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Forestiere Underground Gardens
The Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, California are a series of subterranean structures built by Baldassare Forestiere, an immigrant from Sicily, over a period of 40 years from 1906 to his death in 1946. The gardens are operated by members of the Forestiere family through the Forestiere Historical Center, and can be considered a spectacular and unconventional example of vernacular architecture. History Baldassare Forestiere (; July 8, 1879 – November 10, 1946) was born in the hamlet of Filari, near Rometta on the northeastern tip of Sicily. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s after a conflict with his father, and after time on the East Coast purchased land in Fresno. He found the hardpan soil unsuitable for citrus trees, and the weather punishingly hot during the summer. Baldassare dug a small cellar to escape the summer heat. He was likely influenced by Roman catacombs and wine cellars he had seen in Italy. Finding it effective and comfortable, he car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, making it the fifth-most populous city in California, the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in the nation. The Metro population of Fresno is 1,008,654 as of 2022. Named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. It has since become an economic hub of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas in the Metropolitan Fresno region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno is near the geographic center of California, approximately north of Los Angeles, south of the state capital, Sacramento, and southeast of San Franc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel. Some tunnels are used as sewers or aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Science and Technology, and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". Although it does not claim to be a Christian college, it has had a relationship with the Disciples of Christ since the university's founding and with the United Church of Christ since 2011. History Founded in Woodland, California, as Hesperian College, the school began classes on March 4, 1861. Its opening was timed to coincide with the hour of Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Hesperian admitted students regardless of sex or race. In 1920, the assets of Hesperian College were absorbed by California Christian College, which held classes in downtown Los Angeles. In 1934, the school was renamed Chapman College, after the chairman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huell Howser
Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest show ''Visiting... with Huell Howser'', produced by KCET in Los Angeles for California PBS stations. The archive of his video chronicles offers an enhanced understanding of the history, culture, and people of California. He also voiced the Backson in ''Winnie the Pooh'' (2011). Early life Howser was born in Gallatin, Tennessee, on October 18, 1945, to Harold Chamberlain and Jewell Havens (Burnley) Howser. Howser's first name is a portmanteau of his parents' given names, Harold and Jewell, as Howser explained in the ''California's Gold'' episode "Smartsville." Howser graduated from the University School of Nashville in 1963, then studied history and political science at the University of Tennessee, where he served as student body president. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hobby Tunneling
Hobby tunneling is tunnel construction as a diversion. Usually, hobby tunnelers dig their tunnels by hand, using little equipment, and some can spend years or even decades to achieve any degree of completion. In some cases tunnels have been dug secretly, and only discovered by chance. Motivations A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through the surrounding soil or rock for the purpose of transport, passage or communication. Tunnel construction is a sub-discipline of civil engineering and usually the domain of engineers and construction companies. When civilians dig tunnels it may be for criminal purposes, like smuggling or hiding illegal goods, or gaining unauthorised access to an area. People may also build escape tunnels, such as those under the Berlin Wall. Tunneling may be part of the building of underground dwellings. Subterranean construction may be done as an art form, as in the work of Ra Paulette. Dutch graphic designer Leanne Wijnsma digs short, shallow t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabato Rodia
The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or ''Nuestro Pueblo'' ("our town" in Spanish) are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artist's original residential property in Watts, Los Angeles. The entire site of towers, structures, sculptures, pavement and walls were designed and built solely by Sabato ("Simon" or "Sam") Rodia (1879 or 1886 to 1965), an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason, over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954. The tallest of the towers is . The work is an example of outsider art (or Art Brut) and Italian-American naïve art. The Watts Towers were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990. They are also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and one of nine folk art sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watts Towers
The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or ''Nuestro Pueblo'' ("our town" in Spanish) are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artist's original residential property in Watts, Los Angeles. The entire site of towers, structures, sculptures, pavement and walls were designed and built solely by Sabato ("Simon" or "Sam") Rodia (1879 or 1886 to 1965), an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason, over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954. The tallest of the towers is . The work is an example of outsider art (or Art Brut) and Italian-American naïve art. The Watts Towers were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990. They are also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and one of nine folk art sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambria, California
Cambria () is a seaside village in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles along California State Route 1 (Highway 1). The name Cambria, chosen in 1869, is the Latin name for Wales. Cambria is situated amidst Monterey pines in one of only three such native forests. Previously, the town had gone by the names of Slabtown, Rosaville, San Simeon, and Santa Rosa. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined the unincorporated community as a census-designated place (CDP). The CDP had a population of 5,678 at the 2020 census, down from 6,032 at the 2010 census. History Local tribes The earliest human settlement of this area is known to be associated with prehistoric habitation by the Native American Chumash peoples, who harvested along the coastal area, with emphasis upon sites that were close to rivers. Although recorded history of the tribes in this region does not begin until the explorers and missi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitt Witt Ridge
Nitt Witt Ridge is a house on two and a half acres in the coastal city of Cambria, California, United States. Artist and recluse Arthur "Art" Harold Beal (18961992) bought his hillside lot in 1928 and spent most of the next 50 years carving out the terraces with only a pick and shovel, creating his own "castle on a hill". History Arthur Harold Beal is known as Doctor Tinkerpaw or Captain Nitt Witt. Beal was a garbage collector for the town of Cambria in the 1940s and 1950s and made good use of what Cambrians were throwing away, as well as the natural materials on the property, in the nearby pine forests, and on the area's beaches. Some parts are also reportedly remnants from Hearst Castle where he supposedly worked for a time. Other common building materials are beer cans, abalone shells, and concrete. There are also washer drums, car rims, tile, car parts, and old stoves. After Art died in 1992 at the age of 96, his ashes were spread around his favorite redwood tree on Nitt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring Green, Wisconsin
Spring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ..., United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The village is located within the Spring Green (town), Wisconsin, Town of Spring Green. Geography Spring Green is located at (43.177268, -90.067277). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land. The Wisconsin River runs along the southern edge of the village. Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 1,628 people, 690 households, and 433 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 753 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.5% White (U.S. Census), Whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House On The Rock
The House on the Rock is a tourist attraction located between the cities of Dodgeville and Spring Green, Wisconsin. Opened in 1959, it is a complex of architecturally distinct rooms, streets, gardens, and shops designed by Alex Jordan Jr. Background Both of Jordan's biographers. Balousek describes himself as "a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison since 1981", and the book is said to be based on three months of research which led to a four-part series published in the Wisconsin State Journal. According to Balousek: " y book isan unauthorized biography, hich hasnot been sanctioned by the new owner of The House on the Rock, nor by those closest to Alex Jordan. Jennie Olson, his companion of 50 years, declined to be interviewed; so did Don Martin, who helped build every exhibit."; The spine gives "The House on the Rock" as the publisher's imprint. The back cover bears the House on the Rock corporate logo and the legend "The Authorized Biography". The author is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea, and shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel also is bordered by the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively. Tel Aviv is the economic and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally. The land held by present-day Israel witnessed some of the earliest human occupations outside Africa and was among the earliest known sites of agriculture. It was inhabited by the Canaanites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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