Guggenheim museum in New York

    In June 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright received a letter from Hilla Rebay, the art advisor to Solomon R. Guggenheim, asking the architect to design a new building to house Guggenheim's four-year-old Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The project evolved into a complex struggle pitting the architect against his clients, city officials, the art world, and public opinion. Both Guggenheim and Wright would die before the building's 1959 completion. The resultant achievement, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, testifies not only to Wright's architectural genius, but to the adventurous spirit that characterized its founders.

    The Guggenheim Museum is an embodiment of Wright's attempts to render the inherent plasticity of organic forms in architecture. His inverted ziggurat (a stepped or winding pyramidal temple of Babylonian origin) dispensed with the conventional approach to museum design, which led visitors through a series of interconnected rooms and forced them to retrace their steps when exiting. Instead, Wright whisked people to the top of the building via elevator, and led them downward at a leisurely pace on the gentle slope of a continuous ramp. The galleries were divided like the membranes in citrus fruit, with self-contained yet interdependent sections. The open rotunda afforded viewers the unique possibility of seeing several bays of work on different levels simultaneously.

    Wright's design also expresses his unique take on modernist architecture's rigid geometry. The building is a symphony of triangles, ovals, arcs, circles, and squares. Forms echo one another throughout: oval-shaped columns, for example, reiterate the geometry of the fountain and the stairwell of the Thannhauser Building. Circularity is the leitmotif, from the rotunda to the inlaid design of the terrazzo floors.

    In conquering the static regularity of geometric design and combining it with the plasticity of nature, Wright produced a vibrant building whose architecture is as refreshing now as it was 40 years ago. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is arguably Wright's most eloquent presentation and certainly the most important building of his late career.

    In conquering the static regularity of geometric design and combining it with the plasticity of nature, Wright produced a vibrant building whose architecture is as refreshing now as it was 40 years ago. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is arguably Wright's most eloquent presentation and certainly the most important building of his late career. 

                 The Louvre

    The Louvre, one of the world's finest art museums is located in Paris, France along the Seine River. It houses many significant works of art including the "Victory of Samothrace" and Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." Initially it was a royal fortress and many years later turned into a palace for Philip II, King of France. The halls of the building were so big that the king and his son use to ride on horseback, galloping in and out of its many hallways.

    The Louvre is a tremendous compound of buildings constructed in Paris over a span of three hundred years. It has been constantly enlarged and decorated by French kings. Today, thousands of pictures adorn its towering walls, statues stand elevated on its dazzling floors and abundant art treasures are displayed in over one hundred rooms of the palace. No one knows for sure where the name, Louvre comes from, but some think it probably comes from the Latin word, Lupara. The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world. The art is so priceless that during both World Wars I and II, the government of France took all the valuables out of the Louvre and hid them. The hiding place is still kept secret for fear of it ever having to be used again.

    Since 1848 when it became the holdings of the state, the Louvre has continued to broaden its collection. Many people leave valuable items through a generous gift or bequest. In 1981 President Francois Mitterrand brought forth a new plan called the "Le Grand Louvre" project. This project included an extension and the complete remodeling of the museum. Today, the illustrious Pei glass pyramid marks the new entry to the museum. Inside you can see Greek, Roman, oriental and Egyptian antiquities along with medieval sculptures along with rooms full of Renaissance as well as modern paintings. Some famous statues that can be seen at The Louvre include "Winged Victory" and "Venus de Milo." The ceilings are bejeweled with mosaics, paintings and carvings. Some of the pottery dates back 5,000 years. Inside are room after room of extraordinary French paintings and some of the paintings are so huge they would not fit on the walls of our homes. One could spend months inside the marvelous museum and still not be able to see everything.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

            Brooklyn Bridge

    In 1855, John Roebling, the owner of a wire-rope company and a famous bridge designer, proposed a suspension bridge over the East River after becoming impatient with the Atlantic Avenue-Fulton Street Ferry. Roebling worked out every detail of the bridge, from its massive granite towers to its four steel cables. He thought his design entitled the bridge "to be ranked as a national monument a great work of art."

    Initially, Roebling was met with cool reception by the city governments of New York and Brooklyn. He then approached William C. Kingsley, a Brooklyn businessman with political connections and publisher of the influential Brooklyn Eagle, who met the idea with enthusiasm. In turn, Kingsley enlisted the support of Henry Murphy, a state senator and former mayor of Brooklyn. Murphy then drafted a bill to the New York State Legislature that would enable a private company to build a bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn.

    Responding to those who doubted the need for the bridge, Roebling responded that projected growth in the cities of New York and Brooklyn would necessitate the construction of additional bridges. Specifically, Roebling suggested future construction of the Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges further north along the East River.

    Two years later, in June 1869, the New York City Council and the Army Corps of Engineers approved Roebling's design. Later that month, while examining locations for a Brooklyn tower site, Roebling's foot was crushed on a pier by an incoming ferry. Roebling later died of tetanus as a result of the injuries. Immediately following Roebling's death, his son, Washington, took over as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                    Big Ben

    Big Ben is one of London's best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face. 
       The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.

    The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.

    This bell came originally from the old Palace of Westminster, it was given to the Dean of St. Paul's by William III. Before returning to Westminster to hang in its present home, it was refashioned in Whitechapel in 1858. The BBC first broadcast the chimes on the 31st December 1923 - there is a microphone in the turret connected to Broadcasting House.

    During the second world war in 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the Commons chamber of the Houses of Parliament, but the clock tower remained intact and Big Ben continued to keep time and strike away the hours, its unique sound was broadcast to the nation and around the world, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it.

    There are even cells within the clock tower where Members of Parliament can be imprisoned for a breach of parliamentary privilege, though this is rare; the last recorded case was in 1880.

    The tower is not open to the general public, but those with a "special interest" may arrange a visit to the top of the Clock Tower through their local (UK) MP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                            Taj Mahal

    The history of the Taj Mahal tells us "why was the Taj Mahal built" and many other myths and facts associated with this wonderful structure. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan erected the Taj Mahal in the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan (then Prince Khurram) met Mumtaz Mahal (then Arjumand Banu Begum) at the age of fourteen and fell in love at the first sight. She was a Muslim Persian princess and Shah Jahan was the son of the Mughal Emperor, Jehangir. Five years later, in 1612, they got married.

    Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It is believed that during her last moments, Mumtaz Mahal obtained a promise from Shah Jahan that he will build world's most beautiful monument in her memory. But this has not been proven to be true, till date. However, Shah Jahan did indeed build a magnificent monument as a tribute to her wife, which we today know as the "Taj Mahal". Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife.

    The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631 and it took approximately 22 years to build it. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. It was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was finally completed in the year 1653. However, the history of Taj Mahal of India still has some gaps. For example, there are many theories regarding the architect of this magnificent monument. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Тадж Махал

История Тадж-Махал  говорит нам: "почему Тадж-Махал построен" и многие другие мифы и факты, связанные с этой замечательной постройкой. В эпоху Империи Великих Моголов Шах-Джахана возведен Тадж-Махал в память о его любимой жене, Мумтаз Махал. Шах Джахан (потом князь Хуррам) встретил Мумтаз-Махал (тогда Arjumand Бану Бегум) в возрасте от четырнадцати и влюбился с первого взгляда. Она была принцессой мусульманской-персидской и Шах Джахан был сыном императора Моголов, Джехангир. Пять лет спустя, в 1612 году, они поженились.

Мумтаз-Махал, неразлучная спутница Шах Джахан, умерла в 1631 году, во время родов их четырнадцатого ребенка. Считается, что в ее последние минуты, Мумтаз Махал получила обещание от Шах-Джахана, что он будет строить самый красивый памятник мира в честь ее памяти. Но это не было доказано, чтобы быть правдой, до настоящего времени. Тем не менее, Шах Джахан действительно построил величественный памятник, как дань его супруге, который мы сегодня знаем как "Тадж-Махал". Шах Джахан, и сам, лежит погребенный в этом мавзолее вместе со своей женой. 
Строительство Тадж-Махал началось в 1631 году и он принял около 22 лет, чтобы построить его. Воплощением любви, он воспользовался услугами 22000 рабочих и 1000 слонов. Он был построен полностью из белого мрамора, который был доставлен со всей Индии и Центральной Азии. После расходов примерно в 32 миллионов рупий (приблизительно US $ 68000), Тадж-Махал был окончательно завершен в 1653 году. Однако, история Тадж-Махал в Индии все еще имеет некоторые пробелы. Например, есть много теорий относительно архитектора этого великолепного памятника.