172nd Infantry Brigade (Vereinigte Staaten)

Organization.

The brigade was a separate unit and did not report to a higher division-level headquarters, but instead reported directly to the V Corps of United States Army Europe. The Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the unit was located at Grafenwöhr, Germany. The Unit also contained the 1st Battalion, 2d Infantry, the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery, the 9th Engineer Battalion, the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor, and the 172nd Forward Support Battalion. In addition, the brigade contained three independent companies; 504th Military Intelligence Company, and Echo Troop, 5th Cavalry Regiment, the 57th Signal Company. All of these subordinate units were last located in Grafenwöhr.

History.

World War I.

The 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate), officially titled the "172d Infantry Brigade", was first constituted on 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 172nd Infantry Brigade. It was organized on the 25th of that month at Camp Grant, in Rockford, Illinois and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division. The brigade was assigned to the 86th Division and deployed to Europe for duty during World War I. It arrived in Bordeaux, France, in September 1918 The combat record of the unit during its World War I service is not clear, but it is known that the 86th Division was depleted when much of its force was used to reinforce other units already on the front lines. Thus, the brigade received a World War I campaign streamer without an inscription, as it was not known to have fought in any engagements. After a cease fire was signed in 1918, the Brigade returned to the United States. It was demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Grant, and the camp itself was abandoned in 1921.  On 24 June 1921 the unit was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade, and again assigned to the 86th Division. It was organized in January 1922 at Springfield, Illinois and went through several redesignations, including Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Brigade, on 23 March 1925 and Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade on 24 August 1936.

World War II.

The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 172nd Infantry Brigade, was converted and redesignated the 3rd Platoon, 86th Reconnaissance Troop, and assigned to the 86th Infantry Division on 31 March 1942, while the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 171st Infantry Brigade, became the remainder of the 86th Reconnaissance Troop. On 15 December 1942 the troop was mobilized and reorganized at Camp Howze, in Gainesville, Texas, as the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, only to be reorganized and redesignated again on 5 August 1943 as the "86th Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized". For the majority of the US involvement in World War II it remained stateside, participating in the Third Army #5 Louisiana Maneuvers in 1943, among other exercises, until finally staging at Camp Myles Standish, at Boston, Massachusetts on 5 February 1945 and shipping out from Boston on 19 February 1945.  The 86th Reconnaissance Troop arrived in France on 1 March 1945, acclimated and trained, and then moved to Köln, Germany, and participated in the relief of the 8th Infantry Division in defensive positions near Weiden which is now part of Lindenthal on 28–29 March 1945. During its few months of combat duty in Europe, the troop participated in amphibious assaults across was Danube, Bigge, Altmuhl, Isar, Inn, Mittel-Isar and Salzach rivers in Germany and Austria. It was assigned to First, Third, Seventh, and Fifteenth US Armies. The unit was at Salzburg on 7 May 1945 (V-E Day). It was then sent back stateside to prepare for operation in the Pacific. Arriving back in New York City on 17 June 1945, the unit proceeded to Camp Gruber in Braggs, Oklahoma before staging at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California on 14 August 1945. The unit shipped out from San Francisco on 21 August 1945 and arrived in the Philippines on 7 September 1945, five days after the Japanese surrender.

The Cold War.

On 10 October 1945 the 86th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) was again redesignated the "86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop" before finally being inactivated on 30 December 1946 while still stationed in the Philippines. However, the 86th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop was reactivated again on 9 July 1952 as part of the Army Reserve. It continued serving within the Army Reserve for some years. Activation of the brigade with its new structure took place on 1 July 1963 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.  The Army set up an experimental Airborne unit with the designation of Company F (Airborne), 4th Battle Group, 23d Infantry in 1962 at Fort Richardson. The company commander was Captain Lawrence. When Army combat forces were reorganized from the Pentomic division battle groups to brigades with subordinate battalions, the group became the 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry and its Airborne component was Company C. The unit was used to determine how best to use Airborne soldiers in Arctic conditions throughout the vast area of Alaska.  The new structure included one Light Infantry Battalion; one Mechanized Infantry Battalion; and one Tank Company. Its shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized for use on 28 August 1963 and its distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 8 June 1966. The Brigade was reorganized from Mechanized Infantry to Light Infantry on 30 June 1969, with a reduction to two mechanized infantry battalions. In 1974 the 172nd Infantry Brigade was reorganized again to include three light infantry battalions.  US Army Alaska was known as USARAL through the 60s and 70s, whereas after the activation of the 6th Infantry Division it was known as USARAK. The two Arctic brigades, the 171st (4-9th Infantry, 1-47th Infantry [which was subsequently deactivated], and other components at Fort Wainwright) and the 172d (4-23d Infantry, 1-60th Infantry, 1-37th Artillery, 561st Combat Engineer Company, and other components at Fort Richardson) were consolidated in 1973 with the drawdown after Viet Nam. There was an administrative split between the "LIB" (Light Infantry Brigade) and the "Brigade Alaska", with the 1-43d Air Defense, 222d Aviation, 56th MP Company, 23d Construction Engineer Company, Northern Warfare Training Center- then at Fort Greely,' being assigned.  The brigade was again inactivated on 15 April 1986 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, being reflagged as part of the newly reformed 6th Infantry Division.

Transformation.

In the late 1990s, Army leaders including General Eric Shinseki began shifting the Army force toward brigade centered operations. All separate brigades had been deactivated in the 1990s as part of the US Army's drawdown following the end of the Cold War. These inactivations, along with subsequent reorganization of US Army divisions, saw several divisional brigades stationed in bases that were far from the division's headquarters and support units. These brigades had difficulty operating without support from higher headquarters. Light infantry is a designation applied to certain types of foot soldiers (infantry) throughout history, typically having air assault and airborne qualified members with lighter equipment or armament or a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought as skirmishers, reconnaissance, hidden shock and awe attacks, basically guerilla warfare—soldiers who fight in a loose formation ahead of the main army to harass, delay and generally "soften up" an enemy before the main battle. Today, the term "light infantry" generally refers to units (including commandos and airborne units) that specifically emphasize speed and mobility over armor and firepower, to units that historically held a skirmishing role.  It was Shinseki's idea to reactivate a few separate light infantry brigades and assign them their own support and sustainment units, which would allow them to function independently of division-level headquarters. These formations were termed "Brigade Combat Teams". Such units could be stationed in bases far from major commands, not requiring division-level unit support, an advantage in places like Alaska and Europe, where stationing entire divisions was unnecessary or impractical. The first of the separate brigades was to be the 172d Infantry Brigade. On 17 April 1998, the U.S. Army reactivated the 172d Infantry Brigade (Separate) by reflagging the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division headquartered at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Two years later, the 173d Airborne Brigade was reactivated on 12 June 2000 at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. The 172d light infantry was assigned the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, an airborne infantry battalion, one of only three existing outside of the 82nd Airborne Division. (The other two battalions were part of the 173d Airborne Brigade based in Italy.) The 172d Infantry Brigade was designed as a "Pacific theater contingency brigade." Located in Alaska, the 172d would be able to deploy to any contingencies in Alaska, Europe (over the north pole) or the Pacific.  In July 2001 the US Army announced that the 172d Infantry Brigade was to become one of the Army's new Interim Brigade Combat Teams, later to be known as Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs). Changes to the brigade included the addition of some 300 Stryker vehicles, and several Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The transformation was intended to increase the brigade's mobility in operations as well as reduce its logistical footprint. The project entailed around $1.2 billion in construction costs for training facilities, motor pools, and other buildings. This transformation was completed when the unit was formally redesignated on 16 October 2003. After the transformation was complete, the 172d became the third Stryker brigade in the US Army, with a force of 3,500 soldiers. In 2005, the new Brigade Commander, Colonel Mike Shields, changed the motto of the infantry brigade from "Snow Hawks" to "Arctic Wolves". In early 2005, the brigade was alerted that it would be deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for the first time. To prepare, it participated in several large exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 220th Military Police Brigade, a reserve unit, provided additional soldiers to assist the brigade in the exercises during their final preparations for deployment.

Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In August 2005, the 172nd Infantry Brigade deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit deployed to Mosul, Iraq. 4-14 CAV and a Stryker infantry company (A/4-23 IN and later, B/2-1 IN) were attached to 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, and stationed at COP Rawah; away from the rest of the BDE. Duties of the unit during deployment included numerous patrol operations, searches for weapons caches, and counterinsurgency operations. Its tour was to have ended on 27 July 2006, but the U.S. Army unexpectedly extended the deployment until the end of November 2006. During the extension, the unit was sent to Baghdad to quell growing sectarian violence concerns. The infamous extension of the deployment had happened after some of the units of the Brigade were already touched down at their home base of Fort Wainwright, AK, forcing them to fly back to staging areas in Iraq. The extension occurred after the unit's regular 12-month tour was complete, making the deployment last for a total of 16 months. As a result of the unit's action in Iraq, the brigade was awarded the Valorous Unit Award.  During this action, 26 soldiers of the brigade were killed in action, and another 350 were wounded. Ten additional soldiers in units attached to the brigade were killed.

Inactivation 2006.

Having returned from its extended tour in Baghdad, Iraq, the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team was officially deactivated and the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division was activated in its place on 14 December 2006. The brigade's six battalions and four separate companies were likewise reflagged as part of the change. The reflagged units were:

Reactivation in Germany.

As part of the Grow the Army Plan announced 19 December 2007, the Army will activate and retain two Infantry Brigades in Germany until 2012 and 2013. On 6 March 2008, it was announced that the 172nd Infantry Brigade would be activated as the first of these brigades, with the other being the 170th Infantry Brigade. On 17 March, the 172nd Infantry Brigade was formally activated in Schweinfurt, Germany by reflagging the 1st Infantry Division's 2nd (Dagger) Brigade, which relocated to Ft. Riley, KS. Colonel Jeffrey Sinclair was commanding the brigade at the time. The 172nd Infantry Brigade relocated to Grafenwöhr, Germany. The 172nd Infantry Brigade was activated with the following unit redesignations: When the brigade converts to a modular design, the Brigade Special Troops Battalion will be given organic, unnumbered signal, engineer and military intelligence companies along with a chemical and military police platoons.  After its activation, the brigade began moving its components from Schweinfurt to Grafenwöhr, Germany, as part of the Grow the Army plan. Simultaneously, the brigade converted to a modular structure to become a Brigade Combat Team upon completion. In May 2008, the brigade was alerted that it would be returning to Iraq in the fall of that year. The deployment was set to last 12 months, and was set to start after the unit's 12-month out-of-action cycle ended on November 2008. This would be the brigade's third tour to Iraq, as it completed a tour of duty in Iraq shortly before being redesignated from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. The brigade began training for its deployment to the country as soon as it received orders for deployment. German military officers trained with the brigade during this preparation. The soldiers of the brigade were part of a 40,000-soldier troop rotation into Iraq and Afghanistan, intended to maintain previous troop levels in both countries until late 2009. In fall of 2008, the brigade completed its transition to a brigade combat team, and was redesignated as the 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. In late October 2008 the brigade began moving equipment and vehicles by train from Germany in preparation for their tour in Iraq. 385 containers full of gear, as well as 75 M1A1 Abrams Tanks, M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and HMMWVs were sent by train on 28 October. the brigade picked up additional MRAP and uparmored HMMWVs in Kuwait. The brigade deployed into theater by December 2008, replacing the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.  A proposal was made to relocate the unit to White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico in 2012 as the 7th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, pending discussions to leave two heavy brigades in Europe.

Operation Enduring Freedom.

The 172 IBCT deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2011. The brigade left behind its "heavy" vehicles, Bradley fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks, for MRAPs. Soldiers would spend some of their time during the deployment patrolling on foot, as their normal heavy tracked vehicles are incompatible with rugged terrain of Afghanistan.. During this deployment the Brigade was responsible for Paktika province along the Pakistani border. One of the more controversial aspects of the deployment was the formation of the first US/Afghan Joint firing base with Afghan National Army Artillery firing in support of U.S. forces in the Urgun district.  Following a number of budget cuts and force structure reductions, the brigade deactivated in Germany on 31 May 2013.

The 172nd Infantry Brigade was a light infantry brigade of the United States Army stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska and later moved its headquarters to at Grafenwöhr, Germany. An active duty separate brigade, it was part of V Corps and was one of five active-duty, separate, brigade combat teams in the U.S. Army before its most recent inactivation on 31 May 2013.

Die 172nd Infantry Brigade () (Blackhawk Brigade) war ein selbständiges Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) der US Army. Die Brigade war Teil der United States Army Europe und eine von nur drei aktiven, selbständigen Kampfbrigaden der Army. Sie unterstand somit keinem Verband auf Divisionsebene, sondern direkt dem V. US-Korps in Wiesbaden.


Design.

Official description.

According to the New York City Administrative Code, the city seal must adhere to the following design:1. Arms: Upon a shield, saltire wise, the sails of a windmill. Between the sails, in chief a beaver, in base a beaver, and on each flank a flour barrel.  2. Supporters: Dexter, a sailor, his right arm bent, and holding in his right hand a plummet; his left arm bent, his left hand resting on the top of the shield; above his right shoulder a cross-staff. Sinister, an Indian of Manhattan, his right arm bent, his right hand resting on top of the shield, his left hand holding the upper end of a bow, and lower end of which rests on the ground. Shield and supporters resting upon a horizontal laurel branch.  3. Date: Beneath the horizontal laurel branch the date 1625 being the year of the establishment of New Amsterdam.  4. Crest: Upon a hemisphere, an American eagle with wings displayed.  5. Legend: Upon a ribbon encircling the lower half of the design the words "Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci".  6. The whole encircled by a laurel wreath.

Overview.

The design of the current seal of New York City is adapted from the seal of the city first used in 1686. It features common elements from coats of arms used throughout heraldry, such as a shield, supporters, and a crest.  The two supporters represent friendship between Native Americans and colonists: in the dexter position, a sailor colonist holds a plummet—a navigational tool—in his right hand, while over his right shoulder is another navigational tool, a cross-staff; in the sinister position, a Lenape native to Manhattan rests his left hand on a bow.  On the shield, the four windmill sails recall the city's Dutch history as New Amsterdam, and the beavers and flour barrels signify the city's earliest trade goods. Specifically, the flour barrels and windmill sails represent the tremendous wealth generated by New York City from the Bolting Act of 1674. The act gave the city an exclusive monopoly to mill and export flour. The shield and supporters rest on a horizontal laurel branch.  Located at the crest over the shield is an American eagle, added in 1784 after the American Revolution and taken from the seal of New York State. The eagle replaced an imperial crown, which had represented the authority of the British monarch during the colonial period. The eagle rests on a hemisphere.  Beneath the shield is the date, 1625, when New Amsterdam was designated the capital of the province of New Netherland. The use of this date has been a source of debate among historians, as there is evidence that the first European settlers actually arrived in the region, and established what became New Amsterdam, in 1624. New Amsterdam was incorporated in 1653. Different founding dates have appeared on the seal throughout its history. Beneath the date is a ribbon that bears the legend, which means "Seal of the City of New York". "Eboracum" was the Latin name for York, the titular seat of James II as Duke of York, for whom New York City is named.  A laurel wreath, an ancient Greek symbol of victory, encircles the seal.

Uses.

General.

The New York City Administrative Code states that the seal "shall be used for all requisite purposes" by the city clerk and "all other officers of the city who are required or authorized to have or use the corporate seal of the city". It then states that the seal can be:  1. Impressed or printed on documents, publications or stationery, issued or used by or in the name of or under the authority of the city, its agencies or of any borough or department thereof,  2. Carved or otherwise represented on buildings or structures owned by the city, or  3. Otherwise officially portrayed.  The Administrative Code further states that the city seal shall appear on the city flag "in blue upon the middle or white bar, omitting the legend Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci".  In practice, in addition to the above, the city seal is used as a lectern adornment for speeches or statements by the mayor, the speaker of the City Council, or other city officials. The city also uses the seal for commercial purposes, selling items on which the seal is featured.

Flag.

Prior to 1915, New York City did not have an official flag. Unofficially, a flag was in use throughout the city that featured an unofficial version of the city seal, in blue, on a white field. A 1915 Arts Commission committee which redesigned the city seal noted that there was no record that the city had adopted this flag. At the committee's recommendation, the city adopted its current flag in 1915, featuring a modified version of the newly adopted city seal—the modification being the absence of the seal's Latin legend.

Restrictions.

According to the New York City Administrative Code, the city seal cannot be displayed with any alteration or addition to the standard design. The only exception is in its use on the city flag or "for architectural or ornamental purposes", in which case the Latin legend may be omitted. A defaced or canceled seal must remain in the custody of the city clerk.  In addition, the code forbids use of the seal by anyone who is not the city clerk or "other officers of the city who are required or authorized to have or use the corporate seal of the city". In this regard, it states that "any representation of the city seal used on any vehicle other than one owned or used by the city, shall subject the owner of such vehicle to a fine of twenty-five dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten days".

History.

1654 seal.

From its founding until 1654, the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam did not have its own seal. Because it was managed by the provincial governor of New Netherland, it used the seal of New Netherland. After incorporation in 1653, which granted New Amsterdam its own government, the city requested an official seal from the Dutch West India Company, which owned and ultimately managed the province of New Netherland. A proposal for a coat of arms of New Amsterdam had been put forward as early as 1630; it featured beavers in the role of supporters, an acknowledgment of the importance of the trade in beaver skins to the growing economy of the province. The beaver was also the prominent element of the seal of New Netherland. However, this design was rejected. The Dutch West India Company instead chose a design that featured the company's insignia on a mantle and a single beaver over a shield emblazoned with a modified version of the arms of Amsterdam. The original full-color rendering of this first official symbol of the city has since been lost, but historians have conjectured that, on the shield, the central pale was black, the three crosses were white, the field was red, and the bands bordering the central pale were either gold or white, in keeping with the heraldic rules of tincture. The draped mantling at the top was likely a tricolor of orange, white, and blue, referencing the flag of the Netherlands in use at the founding of New Amsterdam.

1669 seal.

Although New Amsterdam was surrendered to the British in 1664, whereupon its name was changed to New York, the seal of New Amsterdam remained in use until 1669. In that year, both the city and the province of New York received new seals from the Duke of York. However, the exact design of the city seal of 1669 is not known, as no descriptions or uses of it have been found.

1686 seal and the "small seal".

In 1683, the city's Common Council petitioned the colonial governor of New York for an official charter, including the right to designate their own seal. In 1686, the charter was granted. It included the right of the city to "breake Change Alter and new make their said Comon Seale when and as often as to them it shall seem convenient". The city's Common Council then adopted a new seal on July 24, 1686, the first to be designed and approved by the city in its own right. The design contained many elements that survive in the current city seal—namely, a shield featuring windmill sails, beavers, and flour barrels, a colonial sailor and a Native American as supporters, a Latin legend, a founding date (in this case, 1686 was used), and a laurel wreath. The first known use of the 1686 seal reveals that the seal featured a ducal crown at the crest, a fact that has puzzled historians, since the city's owner and namesake, James II, had ascended to the throne of England in 1685, and thus the use of an imperial crown would have been warranted. Subsequent uses of the seal show that a change to an imperial crown was made, although the exact date of the change is unknown.  A notable aspect of the 1686 seal is the depiction of the Native American supporter, which does not conform to descriptions of the Native Americans who lived in and around Manhattan. Specifically, the seal depicts the Native American wearing a war bonnet, which was not a headdress known to be worn among Algonquin peoples.  After the 1686 seal became official, a second, slightly different city seal appears in the historical record, affixed to documents signed by multiple mayors. The creation of this second seal was not recorded in the minutes of the Common Council, and its origins are not known. It is referred to in later city laws merely as the "small seal".

1735 seal of mayoralty.

In 1735, a feud between the Common Council and the city's mayor, Paul Richard, resulted in the creation of an additional seal. The 1686 seal and the so-called "small seal" remained as official seals of the city, while a third seal was created for the mayor. This mayoral seal was similar in design to the city seal, except that it was a circle instead of an oval and it bore the legend "City of New York Seal of Mayoralty". A law was then passed designating which seal could be used for which official purpose.

1784 seals.

At the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, New York City had three official seals. Among the first post-war acts of the New York City Common Council was the removal of the British imperial crown from these seals. In 1784, new seals were adopted, with a crest featuring an eagle resting on a hemisphere, a device taken from the seal of New York State. The Common Council published a description of the new seals and their purpose in the city's newspapers. In this description, the "small seal" is identified as the seal of the Mayor's Court.  Aside from the removal of the British crown and addition of a new crest, the 1784 city seal differed from its predecessor only by rendering the Native American's bow, incorrectly, as double-curved (which was a type of bow not typically used by Algonquin peoples), removing the cross-staff from the colonial sailor, and adding fruit-bearing branches on either side of the shield.  Officially, the design of the 1784 city seal remained in effect throughout the 19th century. During the same period, the mayoral seal and seal of the Mayor's Court fell into disuse. With regard to the latter, Dewitt Clinton was the last mayor to preside over the Mayor's Court. As a result of the lack of mayoral involvement, the court was transitioned, by law, into the Court of Common Pleas in 1821.

1915 seal.

While the city seal remained officially unchanged, many unofficial changes were made in the period between 1784 and 1915, due to mistakes, artistic license, or ignorance of the seal's design. In some versions used during this period, the sailor and Native American switched sides or were depicted in a seated position. Their physical appearance also varied. The eagle was sometimes depicted looking the wrong way. Other objects, such as an anchor or ships, were sometimes added. As the 250th anniversary of the city's 1664 British transition approached, the numerous variations in the seal's appearance prompted the city to appoint a committee to determine the correct design of the seal. This committee, composed of members of the city's Arts Commission, worked with the New-York Historical Society to study imagery and seals going back to the earliest days of New Amsterdam. Incorporating that historical iconography, the committee developed a new seal design, which was submitted to the Board of Aldermen (formerly known as the Common Council) on March 16, 1915. The board approved the design seven days later, and the Arts Commission contracted renowned American sculptor Paul Manship to develop a physical version of the revised seal. With this new design and official adoption, the city once again had a single seal to be used by all offices of the government. At the recommendation of the Arts Commission, the Board of Aldermen also adopted an official flag for the city, on which a version of the city seal was featured.  The design of the 1915 seal remained faithful to the design of the 1686 seal, with the exception of the crest, where it used the eagle-and-hemisphere device from the 1784 seal. The inaccuracies in the depiction of the Native American supporter were corrected and the cross-staff was restored to the sailor. In addition, the founding date on the seal was changed from 1686, the year of the city's British charter, to 1664, the year the city's name was changed to New York.

1977 seal.

The most recent modification to the city seal occurred in 1977, at the urging of the president of the City Council (formerly the Board of Aldermen), Paul O'Dwyer, who sought to recognize the city's Dutch origin. In 1974, he first proposed changing the founding year on the city's flag from 1664 to 1625. While 1625 was the year that New Amsterdam was designated the seat of government for the New Netherland province, historians have noted that it is not the year when New Amsterdam was incorporated or physically established. Despite objections from historians and his advisers, Mayor Abraham Beame signed O'Dwyer's bill changing the date on the city flag in 1975. A separate bill to modify the city seal in the same manner was approved two years later.

The seal of New York City is the city's official corporate insignia. According to the city's Administrative Code, it is used to identify documents or publications issued under the authority of the city or its departments. It is also engraved into property owned by the city, used to identify officers of the city, and featured on the city's official flag.

Das Siegel von New York City wurde in einer früheren Form bereits 1686 angenommen und trägt die Beschriftung, was einfach „Das Siegel der Stadt Neu York“ bedeutet: Eboracum war der römische Name für York, dem Titularsitz von Jakob II. als Herzog von York, "Civitas Novi Eboraci" ist folglich der latinisierte Name der Stadt.


History.

Aon Center was originally named the United California Bank Building from its completion in 1973 until 1981, when it became First Interstate Tower. During the 1984 Summer Olympics the 1984 Olympic logo was displayed on the north and south sides of the building's crown, as First Interstate Bank was a major sponsor of the games. It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when built, until 1982 when it was surpassed by the Texas Commerce Tower (now known as JPMorgan Chase Tower) in Houston. Upon its completion in 1973, the building was the tallest in the world outside of New York and Chicago. It remained the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1989, when Library Tower (now U.S. Bank Tower) was completed. Between 1998 and 2005, there were no logos on the building.

Fire.

On May 4, 1988, a fire began on the 12th floor just after 10:00 PM; it burned for about four hours. The fire destroyed five floors, injured 40 people, and left a maintenance worker dead because the elevator opened onto the burning 12th floor. The fire was so severe because the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which was not required for office towers at the time of its construction. A sprinkler system was 90 percent installed at the time of the fire; however, the system was inoperative, awaiting the installation of water flow alarms. The fire was eventually contained at 2:19 AM, and caused $400 million in damage. Repair work took four months. Because of the fire, building codes in Los Angeles were modified, requiring all high-rises to be equipped with fire sprinklers. This modified a 1974 ordinance that had only required new buildings to contain fire sprinkler systems.

Floor names.

The north entrance is level with 6th Street, and is named BL (Bank Level since a Wells Fargo Bank branch occupies the eastern half of that floor). The east and west sidewalks slope downward to Wilshire Blvd. with steps leading up to the south entrance. Elevators on the south side of BL and escalators on the north side of BL both go up to the ML (Main Lobby) level, where additional banks of elevators reach floors numbered 4-62. No 2nd floor exists, though the height of ML is twice that of BL (hence, this is a 62-story tower with only 61 floors). The BL/ML elevator also goes down to underground levels LBL (Lower Bank Level), LL1 (Lower Level 1 with evacuation tunnel used by firefighters in 1988), and LL2 (valet parking garage).

Aon Center is a 62-story, Modernist office skyscraper at 707 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, California. Site excavation started in late 1970, and the tower was completed in 1973. Designed by Charles Luckman, the rectangular bronze-clad building with white trim is remarkably slender for a skyscraper in a seismically active area. It is the third tallest building in Los Angeles, the fourth tallest in California, and the 58th tallest in the United States. The logo of the Aon Corporation, its anchor tenant, is displayed at the top in red.

Das Aon Center ist ein 262 Meter hoher, 62-stöckiger Wolkenkratzer in Los Angeles. Es wurde 1974 eröffnet und war das höchste Gebäude in Los Angeles, bis es im Jahre 1990 vom 310 Meter hohen U.S. Bank Tower übertroffen wurde. Seit der Eröffnung des Wilshire Grand Tower 2017 ist es noch das dritthöchste Gebäude der Stadt. Das Gebäude besitzt eine quadratische Grundfläche und eine schwarze Fassade mit weißen Ecken. An der Spitze befindet sich das rote Logo der Aon plc.


Early life.

Paolini was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in the area of Paradise Valley, Montana. His family members include his parents, Kenneth Paolini and Talita Paolini, and his younger sister, Angela Paolini. Homeschooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses from the American School of Correspondence in Lansing, Illinois.

Career.

Following his high school graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel "Eragon", the first of a four-book series set in the mythical land of Alagaësia.  In 2002, "Eragon" was published for the first time by Paolini International LLC, Paolini's parents' publishing company. To promote the book, Paolini toured over 135 schools and libraries, discussing reading and writing, all the while dressed in "a medieval costume of red shirt, billowy black pants, lace-up boots, and a jaunty black cap." He drew the cover art for the first edition of "Eragon", which featured Saphira's eye, along with the maps on the inside covers of his books.  In mid-2002, the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen found "Eragon" in a bookstore and loved it; this led to Hiaasen bringing it to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. Knopf subsequently made an offer to publish "Eragon" and the rest of "The Inheritance Cycle". The second edition of "Eragon" was published by Knopf in August 2003. At the age of nineteen, Paolini became a "New York Times" bestselling author.  In December 2006, Fox 2000 released the film adaptation of "Eragon" in theaters around the world. It received mostly negative reviews from critics, and made a combined domestic and international gross of $249,488,115 USD against a production budget of $100,000,000.  Paolini's essay "It All Began with Books" was included in the April 2005 anthology "Guys Write for Guys Read".  "Eldest", the sequel to "Eragon", was released August 23, 2005. The third book in the cycle, "Brisingr", was released on September 20, 2008. Although "The Inheritance Cycle" was originally planned as a trilogy, a fourth book, "Inheritance", was released on November 8, 2011 in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and India, and was subsequently translated and published in fifty-three countries. "The Inheritance Cycle" has sold more than 35 million copies.  On December 31, 2018, "The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm", the first book in a series called "Tales of Alagaësia", was published and released to the public.  Paolini's new science fiction novel, "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars", is releasing on September 15, 2020. He also plans to return to the world of Alagaësia with a fifth book when he finishes his science-fiction book.

Influences.

Paolini's literary inspirations include the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and E.R. Eddison, as well as the epic poem "Beowulf". Paolini said that "Eragon" was "specifically inspired" by "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher", by Bruce Coville. Other literary influences include David Eddings, Andre Norton, Brian Jacques, Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Mervyn Peake, Ursula K. Le Guin and Frank Herbert. Other favorite books include works by Jane Yolen, Philip Pullman, Terry Brooks, and Garth Nix.  Nature influences much of Paolini's writing. In an interview with Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce, Paolini said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration.  In the acknowledgments of "Brisingr," Paolini acknowledged the influence of Leon and Hiroko Kapp's "The Craft of the Japanese Sword" for his description of the forging of Eragon's sword. Additionally, Paolini admitted he is a "Doctor Who" fan, which inspired his reference to the "lonely god" (the epithet given to the Doctor by the Face of Boe in the episode "New Earth"), to "rooms that are bigger on the inside than the outside" (from "Questions Unanswered" in "Inheritance"), as well as to Raxacoricofallapatorius, the home of the Slitheen ("Blood Price" in "Inheritance").

Reception.

Paolini's books have sold very well and have topped the charts of "The New York Times", "USA Today", and "Publishers Weekly" bestsellers lists.  The Guinness World Records recognized Christopher Paolini as the "youngest author of a bestselling book series" on January 5, 2011.

Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American author. He is best known for "The Inheritance Cycle", which consists of the books "Eragon", "Eldest", "Brisingr", "Inheritance", and most recently "The Fork, the Witch and the Worm". He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.

Christopher Paolini (* 17. November 1983 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) ist ein US-amerikanischer Autor. Seine Buchreihe "Eragon" wurde weltweit über 35 Millionen Mal verkauft.


Early life.

Hench was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and raised in Southern California. He attended the Art Students' League in New York. Hench attended further art and creative schools in the United States, including the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, and the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles.

Career.

In 1939, Hench started as a story artist in the animation department working in areas including backgrounds, layout and art direction, effects animation and special effects. Hench was respected by Walt Disney as one of the studio's most gifted artists and worked him and Salvador Dalí on the animated short "Destino", a project which began in 1945 and not completed until 2003.  Afterwards, he moved to WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering). In 1954, Hench was in the studio's live action department, as lead developer of the hydraulic giant squid in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." The film won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1954. Hench was also Disney's official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse, painting the company's portraits for Mickey's 25th, 50th, 60th, 70th, and 75th birthdays.  Hench led the design for various attractions: Tomorrowland, the Adventureland buildings and walkways, New Orleans Square and the Snow White Grotto. He also designed Space Mountain, and Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. He also contributed to attractions such as the Mickey Mouse Revue, Carousel of Progress and It's a Small World. Hench was often mistaken as Walt Disney, therefore, theme parks guests would often ask him for an autograph or photo.  One of Hench's most recognizable work is his design for the Olympic Torch for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California, which subsequent torches have been based on. The design is modeled after the torches of the 1948 and 1956 Olympiads. In 1990, he received the Disney Legend award, the company's highest honor, presented by then-CEO Michael Eisner. Hench remained at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California until 2004.

Personal life.

Hench and his wife were longtime devotees of the Hindu saint Ramakrishna, were initiated by Swami Prabhavananda, and were members of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hench serving as the society's board president for a short time.  Hench died of heart failure in February 2004 after a brief hospitalization in Burbank, California. His name tag and 65-year service award are displayed in the Imagineering building lobby, with tributes by Imagineers lining its hallways. He is survived by his wife, Lowry.

Legacy.

The John Hench School of Animation at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California is named in his honor. He was a major contributor to the animation school. The school motto, ""Art Makes Us Human"", is a quote from Hench when he visited the school to inspire students.

John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an artist, designer and creative director at The Walt Disney Company. For 65 years, he helped design and develop various Disney attractions and theme parks.

John Hench (* 29. Juni 1908 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; † 5. Februar 2004 in Burbank, Kalifornien) war ein amerikanischer Illustrator, Storyboard Artist und Production Designer. Er war einer der ersten Zeichner der Walt Disney Company, wirkte an zahlreichen Trickfilmklassikern wie "Dumbo", "Peter Pan" oder "Cinderella" mit und war nach dem Tode Walt Disneys 1966 maßgeblich an der Entwicklung der Disneyland-Themenparks beteiligt. John Hench war der „offizielle“ Maler der Micky Maus und fertigte das jeweilige Porträt der weltberühmten Comic-Figur zu dessen 25., 50., 60. und 75. Geburtstag.


Background.

On 28 February 2007 the official census was published, identifying the number of eligible voters, with the electoral rolls compiled and published between 21 and 26 November, before being finalised on 12 December. Pre-registration of candidates began on 23 April, with 25–26 November as the dates to officially register.

Candidates.

The elections were a three-way race between the ruling United New Democratic Party's Chung Dong-young, opposition Grand National Party's Lee Myung-bak, and conservative independent Lee Hoi-chang. Also in the race but polling less than 10% were former Yuhan Kimberly CEO Moon Kook-hyun and congressman Kwon Young-ghil from Ulsan.

United New Democratic primaries.

A total of nine candidates ran to be the United New Democratic Party presidential candidate;  An opinion poll was conducted on 2,400 eligible voters and 10,000 of those who signed up to vote in the primaries between 3 and 5 September; only the top five candidates were allowed to advance to the full primary elections.  Despite qualifying for the full primary vote, Han Myeong-sook withdrew her bid for nomination and endorsed Lee Hae-chan before the primary races began. The primary races counted for 90% of the final result and the opinion poll 10%.  At the UNDP National Convention, held on October 15, 2007, Chung was officially named the party's presidential nominee.

Grand National Party primaries.

Five candidates contested the primaries of the Grand National Party:  Former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu sought to participate, but he later decided to instead run for the UNDP nomination, and failed.  The GNP primary consisted of opinion polling (weighted 20%) and popular vote by pre-registered electors (weighted 80%). The poll and the voting were all conducted on 19 August and the results were announced at the National Convention on 20 August, naming Lee Myung-bak as the official nominee. Because Lee won the race with a slight margin, there was controversy regarding the method primary election used (opinion poll). However, Park Geun-hye conceded her loss to Lee. Park ran again in 2012 and won the primary.

Lee Hoi-chang.

1997 and 2002 presidential candidate for GNP, Lee Hoi-chang had announced his candidacy on November 7, 2007 as an independent, not joining GNP primary.

Democratic Labor primary.

The primary election of the Democratic Labour Party involved two types of voting; The total number of party members that were eligible to cast a vote was 50,117.  No candidate received a majority of the votes, so a second round of the presidential primary was scheduled from 10 to 15 September.

Creative Korea primary.

Moon Kook-hyun (문국현), former CEO of Yuhan Kimberly (Kimberly-Clark's company in Korea), was elected as the official presidential candidate of the party on 4 November 2007, through mobile voting amongst party members.

Exit polls.

An exit poll was announced at 18:00 on election day, at which point voting had finished. It predicted Lee Myung-bak had won an absolute majority.

Other information.

On April 7, 2011, a National Intelligence Service agent was guilty of investigating Lee Myung-bak's secret real estate-related information before the election.  According to WikiLeaks, Yoo Chong-ha (유종하), the former co-chairman of Lee Myung-bak's presidential election campaign, requested to then American ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow, to delay the extraction of the main individual of the BBK embezzlement scandal, Christopher Kim (Kim Kyung-joon), to Korea on the request to prevent spreading controversies related to Lee Myung-bak's involvement in the BBK embezzlement scandal during the election season.

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2007. The election was won by Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party, returning conservatives to the Blue House for the first time in ten years. Lee defeated United New Democratic nominee Chung Dong-young and independent Lee Hoi-chang by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, the largest since direct elections were reintroduced in 1987. It also marked the first time a president-elect in Korea was under investigation by a prosecutor. Voter turnout was 63.0%, an all-time low according to the National Election Commission.

Die 17. Präsidentschaftswahl in Südkorea fand am 19. Dezember 2007 statt. Aus der Wahl ging Lee Myung-bak von der Hannara-Partei (, Hannara-dang, Große Nationalpartei) als Sieger hervor, womit die Konservativen erstmals seit zehn Jahren wieder ins Blaue Haus, den Amtssitz des Präsidenten, einziehen können. Lee besiegte dabei den Kandidaten der liberalen Yeollin-uri-Partei (, Yeollin-uri-dang, Unsere Offene Partei), Chung Dong-young, der unter dem amtierenden Präsidenten Roh Moo-hyun als Minister für die Vereinigung gedient hatte, den Kandidaten der Demokratischen Partei Lee In-je und den unabhängigen konservativen Kandidaten Lee Hoi-chang mit dem größten Vorsprung vor dem Zweitplatzierten seit der Wiedereinführung von direkten Wahlen im Jahre 1987. Gegen Lee wurde allerdings noch wegen Beteiligung an einem gesetzeswidrigen Aktiengeschäft ermittelt. Die Ermittlungen mussten vor der Amtseinführung abgeschlossen sein. Ihm konnte damals nichts nachgewiesen werden.


Playing career.

Club.

Víctor was born in Mérida, Extremadura. A product of CD Leganés' youth system, he made his senior debut with Real Madrid Castilla, and first appeared in La Liga with CD Tenerife, having little success in a one-and-a-half season stint. Towards the end of the second year, he played with CD Toledo in the second division.  In 1996–97, Víctor joined Real Valladolid, scoring 16 top-flight goals in his debut campaign to help the club rank seventh, then spent another four years with Villarreal CF, where he was also a regular fixture (with a combined 28 successful strikes in his first two seasons). On 5 June 2000, the latter signed him to a seven-year contract worth 1.4 million pesetas over the next seven years.  In 2004, Víctor was deemed surplus to requirements at Villarreal and rejoined Valladolid, teaming up with centre forward Joseba Llorente for three years and netting nine goals to help the side retain their top level status in 2008.  In July 2009, after having once again helped the Castile and León team avoid relegation – 29 games, five goals, 1,956 minutes– Víctor, aged 35, was not offered a new contract and left. The following week he penned a one-year deal with FC Cartagena, recently promoted to division two.  Víctor scored nine league goals for the Murcian side in his first season, improving to 12 in the following as they consecutively managed to stay afloat. In July 2011, the 37-year-old returned to first club Leganés who competed in the third tier, signing for one year.

International.

Víctor played one match for Spain, coming on for Luis Enrique in a 0–0 friendly draw with Croatia in Split, on 23 February 2000.

Coaching career.

In April 2012, Víctor retired to become Leganés' manager until the end of the campaign. With three wins and a draw, he saved them from relegation to Tercera División.  On 29 June 2015, Víctor returned to third-tier management at his former club Cartagena. His two-year contract ended with his dismissal on 1 February 2016, after seven games without a win.

Honours.

Villarreal

Víctor Manuel Fernández Gutiérrez (born 17 April 1974), known simply as Víctor, is a Spanish retired footballer. Usually a striker, he could also be put to use behind a sole attacker.

Víctor Manuel Fernández Gutiérrez, kurz Víctor (* 17. April 1974 in Mérida) ist ein ehemaliger spanischer Fußballspieler und heutiger -trainer.


History.

Over 200 million years ago, during the Permian Age, this part of North America was covered by an inland sea. The water eventually evaporated, leaving behind huge deposits of alabaster and other minerals. Upheavals of the earth raised the gypsum bed close to the surface. Over time, water streams tunneled caverns through the formation, which contains an abundant quality of selenite crystals, white and pink gypsum as well as deposits of rare black alabaster.  There is no official record of discovery for Alabaster Caverns, even though they were known to have been used as hideouts by outlaws in the 19th Century. The first documented exploration of the caves occurred in 1898, shortly after Hugh Litton homesteaded the area in 1893. Several individuals leased land around them during the 1920s and 30s, and allowed limited tours of the caverns, which they called "bat caves." In 1939, an Englishman named Charles Grass bought the land. began renovating the caves, and opened them for public tours. It was Grass who gave them their current name. Grass was in failing health in 1952 when a group of five businessmen from Freedom, Oklahoma, the nearest community, and members of the Waynoka Railroad Labor League began lobbying for the U.S. state of Oklahoma to buy Grass' land. The state purchased from Grass on September 1, 1953, for $34,000, then reclassified the purchase as a state park in 1956, under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board.  In the mid-1950s the caves served as a nuclear fallout shelter.

Geology.

Alabaster Caverns State Park is underlain by Permian age sedimentary rocks (~300 to 250 million years old). The main cavern extends into the formation, is about wide and high. The cavern branches into boulder formations and smaller caves. A small perennial stream now flows through the cavern, fed by various lateral tunnels and seepage from the roof. In the geologic past, the river was once capable of completely filling the cavern, as the cave walls and gypsum formations show evidence of sculpting by rapidly flowing water. The air temperature ranges from 52 ̊F to 58 ̊ year round in the cavern.

Wildlife.

The cavern is home to five different species of bat. Some are solitary while others are colonial. The cavern provides roosting sites that serve as daytime shelter and a place for the non-migrating bats to hibernate during the winter months. Mexican free-tailed bats migrate to Alabaster Caverns from Mexico in the spring to bear their young. They then return to Mexico in the fall.  The bat species found in the cave are the cave myotis, Western big-eared bat, eastern pipistrelle, Western big brown bat, and the Mexican free-tailed bat.  Alabaster Caverns State Park personnel made a count of the bats in the caverns this year and reported over 19,000. In 2016, the count reported about 16,000.

Visitor activities.

Beside guided cave tours, wild caving, camping, hiking trails, and recreational facilities such as horseshoe pits and volleyball courts are available to visitors.  Tours are conducted every hour on the hour and last about 45 minutes, and are limited to 40 persons each. The caves are lighted and have plenty of handrails. However, the walking tour is about long and visitors must climb up or down about 330 stair steps. This tour is not recommended for people with mobility or respiratory problems, heart conditions or claustrophobia.

Proposed park closure in 2018.

In March 2017, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation published a list of 16 state parks that may be closed to help offset a reduction in its budget for 2018. Alabaster Canyon State Park is on this list. This list represents approximately one-half of the parks remaining after the department closed seven parks in 2011.

Alabaster Caverns State Park is a state park approximately south of Freedom, Oklahoma, United States near Oklahoma State Highway 50. The park attracted 24,706 visitors in FY 2016, The lowest count of the three parks in its part of Oklahoma. According to the "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture", the park Previously attracted about 40,000 visitors per year. It is home to the largest natural gypsum cave in the world that is open to the public. The gypsum is mostly in the form of alabaster. There are several types of alabaster found at the site, including pink, white, and the rare black alabaster. This black alabaster can be found in only three veins in the world, one each in Oklahoma, Italy and China. Another form of gypsum can be found in the many selenite crystal formations.

Der Alabaster Caverns State Park ist ein State Park im Woodward County 10 km südlich der Ortschaft Freedom in Oklahoma gelegen. Im 81 Hektar großen Park, der über den State Highway 50 erreichbar ist, befindet sich eine 1200 m lange Gipshöhle mit verschiedenfarbigen Ausformungen von Alabaster.


Plot summary.

Dr. Sharon Golban finds an ancient skeleton in Jerusalem in a rich man's tomb. Coloration of the wrist and ankle bones indicates the cause of death was crucifixion. Several artifacts, including a gold coin bearing the marks of Pontius Pilate and a jar dating to 32 AD, date the tomb to the year Christ died. Faint markings on the skull consistent with thorns, the absence of broken leg bones, occupational markers suggesting the deceased was a carpenter, and a nick on the ribs from a pointed object lead authorities to suspect that these could be the bones of Christ. The different reactions of politicians, clerics, religious extremists—some prepared to use terror to gain their ends—to the religious, cultural and political implications of the find, make life difficult and dangerous for the investigators as they seek to unearth the truth.  Father Matt Gutierrez is assigned by the Vatican to investigate the case and to protect the Christian faith. He sets out to prove that the bones are not those of Jesus, but as there is more and more evidence to support the claim, his faith begins to waver. Troubled by the case, he turns to Father Lavelle who commits suicide because he cannot reconcile the scientific evidence with his faith. This event causes Father Gutierrez to turn from his faith, but he comes back to it in the end. He also comes to understand that it is the power of the Catholic Church that he is protecting and not the faith, and decides to resign from his priesthood.

Themes.

The film deals mainly with two subjects:

Depiction of archaeology.

Dr. Golban is much more meticulous in her work than many other film archaeologists are. She examines the bones found without removing them from the site, and is very careful not to compromise the remains or any other artifacts found. The small things at the site are not overlooked and looting is one of the problems she faces, which are both aspects of real archaeology (See also: small finds). For instance, she uses several methods for dating the tomb such as thermoluminescence dating and relative dating techniques.

Thermoluminesence dating.

The clay jar that is found inside the tomb was brought to a lab for two kinds of testing: dating and composition of contents. Dr. Golban wanted to determine the age (and therefore date the tomb) and figure out what the jar was used for. Thermoluminescence dating is commonly used on ancient pottery and tools. This technique is used to determine the time passed since an object was fired (such as pottery). It has been found to be very accurate, to within ±1 to 10%. It works by thermally stimulating the object in question, thereby releasing the energy accumulated in the object during its preliminary excitation. In other words, when an object is fired, electrons are released within the object itself and its 'clock' is set to "0". Thermoluminescence releases trapped electrons and uses the amount of energy released to determine the time since that initial firing (time '0').  To determine how the jar was used and what it contained, the lab performed mass spectrometry tests on it. Mass spectrometry is typically the process used to identify unknown substances found on/in archaeological sites. A sample of the contents of the jar is loaded into the mass spectrometry machine where it is then bombarded by electrons causing it to become ionized. This process causes molecules from the sample to break off in charged fragments. The ions are then deflected by an electric or magnetic field which are then picked up by an electron multiplayer. A spectra results from the abundance of detected ions as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. The fragments are then identified through comparison to known molecular weights and fragmentation patterns. The contents of the jar were found to be an anointing oil. The jar was an anointing jar, which was one aspect of Jewish burial rituals.

Shroud of Turin.

Briefly in the film Father Matt Gutierrez and archaeologist Dr. Sharon Golban talk about the famous Shroud of Turin. The 4.1 m × 1.1 m linen cloth is well known for its depiction of an image of a man that looks very similar to the description of Jesus Christ. The man on the shroud suffered from physical injuries very similar to those that someone would bear after being crucified, consistent with the Biblical description of Christ's crucifixion. Father Gutierrez mentions the Shroud of Turin when there is a question over the height of the body that is found in the tomb. He says the bones in the tomb can’t possibly be those of Jesus Christ because the height of the skeleton found does not fit with the height of the man believed to be Christ portrayed on the Shroud of Turin.  The bones in the tomb belong to a person who would stand at a height of approximately 5'5", whereas the body that is believed to be Christ's on the shroud is of a man of 5'111⁄2" to 6'2"; while the Bible does reference Jesus as being tall, during the times of Christ such a height would indeed have been remarkable. Dr. Golban responds with some animosity towards his comment because the Shroud of Turin has been proven through scientific testing to be a hoax and not the image of Jesus Christ but instead a victim of Roman crucifixion. The Shroud of Turin is believed to be an artist's representation of Jesus by means of using an impression technique on the linen.

The Body is a 2001 mystery thriller drama film written and directed by Jonas McCord. Based on the novel of the same name by Richard Sapir, it stars Antonio Banderas, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng, Lillian Lux, John Wood, and Derek Jacobi. It is a joint American-Israeli-German co-production, shot on-location in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The Body (Alternativtitel: "Das geheimnisvolle Grab") ist ein US-amerikanisch-israelischer Thriller aus dem Jahr 2001. Regie führte Jonas McCord, der auch das Drehbuch anhand eines Romans von Richard Sapir schrieb.


Location.

The station is located on the western edge of Neu-Isenburg at the end of Bahnhofstraße, about two kilometres from the city centre. It is on the Main-Neckar Railway, connecting Frankfurt and Heidelberg.

History.

Initially when the Main-Neckar Railway was opened, on 1 August 1846, there was no Neu Isenburg station. To gain an economic benefit from the railway, the citizens of Neu-Isenburg made numerous submissions to the Ministry of Finance of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Darmstadt, which was then responsible for transport in the state. These submissions were initially rejected. It was only at the beginning of 1852 that the request was granted and, on 1 November 1852, Isenburg station was opened. Initially, only a few used the new station. The accounts of 1852/1853 noted that receipts amounting to 107 guilders and 15 Kreuzers had been taken for the transport of passengers, animals and baggage.  Originally, the only station building was a signalman’s house, which was replaced by a station building during the laying of the second track in the autumn of 1861. A year later the station was connected by telegraph.

Extension.

Two shunting sidings were built in late 1873 and a rail siding was opened to the brickworks of Philipp Holzmann & Cie. in the same year, which boosted the economy of the town. All the sets of points at the site had to be operated by hand at first. The first signal box was built in 1876, which could set points and signals using wires. In 1893, the signal box was replaced by a centralised interlocking called "Isb".  In 1894 the station received its first electric lights. In 1900, the northern shunting siding on the line to Darmstadt, which had in the meantime been used as a freight yard, was reinstated for shunting. Traffic at the station had already increased to 100,000 passengers and 45,000 tons of freight per year.  In 1904, a second signal box was opened with the name "If".

Branch line to Isenburg-Stadt.

In order to improve the railway connection to the centre of Neu-Isenburg, a branch line, which was about 2.2 km long, was commissioned to the southern part of the town on 20 March 1902. The line was single track and ran to a freight yard with six tracks. The southernmost of these tracks had two manually operated turntables, which connected to industrial sidings. This branch line only carried freight because the Frankfurt Forest Railway ("Frankfurter Waldbahn",) already provided a connection from Neu-Isenburg to Frankfurt for passengers (now line 14 of the Frankfurt trams). At the end of 2006 this (never electrified) branch line was closed and the tracks were later partly removed.

Interwar period.

During the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923, Neu Isenburg station was commandeered by French troops and could not be entered by Germans. As many in Isenburg depended on a railway connection, an emergency station was established by a local railway on a siding only 400 metres away from the station in the district of Frankfurt, which was not occupied. It consisted merely of a wooden hut for the sale of tickets and a plank crossing of the track, which ensured a reasonably safe entry and exit. The provisional station only closed with the withdrawal of French troops in September 1924.  During the Second World War the town of Neu-Isenburg and its station were repeated exposed to heavy air raids, but—in contrast to other stations in the area—the entrance building was unharmed and only parts of its tracks were damaged; these were quickly repaired after the war. There was a major accident in the last days of 1945 when the dispatcher on duty left the signal box to go to a shelter in anticipation of an air raid. Previously he had set the signal to permit a train from Frankfurt to run on to track 3, without remembering that the track was still occupied by a passenger train. The collision of the trains led to the death of nearly forty people.

Deutsche Bundesbahn.

In the early 1960s, Deutsche Bundesbahn decided to join the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region to the international motorail network. It chose Neu-Isenburg station as the terminal for these operations. The first car train stopped here in on 29 May 1961. In 1968, the car loading facility gained a second track.  On 14 April 1969, the "Isb" and "If" signal boxes were replaced by a new combined signal box called "If", which took over the functions of the "Bf" and "Bn" signal boxes in Dreieich-Buchschlag. It is a relay interlocking of class "Sp Dr S 60" (a Siemens pushbutton interlocking introduced in 1960). The interlocking is still operating today.  Shunting ended at Neu Isenburg station in 1983. Since 1997, the station has been an S-Bahn stop.

Public transport services.

Rail.

The station is served by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn and DB Regio services.  S-Bahn lines S 3 and S 4 each stop at the station every half hour on weekdays, which together provide services every 15-minute. On Sundays, both lines operate every hour, together providing a service every half hour. The Regionalbahn RB 61 service (Dreieich Railway) runs from Monday to Friday three times in the morning from Dieburg to Frankfurt and three times in the afternoon from Frankfurt to Dieburg on the line.

Motorail.

The station has a loading dock for motorail trains of DB AutoZug. During the summer season approximately 10,000 vehicles are loaded at the Auto Train terminal. Passengers drive themselves over a paved ramp on to a two-story car transport waggon. In the first 25 years of the motorail terminal in Neu-Isenburg handled 200,000 vehicles. Upon the arrival of the train, the loaded wagons are attached to the train and passengers board sleeping and couchette cars. Trains run from Neu-Isenburg to Narbonne in France, Alessandria and Verona in Italy and Villach in Austria. A glass-enclosed waiting room is available on the south side of the station for users of the service.

Bus.

There are two bus stops, served by the transport companies of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (Rhine-Main Transport Association, RMV). The "Bahnhof Westseite" (west side) bus stop connects Neu Isenburg station with Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport, the Obertshausen station (line 651) and Rödermark-Urberach (line OF-95).  The "Bahnhof Ostseite" (east side) bus stop is served by buses to Darmstadt-Arheilgen (line 662) and Mörfelden via Langen (line 663).  Line OF-51 operates every hour from Zeppelinheim station to the east side (terminating there) or continuing via the west side to Gravenbruch.

Others.

There is a taxi rank on the east side of the station and a park and ride car park has been built on the west side. There is a restaurant, a kiosk and a travel centre and a motorail ticket office the station building.

Track plan.

The Main-Neckar Railway runs as four tracks between Frankfurt-Louisa and Dreieich-Buchschlag. One track (line 3655) separates from the long-distance tracks of the Main-Neckar Railway north of Neu Isenburg station, which becomes platform track 1 through the station. South of the station, the eastern track reconnects to the four main line tracks after the separation of the Dreieich Railway (line 3653).  The western two tracks (line 3688) form station tracks 3 and 2, which are used by the S-Bahn. The next two tracks are part of line 3601, which is used by long-distance passenger and freight trains and do not abut platforms at the station. The single track line 3655, used by the Regionalbahn service between Dieburg and Frankfurt, forms platform track 1 through the station. East of track 1, are the tracks of the motorail terminal.

Neu Isenburg station is on the Rhine-Main S-Bahn in Neu-Isenburg in the German state of Hesse. It was opened on 1 November 1852 and is now served by S-Bahn and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. Since 29 May 1961, it has been the only station in Hesse with a loading terminal for motorail trains. In addition, it has two bus stops, a taxi stand and a park and ride car park. The station is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 4 station.

Der Bahnhof Neu-Isenburg ist ein Bahnhof in Hessen. Er wurde am 1. November 1852 in Betrieb genommen und wird heute von der S-Bahn Rhein-Main und Regionalzügen der DB Regio bedient. Seit dem 29. Mai 1961 bis zum 25. Oktober 2014 besaß er als einziger hessischer Bahnhof ein Verladeterminal für Autoreisezüge (AZ). Des Weiteren verfügt er über zwei Bushaltestellen, einen Taxistand und einen Park+Ride-Parkplatz.


Structure.

A typical Brochmann body is mass of whitish nodules of variable sizes, ranging from 1 to 8 mm in diameter. The nodules are composed of polygonal and elongated cells. The cells are enveloped with connective tissues. They are separated into two major islets: one is found near the spleen and the other is located inside the wall of the duodenum, at the pyloric junction. Both islet groups contain insulin, glucagon, peptide YY and somatostatin, but these proteins are secreted only in the pyloric Brockmann bodies. The amino acid sequence and primary structure of the hormones are slightly different from their counterparts in higher vertebrates. For example, tilapia and human insulin differs by 17 amino acids. There are also amino acid variation among different species; for example, glutamine residue, at position 5 in the A-chain of insulin in most teleosts, is replaced by glutamic acid in tilapia.

Medical significance.

Brochmann body shows medical benefits in the management of endocrine and immunological disorders. An advantage of using teleost fish over other animals, such as pigs, in the studies of diabetes mellitus is that its endocrine cells are separated from the pancreatic exocrine tissue and can be easily isolated and harvested. While mammalian pancreas is expensive and laborious to collect. Further, fish tissue can be preserved in better condition for longer period. Moreover, the teleost fishes can regenerate their endocrine tissues after harvest, implying that the property could be beneficial in type I diabetes mellitus. The Brockmann body of the tilapia ("Oreochromis nilotica") is investigated as a potential xenograft tissue for patients with type 1 diabetes. The transplantation of tilapia Brockmann bodies into a diabetic mice model has been shown to promote long-term normal blood glucose level. The tilapia islet grafts give better blood glucose level than rat or mouse islet grafts. But as in mammalian transplant, tissue rejection is a problem. An attempt to solve this is creation of a transgenic tilapia that contain a human insulin gene. These transgenic tilapia produce stable amount of human insulin, and are now undergoing selective breeding.

Brockmann body is an endocrine organ in some teleost fish, and is composed of a collection of islet tissues. The islet tissues are in turn composed of endocrine cells which are the principal sites of insulin synthesis. They are distributed around the spleen and the large intestine. They also secrete other hormones such as glucagon and somatostatin. Hence, Brochmann body is the centre of control of blood glucose level in these fishes. Glucagon is also produced from the intestine, but Brockmann body is the major source. Increased level of glucose stimulate the Brockmann body to release insulin, while inhibiting glucagon. Somatostatin released from Brockmann body inhibits cells to produce insulin and glucagon. In addition it inhibits release of growth hormone from the pituitary. It is named after a German physician Heinrich Brochmann who discovered it in 1848.

Als Brockmann-Körper, Brockmannsche Körper, Brockmann-Körperchen und gelegentlich auch als Hauptinseln (englisch "Brockmann bodies" oder "principal islets") werden anatomische Strukturen in den meisten Knochenfischarten bezeichnet, die aus endokrinem Gewebe bestehen und deren Hauptaufgabe die Produktion und Abgabe des Hormons Insulin in Abhängigkeit vom Blutzuckerspiegel ist. Sie wurden erstmals 1846 von Heinrich Brockmann in der Groppenart "Cottus scorpius" und der Kabeljauart "Gadus callarias" beschrieben.


Description.

Located in woodlands near Irbene, in Ventspils Municipality, Latvia, the centre was founded in 1974 by the Soviet military. It originally consisted of a 32-metre telescope, along with two smaller telescopes and a communications centre, and was known as Zvezdochka, meaning "Little Star". It was possibly used by the KGB during the Cold War to spy on communications between Europe and the United States.  It became a scientific research facility in the 1990s, established on 22 July 1994 as part of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, before becoming an independent organisation on 24 April 1996. It is now known as the Ventspils International Radioastronomy Center ("Ventspils Starptautiskais radioastronomijas centrs"), or the Irbene Astronomy Center.  Since 2019, Indra Dedze is the acting director of the centre, who replaced Valdis Avotiņš.

RT-32.

RT-32 is a parabolic radio telescope. It is made up of over 20,000 components, and the central cone weighs 80 tonnes. The fully steerable telescope observes at centimetre wavelengths. The combination of size and precision engineering makes the larger dish especially valuable to scientists. The structure was built by a naval factory in Ukraine, and the interiors are reminiscent of a ship.  The telescope is mounted on a tower. It has an focal length, and a secondary mirror.  In its first upgrade since being constructed, RT-32 was temporarily dismantled towards the end of 2014, and moved to a purpose-built shelter for restoration. The restoration includes re-welding the panels, replacing rusted parts, and repairing damage caused by the passage of time, water ingress and lightning strikes. The telescope will also be upgraded to enable it to be controlled remotely, and to be able to make more precise and sensitive observations. The telescope will be used in Very-long-baseline interferometry. The restoration cost around €16 million overall, with the restoration of the telescope panels costing around €1.5 million; the restoration was funded by the European Union and Latvian state and Ventspils district governments. The dish of the telescope was remounted in June 2015, with the restoration due to be completed in October 2015.

RT-16.

The centre also has a parabolic radio telescope.

LOFAR.

Since 2019, the VIRAC observatory in Irbene includes a LOFAR station.

The Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre ( – "VIRAC") is an ex-Soviet radio astronomy installation 30 km north of Ventspils, Latvia, on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Ance parish. The installation was secret until 1993 after Latvia regained independence. It was taken over by the Latvian Academy of Sciences after the withdrawal of the Soviet Army in 1994. Since then, the two remaining radio telescopes have been repaired and renewed.

Das Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center ("VIRAC", ) ist eine Forschungseinrichtung für Radioastronomie in Irbene, Lettland. Bei der Anlage handelt es sich um eine ehemals militärischen Zwecken dienende Einrichtung der Sowjetunion. Sie befindet sich in einem ehemaligen militärischen Sperrgebiet ungefähr 30 Kilometer nördlich von Ventspils an der Ostseeküste. Seit dem Abzug der sowjetischen Truppen 1994 verwendet die Lettische Akademie der Wissenschaften die Anlage für Forschungszwecke. Dazu mussten allerdings umfangreiche Reparaturen zur Behebung von vorsätzlichen Zerstörungen durchgeführt werden.


History.

Billund Airport had its beginning in 1961 when the son of the founder of the Lego Group, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, established a private 800-meter long runway and hangar north of his factory in Billund. With Christiansen as a key driver, more of the neighbouring municipalities were included in the group of owners, and it was planned that the airport should be expanded to a regular public airport.  The construction of the new airport was carried out during 1964 and the airport opened on 1 November, with one runway at 1660 meters in length and 45 meters width, a small platform where aircraft could be served, and a control tower to the controller. Hans Erik Christensen, the former chief pilot at LEGO, became director, and the passengers were handled in LEGO's hangar until the first terminal building was opened in the spring of 1966. The airport was continuously expanded the following years, with new facilities, terminal buildings, lounge, tax-free area and hangars where LC Johansen's studio often participated as an architect (today called the Johannsen Architects), while other work was carried out by the airport's own studio.  In 1997 they had an architectural competition for a new 430,000 ft2 (40,000 m2) passenger terminal, designed to serve 3.5 million passengers a year, north of the original airport. KHR Architects won the assignment and completed the construction in co-operation with COWI, and at the end of May 2002 the new passenger terminal was put to use, as the first phase of the future expansion, which is scheduled to take place north of the start and runway, while air cargo services, business and private aviation will continue to be served from the existing buildings south of the runway. In connection with this expansion, the largest since the beginning of the airport, it was with effect from 1 January 1997 turned into a Joint-stock company, Billund Airport A/S, with the former members Vejle County and municipalities Vejle, Kolding, Grindsted, Billund, and Give as shareholders.  In 2008, the entire runway was renovated and paved, and a new taxiway was built, nicknamed "Mike". This major task only took 14 hours. The runway was closed over night between the hours 23:00 and 06:00. This did not prevent a Boeing 737-800 from Ryanair landing at one end of the runway, while they worked at the other end. The same year was also a record year for the airport. 2,546,856 passengers passed through the terminals, an increase of 12.7 percent compared with 2007.  From mid-2009, the airport was served by 9 airlines flying regular flight service, of which KLM had the busiest route with over 200,000 annual passengers to Amsterdam Schiphol. In 2011, Ryanair announced that Billund Airport with effect from 25 March 2012 would be the base for two Boeing 737 aircraft. At the same time Ryanair published five new routes, so that, from the summer of 2012, they would fly to 19 destinations.  From 1 January 2007 the owners are: Vejle Municipality (34.3%), Kolding Municipality (25.9%), Billund Municipality (15%), Horsens Municipality (10.7%), Fredericia Municipality (6.9%), Hedensted Municipality (6.1%), Brande Municipality (1.0%) and Skanderborg Municipality (0.1%).  In 2014, LEGO produced a special Lego Architecture kit, which could only be bought in the departure hall of the airport.  A new terminal was slated to open in the fall of 2019. It cost more than 100 million Danish kroner.

Capabilities.

The airport handles an average of more than three million passengers a year, and millions of pounds of cargo. The airport's main runway can handle airliners as large as the Boeing 747, although most passengers arrive on smaller aeroplanes, such as ATR-72s, Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s. Boeing 747 activity at this airport is almost exclusively limited to cargo flights.

Airlines and destinations.

Passenger.

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Billund:

Ground transport.

The road distance is to Billund, to Vejle, to Kolding, to Esbjerg and to Aarhus. There are airport buses to Horsens, Skanderborg and Aarhus. Eight additional bus services operate from the airport. There are six parking zones named after countries of the world, USA, Australia, Kenya, Spain, Egypt and Greenland. Three of the zones are connected by a shuttle bus, the other three being within walking distance. A rail link to Billund via the airport is currently In planning stages.

Billund Airport () is an airport in Denmark. Located northeast of Billund, it serves as one of the country's busiest air cargo centres, as well as a charter airline destination. Most major European airports are connected to Billund via multiple daily scheduled flights. Nearby Legoland Billund park is the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen.

Der Flughafen Billund (IATA: BLL, ICAO: EKBI), offiziell "Billund Lufthavn", Marketing-Name "Billund Airport - verden direkte" liegt rund zwei Kilometer nordöstlich von Billund in der Mitte Jütlands. Er ist mit 3,5 Mio. Fluggästen im Jahr 2018 der zweitgrößte Flughafen in Dänemark.


Construction.

The project was initiated in 1987, when Lillian Disney, widow of Walt Disney, donated $50 million. Frank Gehry delivered completed designs in 1991. Construction of the underground parking garage began in 1992 and was completed in 1996. The garage cost had been $110 million, and was paid for by Los Angeles County, which sold bonds to provide the garage under the site of the planned hall. Construction of the concert hall itself stalled from 1994 to 1996 due to lack of fundraising. Additional funds were required since the construction cost of the final project far exceeded the original budget. Plans were revised, and in a cost-saving move the originally designed stone exterior was replaced with a less costly stainless steel skin. The needed fundraising restarted in earnest in 1996, headed by Eli Broad and then-mayor Richard Riordan. Groundbreaking for the hall was held in December 1999. Delay in the project completion caused many financial problems for the county of LA. The County expected to repay the garage debts by revenue coming from the Disney Hall parking users.  Upon completion in 2003, the project cost an estimated $274 million; the parking garage alone cost $110 million. The remainder of the total cost was paid by private donations, of which the Disney family's contribution was estimated to $84.5 million with another $25 million from The Walt Disney Company. By comparison, the three existing halls of the Music Center cost $35 million in the 1960s (about $190 million in today's dollars).

Acoustics.

As construction finished in the spring of 2003, the Philharmonic postponed its grand opening until the fall and used the summer to let the orchestra and Master Chorale adjust to the new hall. Performers and critics agreed that it was well worth this extra time taken by the time the hall opened to the public. During the summer rehearsals a few hundred VIPs were invited to sit in including donors, board members and journalists. Writing about these rehearsals, "Los Angeles Times" music critic Mark Swed wrote the following account:  The hall met with laudatory approval from nearly all of its listeners, including its performers. In an interview with PBS, Esa-Pekka Salonen, former Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said, "The sound, of course, was my greatest concern, but now I am totally happy, and so is the orchestra," and later said, "Everyone can now hear what the L.A. Phil is supposed to sound like." This remains one of the most successful grand openings of a concert hall in American history.  The walls and ceiling of the hall are finished with Douglas-fir while the floor is finished with oak. Columbia Showcase & Cabinet Co. Inc., based in Sun Valley, CA, produced all of the ceiling panels, wall panels and architectural woodwork for the main auditorium and lobbies. The Hall's reverberation time is approximately 2.2 seconds unoccupied and 2.0 seconds occupied.

Regional Connector tunnel.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has an agreement with the Los Angeles Music Center to use the most advanced noise-suppression measures for construction of the Regional Connector Transit Corridor subway under 2nd Street where it passes the hall and the Colburn School of Music. Metro will use procedures to ensure that the rumble of trains does not intrude on the sound quality of recordings made in the venues or mar audiences' musical experience within this sensitive stretch of the tunnel. Metro will also build an elevated walkway from the station to the concert hall.

Reflection problems.

Originally, Frank Gehry had designed the Disney Concert Hall with a facade of stone, because "at night stone would glow," he told interviewer Barbara Isenberg. "Disney Hall would look beautiful at night in stone. It would have just been great. It would have been friendly. Metal at night goes dark. I begged them. No, after they saw Bilbao, they had to have metal."  After the construction, modifications were made to the Founders Room exterior; while most of the building's exterior was designed with stainless steel given a matte finish, the Founders Room and Children's Amphitheater were designed with highly polished mirror-like panels. The reflective qualities of the surface were amplified by the concave sections of the Founders Room walls. Some residents of the neighboring condominiums suffered glare caused by sunlight that was reflected off these surfaces and concentrated in a manner similar to a parabolic mirror. The resulting heat made some rooms of nearby condominiums unbearably warm, caused the air-conditioning costs of these residents to skyrocket and created hot spots on adjacent sidewalks of as much as. There was also the increased risk of traffic accidents due to blinding sunlight reflected from the polished surfaces. After complaints from neighboring buildings and residents, the owners asked Gehry Partners to come up with a solution. Their response was a computer analysis of the building's surfaces identifying the offending panels. In 2005 these were dulled by lightly sanding the panels to eliminate unwanted glare.

Concert organ.

The design of the hall included a large concert organ, completed in 2004, which was used in a special concert for the July 2004 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. The organ had its public debut in a non-subscription recital performed by Frederick Swann on September 30, 2004, and its first public performance with the Philharmonic two days later in a concert featuring Todd Wilson.  The organ's façade was designed by architect Frank Gehry in consultation with organ consultant and tonal designer Manuel Rosales. Gehry wanted a distinctive, unique design for the organ. He would submit design concepts to Rosales, who would then provide feedback. Many of Gehry's early designs were fanciful, but impractical: Rosales said in an interview with Timothy Mangan of "The Orange County Register", "His [Gehry's] earliest input would have created very bizarre musical results in the organ. Just as a taste, some of them would have had the console at the top and pipes upside down. There was another in which the pipes were in layers of arrays like fans. The pipes would have had to be made out of materials that wouldn't work for pipes. We had our moments where we realized we were not going anywhere. As the design became more practical for me, it also became more boring for him." Then, Gehry came up with the curved wooden pipe concept, "like a logjam kind of thing," says Rosales, "turned sideways." This design turned out to be musically viable.  The organ was built by the German organ builder Caspar Glatter-Götz under the tonal direction and voicing of Manuel Rosales. It has an attached console built into the base of the instrument from which the pipes of the Positive, Great, and Swell manuals (keyboards) are playable by direct mechanical, or "tracker" key action, with the rest playing by electric key action; this console somewhat resembles North-German Baroque organs, and has a closed-circuit television monitor set into the music desk. It is also equipped with a detached, movable console, which can be moved about as easily as a grand piano, and plugged in at any of four positions on the stage, this console has terraced, curved "amphitheatre"-style stop-jambs resembling those of French Romantic organs, and is built with a low profile, with the music desk entirely above the top of the console, for the sake of clear sight lines to the conductor. From the detached console, all ranks play by electric key and stop action.  In all, there are 72 stops, 109 ranks, and 6,125 pipes; pipes range in size from a few inches/centimeters to the longest being 32 feet (9.75m) (which has a frequency of 16 hertz).  The organ is a gift to the County of Los Angeles from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (the U.S. sales, marketing, service, and distribution arm of Toyota Motor Corporation).

Restaurant.

The concert hall houses celebrity chef Joachim Splichal's landmark fine dining restaurant Patina designed by Belzberg Architects. Patina serves French and California cuisine.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, and 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves, among other purposes, as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The hall is a compromise between a vinyard-style seating configuration, like the Berliner Philharmonie by Hans Scharoun, and a classical shoebox design like the Vienna Musikverein or the Boston Symphony Hall.

Die Walt Disney Concert Hall ist ein Konzerthaus in Los Angeles, das von Frank Gehry entworfen und 2003 eröffnet wurde. Es ist benannt nach dem Filmproduzenten Walt Disney und beheimatet das Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.