Another day, another wonder, and this one will also stir the debate about whether wonders should be man made or natural.  Regardless of your position on that issue, there is no doubt as to the beauty of the underwater world of the Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. The national monument encompasses nearly 140,000 square miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and provides for protection and preservation of the marine area.  It is the largest single area dedicated to conservation, and the largest protected marine area in the world.  To get a sense of just how big we are talking about, it is larger than 46 of our 50 states.  The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands include ten islands and atolls, and stretch over nearly 1,400 miles.  The undersea forests and mountain ranges of this area comprise a coral reef habitat that exceeds 4,500 […]

This neighborhood just isn’t like it used to be!  No one can argue with how the Pioneer Square area of Seattle has changed over the last couple of decades.  Before it was what you see now, there was a whole other neighborhood of streets and storefronts, all of which were destroyed in the Seattle fire of 1889. The fire turned out to be a good thing for the city.  Although it totally devastated 29 square blocks of the city, including nearly all of the business district, most of the wharves, and the railroad terminals, the rebuildding of the city post-fire was a turning point in Seattle’s history.  At that point, Seattle began the proess of becoming a real city. The day after the fire, a town meeting was held, and it was agreed that the city would be rebuilt with […]

75 years ago, on May 1st, 1931, the Empire State Building opened to the public. The idea for the skyscraper came from John J. Raskob, whose goal in the project was merely to outdo his former competitor, Walter Chrysler, and the Chrysler Building.  Raskob, and then Governor Al Smith, conspired to make sure that the new building would surpass the Chrysler building in its height, 103 floors, and its magnificent design.  Including the antenna on top, the Empire State Building stands 1,454 feet tall. Amazingly, this ambitious project only took 410 days to complete, an average of about four-and-a-half floors completed per week.  View the photo history of the building of the Empire State Building here. The building, Fifth Avenue at 34th, seems to float above the street, and the rest of its surroundings, when viewed from a distance.  It is one […]