November 2010

Founded in 1970 as the Manitowoc Submarine Memorial Association, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum has grown into one of the largest maritime museums in the Midwest. In addition to commemorating the maritime heritage of the Manitowoc-Two Rivers area and the submarines built here during World War II, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is now a leader in preserving the maritime history of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. With over 60,000 square feet of space, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum explores the rich maritime history of Wisconsin through exciting and interactive exhibits. A unique collection of model ships and boats, an operating steam engine, displays of historic vessels and marine engines, and the Wisconsin Waterways and Little Lakefarer's Rooms – special places for children of all ages to learn and play.

From its roots in Milwaukee’s first art gallery in 1888, the museum has grown today to be an icon for Milwaukee and a resource for the entire state. The Milwaukee Art museum has collected over 20,000 works of art for 120 years. The 341,000-square-foot museum includes the War Memorial Center (1957) designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, the Kahler Building (1975) by David Kahler, and the Quadracci Pavilion (2001) created by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Central to the Museum’s mission is its role as a premier educational resource, with educational programs that are among the largest in the nation, involving classes, tours, and a full calendar of events for visitors of all ages.

The independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, attracting more than 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum's collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the Red Barn®—the original manufacturing facility of The Boeing Co. The Museum's aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 100,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum's on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is one of only 750 museums in the nation and nine in Washington state that are fully accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The symbol of Seattle was built for the 1962 World's Fair and features an observation deck at 520 ft.

Built in 1962, the Space Needle served as the symbol of that year's World's Fair. It has since become the symbol of Seattle, and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The privately owned Space Needle is managed by Space Needle LLC.

The three-masted, bald-headed (having no topmasts) Wawona is the largest sailing schooner built in North America. Constructed by Hans Bendixen at Fairhaven, California, she began her career in 1897 as a lumber ship, making quick runs up and down the Pacific Coast. In 1914, after 17 years of carrying lumber, she became part of the codfishing fleet that operated in the Bering Sea. By 1940 her crews had caught 6,830,400 codfish, a world's record for a catch by a single vessel. Conscripted during World War II for government use as a barge, she was re-rigged in 1946 and had two last seasons of codfishing. The Wawona then sat in port for nine years. In 1952, Capt. Ralph E. Petersen sought to turn Wawona into a South Seas cruise ship, but this plan ended due to a lack of funds. Even her 1953 purchase by cattle rancher William Studdart and film star Gary Cooper failed to return her to the sea. The pair had planned to export beef cattle to the Soviet Union, but the deal fell apart during negotiations with the Russians.

Embracing twenty-five acres along the Mississippi River on St. Feriole Island, the site includes the Villa Louis mansion complex, restored grounds and gardens, the Fur Trade Museum, Wisconsin’s only War of 1812 battlefield, and a museum store. The site has recently completed a documentary restoration of the mansion complex returning the buildings to their 1890’s appearance. With over 90% of its original contents, it is a textbook example of British Arts and Crafts design. As the site of the Battle of Prairie du Chien, Villa Louis hosts a reenactment of the battle each year.

The Virginia V documents a crucial phase in Seattle's maritime history. Built in 1922, when roads were frequently impassible, this propeller-driven wooden steamer immediately became one of the vessels that supported the commerce and communications of Puget Sound. For 16 years, it carried commuters and supplies between Seattle and Tacoma. She averaged 125,000 miles per year while carrying over eight million passengers through the West Pass of Vashon Island. This type of ship was so common in the 1920s and early '30s--the U.S. Department of Commerce counted more than 260,000 in 1932--that they collectively became known as the "Mosquito Fleet" because of the way they swarmed about America's lakes, rivers and other protected waters. However, as the Great Depression deepened and transportation methods changed, demand for these ships decreased.

The First African Baptist Church was founded c.1790 to serve the religious needs of African Americans in the Lexington area. TThe first pastor of the church was Peter Durrett, known affectionately by his congregation as Old Captain. Old Captain immigrated to Kentucky with his master around 1785 and soon began leading the early church where he preached the Gospel. Old Captain died in 1854 and his funeral is reputed to have been the second largest ever held in Lexington, second only to Henry Clay's.

In the early 19th century, Wisconsin lead mining was more promising and attractive to potential settlers than the fur trade. Hundreds of immigrants poured into southwestern part of the state. Experienced miners began arriving from Cornwall in southwestern England in the 1830s. The Cornish settled in Mineral Point and throughout the Upper Mississippi lead region and constructed small, limestone homes similar to those they had left in England.

Mineral Point became a thriving commercial center that housed one of Michigan Territory's first land offices and served as a territorial county seat. The boom continued into early Wisconsin statehood, when zinc mining and processing became the dominant mining activity. In 1970, the Wisconsin Historical Society acquired the property. The following year it began operating the restoration as a historic site interpreting the history of Cornish settlement and Wisconsin's lead-mining heyday.

The Gratz Park Historic District is one of the most beautiful areas in downtown Lexington, comprised of a city park and several large residences. In the words of Kentucky architectural historian Clay Lancaster, "the park has charm, atmosphere, a sense of tranquility and of history, and it provides an oasis of planting tucked into the cityscape." Gratz Park occupies a tract of land that was established in 1781 outside of the original boundaries of Lexington when the town plat was prepared that year by order of the Virginia Assembly. In 1793 the park was purchased by the Transylvania Seminary as the site for its Lexington campus. In 1816 a large three-story structure (see historic image below) was built in the center of the park to serve as the main building for Transylvania Seminary. Designed by Matthew Kennedy, Lexington's first architect, it was erected near the center of campus. Following the destruction of that building by fire in 1829, the Transylvania campus was moved across Third Street to its present location. Only one building from this original campus remains--the Old Kitchen Building.