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Marfa, TX
Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city was founded in the early 1880s as a water stop; the population increased during World War II, but growth has stalled and reversed somewhat since the late 20th century. Today, Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for minimalist art. Attractions include Building 98, the Chinati Foundation, artisan shops, historical architecture, a classic Texas town square, modern art installments, art galleries, and the Marfa lights. History Marfa was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad water stop. The town was named "Marfa" (Russian for "Martha") at the suggestion of the wife of a railroad executive. Although some historians have hypothesized that the name came from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel '' The Brothers Karamazov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City (Texas)
Texas has a total of 254 counties, many cities, and numerous special districts, the most common of which is the independent school district. County Texas has a total of 254 counties, by far the largest number of counties of any state. Counties in Texas have limited regulatory (ordinance) authority. Counties also have much less legal power than home rule municipalities. They can only pass ordinances (local laws with penalties for violations) in cases where the Texas statutes have given them express permission to. Counties in Texas do ''not'' have zoning power (except for limited instances around some reservoirs, military establishments, historic sites and airports, and in large counties over "communication facility structures": visible antennas). However, counties can collect a small portion of property tax and spend it to provide residents with needed services or to employ the power of eminent domain. Counties also have the power to regulate outdoor lighting near observatories ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after a large bend in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo. The park protects more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals. Additional park activities include scenic drives, programs led by Big Bend park rangers, and stargazing. The area has a rich cultural history, from archeological sites dating back nearly 10,000 years to more recent pioneers, ranchers, and miners. The Chisos Mountains are located in the park, and are the only mountain range in the United States to be fully contained within the boundary of a national park. Geological features in the park include sea fossils and dinosaur bones, as well as volcanic dikes. The park encompasses an area of , entirely within Brewst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Monthly
''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is now owned by Enterprise Products Co. ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as music, art, dining, and travel. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). In 2019, ''Texas Monthly'' was purchased by billionaire Randa Williams. In 2021, ''Texas Monthly'' acquired ''Texas Country Reporter''. Circulation ''Texas Monthly'' has a paid circulation of 300,000 and it has a monthly readership of 2.5 million people—one out of seven Texan adults. Its audience comprises a roughly equal number of men and women, most of whom are between the ages of 30 and 55. Subject matter ''Texas Monthly'' takes as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'', a series of bestselling adventure novels including ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1864), ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870), and '' Around the World in Eighty Days'' (1872). His novels, always well documented, are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account the technological advances of the time. In addition to his novels, he wrote numerous plays, short stories, autobiographical accounts, poetry, songs and scientific, artistic and literary studies. His work has been adapted for film and television since the beginning of cinema, as well as for comic books, theater, opera, music and video games. Verne is considered to be an important author in France and most of Europe, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sul Ross State University
Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas. The main campus is the primary institution of higher education serving the nineteen-county Big Bend region of far West Texas. Branch campuses, branded as Rio Grande College, are located in Del Rio, Uvalde, Eagle Pass, and Castroville. Named for former Texas governor and Civil War Confederate general Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the institution was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969. It is governed by the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, which guides four universities and three community and technical colleges in the state. History Named for Lawrence Sullivan Ross, governor of Texas from 1887 to 1891 and president of A&M College of Texas from 1891 to 1898, the institution was the successor to Alpine Summer Normal School. April 14, 1914, Governor James E. Ferguson signed the bill selecting Alpine as the site for a normal school provided the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Brothers Karamazov
''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing ''The Brothers Karamazov'', which was published as a serial in ''The Russian Messenger'' from January 1879 to November 1880. Dostoevsky died less than four months after its publication. Set in 19th-century Russia, ''The Brothers Karamazov'' is a passionate philosophical novel that enters deeply into questions of God, free will, and morality. It is a theological drama dealing with problems of faith, doubt, and reason in the context of a modernizing Russia, with a plot that revolves around the subject of patricide. Dostoevsky composed much of the novel in Staraya Russa, which inspired the main setting. It has been acclaimed as one of the supreme achievements in world literature. Background Although Dostoevsky began his first notes for ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 February 1881), sometimes transliterated as Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. Dostoevsky's literary works explore the human condition in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed novels include ''Crime and Punishment'' (1866), ''The Idiot'' (1869), ''Demons'' (1872), and ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (1880). His 1864 novella, ''Notes from Underground'', is considered to be one of the first works of existentialist literature. Numerous literary critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered highly influen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Water Stop
A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of water were essential. Also known as wood and water stops or coal and water stops, since it was reasonable to replenish engines with fuel as well when adding water to the boiler. During the very early days of steam locomotives, water stops were necessary every 7–10 miles (11–16 km) and consumed much travel time. With the introduction of tenders (a special car containing water and fuel), trains could run 100–150 miles (160–240 km) without a refill. To accumulate the water, water stops employed water tanks, water towers and tank ponds. The water was initially pumped by windmills, watermills, or by hand pumps often by the train crew themselves. Later, small steam and gasoline engines were used. As the U.S. railroad system e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marfa Courthouse
Marfa may refer to: Music * Marfa (instrument), an African percussion instrument * Marfa (music), celebratory music of the Hyderabadi Muslims Places * Márfa, a village in Baranya county, Hungary * Marfa, Chad * Marfa, Texas, a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in western Texas * Marfa, Malta, a port near in northern Malta Other uses * Marfa (given name) * CFR Marfă, a state-owned freight railway business of Romania * Marfa, a sub-group of the Maba people of north-central Africa ** Marfa language, a Maban language spoken in Chad * Marfa front, another term for a dry line * Marfa lights The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, have been observed near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas, Marfa, Texas, in the United States. They have gained some fame as onlookers have attributed them to paranormal ..., a possible paranormal phenomena frequently visible near Marfa, Texas * ', a painting by avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marfa Lights
The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, have been observed near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas, in the United States. They have gained some fame as onlookers have attributed them to paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, or will-o'-the-wisp. Scientific research suggests that most, if not all, are atmospheric reflections of automobile headlights and campfires. Overview According to Judith Brueske, "The 'Marfa Lights' of west Texas have been called many names over the years, such as ghost lights, weird lights, strange lights, car lights, mystery lights, or Chinati lights. The favorite place from which to view the lights is a widened shoulder on Highway 90 about nine miles east of Marfa. The lights are most often reported as distant spots of brightness, distinguishable from ranch lights and automobile headlights on Highway 67 (between Marfa and Presidio, to the south) primarily by their aberrant movements." Robert and Judy Wagers define "C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinati Foundation
The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati is a contemporary art museum located in Marfa, Texas, and based upon the ideas of its founder, artist Donald Judd. Mission The specific intention of Chinati is to preserve and present to the public permanent large-scale installations by a limited number of artists. The emphasis is on works in which art and the surrounding landscape are inextricably linked. As Judd wrote in the foundation's first catalogue in 1987: It takes a great deal of time and thought to install work carefully. This should not always be thrown away. Most art is fragile and some should be placed and never moved again. Somewhere a portion of contemporary art has to exist as an example of what the art and its context were meant to be. Somewhere, just as the platinum iridium meter guarantees the tape measure, a strict measure must exist for the art of this time and place. History The Chinati Foundation is located on of land on the site of former Fort D. A. Russell in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Building 98
Building 98 at Fort D. A. Russell is the historic US army base bachelor officer quarters, officers club, and grand ballroom near Marfa, Texas; it was active from 1911 to 1946. Building 98 is Located at Fort David A. Russell's central fort complex. It is a project of the International Woman's Foundation and it is the home of the World War II German prisoners of war POW murals. Murals The murals were painted in the state dining room and in the base library. They encompass over 3,048 square feet of wall space, making them a unique historic national treasure. The murals were completed in 1945 by Hans Jürgen Press and Robert Humpel, both German prisoners of war held at the base. The artist and writer Hans Jürgen Press was a sailplane (glider) pilot based in France during the war, and departed Building 98 in 1945; While there he created two west Texas watercolors of local residents — one performing a Spanish dance and another playing the Spanish guitar. Building 98 stands as a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
