1438-1441, 2620 UNITED STATES (New York) - Rockefeller Center

1438 Rockefeller Centre - GE Building

Posted on 07.02.2015, 19.06.2016
Built by the wealthy and powerful american family with the same name, Rockefeller Center is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it between 1930 and 1938. It was the largest private building project undertaken in modern times, which employed over 40,000 people during the Great Depression's worst years, the principal architect being Raymond Hood.

1439 Rockefeller Center - Christmas Tree 2013 & Angel Trumpeters

 

When it was officially opened in May 1933, it held true to the developing team's belief that art was an act of good citizenship. By 1939, more than 125,000 people were visiting Rockefeller Center daily. The Center is a combination of two building complexes: the older and original 14 Art Deco office buildings, and a set of four International-style towers built during the 1960s and 1970s (plus the Lehman Brothers Building). In 1985, Columbia University sold the land beneath the center to the Rockefeller Group, but by the mid-nineties, times got tougher and a new real estate slump moved Rockefeller Center into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

1440 Rockefeller Center - Prometheus

 

Luckily, less than two years later, a new group acquired the complex, leaving the 1995 bump in the road history. Goldman Sachs, Tishman Speyer and David Rockefeller acquired controlling ownership of Rockefeller Center, making way for a future of exciting enhancements. The centerpiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor, 266m GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, formerly known as the RCA Building, and renamed in 1988 after General Electric. The frieze located above the main entrance was produced by Lee Lawrie and depicts "Wisdom", along with a slogan that reads "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be the stability of thy times", from Isaiah 33:6.

1441 Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock (1)

The famous Rainbow Room club restaurant is located on the 65th floor; the Rockefeller family office occupies the 54th through 56th floors. The skyscraper is also the headquarters of NBC and houses most of the network's New York studios. Unlike most other Art Deco towers built during the 1930s, the GE Building was constructed as a slab with a flat roof and since 1933 has been home of the Center's observation deck, the Top of the Rock, which allows visitors a unique 360-degree panoramic view of New York City. At the front of 30 Rock is the Lower Plaza, where since 1931 is placed the famed annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and since 1936 the ice skating rink.

2620 Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock (2)

 

The white angel trumpeters were the latest addition to herald the holidays, in 1954. But the most known landmark of the sunken plaza is the bronze gilded statue of the Greek legend of the Titan Prometheus recumbent, bringing fire to mankind, the artwork from 1934 of the acclaimed sculptor Paul Manship. The inscription, a paraphrase from Aeschylus, on the granite wall behind, reads: "Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends." The about 200 flagpoles which line the plaza at street level display flags of United Nations member countries, the U.S. states and territories, or decorative and seasonal motifs. During U.S. holidays, every pole carries the Flag of the U.S.

2619 ITALY (Liguria) - Genoa

Genoa, the largest seaport in Italy, nicknamed la Superba ("the Proud one") due to its glorious past and impressive landmarks, is located on the coast of Ligurian Sea. Founded probably by Etruscans, and subsequent occupied by Greeks, Romans, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Franks, Genoa emerged before 1100 as an independent city-state. It become one of the so-called Maritime Republics, with Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi.

2618 CANADA (Quebec) - Victorian homes on Saint Louis Square in Montreal

Located in Plateau Mont Royal, one of the 19 boroughs of Montreal, at northeast of downtown, characterized by brightly coloured houses, cafés, book shops, and a laissez-faire attitude, Saint-Louis Square was considered by The Project for Public Spaces "the closest thing to a European neighborhood square you'll find this side of the Atlantic." Created in 1876 on the site of the city's former reservoir, was named for two businessmen, brothers Emmanuel and Jean-Baptiste Saint-Louis.

2617 CUBA (Matanzas) - Finca Campesina in Ciénaga de Zapata

Located on the Zapata Peninsula in the southern Matanzas province of Cuba, Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp) is not only known for its size but also for being the best preserved wetlands in all of the Antilles. It features exceptional species of flora and fauna, many of which are endemic. Near the junction of the National Highway and the Road Cienaga de Zapata is Finca Campesina (Peasant Farm), a large estate that tries to recreate the rural ambience of the island.

2616 ROMANIA (Constanţa) - Mangalia

Mangalia is, competing with Constanţa, the oldest continuously inhabited city on the present territory of Romania. A Greek colony named Callatis was founded here, in the 6th century BC by the city of Heraclea Pontica. From the 9th century it was known by the Turks as Pangalia, by the Romanians as Tomisovara, and by the Greeks as Panglicara, and it was one of the most important ports on the west coast of the Black Sea. The name Mangalia appeared for the first time in 1593, and seems to be Tartarian.

2615 DENMARK (Hovedstaden) - Amalienborg and its district (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard. The four palaces are: Christian VII's Palace, originally known as Moltke's Palace; Christian VIII's Palace, originally known as Levetzau's Palace; Frederick VIII's Palace, originally known as Brockdorff's Palace; Christian IX's Palace, originally known as Schack's Palace.

2614 UNITED STATES (California) - Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

The first European settlement on the West Coast of the present-day United States was the San Diego Presidio, a military outpost of Spanish California, founded by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769, in an area inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Father Junípero Serra the same year. Both were built on Presidio Hill, which remained the primary settlement for several decades because it was defensible.

2613 ROMANIA (Prahova) - Slănic Prahova

Located in the forested hills of the Sub-Carpathians, between the valley of Prahova and that of Teleajen, Slănic Prahova is known as a salt extraction center, as well as a spa town, with salt lakes. As its name (salt in Slavonic) suggests, Slănic's history are directly related to the presence of large quantities of salt underground, and even in open air. While salt is still being extracted from the New Salt Mine, the Old Mine is open to the public now, being used as a spa, amusement center and museum of the salt mining industry.

2612, 2860 UNITED STATES (New Mexico) - Taos Pueblo (UNESCO WHS)

2612 Puebloan woman baking bread at Taos Pueblo

Situated in the valley of Rio Pueblo de Taos, a small tributary of the Rio Grande, at about 1.6km north of the modern city of Taos, Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, and the Taos community is known for being one of the most private, secretive, and conservative pueblos. A reservation of 38,000ha is attached to the pueblo, and about 4,500 people live in this area.

2860 A Puebloan woman

This settlement, consisting of ceremonial buildings and facilities, and multi-storey adobe dwellings built in terraced tiers, exemplifies the living culture of a group of present-day Pueblo Indian people. As one of a series of settlements established in the late 13th and early 14th centuries that have survived, it represents a significant stage in the history of urban, community and cultural life in this region. It has been continuously inhabited and is the largest of these Pueblos that still exist.

2611 FRANCE (Occitania) - Lot Department

2611 Lot Department: Valentré Bridge;Saint-Cirq-Lapopie; Rocamadour.

Located in the southwest of France and named after the Lot River, Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution in 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808 some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban. It is a land of beautiful landscapes of dramatic gorges, slow moving rivers, numerous beautiful villages, and vineyards.

2610 CANADA (Quebec) - Mont-Tremblant

Located in the Laurentian mountains, approximately 130km northwest of Montreal and 140km northeast of Ottawa, Mont-Tremblant is most famous for its ski resort, the Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort, which is 5km from the village proper, at the foot of a mountain called Mont Tremblant (derived from local Algonquins who referred to it as the "trembling mountain"). It is surrounded by lush boreal forest and breathtaking views, standing at 875m altitude.

2608 DENMARK (Hovedstaden) - Christiansborg Palace

Located on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Christiansborg Palace is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also, several parts of the palace are used by the Danish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. Thus it is the only building in the world that houses all three of a country's branches of government.

2607 ROMANIA (Harghita) - The Székely Waterfall at the spring of Târnava Mare

The Târnava Mare River (Big Târnava) has its source in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, in Székely Land, near Vărşag (in Hungarian Székelyvarság), and joins the Târnava Mică River in Blaj, forming the Târnava. It rises from the foot of Şumuleu Mare Montain, at an altitude of 1455m, where seven springs come together and creates a creek. At 300m downstream it forms a small but charming waterfall, named în Romanian Cascada Secuilor (Székely Waterfall), and in Hungarian Csorgókő Vízesés (which freely translated means "the crying rock", or "the dripping rock").

2606 UNITED STATES (New York) - NYPD Highway Patrol Patrolling Midtown Manhattan

The NYPD Highway Patrol is a specialized unit under the auspices of the NYPD's Transportation Bureau primarily responsible for patrolling and maintaining traffic safety on limited-access highways within New York City. Its other duties include accident investigations, advanced driver and radar training for NYPD officers, dignitary and parade escorts, hazardous material and truck traffic enforcement, anti-drag racing programs, and anti-terrorist checkpoints.

0907-0910, 2605 MALTA - City of Valletta (UNESCO WHS)

0907 Valletta seen from Marsamxett Harbour, with Manoel Island and Sliema

Posted on 18.12.2013, 12.06.2016
Malta's strategic location tempted many throughout history, so a succession of powers (including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Moorish, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St. John, French and the British) ruled the island, but I dare to say that its name remained in our minds linked to the Knights of St. John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller, who completed here in 1523 the pilgrimage made ​​under the pressure of Islam, which pushed them from the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Kingdom of Cyprus (1291), then in the island of Rhodes (1309).

0908 The Grandmaster's Palace in Valleta

Valletta was born when the Order decided to found a new city on the Xiberras peninsula to fortify its position in the island, and the Grandmaster, Jean Parisot de Valette, laid the foundation stone of Our Lady of Victories Church. The official name was Humilissima Civitas Valletta (The Most Humble City of Valletta), but not long after, the ruling houses of Europe gave the city the nickname Superbissima (Most Proud). The Italian engineer Francesco Laparelli designed the city on a rectangular grid, the planning being carried out by Girolamo Cassar.

0909 St John's Co-Cathedral in Valleta

The fortification and the uniform urban plan of Valletta were inspired by architectural principles of the Italian Renaissance in combination with techniques of contemporary city-planning. The streets were designed to be wide and straight, beginning centrally from the City Gate and ending at Fort Saint Elmo overlooking the Mediterranean. The improvements attributed to the military engineers of the 18th century haven't disturbed this harmony. Even if under the British rule has been built massive, and Nazi air raids throughout WWII caused much destruction, Valletta remained one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.

0910 Caravaggio - The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Manoel Island, flat and shaped roughly like a leaf, is located in the middle of Marsamxett Harbour (Marsamuscetto), being connected to mainland Malta by a bridge. It is named after the Portuguese Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, who built a fort on the island in the 1720s, considered a typical example of 18th century military engineering. On a peninsula across Marsamxett Harbour from Valletta is located town of Sliema, where the British built a number of fortifications in the 19th century. In addition, the 18th century Fort Tigné remained in use as well, and barracks were built on the Tigné peninsula.

2605 Caravaggio -Saint Jerome Writing

The Grandmaster's Palace, which currently houses the House of Representatives of Malta and the office of the President of Malta, is one of the first buildings in Valletta, erected in 1571 around two courtyards. It was further enlarged and embellished by successive Grand Masters, and its present configuration dates back to around the mid-18th century. Its Armoury house one of the finest collections of Medieval and Renaissance weapons in all of Europe, and it also features Gobelins tapestries and frescos by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio (a student of Michelangelo) among other treasures.

2604 CHINA (Inner Mongolia) - Mongolian yurts

2604 Yurts in Inner Mongolia in 1986

"...They [the Mongols] have circular houses made of wood and covered with felt, which they carry about with them on four-wheeled wagons wherever they go. For the framework of rods is so neatly and skillfully constructed that it is light to carry. And every time they unfold their house and set it up, the door is always facing south." Even though seven centuries have passed since Marco Polo wrote the above, the Mongols still live in such dwellings, whether they live in Mongolia, in China (Inner Mongolia) or in Russia.