Miscellaneous

Kings Dominion is a 400 acre amusement park located in Doswell in Hanover County 23 miles (37 km) north of Richmond, Virginia and 83 miles (134 km) south of Washington, DC on Interstate 95. The park is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in Wayne's World. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Dominion

Kings Dominion is a 400 acre amusement park located in Doswell in Hanover County 23 miles (37 km) north of Richmond, Virginia and 83 miles (134 km) south of Washington, DC on Interstate 95. The park is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in Wayne's World. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Dominion

The grandeur of The Chicago Theatre often leaves its visitors breathless. The elegant lobby, majestic staircase and beautiful auditorium, complete with murals above the stage and on the ceiling, are components of an amazing building called “the Wonder Theatre of the World” when it opened on October 26, 1921. The Chicago Theatre was the first large, lavish movie palace in America and was the prototype for all others. This beautiful movie palace was constructed for $4 million by theatre owners Barney and Abe Balaban and Sam and Morris Katz and designed by Cornelius and George Rapp. It was the flagship of the Balaban and Katz theatre chain. Built in French Baroque style, The Chicago Theatre’s exterior features a miniature replica of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, sculpted above its State Street marquee. Faced in a glazed, off-white terra cotta, the triumphal arch is sixty feet wide and six stories high. Within the arch is a grand window in which is set a large circular stained-glass panel bearing the coat-of-arms of the Balaban and Katz chain – two horses holding ribbons of 35-mm film in their mouths. The grand lobby, modeled after the Royal Chapel at Versailles, is five stories high and surrounded by gallery promenades at the mezzanine and balcony levels. The grand staircase is patterned after that of the Paris Opera House and ascends to the various levels of the Great Balcony. The 3,600 seat auditorium is seven stories high, more than one half of a city block wide, and nearly as long. The vertical sign "C-H-I-C-A-G-O," at nearly six stories high, is one of the few such signs in existence today. A symbol of State Street and Chicago, the sign and marquee are landmarks in themselves, as is the 29-rank Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ. Balaban and Katz spared no expense on the workmanship and materials for this miniature Versailles. Marshall Field's supplied the drapes, furniture and interior decoration. Victor Pearlman and Co. designed and built the crystal chandeliers and lavish bronze light fixtures with Steuben glass shades. The McNulty Brothers' master craftsmen produced the splendid plaster details and Northwestern Terra Cotta Company provided the tiles for the facade. The Chicago Theatre first opened its doors on October 26, 1921 with Norma Talmadge on screen in "The Sign on the Door." A 50-piece orchestra performed in the pit and Jesse Crawford played the mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. After a "white glove inspection," a staff of 125 ushers welcomed guests who paid 25 cents until 1 p.m., 35 cents in the afternoon and 50 cents after 6 p.m. During its first 40 years, The Chicago Theatre presented the best in live and film entertainment, including John Phillip Sousa, Duke Ellington, Jack Benny, and Benny Goodman. The Chicago Theatre was redecorated in preparation for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and "modernized" in the 1950s when stage shows, with few exceptions, were discontinued. In the 1970s, under the ownership of the Plitt Theatres, The Chicago Theatre was the victim of a complex web of social and economic factors causing business to sag. It became an ornate but obsolete movie house, closing on September 19, 1985. In 1986, Chicago Theatre Restoration Associates, with assistance from the City of Chicago, bought and saved the theatre from demolition and began a meticulous nine-month multi-million dollar restoration undertaken by Chicago architects Daniel P. Coffey & Associates, Ltd. and interior design consultants A.T. Heinsbergen & Co. of Los Angeles, interior design consultants. The Chicago Theatre reopened on September 10, 1986 with a gala performance by Frank Sinatra. Since that time, an array of the entertainment world’s brightest stars and greatest productions have graced the stage, including Johnny Mathis, Al Jarreau, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Barry White, Harry Connick Jr, Lyle Lovett, Prince, the Isley Brothers, Allman Brothers Band, Indigo Girls, Blues Traveler, Gipsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, Oasis, Beck, Robin Williams, David Lett

Kings Dominion is a 400 acre amusement park located in Doswell in Hanover County 23 miles (37 km) north of Richmond, Virginia and 83 miles (134 km) south of Washington, DC on Interstate 95. The park is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006. The 1994 season saw the addition of a new area of the park themed to the 1992 Paramount motion picture Wayne's World, which featured their third full-size wooden roller coaster, The Hurler, a shop called the Rock Shop, and a Stan Mikita's restaurant similar to the one featured in Wayne's World. Since then, the Wayne's World section has been merged into the Candy Apple Grove (since renamed the Grove); the Stan Mikita's was converted to the Happy Days Cafe, and the Hurler no longer has Wayne's World theming. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Dominion

Denver International Airport often called DIA, is the second largest (land size) international airport in the world, after King Fahd International Airport, and is located in far northeastern Denver, Colorado. Operated by the City and County of Denver, in 2005 it served 43,387,513 passengers, ranking eleventh worldwide (in the past it has ranked among the top ten busiest airports in the world). DIA was voted the 2005 Best Airport in North America by readers of Business Traveler Magazine. The airport's distinctive white tension fabric roof is designed to be reminiscent of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in winter. It is also known for a pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to Concourse A that allows travelers to view planes taxiing directly underneath. The airport is a major hub for United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, as well as the primary hub for Ted, a subsidiary of United. The airport also has a sizable and growing Southwest Airlines operation and was the hub of the now defunct Western Pacific Airlines. The airport is 25 miles (40 km) distant from downtown Denver, which is 19 miles (31 km) farther away than Stapleton International Airport, the airport it replaced. The distant location was chosen to avoid noise impacts to developed areas, to accommodate a generous runway layout that would not be compromised by winter storms, and to allow for future expansion. The 54 square miles (34,524 acres or 140 km²)) of land occupied by the airport actually has twice the land area of Manhattan. It is slightly larger than the City and County of San Francisco. It was transferred from Adams County to Denver after a 1989 vote, increasing the city's size by 50 percent. However, much of the city of Aurora is actually closer to the airport than the developed portions of Denver, and all freeway traffic accessing the airport from central Denver passes through Aurora. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_International_Airport