103,200 people (2019). There are nine stands in total, with Arquibancada Monumental (stand B) having a capacity of 7,749 people, six other stands holding 1,760 people, and two others (stands D and G) holding 1,447 people. It also has 103 individual rooms with capacities between 10 and 50 people.
The Sambadrome is long and wide, and it has a structural, flood-proof concrete floor. The water polo holds 40,000 litres of water, and has 750 kW of track lighting.
Events.
The venue hosts around 30 events per year, including the samba schools of the São Paulo carnival (for which it was originally designed), as well as musical performances and concerts, and the Independence Day celebrations (since 1998). It also hosts sporting events and classic car fairs.
From 2010 to 2013 the Sambadrome was used as part of the São Paulo Indy 300 IndyCar Series race.


St Mary-at-Hill

St Mary-at-Hill is an Anglican parish church in the Ward of Billingsgate, City of London. It is situated on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap.
It was founded in the 12th century as "St. Mary de Hull" or "St. Mary de la Hulle". It was severely damaged in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was only partially rebuilt and has been much altered since, although some of its mediaeval fabric survives.
The Church of St Mary-at-Hill is situated among some of the City's most ancient lanes: St Mary at Hill EC3, in which has a large double-faced clock extending several feet into the street and which provides the best view of the church's elegant exterior; a narrow alleyway running alongside, but with no right of way; and, its entrance on Lovat Lane EC3, its postal address.
History and architecture.
St Mary-at-Hill dates to 1336. The north aisle was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century, and a south aisle and steeple were added a little later. John Stow, writing at end of the 16th century, described it as "the fair church of Saint Marie, called on the Hill, because of the ascent from Billingsgate".
The Great Fire of 1666 started in the neighbouring street of Pudding Lane severely damaging the church. After the blaze, the parish of St Mary's was united with that of St Andrew Hubbard, whose church was not rebuilt.
Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt the church's interior and east end, managing to retain its medieval walls on the other three sides, and the west tower to which he added a lantern. Wren included in his design a venetian window at the east end, now blocked up, and a pediment, now broken. His interior displays four free-standing corinthian columns, supporting barrel vaults in a Greek cross pattern, and a coffered central dome. The church is 96 ft long and 60 ft wide.
A hoard of coins (now known as the Mary Hill Hoard) was found in a basement near St Mary-at-Hill in the 18th century. The hoard included the only known example of a coin from the Horndon mint.
There have been considerable further alterations since the 17th century. In 1787–88, George Gwilt rebuilt the west wall and replaced the tower in brick and in 1826–27 James Savage installed round-headed iron-framed windows in the north wall and replaced the vaults, ceilings and plasterwork. In 1848–49 he added a cupola to the dome and cut windows through the chancel vault. In 1849, the 17th century woodwork was sympathetically augmented and adapted by W. Gibbs Rogers. In 1904 the church's parish was united with that of St George Botolph Lane, and St Mary-at-Hill received the sword rests, plate, royal arms, ironwork, organ and organ case from St George. In 1939, the writer Dornford Yates used the church as a setting for some of the action in his thriller "Gale Warning", calling it “St. Ives”. Use is made of the open-work screens on the roof.
The church survived the Blitz in the Second World War unscathed, but was severely damaged by a fire in 1988, after which its roof and ceiling required rebuilding. Though much of the woodwork, including box pews, survived the fire, it has not been reinstated and remains in store.
Writing before St Mary's 1988 fire, John Betjeman said of the church: "This is the least spoiled and the most gorgeous interior in the City, all the more exciting by being hidden away among cobbled alleys, paved passages, brick walls, overhung by plane trees…"
The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950. On the street St Mary at Hill, there is an adjacent Grade II brick and stone rectory of 1834 designed by James Savage, incorporating a vestry of the late 17th century.
Music and traditions.
From 1510 the Chapel Royal choir sang here. The organ-builder Mighaell Glocetir worked at St Mary-at-Hill from 1477 to 1479. He is possibly the same person as Myghell Glancets who worked on St Michael, Cornhill, in 1475.
The composer Thomas Tallis was organist at St Mary-at-Hill between 15381539.
A William Hill organ was installed in 1848 and partly restored after the 1988 fire, but its complete restoration did not commence until 2000. The church is a popular venue for its regular concerts and recitals.
In several books on English folklore, or about ceremonies of London, there is mention of the Costermongers' Festival held here every October. It also goes by the name "Fish Harvest Festival" or "Harvest of the Sea", associated with the fishmarket that was held at Billingsgate. Another notable ceremony is Beating the Bounds, where notables and children process around the boundary of a parish or ward on Ascension Day, carrying slender rods. Originally the children were whipped (not severely) at points along the route. Almost every such example died out in the middle of the 19th century, but the account books of St Mary-at-Hill testify to its existence here. Four shillings were paid for the provision of fruit on the day of the "Perambulation" in 1682. In another example at Chelsea the whipped children were given four pence. Rare surviving examples of Beating the Bounds are at the nearby City Church of All Hallows-by-the-Tower (every three years), and at The Queen's Chapel of The Savoy, Westminster.
Burials.
Parliament outlawed new burials in the City of London during the Victorian era, forcing the closure of its churchyards; in 1847 the Church purchased burials rights 'in perpetuity' in a small section of the consecrated ground at West Norwood Cemetery for the parish's own use. It stood out from the main cemetery through its railed enclosure and planting, including monkey puzzle trees.
The London Borough of Lambeth subsequently compulsorily-purchased the main cemetery and removed the memorials in this section during 1990–91. A subsequent Chancery Court hearing found this to be illegal and ordered a mechanism be set up to restore those monuments at the request of descendants.


NEMO (museum)

NEMO Science Museum (from latin "Nobody") is a science centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located in the Oosterdokseiland neighbourhood in the Amsterdam-Centrum borough, situated between the Oosterdokseiland and the Kattenburg. The museum has its origins in 1923, and is housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano since 1997. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts around 670,000 visitors annually, which makes it the eighth most visited museum in the Netherlands.
History.
The museum has its origins in 1923, when the "Museum van den Arbeid" () was opened by the artist Herman Heijenbrock on the Rozengracht in Amsterdam. In 1954 the name was changed to the Nint or "Nederlands Instituut voor Nijverheid en Techniek" (), and in 1997 it changed again to "newMetropolis". The name "Science Center Nemo" was introduced in 2000. In 2016, the name was changed to "NEMO Science Museum".
Exhibitions.
Inside the lobby there is a small cafeteria and a gift shop which sells small scale copies of some of the attractions at Nemo like the giant domino set and the DNA experiments.
The main concepts on the first floor are DNA and chain reactions which include a room with giant dominoes with contraptions like a giant bell and a flying car. Also on the first floor is a show on the half-hour, which features a large chain reaction circuit.
On the second floor is a ball factory where small plastic balls are sent on a circuit where participants are to group them in weight, size, and color and then send them to a packing facility where the balls go into a small metal box. There are five stations at which the people stick magnetic barcodes on the boxes and send them off to start the circuit again. On the second level, there is also a small cafeteria and a movie and performance hall where various acts and movies about science are shown. The second floor also features a display on the water cycle a display on electricity and a display on metals and buildings.
The third floor has a giant science lab in which people can do science experiments such as testing vitamin C in certain substances and looking at DNA. There is also a small section on money and business.
On the fourth floor is a section about the human mind, it has such experiments as memory tests, mind problems, and sense testers. The fourth floor is quite dark which adds to the eeriness of the surroundings.
The fifth floor or upper deck has a cafeteria, a children's play area and a great view of the city surroundings.


Qiao Family Compound

The Qiao Family Compound, originally the Zaizhong Hall and officially is a courtyard house located in Qi County, Jinzhong Prefecture, Shanxi Province, China, approximately northeast of Pingyao. It is the residential compound of well-known financier Qiao Zhiyong (乔致庸/喬致庸, 1818—1907), who was the most famous member of the Qiao family. Construction began in 1756 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty and was completed sometime in the 18th century. The estate covers 9000 square meters and has 313 rooms with 4000 square meters within 6 large courtyards and 19 smaller courtyards.
Architects consider it to be one of the finest remaining examples of imposing private residences in northern China. It has been converted into a museum and has many period furnishings.
It is famous for being the chief location in the Zhang Yimou film "Raise the Red Lantern". A 2006 Chinese television series, "Qiao's Grand Courtyard", was also shot here. The series, directed by Hu Mei, chronicles the life of Qiao Zhiyong with some artistic license applied.


Leicester Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 and made a cathedral in 1927 following the establishment of a new Diocese of Leicester in 1926.
The remains of King Richard III were reburied in the cathedral in 2015 after being discovered nearby in the foundations of the lost Greyfriars chapel.
History.
Leicester Cathedral is at the physical heart of the Leicester, situated in Leicester’s Old Town. The Cathedral famously houses King Richard III’s tomb.
The church was built on the site of Roman ruins and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, a 4th century Roman officer who became a Bishop.  It is almost certainly one of six churches referred to in the Domesday Book (1086) and portions of the current building can be traced to a 12th century Norman church which was rebuilt in the 13th and 15th centuries. In the Middle Ages, its site next to Leicester’s Guild Hall, ensured that St Martin’s became Leicester’s Civic Church with strong ties to the merchants and guilds of the town.
The building you see today is predominantly Victorian. The tower and 220 foot spire were designed by the architect Raphael Brandon and were rebuilt in the 1860s.
In 1927 St Martin’s was dedicated as Leicester’s Cathedral when the diocese was re-created, over 1,000 years after the last Saxon Bishop of Leicester fled from the invading Danes.
Today over one hundred thousand people visit Leicester Cathedral every year, primarily to see the tomb of King Richard III, the last English monarch to die in battle. King Richard’s mortal remains were interred by the Archbishop of Canterbury in March 2015 after five days of commemoration events and activities around the city and county of Leicester. A magnificent tomb cut of a single piece of Swaledale fossil stone weighing 3 tonnes now covers his grave.
Inside, on permanent exhibition, is the Pall, a decorative cloth which covered King Richard’s coffin during his reinterment. It was designed and created by artist Jacquie Binns. The embroidery tells the story of King Richard’s life and the discovery of his body in a car park very near to the Cathedral.
Other items that can be seen inside the Cathedral include 14th century wooden carved figures, each “afflicted” with some kind of illness. One has a medieval hearing aid, while another is suffering from sore shoulders.
A church dedicated to St Martin has been on the site for about 900 years, being first recorded in 1086 when the older Saxon church was replaced by a Norman one. The present building dates to about that age, with the addition of a spire and various restorations throughout the years. Most of what can be seen today is a Victorian restoration by architect Raphael Brandon. The cathedral of the former Anglo-Saxon diocese of Leicester was on a different site.
A cenotaph memorial stone to Richard III was until recently located in the chancel; it was replaced by the tomb of the king himself. The monarch, killed in 1485 at the Leicestershire battlefield of Bosworth Field, had been roughly interred in the Greyfriars, Leicester. His remains were exhumed from the Greyfriars site in 2012, and publicly confirmed as his following DNA testing in February 2013. Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester, and David Monteith, the cathedral's canon chancellor, announced the king's body would be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral in 2015. This was carried out on 26 March.
The East Window was installed as a monument to those who died in World War I. The highest window contains a sun-like orb with cherubs radiating away from it. In the centre Jesus sits holding a starry heaven in one hand with one foot on a bloody hell. Surrounding Jesus are eight angels whose wings are made from a red glass. To the far right stands St Michael the Archangel, who stands on the tail of a dragon. The dragon goes behind Jesus and can be seen re-emerging under the feet of St George who stands on its head. On the bottom row can be seen from left St Joan of Arc, Mary, Jesus with crying angels, Mary Magdalene, James, and St Martin of Tours. The window includes an image of a World War I soldier.
The tower and spire were restored both internally and externally in 2004–5. The main work was to clean and replace any weak stonework with replacement stone quarried from the Tyne Valley. The cost was up to £600,000, with £200,000 being donated by the English Heritage, and the rest raised through public donations.
The cathedral has close links with Leicester Grammar School which used to be located directly next to it. Morning assemblies would take place each week on different days depending on the school's year groups, and services were attended by its pupils. The relationship continues despite the school's move to Great Glen, about seven miles south of Leicester.
In 2011, after extensive refurbishment, the cathedral's offices moved to the former site of Leicester Grammar School, and the building was renamed St Martin's House. The choir song school also relocated to the new building, and the new site also offers conference rooms and other facilities that can be hired out. The new building was officially opened by the Bishop of Leicester in 2011.
In July 2014, the cathedral completed a redesign of its gardens, including installation of the 1980 statue of Richard III. Following a judicial review decision in favour of Leicester, plans were made to reinter Richard III's remains in Leicester Cathedral, including a new tomb and a wider reordering of the cathedral interior. Reinterment took place on 26 March 2015 in the presence of Sophie, Countess of Wessex (representing the Queen) and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
On 13 April 2017, Queen Elizabeth II distributed Maundy money in the cathedral to 182 recipients.
Architecture.
Leicester Cathedral is a Grade II* listed building comprising a large nave and chancel with two chancel chapels, along with a 220-foot-tall spire which was added in 1862. The building has undergone various restoration projects over the centuries, including work by the Victorian architect Raphael Brandon, and the building appears largely Gothic in style today. Inside the cathedral, the large wooden screen separating the nave from the chancel was designed by Charles Nicholson and carved by Bowman of Stamford.
In 2015 the screen was moved eastward to stand in front of the tomb of Richard III, as part of the reordering of the Chancel by van Heyningen and Haward Architects.
Vaughan Porch.
The Vaughan Porch which is situated at the south side of the church was designed by J. L. Pearson, who was also the architect of Truro Cathedral. It is named the Vaughan Porch because it was erected in memory of the Vaughans who served successively as vicars throughout a great part of the nineteenth century. The front of the porch depicts seven saintly figures set in sandstone niches, all of whom are listed below.
Chapels.
The cathedral contains four separate chapels, three of which are dedicated to a different saint. St Katharine's and St Dunstan's Chapels act as side chapels and are used occasionally for smaller services and vigils. St George's Chapel, which is located at the back (or west) of the cathedral commemorates the armed services, and contains memorials to those from Leicestershire who have been killed in past conflicts. The new Chapel of Christ the King adjoins the East Window.
St Katharine's Chapel is located on the north side of the cathedral to the left of the sanctuary. In the window above the altar is St Katharine, who was tied to a wheel and tortured (hence the firework named after her). Below this is a carved panel showing Jesus on the cross with Mary and John on either side of him. St Francis of Assisi and the 17th-century poet Robert Herrick are also pictured – indeed, the chapel is sometimes referred to as the "Herrick Chapel".
St Dunstan's Chapel, located on the other side of the chancel to St Katharine's Chapel, is specially put aside for people to pray in. A candle burns in a hanging lamp to show that the sacrament of Christ's body and blood is kept here to take to those who are too ill to come to church. The walls of the chapel are covered with memorials to people who have prayed in the chapel. St Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 10th century, and scenes from his life are depicted in the south-east window.
St George's Chapel was the chapel of the Guild of St George. The effigy of England's national saint, on a horse, was kept here and borne through the streets annually on 23 April in a procession known as "riding the George". The legend of George killing a dragon is shown in one of the chapel's windows. The chapel, enclosed by a carved wooden screen, was reconstructed in 1921 and contains memorials to the men of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. Here the battle honours of the Regiment and the names of those killed in the Crimean, South African and two World Wars are recorded and remembered.
The new Chapel of Christ the King was created at the east end of the cathedral as part of the re-ordering work for the burial of Richard III.
Services.
Leicester Cathedral follows the rites of the Church of England and uses Common Worship for the main Choral Eucharist on Sunday.
Cathedral staff.
Dean and chapter.
As of 7 December 2020:
Choir.
The Leicester Cathedral Choir is made up of the Boys Choir, the Girls Choir and the Cathedral Songmen. Boys and girls are recruited from schools throughout Leicester and Leicestershire, whilst many of the songmen originally joined the choir as trebles and have stayed on after their voice broke. The cathedral also offers scholarships worth around £1000 a year to gap year and university students at Leicester University and De Montfort University. Whilst the choir occasionally produces CDs and other recordings, it is also one of the few cathedral choirs never to have appeared on BBC Radio 3's "Choral Evensong". As part of the preparations for the reburial of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral, British furniture designers Luke Hughes designed new choir and clergy furniture from solid oak for a new choral layout within the nave.
The choir participates in regular festivals, with the annual RSCM Leicestershire festival in September often taking place in the cathedral itself. Each year during February the choir joins those of Derby and Coventry cathedrals and, more recently, Southwell Minster for what is known as the Midlands Four Choirs Festival. Hosting duties rotate among the four cathedrals, although the repertoire is chosen, and music conducted, by the directors of music of all participating choirs.
Choir tours.
The cathedral choir tours abroad typically once every three to four years, and in both 1998 and 2005 they visited Japan. Other destinations abroad have included Rhode Island in the United States, Germany, and France. In other years, the choir has spent a week during the summer in residence at another English cathedral church, such as Lincoln, Wells, York and Chester. The boys and girls choirs, as well as the younger songmen also spend five days in August at Launde Abbey, a retreat house in east Leicestershire.
Organ and organists.
Organ.
The present organ was installed by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1873 and since then has been rebuilt by Harrison and Harrison in 1929 and 1972. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Assistant organists and assistant directors of music.
In 2013, the title of the post was changed to Cathedral Organist and Assistant Director of Music.
In 2019, the title of the post was changed to Assistant Director of Music and Head of Music Outreach.
Bells.
The tower of the cathedral has 13 bells (including a peal of 12). These can be heard on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, with peals being rung on special days. The tenor bell weighs 25-0-20.
The following is the full list of the inscriptions on the thirteen bells.
Tomb of Richard III.
On 26 March 2015, Richard III was reburied in Leicester Cathedral. The last burial of an English monarch prior to this was for Edward VIII, who died (as Duke of Windsor) in 1972, 43 years before Richard's burial.
His cathedral tomb was designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects and made by James Elliott. The tombstone is deeply incised with a cross, and consists of a rectangular block of pale Swaledale fossil stone, quarried in North Yorkshire. It rests on a low plinth of dark Kilkenny limestone incised with Richard's name, dates and motto carved by Gary Breeze and Stuart Buckle. The plinth also carries his coat of arms in pietra dura by Thomas Greenaway.
The remains of Richard III are in a lead ossuary, inside an English oak coffin crafted by Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard's sister Anne of York, and laid in a brick-lined vault below the floor, and below the plinth and tombstone.


Royal Liver Building

The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's "Three Graces", which line the city's waterfront. It is also part of Liverpool's UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.
Opened in 1911, the building is the purpose-built home of the Royal Liver Assurance group, which had been set up in the city in 1850 to provide locals with assistance related to losing a wage-earning relative. One of the first buildings in the world to be built using reinforced concrete, the Royal Liver Building stands at tall to the top of the spires, and to the main roof. Once one of the tallest buildings in the country, the Royal Liver Building is now only the joint-fifth tallest structure in the City of Liverpool.
Today the Royal Liver Building is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the city of Liverpool and is home to two fabled Liver Birds that watch over the city and the sea. Legend has it that if these two birds were to fly away, then the city would cease to exist.
History.
In 1907, the Royal Liver Group had over 6,000 employees and given the need for larger premises the company gave the go-ahead for the construction of a new head office. Designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, the foundation stone for the building was laid on 11 May 1908 and just 3 years later, on 19 July 1911, the building was officially opened by Lord Sheffield. The building is an early example of a building constructed using reinforced concrete, and given the building's radical design was considered by some to "be impossible to build".
Since its completion in 1911, it has overlooked the River Mersey from its waterfront location on the Pier Head and forms one of the 'Three Graces' along with the Port of Liverpool Building and the Cunard Building. This is reflected in the building's Grade I listed building status. It stands at tall and has 13 floors.
The building is crowned by a pair of clock towers: as a ship passed along the river, mariners could tell the time from these. The clocks were made by Gent and Co. of Leicester. The clock faces are in diameter, larger than those of London's famous landmark, the Great Westminster Clock, holding the distinction of being the largest electronically driven clocks in the UK.
The four clock faces have no numerals, only facets indicating the 12 hours. These are disposed as three on the riverside tower, facing west/north/south, the remaining one on the landward tower facing east. There is only one mechanism driving the faces on both of the towers. They were originally named George clocks, because they were started at the precise time that King George V was crowned on 22 June 1911.
In 1953 electronic chimes were installed to serve as a memorial to the members of the Royal Liver Friendly Society who died during the two World Wars. During hours of darkness, the clock dials are illuminated.
Atop each tower stand the mythical Liver Birds, designed by Carl Bernard Bartels. The birds are named Bella and Bertie, looking to the sea and inland, respectively. Popular legend has it that while one giant bird looks out over the city to protect its people, the other bird looks out to sea at the new sailors coming in to port. Alternatively, local legend states one Liver Bird is male, looking inland to see if the pubs are open, whilst the other is female, looking out to sea to see if there are any handsome sailors coming up the river.
Yet another local legend, reflecting Liverpudlians' cynicism, avers that every time a virgin walks across the Pier Head, the Liver Birds flap their wings. It is also said that, if one of the birds were to fly away the city of Liverpool would cease to exist, thus adding to the mystery of the birds. As a result, both birds are chained to the domes upon which they stand; although this could simply be because the originally gilded Liver birds, of a moulded and hammered copper construction (that is itself fixed onto a rolled-steel armature) are eighteen feet high, ten feet long and themselves carry in their beaks an intricately cast sprig of seaweed. Additionally, however, their heads are three-and-a-half feet long, their wing spread is twelve feet and their legs measure two feet in circumference. The two birds – officially cormorants – have identical and almost traditional poses, standing upright with half-raised wings.
During the early 1950s, the sixth floor was occupied and used by No 3 Movements Unit (Embarkation) of the Royal Air Force, overseeing and controlling the movement of RAF personnel and goods through the port.
The building remained the head office for Royal Liver Assurance until its merger with Royal London Group in 2011. More akin to the early tall American skyscrapers, the Royal Liver Building closely resembles H. H. Richardson's Allegheny Court House (built in 1884) and Adler & Sullivan's Schiller Theatre—with no definitive exterior styling but eclectic references to the Baroque and Byzantine.
In October 2016, the building was put up for sale for the first time in its history. The owner instructed CBRE Group to list the sale with a guide price of more than £40m. A Luxembourg-based investment group, Corestate Capital, bought the building for £48 million in February 2017 along with Everton F.C. majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. Moshiri plans to run Everton's affairs from the building and have his own office to include a view of the new stadium on Bramley Moore Dock.
In 2019 as part of a larger repositioning of the building, a visitor attraction Royal Liver Building 360, was opened giving the public the chance to tour the West Clock Tower of the building for the first time in its then 108 year history.
Tenants.
There are currently 19 tenants in the Royal Liver Building. They are:
See also.
Architecture of Liverpool


Villa Tammekann

Villa Tammekann is a residential building located in Tartu, Estonia, notable for being one of few private residences designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, his first design to be realised outside Finland, and the only one located in Estonia or anywhere in the Baltic states.
Background.
The villa was commissioned by the Estonian geographer, Professor , and his Finnish wife, Irene Pelkonen (m. 1925). The couple had by accident met Aalto in Turku and asked him to design for them "a small home", which he did, according to the clients' detailed instructions.
The project was beset with difficulties. Especially the flat roof proved problematic: despite two attempts to construct it, the roof could not be made fully waterproof, and Mrs Tammekann refused to set foot in the house and is known to have protested heavily to Aalto. For a time, the bank even set a pitched roof as a condition of the mortgage.
There was also an issue related to wall insulation, stemming from Estonian building regulations which required thicker-than-intended walls to be built, with the result that the internal space ended up smaller than intended.
In 1933, Aalto threatened to sue the couple for the non-payment of his fees, more than a year after the building had been completed.
Following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in June 1940, the Tammekanns fled to Finland, and their house was nationalised. After the war, it was converted to multi-family use, with changes to and the addition of extra internal walls and other construction features. The property gradually fell into disrepair.
Current use.
In 1994, after the restoration of Estonian independence, the house was returned to the Tammekann family. They in turn sold it to the University of Turku (Turku University Foundation) in 1998. Following the sale, the building underwent extensive renovations, led by architect , who specialises in refurbishment of Aalto's architecture, and supervised by the Alvar Aalto Foundation; it was restored to its original design, including removal of the hip roof which had been added in the 1950s.
The building now houses the , a collaborative venture between the Universities of Turku and Tartu. It provides event, meeting and accommodation facilities, mostly for purposes of promoting bilateral cultural relations between Finland and Estonia, or otherwise connected with the two universities; it is not open to the general public.
The centre is named after the Finnish geographer Johannes Gabriel Granö, who held professorships at both universities in the early part of the 20th century (including teaching the young August Tammekann). His son Olavi Granö, also a geographer, was a driving force between the two universities' collaboration and suggested to Turku University the acquisition of the building.
The Centre was officially opened in 2000 by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri.
Design.
The minimalist, strict, cubic design of the house reflects the ascetic functionalism of the early 20th-century modernism, and gives foretaste of what eventually developed into Aalto's signature style of clean, white surfaces accentuated by light wood. The flat roof, which caused the constructors so much trouble, was an integral part of this.
A central space within the building is the large and spacious living room, with full-length windows overlooking the garden, and the dining room and study/library which interconnect with it.
A notable feature of the house is the living room's open-fire fireplace, which is unusually placed not in the core of the building (as a hearth typically would be), but instead integrated into the external wall below the large windows. This allows the occupants of the room to enjoy both the fireplace and the view at the same time. Although the fireplace was included in the original design, it was only completed as part of the late 1990s renovation.
Recognition.
In 2001, the renovated building was recognised with the Europa Nostra cultural heritage award.
Villa Tammekann has also been included in the Iconic Houses listing of internationally notable architectural designs of the 20th century.


Roosevelt County Courthouse

The Roosevelt County Courthouse built in 1938 is an historic Art Deco courthouse located at 100 West 2nd Street in Portales, New Mexico. It was designed by architect Robert E. Merrell of Clovis (designer of the Curry County Courthouse and the Hotel Clovis in Clovis, New Mexico) and built of poured Portland cement.
On December 3, 2008, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.


Morse Building

The Morse Building, also known as the Nassau–Beekman Building and 140 Nassau Street, is a residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, at the northeast corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets. The Morse Building, designed by Benjamin Silliman Jr. and James M. Farnsworth, contains elements of the Victorian Gothic, Neo-Grec, and Rundbogenstil style.
The Morse Building uses polychrome brickwork and terracotta cladding to highlight its fenestration. Its interior structure consists of a steel frame placed upon a foundation that descends to an underlying layer of sand. The Morse Building was developed by G. Livingston and Sidney E. Morse, nephews of telegraph inventor Samuel F. B. Morse and sons of the site's previous owners. It was constructed from June 1878 to March 1880 and was one of the tallest buildings in New York City when completed, standing at with ten stories. As completed, the building had 175 offices and modern amenities such as steam heat and gas lighting.
Bannister & Schell altered the building significantly in 1901–1902 to an Edwardian Neo-Classical style, bringing the building to 14 stories and . Around 1965, the base was modified again and the balcony and cornice were removed. After a failed redevelopment attempt in the 1970s, it became a residential building in 1980, with 39 apartments. The building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006. The Morse Building is also a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2005.
Site.
The Morse Building is in the Financial District of Manhattan, just east of New York City Hall, City Hall Park, and the Civic Center. It is bounded on the west by Nassau Street, on the south by Beekman Street, on the east by 8 Spruce Street, and on the north by 150 Nassau Street. 5 Beekman Street is diagonally across the intersection of Nassau and Beekman streets, while the Potter Building and 41 Park Row are directly across Nassau Street. The Morse Building occupies a plot measuring on Nassau Street and on Beekman Street.
Design.
The Morse Building stands tall with 14 stories and is one of the oldest remaining fireproof skyscrapers in New York City. Benjamin Silliman Jr. and James M. Farnsworth designed the Morse Building's lowest eight stories, built between 1878 and 1880. The structure was the firm's first major project in New York City; the firm had designed the Morse Building as a 10-story structure, but the top two stories were subsequently rebuilt. The upper six stories were designed by William P. Bannister and Richard Montgomery Schell and built from 1901 and 1902. The building's original design was inspired by the Victorian Gothic, Neo-Grec, and Rundbogenstil styles. The Morse Building's corner location allowed it to have two full facades: the southern elevation on Beekman Street and the western elevation on Nassau Street. The design of the Morse Building contrasts with that of the Temple Court Building (now 5 Beekman Street) and Potter Building, from the same architects.
Silliman and Farnsworth's choice of building materials was influenced by the then-recent "Great Fires" of Boston and Chicago. Brick and terracotta were used as a fireproof material. The terracotta was sourced from a Chicago firm while the brick was made by the Peerless Brick Company of Philadelphia. The project also involved Smith & Prodgers as plasterers, Morton & Chesley as carpenters, and Steward & Vanhorn as the decorators and painters. Numerous other contractors provided various materials for the building. The 1901–1902 expansion employed Charles Ward Hall, the building's then-owner, as chief engineer, and Hall & Grant Construction as general contractor.
The building was originally tall, making it one of New York City's tallest buildings upon its completion. According to a 1879 count, the former New York Tribune Building and Western Union Telegraph Building were the tallest at , excluding their ornamental clock towers. The completed building was said to be the tallest straight-walled building in the city, or even in the world. Taller structures, including the Tribune and Western Union buildings, had setbacks partway up their facades. The Morse Building was cited as the first structure to use raised vertical terracotta joints, which in turn were credited with preventing rain from washing out the mortar. It was also one of the first structures to use ornamental terracotta.
Facade.
The current facade is divided into three horizontal sections: a two-story base, a six-story midsection from the original design, and a six-story upper section. The building's exterior walls are thick in the cellar and thick at the first floor, narrowing to at the eighth floor. The facade was initially divided into four horizontal sections: a two-story base; two midsections of three stories; and an upper section of one full story, one attic story, and a cornice with a parapet. The current first floor was originally a raised basement. Prominent vertical pilasters subdivide the facade into three segments on Nassau Street and two on Beekman Street; these were designed to emphasize the horizontal lines as much as possible, in order to temper the perceived excessive height of the building. There are five bays facing Nassau Street, divided by the pilasters into a 2-1-2 pattern, and four bays facing Beekman Street, divided by the pilasters into two groups of two. The eastern facade is bare and contains arched windows.
During the reconstruction, the lowest of the facade was refaced with blocks of stone, while the rest of the original exterior was unchanged to a height of . The first floor contains four storefront openings each facing Nassau and Beekman Streets, as well as an entrance to the residential units in the center bay on Nassau Street. The second floor has five rectangular windows on Nassau Street and four facing Beekman Street.
The third- through eighth-story windows are set in brick and terracotta. On the current third and sixth stories (and in the original eighth story), each bay has two semicircular arched windows, while on the fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth stories, each bay has two flat-arched windows within a segmental arch. The segmental arches were evocative of those of the Tribune Building, and the red and black brick added emphasis to the facade. A fiberglass cornice runs above the eighth story.
The ninth through thirteenth stories are set within brick. The pilasters from the lower stories continue upward, and each bay contains a single three-part window on each floor. A fiberglass cornice runs above the thirteenth story. There is a space between the tenth and eleventh story, between which was a balcony and cornice. The fourteenth story serves as an attic with another cornice above it. On the roof is an elevator room.
Foundation.
At the bottom, the walls were offset to , where they rested on continuous concrete footings, each of which was thick. The walls exert a pressure of on the foundation, which descends to a layer of sand below curb level.
The Morse Building's northern wall abuts 150 Nassau Street and was underpinned with brick and concrete during the construction of that building. The foundations of 150 Nassau Street descended to below ground level; the new footings installed during that project were only thick and were flush with the original wall. During the 1901–1902 expansion of the building, these footings were found to be insufficient to support the weight of the extra stories. A force of 12,000 pounds per square foot (578,200 Newtons per square meter) would have been exerted on these footings, causing unequal settlement. As a result, a trench was dug along the north wall below the sub-basement level. Four longitudinal distributing beams were installed, serving as grillages for short vertical center posts that rose to horizontal transverse girders; these transverse girders served as cantilevers, more evenly distributing the force placed on each footing.
Features.
The floors were constructed of iron I-beams placed at intervals of and supported at both ends by brickwork. These beams were spanned by fireproof corrugated arches infilled with concrete. Two transverse partition walls, whose centers were apart, separate the building into three unequal sections from north to south. These partitions, along with the exterior walls, carry all of the iron beams. The partitions were also fireproof, since Smith & Prodgers covered them with laths of iron and layers of plaster. Post & McCord installed the iron beams in the frame with a steam derrick, marking the contractor's first use of that tool. The original building did not need to use any interior columns because its entire weight was supported on the exterior piers.
When the upper six stories were constructed, the exterior walls were moved slightly and steel beams were installed to provide support for the frame. A "cap" of beams was installed above the eighth floor, from which these steel beams descended to the lower stories. On the upper stories, eighteen steel beams were installed on the outer walls and five interior columns were placed atop grillage beams. The wall girders were concealed by the projecting eighth-floor belt course.
Originally, the building had an iron stairway with marble and slate treads at its center. There were also two hydraulic elevators made by Otis and a dumbwaiter for items. There were water tanks with of capacity. Fireplaces in each room connected to a steam-heating system, with a boiler and smokestack. The windows were glazed with plate glass while the hardware was made of bronze; the floors were made of wood. The original basement was below street level with a ceiling, and a flight of stairs connected to the original first story, which had a ceiling. During the 1901–1902 reconstruction, the lowest two floors were raised several feet, and a new staircase and three elevators made by the Portland Company were installed, replacing the old staircase and elevators. The original oil lamps and gas pipes were replaced with electric lighting and steam heating; the plumbing was replaced; and the boiler was brought to the top of the new roof. The Morse Building housed offices when it was completed, but in 1980, it was converted to 39 apartments with three units on each floor, ranging from in size.
History.
Construction.
During the late 19th century, the surrounding area had grown into the city's "Newspaper Row". Several newspaper headquarters had been built on the adjacent Park Row, including the New York Times Building, the Potter Building, the Park Row Building, the New York Tribune Building, and the New York World Building. Meanwhile, printing was centered around Beekman Street. The previous building on the Morse Building's site was occupied by the religious newspaper "The New-York Observer" between 1840 and 1859. Richard Cary Morse and Sidney Edwards Morse were the "Observer" founders; they were the brothers of Samuel Morse, who had invented Morse code and the electrical telegraph, and had used one of the "Observer" building's rooms to experiment with his invention. Richard and Sidney had an ownership stake in the land by 1845. The "Observer" moved across Nassau Street to the Old Brick Church site (now 41 Park Row) in 1859. The building was shared by other newspapers, which moved out during the mid-19th century. Savery's Temperance House was formed in one section of the building; it later became the Park Hotel, which was losing patronage by the 1870s because of bad management.
In 1878, the Morse brothers transferred land ownership to their respective sons, Gilbert Livingston Morse and Sidney Edwards Morse Jr., who subsequently planned a speculative office building to replace the hotel. Plans for the demolition of the Park Hotel were announced in April, with work to commence the following month. Silliman and Farnsworth had been hired to design the speculative office building, containing banking quarters on the lower floors and offices on the upper floors. By June, work had started on the new building, to cost $175,000. The "Real Estate Record and Guide" noted in 1879 that the "immense pile of masonry far overtopping adjoining structures" had thousands of bystanders. At the time, the top three floors had already been rented. Construction was completed in March 1880, at an ultimate cost of $200,000. The original structure was when completed, and contained 175 offices.
Early use.
Upon the Morse Building's completion, office buildings were being erected in Lower Manhattan, as part of a development trend that had started after the Panic of 1873. The "Real Estate Record and Guide" stated in 1882 that the Tribune, Times, Morse, and Temple Court buildings were close to the courts of the Civic Center, making these buildings ideal for lawyers. When the old "New York World" building across Nassau Street burned in January 1882, the lower floors of the Morse Building suffered minor damage. Some of the decorative elements and windows were damaged, and one of the Morse cousins characterized the responding firefighters' actions as vandalism, blaming them for allowing part of the "World" building to fall onto the Morse Building. Nonetheless, in an 1883 article, the Morses said that they were receiving a 10% return on the building. The Morse Building was reportedly constantly occupied by merchants and lawyers during the late 19th century. The building contained the office and rooftop studio of the Vitagraph Company of America, which became the first motion-picture company in America; the company filmed "Burglar on the Roof", their "first posed picture", at the building in 1897 or 1898. Other establishments such as the New York Canoe Club and the Multiple Speed and Traction Company were also housed in the Morse Building.
Gilbert Livingston Morse died in 1891, and a mortgage in his half-interest was given to Matilda C. McVicker. The next year, Sidney Jr. sold Gilbert's share of the building to lawyer Nathaniel Niles, who purchased the building as an investment. In 1894, when a crack appeared in the facade during construction of the adjacent 150 Nassau Street, there were fears that the Morse Building was structurally unstable, though engineers said it was not serious. The American Tract Society, who was constructing 150 Nassau Street, was held liable for damages. Sidney Jr. sold his own share to Niles in 1895, though Sidney Jr. kept an office there until he died in 1908.
The Washington Life Insurance Company started foreclosure proceedings against Niles in 1898 for failure to pay the mortgage. Early next year, the Morse Building was placed for sale at a foreclosure auction, and after a three-week adjournment of the auction, Washington Life Insurance bought the building for $601,000. In November 1900, Washington Life Insurance signed a contract with Charles Ward Hall to exchange the Morse Building with Hall's Hamilton Building at 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem. At the time of the transaction, the buildings were worth $1.5 million in total. The property title was transferred the next month. Hall planned to rename the Morse Building to the Hall Building and remodel the interior, which included lowering the entrance to street level. The Morse Building instead became known as the Nassau–Beekman Building, a move possibly inspired by the naming of 277 Broadway at Chambers Street as the Broadway–Chambers Building. The Nassau–Beekman Building was already seen as "small and old-fashioned", especially when compared with the adjacent 23-story building at 150 Nassau Street, despite having been completed only twenty years prior.
Expansion.
Bannister and Schell filed plans for the expansion in December 1900, at which point work was estimated to cost $150,000. Work started the following April. The expansion converted the former basement into a full story, increasing by one the floor number of all other stories. The lowest two stories were refaced in rusticated stone. The attic and the walls of the former eighth story were dismantled, and a temporary wooden roof and walls were built around the eighth story (which was slated to become the new ninth story). A new tenth story was built, and four additional brick-clad stories were erected to make the Nassau–Beekman Building a fourteen-story building. A cornice with large scroll brackets was built above the tenth story, supporting a balcony.
The architects had to work around existing tenants with minimal interruption in operations. For instance, foundation work had to be done in two phases since the cellar tenant could only make half of the cellar available at any given time. Elevator service was also maintained throughout the project, and so work on the new elevators was done one floor at a time. The project faced several legal issues. A cafe owner at the Morse Building's ground level unsuccessfully tried to file an injunction to stop construction after Hall built a temporary bridge in front of the cafe to protect pedestrians; this decision was affirmed by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division. Another tenant refused to pay rent, claiming that he was being harassed due to construction, and Hall unsuccessfully tried to evict him. The project was completed by March 1902.
Later history.
Several incidents involving the building's elevators occurred after the building's expansion. An elevator dropped two stories in 1904, leaving its occupants unharmed, and two people died in the elevator shafts in separate accidents in 1905 and 1907. Another incident in 1910 involved an elevator cab dropping and injuring six people. In addition, the building was damaged in 1916 by a fire at a nearby low-rise building on Beekman Street.
Metropolitan Life Insurance foreclosed on the Nassau–Beekman Building in 1918 after Hall failed to pay the mortgage of $600,000. The next year, the building was sold to William E. Harmon; at the time, the building was valued at $1 million. Harmon's company, the United Cities Realty Corporation, renamed the building to the United Cities Realty Building. Ownership was later passed to Metropolitan Life in 1942; Nassau Offices Inc. in 1945; Peter I. Kenmore in 1951; and Clarendon Building Inc. in 1952.
Around 1965, the base was remodeled in the neo-Classical style and the 10th-story cornice was removed, based on plans by John J. Tudda and Richard R. Scherer. Chatham Associates bought the property in 1968, a year after the Morse Building's tax lot was combined with an adjacent lot to the east. The New York World and Tribune buildings immediately to the north had been demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, and Pace College (later Pace University) built 1 Pace Plaza on the site of the latter. Pace also acquired the Morse Building and other nearby buildings in 1972, with plans to destroy them and build an office tower. These plans did not proceed and Pace University sold the Morse Building in 1979 to a joint venture composed of Martin Raynes and the East River Savings Bank. The building was converted the next year to a housing cooperative with 39 apartments.
Minor modifications were made to the facade in 1995, with some pressed-metal elements being replaced with fiberglass. The pressed-metal cornice over the eighth floor was replaced around 2004 with a fiberglass cornice. Residents commenced an effort to give the Morse Building city landmark status in the 1990s, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as such on September 19, 2006. Additionally, on September 7, 2005, the Morse Building was designated as a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district.
Critical reception.
While Lower Manhattan's late-19th century skyscrapers generally received mixed reception, the building was mostly praised during its construction. "American Architect and Building" said in January 1879 that "the construction seems to have been carefully studied and well carried out". The same magazine said in July 1879 that "Many who watched the uprising walls wondered whether they would ever cease growing sky-wards", and applauded the building for exhibiting "contrast, diversity, and change". Another publication, "The Manufacturer & Builder", said in June 1879 that the design was "decidedly agreeable in its general appearance as well as in its details". "The Manufacturer and Builder" mentioned the flat roof as a minor criticism, but that it was better than having a roof proportional to the building's height, which would be "extravagantly high" like the Tribune Building's "abominable roof".
Upon the Morse Building's completion, several publications lauded the relatively simple design of the facade as well as the usage of brick and terracotta. "Carpentry and Building" magazine said, "Although there have been many tall buildings erected in New York of late years, this one outstrips them all". "The Building News" said that the Morse Building was "a very quiet and pleasing structure", rather than being gaudy. "The Century Magazine" stated in 1884 that the building's design was "not without evidence of effort in the right direction", especially when compared with nearby office structures, which were described as either "hideous" or "commonplace". Moses King, in his 1893 "Handbook of New York", praised the use of brick and terracotta in the Morse Building, "a solid handsome structure". Architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler likewise said that the design was "impressive and dignified in the mass, and in many places exceedingly agreeable in detail", even though he had preferred the building to be five stories. When the building was expanded in the 1900s, Schuyler called it among the "last" and "best" of New York City's Gothic Revival buildings, but said that the new owner was spending "good money in spoiling what it would have cost him no money at all to leave alone".
Modern architectural critics also discussed the effect of the building's articulation on its overall appearance. In 2006, Christopher Gray of "The New York Times" said "the completed Morse Building looked like two or three warehouses stacked on top of one another." Architectural writers Sarah Landau and Carl Condit said that the piers and articulation of the facade "imparted a quality of wholeness not typical of early skyscrapers." Architectural historian Robert A. M. Stern contrasted the Morse Building with the Boreel Building on Broadway, saying that the Morse Building's frontage on two narrow streets "robb[ed] it of a perspective".


Grim Building

The Grim Building is an office building and former medical clinic located in Kirksville, Missouri. Constructed in the Jacobethan Revival style in 1905, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June, 1979.
History.
Brothers Ezra and Edward Grim, both physicians, had a desire to consolidate their medical practices under one roof. In 1904 they contracted with the St. Louis, Missouri architectural firm of Weber and Groves for a building large enough to house offices, examination rooms and operating suites. Local contractor Albert L. Holmes was chosen for the construction, which was finished in October, 1905 for a final cost of $11,248. This was considered only slightly higher than a similar size building of more utilitarian design, surprising considering the ornate details often associated with a Jacobethan Revival building.
The exterior is of red brick with white accent stones and trim around the windows. Great detail was given to the main entrance, a hooded limestone basket-handle arch with considerable ornamentation. An adjacent carriage house still remains from the original construction, though it has been heavily renovated over the years to provide more office and retail space. The Grims spared little expense on the interior either, with plentiful high-quality oak woodwork throughout and Tennessee marble in the main first floor hallway. Several fireplaces in the building feature ornate metal screens and green glazed tile in the immediate floor area.
The Grim brothers used the eastern half of the first floor for outpatient surgery and treatment rooms until they established the Grim Brothers Hospital in 1910. A new hospital building was completed for them just south of the First District Normal School; however, Edward Grim continued to use the original building for his office until his death in 1936.
The brothers' partnership went on hiatus for a time beginning in 1917 when Ezra Grim joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps, serving in France during World War I. They would continue in partnership with the hospital until their retirement while also maintaining ownership of the original building, renting out office space to other businesses. The ownership of the building remained within the extended Grim family until 1970 when a grandnephew sold it to outside investors.
Plans were put forth in the 1980s to demolish the building and replace it with more parking for downtown businesses, despite the buildings' very good condition. However, public outcry, and new ownership of the building, prevented the demolition from happening. Renovation and restoration returned the Grim Building to an appearance much like it did when first constructed, save for modern lighting, heating and cooling, and some carpeted areas of individual offices.
Although not a museum by intent, the interior decor of the building features many items and photos that chronicle the medical history of Kirksville, from osteopaths like Andrew Taylor Still to medical doctors such as the Grim brothers.


Olympic National Park Headquarters Historic District

The Olympic National Park Headquarters Historic District overlooks Port Angeles, Washington from Peabody Heights, consisting of 6 contributing buildings built in 1940–44, 8 contributing structures and 17 non-contributing properties that act as the administrative headquarters for Olympic National Park. The contributing structures were built using locally obtained native materials in a late interpretation of the National Park Service Rustic style. Native landscaping enhances the site. Much of the work was carried out by Public Works Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps workers.
The most significant building is the Administration Building (), a two-story masonry and wood frame structure with a long, horizontal design, emphasized by linear banding in the shingle cladding of the second story. The Custodian's Residence or Superintendent's Residence () housed the park superintendent until the 1980s when it was converted to offices. The irregularly shaped two-story building is similar in style and materials to the headquarters.
A somewhat separated area comprises several maintenance buildings. The Gas and Oil House building () uses coursed stone and heavy timber, with a porte-cochere extending from the front to shelter gas pumps. The Transformer Vault and Pump House () is similar in character. The Equipment Shed/Carpenter Shop () is a stone and frame building in a saltbox shape with projecting bracketed eaves that anticipate the Mission 66 style structures on the 1950s and 1960s. The Equipment and Supply Building (), measuring by is a masonry and frame building, with a large frame extension that burned in 1965. This section was replaced with a historically faithful copy in 1970.
The Headquarters District is close to the park, but outside its primary boundaries. It was the first park headquarters to be situated outside its park. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.


Georgian Dublin

Georgian Dublin is a phrase used in terms of the history of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings:
Though, strictly speaking, Georgian architecture could only exist during the reigns of the four Georges, it had its antecedents prior to 1714 and its style of building continued to be erected after 1830, until replaced by later styles named after the then monarch, Queen Victoria, i.e. "Victorian".
Dublin's development.
Dublin was for much of its existence a medieval city, marked by the existence of a particular style of buildings, built on narrow winding medieval streets. The first major changes to this pattern occurred during the reign of King Charles II when the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Ormonde (later made Duke of Ormonde) issued an instruction which was to have dramatic repercussions for the city as it exists today. Though the city over the century had grown around the River Liffey, as in many other medieval cities, buildings backed onto the river. This allowed the dumping of household waste directly into the river, creating a form of collective sewer. As Dublin's quays underwent development, Ormonde insisted that the "frontages" of the houses, not their rears, should face the quay sides, with a street to run along each quay. By this single regulation Ormonde changed the face of the city. No longer would the river be a sewer hidden between buildings. Instead it became a central feature of the city, with its quays lined by large three and four-storey houses and classic public buildings, such as the Four Courts, the old Custom House and, later and grander, The Custom House designed, as was the Four Courts, by master architect James Gandon. For his initiative, Ormonde's name is now given to one of the city quays.
It was, however, only one of a number of crucial developments. As the city grew in size, stature, population and wealth, two changes were needed. (1) The existing narrow street medieval city required major redevelopment, and (2) major new development of residential areas was required.
Rebuilding Dublin's Core.
 A new body called the Wide Streets Commission was created to remodel the old medieval city. It created a network of main thoroughfares by wholesale demolition or widening of old streets or the creation of entirely new ones. On the north side of the city, a series of narrow streets were merged and widened enormously to create a new street, called "Sackville Street" (now called O'Connell Street). At its lower end, a new bridge (now called O'Connell Bridge) was erected, beyond which two new streets in the form of a 'V' appeared, known as Westmoreland Street and D'Olier Street. Westmoreland Street in turn led to a renamed "Hoggen Green", which became "College Green" because it faced unto Trinity College Dublin. The new Irish Houses of Parliament, designed by Edward Lovett Pearce, also faced onto College Green, while from College Green a new widened Dame Street led directly down to the medieval Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, past Dublin Castle and the Royal Exchange, the latter a new building. The Castle began the process of rebuilding, turning it from a medieval castle to a Georgian palace.
18th Century Property Developers.
While the rebuilding by the Wide Streets Commission fundamentally changed the streetscape in Dublin, a property boom led to additional building outside the central core. Unlike twentieth century building booms in Dublin the eighteenth century developments were carefully controlled. The developing areas were divided into precincts, each of which was given to a different developer. The scope of their developments were restricted, however, with strict controls imposed on style of residential building, design of buildings and location, so producing a cohesive unity that came to be called Georgian Dublin.
Initially developments were focused on the city's north side. Among the earliest developments was "Henrietta Street", a wide street lined on both sides by massive Georgian houses built on a palatial scale. At the top end of the street, a new James Gandon building, the "King's Inns", was erected between 1795 and 1816. In this building, barristers were trained and earned their academic qualifications. Such was the prestige of the street that many of the most senior figures in Irish 'establishment' society, peers of the realm, judges, barristers, bishops bought houses here. Under the anti-Catholic Penal Laws, Roman Catholics, though the overwhelming majority in Ireland, were harshly discriminated against, barred from holding property rights or from voting in parliamentary elections until 1793. Thus the houses of Georgian Dublin, particularly in the early phase before Catholic Emancipation was granted in 1829, were almost invariably owned by a small Church of Ireland Anglican elite, with Catholics only gaining admittance to the houses as skivvies and servants. A notable example of a catholic servant was Arthur Guinness who served Richard Laurence, Archbishop of Cashel in his residence at 43 North Great George's Street. Ultimately the north side was laid out centred on two major squares, "Rutland Square" (now called "Parnell Square" for Charles Stewart Parnell), at the top end of Sackville Street, and "Mountjoy Square". Such was the prestige of the latter square that among its many prominent residents was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. Many of the streets in the new areas were named after the property developers, often with developers commemorated both in their name and by their peerage when the received one. Among the streets named after developers are "Capel Street", "Mountjoy Square" and "Aungier Street".
For the initial years of the Georgian era, the north side of the city was considered a far more respectable area to live. However, when the Earl of Kildare chose to move to a new large ducal palace built for him on what up to that point was seen as the "inferior" southside, he caused shock. When his Dublin townhouse, Kildare House (renamed Leinster House when he was made Duke of Leinster) was finished, it was by far the biggest aristocratic residence other than Dublin Castle, and it was greeted with envy.
The Earl had predicted that his move would be followed, and it was. Three new residential squares appeared on the southside, Merrion Square (facing his residence's garden front), St Stephen's Green and the smallest and last of Dublin's five Georgian squares to be built, Fitzwilliam Square. Aristocrats, bishops and the wealthy sold their northside townhouses and migrated to the new southside developments, even though many of the developments, particularly in Fitzwilliam Square, were smaller and less impressive than the buildings in Henrietta Street. While the wealthier people lived in houses "on" the squares, those with lesser means and lesser titles lived in smaller, less grand but still impressive developments off the main squares, such as Upper and Lower Mount Street and Leeson Street.
The Act of Union and Georgian Dublin.
Although the Irish Parliament was composed exclusively of representatives of the Anglo Irish Ascendency, the established ruling minority Protestant community in Ireland, it did show significant sparks of independence, most notably the achievement of full legislative independence in 1782, where all the restrictions previously surrounding the powers of the new parliament in College Green, notably Poynings' Law were repealed. This period of legislative freedom however was short-lived.
In 1800, under pressure from the British Government of Mr. Pitt, in the wake of the rebellion of the last years of the century, which was aided and abetted by the French invasion in support of the rebels Dublin Castle administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland both the House of Commons and the House of Lords passed the Irish Act of Union, uniting both the Kingdom of Ireland and its parliament with the Kingdom of Great Britain and its parliament in London. As a result, from 1 January 1801 Dublin found itself without a parliament with which to draw hundreds of peers and bishops, along with their thousands of servants. While many did come to Dublin still for the "Social Season", where the Lord Lieutenant hosted debutantes balls, state balls and drawing rooms in a period from January until St. Patrick's Day (17 March) every year, many found them less appealing than in the days when they could sit in parliament for a session in College Green. Many of the leading peers, including the Duke of Leinster and Viscount Powerscourt, almost immediately sold their palatial Dublin townhouses, Powerscourt House and Leinster House. Though many still flocked to Dublin every social season, many did not or went to London. The loss of their revenue and that of their extensive staff hurt the Dublin economy severely. While the 'new' Georgian centres southside continued to flourish, the northside Georgian squares soon fell into squalor, as new owners of the buildings crammed in massive numbers of poor into the former residences of earls and bishops, in some cases cramming an entire family into one old drawing room. Mountjoy Square in particular became run-down, until such was its state and degree of dereliction in the 1980s that it was used as a film set for stories set in post-blitz London and post-war Berlin. The empty shells of the graceful houses, reduced to unsanitary tenements before being demolished in the 1980s, were used as a backdrop for a U2 rock video.
Georgian Dublin today.
In the years after independence in 1922, independent Ireland had little sympathy for Georgian Dublin, viewing it as a symbol of British rule and of the unionist identity that was alien to Irish identity. By this time, many of the gentry who had lived in them had moved elsewhere; some to the wealthy Victorian suburbs of Rathmines and Rathgar, Killiney and Ballsbridge, where Victorian residences were built on larger plots of land, allowing for gardens, rather than the lack of space of the Georgian eras. Those that had not moved in many cases had by the early twentieth century sold their mansions in Dublin. The abolition of the Dublin Castle administration and the Lord Lieutenant in 1922 saw an end to Dublin's traditional "Social Season" of masked balls, drawing rooms and court functions in the Castle. Many of the aristocratic families lost their heirs in the First World War, their homes in the country to IRA burnings (during the Irish War of Independence) and their townhouses to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Daisy, the Countess of Fingall, in her regularly republished memoirs "Seventy Years Young", wrote in the 1920s of the disappearance of that world and of her change from a big townhouse in Dublin, full of servants to a small flat with one maid. By the 1920s and certainly by the 1930s, many of the previous homes in Merrion Square had become business addresses of companies, with only Fitzwilliam Square of all the five squares having any residents. (Curiously, in the 1990s, new wealthy businessmen such as Sir Tony O'Reilly and Dermot Desmond began returning to live in former offices they had bought and converted "back" into homes.) By the 1930s, plans were discussed in Éamon de Valera's government to demolish all of Merrion Square, perhaps the most intact of the five squares, on the basis that the houses were "old fashioned" and "un-national". These plans were put on hold in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II and a lack of capital and investment and had been essentially forgotten about by 1945.
Many of the houses had been subdivided into tenement flats, and were often poorly maintained by the owners. In June 1963, two tenement houses collapsed within 10 days. The first happened in early on 2 June, when a house collapsed on Bolton Street, killing to elderly occupants. Then, on 12 June two young girls were killed when two four storey tenement houses on Fenian Street collapsed on to the street, crushing them. This led to local residents to call on the authorities to "clear the slums" and crack down on negligent landlords, but also is viewed as clearing the way for developers to demolish thee older buildings regardless of their condition. The tenements came to symbolise Dublin's urban poverty, with the focus being on clearing the inner-city slums and demolishing these Georgian structures under the building code as dangerous.
Further destruction of Georgian buildings did occur despite these circumstances. Mountjoy Square, was under threat when a large amount of property on the south side was demolished by property speculators during the 1960s and 70s; even so, buildings with facsimile facades were subsequently built in place, re-completing the square's uniform external appearance. The world's longest row of Georgian houses, running from the corner of Merrion Square down to Leeson Street Bridge, was divided in the early 1960s to demolish part of the row and replace them with a modern styled office block.
By the 1990s, attitudes had changed dramatically. Stricter new planning guidelines sought to protect the remaining Georgian buildings. During this period, a number of old houses in poor repair, which had been refused planning permission, caught fire and burnt to the ground, paved the way for redevelopment. However, in contrast with the lax development controls applied in Ireland for many decades, by the 1990s a changed mindset among politicians, planners and the leaders of Dublin City Council (formerly Dublin Corporation) desired to preserve as much as possible of the remaining Georgian buildings.
Perhaps the biggest irony for some is that residence that marked the move of the aristocrats from the northside to the southside (where the wealthier Dubliners have remained to this day), and that in some ways embodied Georgian Dublin, Leinster House, home of the Duke of Leinster, ended up as the parliament of independent republican Ireland; but his family also produced the republican leader Lord Edward Fitzgerald. The decision in the late 1950s to demolish a row of Georgian houses in Kildare Place and replace them with a brick wall was greeted with jubilation by a republican minister at the time, Kevin Boland, who said they stood for everything he opposed. He described members of the fledgling Irish Georgian Society, newly formed to seek to protect Georgian buildings, of being "belted earls".
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Jobs Peak Ranch

The Jobs Peak Ranch, near Genoa, Nevada, includes a historic Swiss Chalet style main house built in 1936. It was designed by young architect Russell Mills, perhaps as his first individual major commission, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001; the listing included three contributing buildings and two contributing structures.
It was deemed significant for NRHP listing "as a rare, Nevada variant of Swiss Chalet architecture". The NRHP nomination asserts the buildings and structures of the ranch "epitomize the coalescence of Swiss Chalet architectural styling and the Arts and Crafts Movement, most likely inspired by the work of northern California's First Bay Tradition architects."


Munkeruphus

Munkeruphus (literally "Munkerup House") is a former country house located in Munkerup now part of Dronningmølle–Hornbæk, on the north coast of Zealand, Denmark. A rare example of American influence in Danish architecture, the building now serves as an exhibition space.
History.
Munkeruphus was built in 1916 for civil engineer Frederik Raaschou and his family by the two young architects Terkel Hjejle and Niels Rosenkjær.
In 1958 it was acquired by artist and designer Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
and his wife. Aagaard had previously lived in France from 1946 to 1951 where he had co-founded "Groupe Espace", a collaborative between artists and architects who worked with spatial art, and he made it the centre of an active artistic environment with many visiting colegees visiting from abroad.
In 1986 it was purchased by the Capital Region Authority and subsequently listed by the Danish Heritage Agency. For a few years it was left empty but in the autumn of 1988 it was ceded to a foundation with the aim of transforming it into an exhibition space for changing exhibitions. It was renovated with support from private benefactors and opened the doors to its first exhibition on 26 August 1989.
Architecture.
Munkeruphus was designed with inspiration from the Arts and Crafts Movement and American Colonial Revival architecture. It is a two-story, T-shaped structure with a horizontal board siding, topped by a shingled hip roof. The almost symmetrical main facade is nine bays long but the second window from each side and on both floors is omitted, save in the ground floor of the left hand side where a smaller window creates a small deviation from the dominating symmetry of the facade. The main entrance is through a double-leafed French door with a glass transom. On the north (rear) side, another wing has been designed to optimize views of the sea.
Park.
Set back from the coastal road between Hornbæk and Gilleleje, at the end of an unpaved driveway, the house is on a 16-hectare lot which consists of parkland with lawns, winding paths and many mature trees. The rear slopes reach all the way to the sandy beaches along the Øresund and the park affords views of Nakkehoved and Hornbæk along the coast as well as Sweden on the other side of the water. There are also a number of outdoor sculptures on the premises.
Munkeruphus today.
Munkeruphus is operated as a self-owning institution. It plays host to 5–6 exhibitions a year about art, crafts, design, architecture or other themes. It also serves as a venue for lectures and indoor as well as outdoor concerts. There is also a café which serves light lunch meals, cakes and hot and cold drinks in the ground floor of the rear wing.