The City Tavern is a replica of a historic 18th-century building located at 138 South 2nd Street, at the intersection of Second and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of Independence National Historical Park. Owner and Executive Chef Walter Staib cooks a variety of entrees using authentic 18th-century recipes, served in seven period dining rooms, three wine cellar rooms and an outdoor garden.

Called the “most genteel tavern in America” by John Adams, it was the favorite meeting place of many of the Founding Fathers and of many members of the First Continental Congress. The land on which City Tavern was built was conveyed in 1772 by Samuel Powell to a group of seven wealthy citizens. The City Tavern was built by subscription in 1773 at a cost of more than £3,000. On May 20, 1774, over two hundred men gathered in the long gallery of the City Tavern to respond to the request for assistance from Bostonians following the passage of the Boston Port Bill.

Many important things happened at City Tavern in the first few decades of the new nation. The first Fourth of July Celebration was held at City Tavern in 1777 to celebrate the anniversary of America’s Independence from Britain. General George Washington first met the Marquis de Lafayette at City Tavern in 1777. The building was partially destroyed by fire on March 22, 1834 and the structure was demolished in 1854.The entire building was reconstructed in the 1970s and re-opened in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial as a functioning tavern and restaurant.

Recent times[edit]
City Tavern is now operated by Chef Walter Staib, an internationally acclaimed chef and TV host of the Emmy Award winning A Taste of History and World Cuisine of the Black Forest. On October 1, 2013, the tavern was temporarily ordered to close by the National Park Service as a result of the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.

The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges formed by the geological features of the Ardennes mountain range and the Moselle and Meuse River basins. Geologically, the range is a western extension of the Eifel and both were raised during the Givetian stage[1] of the Devonian (419.2 ± 3.2 to about 358 million years ago[2]) as were several other named ranges of the same greater range.

Primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into Germany and France (lending its name to the Ardennes department and the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region), and geologically into the Eifel—the eastern extension of the Ardennes Forest into Bitburg-Prüm, Germany, most of the Ardennes proper consists of southeastern Wallonia, the southern and more rural part of the Kingdom of Belgium (away from the coastal plain but encompassing over half of the kingdom’’s total area). The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the northernmost third of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also called “Oesling” (Luxembourgish: Éislek), and on the southeast the Eifel region continues into Rhineland-Palatinate (German state).

The trees and rivers of the Ardennes provided the underlying charcoal industry assets that enabled the great industrial period of Wallonia in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was arguably the second great industrial region of the world, after England. The greater region maintained an industrial eminence into the 20th century after coal replaced charcoal in metallurgy.

Allied generals in World War II felt the region was impenetrable to massed vehicular traffic and especially armor, so the area was effectively “all but undefended” during the war, leading to the German Army twice using the region as an invasion route into Northern France and Southern Belgium via Luxembourg in the Battle of France and the later Battle of the Bulge.

The 3rd landing was completed on August 16, and by 22:00 that day Messina fell to Patton’s forces. By the end of the battle, the 200,000-man Seventh Army had suffered 7,500 casualties, and killed or captured 113,000 Axis troops and destroyed 3,500 vehicles. Still, 40,000 German and 70,000 Italian troops escaped to Italy with 10,000 vehicles.

During World War II, Troina was the seat of a battle between the Allies and the Axis forces. The town was mostly destroyed during the six-day fighting.

The Battle of Troina was an important battle that took place between 31 July and 6 August 1943, as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. Forces of the U.S. II Corps, part of the U.S. Seventh Army, under George S. Patton, engaged in fierce fighting around the town of Troina in the central portion of Sicily along the Caronie Mountains. The battle focused around the numerous hills and mountains surrounding Troina which the Germans had heavily fortified and used as bases for direct and indirect fire.

The Bay Mollarella Poliscia, calls respectively green beaches code field 71 and 72, was one of the four beaches in the territory of Licata (Joss sector) where 10 July 1943, during the Second World War, took place the landing in Sicily of allied American troops. At 2:57  in Mollarella Poliscia “bay primarily put foot on land Siculo the forces of the Third Battalion. Rangers and II Battalion. 15 Infantry Regiment, at whose command was Col. Lt. Col. W. Brookner Brady of the 3rd Infantry Division [6] . on 10 July 2011 a marble commemorative stele was placed in memory of the event in Piazza Venus is in front of Mollarella Bay beach.

In June 1943, during the Second World War, as a precursor to the Allied invasion of Sicily, the island was secured without resistance in Operation Corkscrew by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Lookout and ninety-five men of the 2nd Battalion the Coldstream Guards. White flags had been sighted in the port, and when Lieutenant Corbett of Lookout approached the port in a motor launch, he was told that the island’s garrison wished to surrender. Mussolini had given the garrison his permission to surrender because it lacked any water. The Governor’s formal surrender was accepted in the island’s underground command-post by a combined Army/Navy delegation sometime before 9:00 pm on 12 June 1943. During this process, the governor handed his sword to the Coldstream company commander, Major Bill Harris.  A second unofficial claim has also been made regarding the capitulation of the island, when earlier that same day elements of the garrison had also attempted to surrender in unusual circumstances when Sergeant Sydney Cohen, the pilot of a Royal Air Force Supermarine Walrus aircraft landed having run low on fuel and suffering problems with his compass. Cohen’s exploits were commemorated in a Yiddish play The King Of Lampedusa that ran for six months

The first telephone connection with Sicily was installed only in the 1960s.[citation needed] In the same decade an electric power station was built.[citation needed]

In 1972, part of the western side of the island became a United States Coast Guard LORAN-C transmitter station. In 1979, Lt. Kay Hartzell took command of the Coast Guard base, becoming “the first female commanding officer of an isolated duty station”.

The 1980s, and especially 1985 -1986, saw an increase in tensions and the area around the island was the scene of multiple attacks. On April 15, 1986, Libya fired two Scuds at the Lampedusa navigation station on the island, in retaliation for the American bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi, and the alleged death of Colonel Gaddafi’s adopted daughter. However, the missiles passed over the island, landed in the sea, and caused no damage.

On 4 January 1989, U.S. Navy aircraft from the carrier USS John F. Kennedy shot down two Libyan fighters approximately 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the island. The base commander was advised by U.S. Sixth Fleet Intelligence at La Maddalena that the Libyan president, Muammar al-Gaddafi, had threatened reprisals against the American commanders at Sigonella and Lampedusa. An Italian media frenzy followed that event which put Lampedusa in the spotlight.

The NATO base was decommissioned in 1994 and transferred to Italian military control.[citation needed]

Pantelleria’s capture was regarded as crucial to Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 as planes based on Pantelleria could readily reach Sicily. In Operation Corkscrew the Allies bombarded Pantelleria heavily from air and sea in the days before the invasion. The garrison surrendered as the landing troops approached. Pantelleria then became a vital base for Allied aircraft during the assault on Sicily.

Renamed Terranova di Sicilia, in 1927 the city was renamed Gela.

In World War II, during the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, with the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, landed on the beaches during the initial assault on 9 July 1943. The Allied forces repelled an Italian and German armored counterattack at Gela. Several advanced landing airfields were built by the U.S. Army Engineers in the area around the city which was used by the Twelfth Air Force during the Italian Campaign.

It’s at rue des Petits Champs and rue Vivienne, the next block over from the White’s Hotel site, and it’s the place where James Monroe and Robert Livingston signed the Louisiana Purchase treaty on April 30th, 1803.

Jefferson had authorized them to purchase the crucially important port city of New Orleans and the area surrounding it so that U.S. trade could not be hampered by European quarrels. But when Napolean offered the entire Louisiana territory for $15 million, vastly larger than what they were prepared to purchase, Monroe and Livingston jumped at the chance, since they had also been instructed to use their best judgment. This was sort of going over Congress’s head, because though the President has the power to negotiate treaties, they don’t have the power to make land purchases, strictly speaking, and Jefferson had not received funding or the permission from Congress. For all his strict constructionism and anti-government-debt rhetoric, Jefferson at times operated more in accordance with a ‘great man theory’ of government like Theodore Roosevelt did. After all, if you have the vision and the power coupled with the proper concern for the wellbeing of your country, at times it just seems incumbent upon you to take such bold and decisive steps, even if they’re not strictly legal. And Jefferson was right: the Louisiana purchase was an opportunity like no other to increase the prestige, population, and power of the young United States, and had to be done almost regardless of the price.

95 Rue Richelieu, the actual site of James Monroe’s first house in Paris when he arrived to take over the ambassadorship from Governeur Morris. It’s now occupied by a Mercure Hotel

This restaurant is the oldest one of France. Built in 1345, very near from the supposed place of burning of Jeanne d’Arc by the British.
The ambiance is sublime. You feel at the heart of Normandie in this place!
The restaurant offers a good variety of menus/specialities at a satisfying price for value ratio.
I’d certainly return there, even though the place is much more expensive than the average French brasserie/auberge in Normandie.

Marly-le-Roi is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, 18.4 km (11.4 mi) from the centre of Paris.

Marly-le-Roi was the location of the Château de Marly, the famous leisure residence of the Sun King Louis XIV which was destroyed after the French Revolution. The park of the now destroyed château has been restored with its waterways and lawns.

Jefferson stayed 2 days before Paris

Jefferson 1 Day in Paris

The statue of George Washington by the American sculptor Daniel Chester French was inaugurated July 3, 1900. It is a bronze statue of Washington on horseback. It was given by a committee of American women. The text of the statue reads as follows : “gift of the women of the United States of America in memory of the brotherly help given by France to their fathers in the fight for Independence.”

John Adams’ residence from 1784 to 1785.
John Adams lived here with his wife and his two grown children for almost a year between September 1784 and August 1785. In Paris, Adams replaced Silas Deane to negotiate for the United States under the Treaties of Friendship and Commerce which had been signed in February 1778. In February 1780, he was back once again to work with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay on the treaty of peace and commerce with England. With Jay and Franklin, he negotiated a separate peace with the British in November 1782. In 1785, he became the first Ambassador to the Court of King James and left Paris for London. He asked to return to the United States in 1788.

Marie Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Mottier, Marquis de La Fayette, signed an agreement with Silas Deane in 1777, to serve as a general in the Continental Army. He obtained the title of Major General from the Continental Congress. He was one of the actors of the French American victory of Yorktown. Back in France, he was Commander of the National Guard during the French Revolution. He returned twice to the United States after the war and was made honorary citizen of the United States. He is buried next to his wife in the cemetery of Picpus. Every 4th of July, U.S. officials, members of the French Cincinnati Society and the French Sons of the American Revolution gather to remember La Fayette.

The Place de Vintimille and the Square Berlioz occupy the site of the garden of the pavilion built before the Revolution by the architect Carpentier, for the Fermier-Général de la Bouxière : the trees of the Place are the remains of an immense park, and the grass plot of the Square is on the spot where a pond used to be. It was in this pavilion that Monroe lived in 1794. The chief entrance was on rue de Clichy.

In this building on February 6th 1778, Conrad A. Gerard, in the name of Louis XVI, King of France, and Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee on behalf of the United States, signed the Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Alliance by which France recognized the independence of the United States. This treaty provided mutual military support and eternal peace between the two countries. The plaque honoring Benjamin Franklin can still be seen at the corner of rue Royale. The text of the plaque reads as follows :
In this building, on February 6, 1778, Conrad A. Gérard, in the name of Louis XVI, king of France, Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, Arthur Lee on behalf of the United States, signed the Treaties of Frienship, Commerce and Alliance by which France, first of all nations, recognized the independence of the United States.

La Fayette lived in the second floor apartment of this house from 1827 until his death in 1834. It bears the inscription: “General La Fayette, defender of liberty in America, one of the founders of liberty in France, born on September 6, 1757 at the Château de Chavagnac in Auvergne, died in this house on May 20, 1834.”

This building, which was being built when Thomas Jefferson arrived in France in 1784, was to have a powerful influence on American architecture. In March 1787, Jefferson wrote that he was “violently smitten” with it. He also wrote to French architect Pierre L’Enfant, who later designed the Federal City of Washington, that the two fronts of the Hôtel de Salm were among those “celebrated fronts of modern buildings” which might serve as models for America. Jefferson himself used much of the Hôtel de Salm’s influence to design his residence in Monticello. Early in the 19th century, the Hôtel de Salm was acquired by the Legion of Honour, and the names and portraits of those who have received this decoration are displayed in the museum.

This house was inhabited by General Armstrong during the later part of his term of office in 1810.

Armstrong was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He attended the Reverend McKinley’s school and enrolled in Princeton College before the Revolution. He volunteered for army service in 1775. Armstrong was first an aide to General Hugh Mercer and then to General Horatio Gates during the Saratoga campaign. While with Gates at Washington’s Newburgh, New York, headquarters, he anonymously penned the mutinous Newburgh Resolves. This document threatened a military insurrection if Congress continued to withhold the Continental Army’s wages.

After the war, Armstrong served as secretary to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council. The council sent him in command of the militia to mediate an armed dispute over land rights between settlers and speculators in the state’s Wyoming Valley. He returned from the frontier as a delegate to Congress, where he supported ratification of the proposed federal Constitution. In late 1800, Armstrong entered the U.S. Senate, where he represented New York intermittently for four years. He became America’s Minister to France in 1804, and served the Jefferson and Madison administrations in negotiations for the Florida Territory.
With the renewal of war between Britain and America in 1812, Brigadier General Armstrong took command of New York City’s defenses. He became Secretary of War in 1813. During his tenure, American forces were repeatedly defeated in the Northwest Territories and Canada, and the British captured the national capital Washington. Armstrong resigned in 1814. He returned to his New York estate to write histories and biographies.

John Paul Jones was one of the most colorful heroes of the War of Independence. Born in Scotland in 1747, he joined the Continental Navy in 1775. He was sent to raid English waters in November 1777, commanding a fleet of ships under the American flag. On September 23, 1779, he fought the great battle of his career in the North Sea and captured the fifty-gun British warship, “HMS Serapis”. Back in Paris, he was welcomed as a hero.

In this building, on September 3, 1783, the representatives of the United States and the King of England signed the Treaty of Paris by which England recognized the independence of the thirteen colonies. David Hartley and Richard Oswald signed the treaty on behalf of England. The United States was represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Adams. The treaty was ratified early in 1784 by the U.S. Congress assembled in Annapolis. The three American peace commissioners, John Jay, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, began to negotiate a “preliminary” separate peace with the British which was signed in November 1782. The official treaty in 1783 ended the war between the “mother country” and its former colonies. The same day, in Versailles, official peace treaties were signed between England and France and England and Spain.

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte of Rochambeau, Maréchal of France, was sent by King Louis XVI to command the troops that France was sending to help the American colonies. He took part in the Battle of Yorktown. In this building, still the Rochambeau residence, the officers of the French army who had served in America, gathered in 1784 to create the French chapter of the Society of Cincinnati.

In Passy, at the corner of Rue Raynouard and rue Singer, is the site of a house that once stood here called the “Hôtel de Valentinois” — hôtel in the old sense of the word, meaning mansion. This was where the American diplomat, writer, scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) lived for nearly ten years while he was the American “plenipotentiary” (and later ambassador) to France.

All you loyal readers of my Halle tips (thanks again to both of you) may recall that I mentioned Benjamin Franklin as the inventor of a musical instrument called the glass armonica in 1762.

Fifteen years later, when he arrived in Paris, Franklin was seventy-one years old and his mission was to secure French assistance for the American War of Independence against the British. He was very successful in this, and he was also successful in negotiating the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783, which officially ended the war and established the United States as an independent country.

Second photo: The historical plaque at the site of the Hôtel de Valentinois says that in the early eighteenth century it had one of the best views of any building in Passy, because in 1711 the owner bought the house on the opposite side of the street, had it torn down and prohibited any further construction there, so he had an unencumbered view of the river.

(In the three centuries since then there has been quite a bit of construction between here and the river, so the view of the river is no longer as good as it once was. But now from just up the road you can see the Eiffel Tower, which of course didn’t exist in 1711.)

From 1736 to 1774 the house was used as a theater and was the site of wild parties hosted by the Countess de Valentinois. Later the house was bought by a merchant named Le Ray de Chaumont, a friend of Benjamin Franklin’s who invited him to stay there from 1777 to 1785.

Le Procope is one of the famous restaurants in Paris
Open every day, a stone’s throw away from the Boulevard Saint-Germain, Le Procope is one of the city’s most famous restaurants. Founded in 1686 by Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, the restaurant, which has survived the centuries, was the haunt of numerous celebrities of the past such as Diderot, Franklin, Gambetta and today receives well-known contemporary figures, as well as those who just like authentic cooking.

It was in 1686 that Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a gentleman from Palermo, set up his coffee house in the rue des Fossés Saint-Germain (present-day rue de l’Ancienne Comédie). The excellent quality of drinks and sorbets, the pleasant setting and the proximity of the Ancienne Comédie Française quickly made his establishment a meeting place for fine wits and intellectuals.

L’histoire du restaurantThe world’s first literary café was born and, for over two centuries, everyone with a name, or who hoped to have one, in the world of letters, arts and politics was a regular to the Café Le Procope. From La Fontaine to Voltaire, Rousseau, Beaumarchais, Balzac, Hugo, Verlaine to mention but a few, the list of Procope’s « regulars » varies little from that of the great names of French literature.

Le Procope, 13 Rue de l’Ancienne Comedie, 75006 Paris. Information: http://www.procope.com or +33-1-4046-7900.

This was Thomas Jefferson’s residence from 1785 to 1789.
Thomas Jefferson moved here when he was officially appointed Ambassador to France in 1785. Jefferson arrived in France when it was still a monarchy and witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution. His prestige was such that he was invited to sit on the National Assembly committee which was drafting a constitution.

1785 October 17-1789 September 26: Jefferson moved to the Hôtel de Langeac at the corner of the Rue de Berri and the Champs-Élysées on October 17, 1785. He considered this house more worthy of his position. Before moving, he wrote to Abigail Adams in early September 1785: “I have at length procured a house in a situation much more pleasing to me than my present. It is at the grille des champs Elysees, but within the city. It suits me in every circumstance but the price, being dearer than the one I am now in. It has a clever garden to it.”7 The house was designed by the popular architect Jean-F. T. Chalgrin for the Marquise de Langeac. Drawings survive at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Several of Chalgrin’s buildings still exist in Paris today. The Hôtel de Langeac had two stories and twenty-four rooms – two were oval-shaped – and it had “modern plumbing in the form of water-closets.”8 There was also a basement. On the lot was an English garden and stables. The rent was 7,500 livres a year.9

There is a memorial plaque, placed there in 1919 by the alumni of the University of Virginia, marking the place where the house stood.

1784 October 17-1785 October 17: On October 17, 1784, Jefferson moved to an unfurnished three-story house, the Hôtel Landron, in the Cul-de-sac Taitbout (present-day Rue du Helder, Ninth Arrondissement). Jefferson referred to it as the “Hôtel Tetebout.”3 It was located on the Right Bank and was owned by M. Guireaud de Talairac. The annual rent was 4,000 livres, to be paid in quarterly installments. The house, according to the lease, had “three main parts …, a courtyard, and two gardens.”4 The cost to equip the house with furniture, carpets, linens, blankets, clocks, silver, and works of art purchased at auction exceeded Jefferson’s salary for the year.5 He had bookshelves built, rented a pianoforte, and bought music and a music stand.6 Before long Jefferson decided the house was inconvenient and wasn’t worthy of the U.S. legation. In October 1785, he moved to the Hôtel de Langeac.

1st Hotel orleans

1784 August 6-10: Thomas Jefferson, his daughter Martha, and his enslaved servant, James Hemings, arrived in Paris and stayed at the Hôtel d’Orléans on the Rue de Richelieu adjoining the Palais Royal.

Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Rome.

Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene. The city bears great historical significance as the site of Operation Shingle, a crucial landing by the Allies during the Italian Campaign of World War II.

Historical Museum of the Allied Forces in Italy in World War II.

Salvatore Rizzacasa avid collector of historical material of the 30s and 40s years of last century, has designed and implemented this important historic site.

The Museum is located in Via Tolmino 6 within the Hotel Relais 6 in Rome. This little jewel of architectual building, dating back to the 30s, was the seat during the Second World War of a logistics base for the Allied forces during the liberation of Rome in June 1944 ….

Ye Olde London is a delightful 18th century pub situated on Ludgate Hill in the City of London close to the spectacular St Paul’s cathedral.

It is one of London’s most historic areas and can trace its history back many years. It was originally built in 1749 on the site of an old London Coffee House where all the leading people of the time would meet to debate all the new scientific and philosophical theories of the day including Joseph Priestley and Benjamin Franklin.

In the heart of London, is Benjamin Franklin House, the world’s only remaining Franklin home. For nearly sixteen years between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father of the United States and more – lived behind its doors. Built circa 1730, it is today a dynamic museum and educational facility.

Museum-Estate of Tadeusz Kosciuszko opened in September 2004. It all started with the fact that in May 2003, began archaeological excavations, during which he found the home foundation and basement. In the future, at the expense of public funds and with the financial support of the USЕ was restored manor T.Kostyushko. And in September 23, 2004 was the grand opening of the museum-estate in the tract T.Kostyushko Merechevschina. This is the place where he spent the first years of life of Tadeusz Kosciuszko – one of the leading figures of the Belarusian national movement and national hero of Poland and the United States, as well as an honorary citizen of France. Today it is a museum -estate – the authentic farmhouse, once home to the famous social activist Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The museum has eight rooms with two of them – the administrative one – the historic and 5 rooms-memorial. Display area halls of the museum is 200 sq.m. and accommodates six permanent exhibitions. The total number of museum objects has 431 items, including general fund os 255, auxiliary science is 176. While visiting tourists have the opportunity to get acquainted with the life of the gentry of the XVII century and artifacts found during archaeological excavations and donated 4 February, the birthday of T.Kostyushko, guests of the museum. Original place in the museum is the basement, where to this day preserved stone floor. Today, the museum -estate attracts tourists with its rich history, fully landscaped neighborhood, plenty of beds and located near the palace Puslovskys. Every year on February 4 at the museum for celebrations to mark the birthday of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Of cultural events are held annually at the museum and lecture event “Night of Museums”. The research activities of the museum aims to study the theme of «Coat of Arms “Odrovonzh” Kossovo». On November 1, 2010 at the Museum is the sale of souvenirs, which has more than 100 species. For the success of the museum was awarded with diplomas of the Ministry of Culture (2010), the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Brest Regional Executive Committee (2007, 2009), The Department of Culture of Brest Regional Executive Committee (2009), the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus.

The World War II Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial site in Italy covers 77 acres, rising in a gentle slope from a broad pool with an island and cenotaph flanked by groups of Italian cypress trees. Beyond the pool is the immense field of headstones of 7,861 of American military war dead, arranged in gentle arcs on broad green lawns beneath rows of Roman pines. The majority of these individuals died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.

A wide central mall leads to the memorial, rich

in works of art and architecture, expressing America’s remembrance of the dead. It consists of a chapel to the south, a peristyle, and a map room to the north. On the white marble walls of the chapel are engraved the names of 3,095 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The map room contains a bronze relief map and four fresco maps depicting the military operations in Sicily and Italy. At each end of the memorial are ornamental Italian gardens.

A new, 2,500-square-foot center visitor center opened in May 2014. Through interpretive exhibits that incorporate personal stories, photographs, films, and interactive displays, visitors will gain a better understanding of this critical campaign that contributed to the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.

The World War I Naval Monument in Gibraltar, is located at the Straits of Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. It is a masonry archway which leads to a British Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. Over the arch are two bronze seals of the United States and the Department of the Navy. This monument, constructed of the stone from the neighboring Rock of Gibraltar, commemorates the achievements of the U.S. Navy in the nearby waters and its comradeship with the British Royal Navy during World War I.

Steps lead downward from the south side of the Naval Monument to the busy harbor; thus its nickname of the “American Steps.”

The inscription on the north side of the monument reads:

Erected by the United States of America
to commemorate the achievements and comradeship
of the American and British navies in this vicinity during the world war

The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) bound for combat in Europe relied upon sea transport. German submarines posed a major threat to the traffic. General John J. Pershing, commander of the AEF, summarized the menace thus:

In the five months ending June 30, 1917, German submarines had accomplished the destruction of more than three and one quarter million tons of Allied shipping.

The U.S. Navy cooperated with the Royal Navy and other navies in fighting the submarine menace. Gibraltar was one of its major bases. The Navy’s Patrol Force operated there from August 1917 until after the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Its ships included cruisers, destroyers, Coast Guard cutters, and submarine chasers.

The ships attacked German submarines and escorted convoys to and from ports in France and Great Britain. During July and August, 1918, the Patrol Force escorted 25 percent of all Mediterranean convoys to French ports, and 70 percent of all convoys to English ports from the vicinity of Gibraltar. General Pershing paid tribute to the Navy’s performance in his 1919 final report. He said:

To our sister service we owe the safe arrival of our armies and their supplies. It is most gratifying to record that there has never been such perfect understanding between these two branches of the service.

The Naval Monument at Gibraltar is on the west side of Line Wall Road. Its steps lead down to Reclamation Road and Queensway. It is a stop named “American Steps” for buses on Routes 2, 3, and 4.

The World War I Montsec American Monument is located on the isolated hill of Montsec (Thiaucourt), France. This majestic monument, commemorating the achievements of the American soldiers who fought in this region in 1917 and 1918, dominates the landscape for miles around. It commemorates reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient by the U.S. First Army, September 12-16, 1918, and operations of the U.S. Second Army, November 9-11. It also honors combat services of other U.S. divisions in this region and in Alsace and Lorraine. Names of nearby villages liberated by American troops are carved upon the outside frieze.

It consists of a classic circular colonnade with a broad approach stairway. Within its center is a bronze relief map of the St. Mihiel salient, illustrating the military operations that took place there. The monument was slightly damaged during World War II, but has been repaired. From this vantage point the trenches used during the fighting can be seen.
The Butte of Montsec (alt.1,230 feet) was a strategic position from early history. The Gaulois and Romans exploited its location. Messages were sent from it to distant heights, as smoke in daytime and fires at night. A fortified castle, Chastel Montclin, was built here in
the 8th Century. Subterranean passages were discovered in the 19th Century. From 1914 onward, the Germans constructed tunnels, underground shelters, and trenches in the hill.

Allied counteroffensives in mid-1918 eliminated most German salients on the Western Front. But the St. Mihiel Salient remained. Its elimination was critical.

August 10, 1918: The U.S.

First Army was activated, commanded by General John J. Pershing. It included fourteen American and four French divisions. Its mission: reduce the St. Mihiel Salient.

September 12: Aerial and artillery bombardment of German positions began at 1:00 a.m., and the main ground attack at 5:00 a.m. The advance was rapid on all axes. The 2nd Division liberated Thiaucourt by midday. The 89th Division advanced across ground that became the St. Mihiel American Cemetery. The 42nd Division reached the Bois de Thiaucourt.

September 13: The 26th Division entered Vigneulles. Its patrols met 1st Division soldiers, closing the salient. Combat continued for three more days.

September 16: The St. Mihiel Salient was erased. More than 550,000 Americans and 110,000 French fought in the offensive. Many units battled next in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, starting September 26.

October 16: The U.S. Second Army held the sector until November 9. Then its U.S. and French divisions attacked northeastward into the Wöevre Plain, bolstering Allied offensives ending with the Armistice on November 11.

The World War I Montsec American Monument is located on the isolated hill of Montsec (Thiaucourt), France 12 miles southwest of St. Mihiel American Cemetery and 10 miles east of the town of St. Mihiel. The entrance to the memorial’s access road is immediately west of the center of Montsec Village, France. The Montsec Monument, atop the Butte Montsec, is reached via Highways D 12 and D 119 to Montsec, then a road up the hill.

The World War I Montfaucon American Monument is located seven miles south of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial and 20 miles northwest of Verdun, France.

It consists of a massive granite doric column, surmounted by a statue symbolic of liberty, which towers more than 200-feet above the war ruins of the former village. It commemorates the American

victory during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during the period September 26, 1918 to November 11, 1918, when the American First Army forced the enemy to conduct a general retreat on this front.

On the walls of the foyer are an engraved map of the operations with a narrative and a special tribute to the American troops who served here. The observation platform on top of the memorial is reached by 234 steps and affords magnificent views of this battlefield.

The World War I Kemmel American Monument is six miles south of Ieper (Ypres), Belgium. It commemorates the services and sacrifices of the American troops who, in the late summer of 1918, fought nearby in units attached to the British Army. Some are buried in Flanders Field American Cemetery at Waregem, Belgium, 30 miles to the east.

This small monument on a low platform consists of a rectangular white stone block, in front of which is carved a soldier’s helmet upon a wreath. The inscription on the Kemmel Monument reads:

Erected by the United States of America to commemorate
the services of American troops who fought in this vicinity
August 18–September 4 1918

The 27th and 30th Divisions

are honored. They served with the British Army from arrival in Europe in May 1918. Their participation in the Ypres-Lys Offensive began when the 30th Division took position in the line on August 18, and the 27th on August 23. The Allied advance began on August 31.

Both divisions met determined German resistance. They moved forward slowly. That afternoon the 27th Division reached the area where the Kemmel Monument stands. They advanced against German forces on September 1 and 2.

The 27th Division was relieved on September 3, and the 30th the next day. Both divisions moved south to the region near St. Quentin. Soon they fought in the Somme Offensive, September 23-30.

The Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium occupies a 6.2-acre site. Masses of graceful trees and shrubbery frame the burial area and screen it from passing traffic. At the ends of the paths leading to three of the corners of the cemetery are circular retreats, with benches and urns. At this peaceful site rest 368 of our military dead, most of whom gave their lives in liberating the soil of Belgium in World War I. Their headstones are aligned in four symmetrical areas around the white stone chapel that stands in the center of the cemetery.

The altar inside the chapel is made of black and white Grand Antique marble with draped flags on each side; above it is a crusader’s sword outlined in gold. The chapel furniture is made of carved oak, stained black with white veining to harmonize with the altar; 43 names are inscribed on the Walls of the Missing.

Experience Flanders Field American Cemetery through a virtual tour created as part of the Historic American Landscapes Survey.

The World War I Chaumont Marker is a bronze plaque located at the entrance to Damremont Barracks in Chaumont, France. It signifies the location of the general headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) of World War I commanded by General John J. Pershing. Its inscription in French and English reads as follows:

General headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during the World War occupied the building of the Caserne Damremont from September 1, 1917 to July 11, 1919 and from here directed the activities of more than two million American soldiers

The World War I Chateau-Thierry American Monument, designed by Paul Cret, is located on a hill two miles west of Chateau-Thierry, France, and commands a wide view of the valley of the Marne River. It commemorates the sacrifices and achievements of the Americans and French before and during the Aisne-Marne and Oise-Aisne offensives.

The monument consists of an impressive double colonnade rising above a long terrace. On its west facade are heroic sculptured figures representing the United States and France. On its east facade is a map showing American military operations in this region and an orientation table pointing out the significant

battle sites.

German advances in late May 1918 led to the 3rd Division joining the fight. Its units assisted French troops in preventing the Germans from crossing the Marne River. The 3rd Division held the south bank of the Marne until the French American counteroffensive forced German withdrawal. It earned the nickname “Rock of the Marne.” At the nearby cemeteries rest those Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country.

The World War I Cantigny American Monument is located in the village of Cantigny (Somme), France. This battlefield monument commemorates the first large offensive operation by an American division during World War I. It stands in the center of a village which was captured during that attack. The village was completely destroyed by artillery fire. The location of Cantigny on high ground was an essential location for German forces. Its seizure by the Americans would weaken the effects of the German offensives in that sector. The 28th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division, reinforced by companies of the 18th Infantry Regiment, led the attack. Its assault began at 6:45 a.m. on May 28, 1918.

Support included American and French artillery, mortars, machine gun, flame throwers, and tanks. Although they encountered heavy German resistance, the 1st Division units

prevailed, seizing all objectives by noon. German counterattacks and heavy artillery bombardments continued for three days. The 1st Division units held firm to the ground they had gained. On June 2, the 1st Division assumed control of more of the sector, releasing French units to fight elsewhere.

The monument consists of a white stone shaft on a platform surrounded by an attractive park, developed and maintained by ABMC. The quiet surroundings now give no hint of the bitter hand-to-hand fighting which took place nearby many years ago. The World War I Cantigny American Monument is located in the village of Cantigny (Somme), France about four miles northwest of Montdidier, France on route D26 from Montdidier to Ailly-sur-Noye, France. It is about 66 miles north of Paris via Chantilly or Senlis, France. The Cantigny Monument is on the west side of highway D26, four miles northwest of Montdidier.

The 4.5 acre Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial in England lies to the west of the large civilian cemetery built by the London Necropolis Co. and contains the graves of 468 of our military dead. Close by are military cemeteries and monuments of the British Commonwealth and other allied nations. Automobiles may drive through the commonwealth or civilian cemeteries to the American cemetery.

Within the American cemetery

the headstones are arranged in four plots, grouped around the flagpole. The regular rows of white marble headstones on the smooth lawn are framed by masses of shrubs and evergreen trees which form a perfect setting for the chapel, a classic white stone building on the north-end of the cemetery. The interior of the chapel is of tan-hued stone. Small, stained glass windows light the altar and flags and the carved cross. On the walls within the chapel are inscribed the names of 563 of the missing.

The Bellicourt American Monument is nine miles north of St. Quentin (Aisne), France. Erected above a canal tunnel built by Napoleon I, it commemorates the achievements and sacrifices of the 90,000 American troops who served in battle with the British Armies in France during 1917 and 1918. Engraved on the rear facade of the memorial is a map illustrating the American operations; on the terrace is an orientation table.

The 27th and 30th Divisions came to the vicinity after fighting Belgium earlier in September 1918. The St. Quentin Canal Tunnel passes beneath Bellicourt and Bony. It was part of the Germans’ formidable Hindenburg Line, which was broken by the American troops in a brilliant offensive in September 1918. The Bellicourt Monument lies above the tunnel.

The 30th and 27th Divisions went into the line in adjoining zones of action on September 24 and 25 respectively, under tactical control of the Australian Corps. After actions in succeeding days, they participated in the main Allied offensive beginning on September 29.

Both the 27th and 30th Division engaged in heavy fighting with many casualties. Australian troops passed through the American divisions and continued the offensive. The 27th and 30th divisions were relieved from the vicinities of Bellicourt and the area west of Bony on September 30, 1918. American casualties from fighting in this region are interred at the Somme American Cemetery near Bony, a mile to the northwest.

Belleau Wood is located on the high ground to the rear of Aisne-Marne American Cemetery south of the village of Belleau (Aisne), France. In the center of the road leading through the woods is a flagpole and a monument commemorating the valor of the U.S. Marines who captured this area in 1918.

It commemorates the actions of the 4th Marine Brigade of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Division. The 2nd Division attacked German positions beginning on June 6, 1918. The 4th Marine Brigade liberated Bouresches that day. Its 5th and 6th Marine Regiments fought in Belleau Wood through most of June 1918.

Their gallant actions resulted in the Battle of Belleau Wood ending on June 26. On June 30, 1918, the Commanding General, French 6th Army, officially renamed Belleau Wood as “Wood of the Marine Brigade.”

The 2nd Division sustained casualties of 8,100 officers and men during the intense fighting in this vicinity during June 1918. Vestiges of trenches, shell holes, and relics of the war to include weapons found in the vicinity, may be seen near the marine monument, which was erected by the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is a 130.5-acre (52.8 ha) World War I cemetery in France. It is located east of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse. The cemetery contains the largest number of American military dead in Europe (14,246), most of whom lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and were buried there.The cemetery consists of eight sections behind a large central reflection pool. Beyond the grave sections is a chapel which is decorated with stained glass windows depicting American units’ insignias. Along the walls of the chapel area are the tablets of the missing which include the names of those soldiers who fought in the region and in northern Russia, but have no known grave. It also includes the Montfaucon American Monument. This cemetery is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is open daily to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cemetery is closed January 1 and December 25, but is open on all other holidays.

An incredible labyrinth of forgotten Second World War tunnels built beneath the White Cliffs of Dover will reopen to the public today for the first time in 40 years.
The Fan Bay Deep Shelter was carved out of chalk in just 100 days in the 1940s as part of Dover’s connected gun battery armaments aimed at foiling Nazi shipping movements in the Channel.
After remaining bricked up for more than 40 years, it will open to the public today following an 18-month project and 3,000 man hours of restoration work.

The Battle of Britain (German: die Luftschlacht um England, literally “Air battle for England”) was a combat of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force (“RAF”) defended the United Kingdom (“UK”) against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces.[14] The British officially recognise its duration as from 10 July until 31 October 1940 that overlaps with the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, while German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard it as a campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941.

The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF), formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II (circa 1940), prior to America’s entry into the war in December 1941. Before America’s entry into the War, many US recruits simply crossed the …. All three men were Battle of Britain veterans, having served together in No.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. It commemorates those who served in the Korean War

The museum was opened in September 2012, on the 69th anniversary of ‘ landing at Salerno.  The permanent exhibition was organized by the “Park of the Memory of the Campania” led by Nicola Oddati, which aims to keep alive the memory of the events that tore the Salerno coast, where from September 9, 1943 landed at Salerno more than 200,000 soldiers allies, during one of the largest amphibious operation of World war II . Salerno later played the role of capital from 11 February until August 1944 and hosted three governments: The Badoglio Government , the Government Badoglio II the Bonomi Government III , the first alternative to the fascist governments.

It is on this stretch of beaches on the Normandy coast where the infamous D-Day Landings of June 6, 1944 took place, changing the course of the war to favor the Allies. The five beaches—Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah—were where the forces of the French, British, Canadian and American armies successfully landed and commenced an operation that changed the tide of WWII in Europe. Today, visitors can pay their respects to the sacrifices made by these troops at the various memorials found on the beaches, at the military cemeteries of each army and learn more about the operation and strategy at the various museums and information centers.

This red brick schoolhouse just northwest of the Reims train station is the historic site where, in the early morning of May 7, 1945 high officers from the German army met with officers of the Allied forces and signed the declaration of unconditional surrender, ending the second world war in Europe. Now known as the Lycee Roosevelt, the property was being used as the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the room where the signature took place, the map room, remains perfectly preserved behind a glass panel and comprises the museum now called the Musee de la Reddition.

This bridge became well known after the strategic operation known as Operation Market Garden, whereby the Arnhem Bridge was the last in a string of strategic points targeted for takeover by the Allied forces. Successful up until that point, the Allies were unable to capture the bridge in the September 1944 Battle of Arnhem, an event that later became the subject of several books and the Hollywood film “A Bridge Too Far.” Surviving the September battle, the bridge was destroyed by Allied troops in October of the same year to help curb the transport of German supplies. In 1949 the bridge was rebuilt in the same style, and in 1977, renamed “The John Frostburg” in honor of the British commander that defended it in the September battle.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, formerly known as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is a complex of five museums and a research library featuring art and artifacts of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. The five museums include the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indians Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. Founded in 1917 to preserve the legacy and vision of Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the oldest and most comprehensive museum complex of the West. It has been described by The New York Times as “among the nation’s most remarkable museums.”

The Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is in Los Angeles, California. The shrine is a 75-foot-tall (23 m) structure of marble, mosaic, and sculpted figures and is the burial site for fifteen pioneers of aviation. It was built in 1924 as the entrance to Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery. Aviation enthusiast James Gillette was impressed by the rotunda’s close proximity to the airport and Lockheed Aircraft Company. He conceived a plan to use the structure as a shrine to aviation and worked to that end for two decades. It was dedicated in 1953 by aviation enthusiasts who wanted a final resting place for pilots, mechanics, and other pioneers of flight.

Dedicated to the honored dead of American aviation on the 50th anniversary of powered flight, December 17, 1953, by Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker USAF (retired). Beneath the memorial tablets in this sacred portal rest the cremated remains of famous flyers who contributed so much to the history and development of aviation. The bronze plaques upon the marble walls memorialize beloved Americans who devoted their lives to the advancement of the air age. Administered under the auspices of the Brookins–Lahm–Wright Aeronautical Foundation, this shrine stands as a lasting tribute.

On May 27, 1996, it was rededicated by Dr. Tom Crouch, Chairman of the Aeronautics Department at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

Camp Drum is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument located in the Wilmington section of Los Angeles, California, near the Port of Los Angeles. Built in 1862, the Powder Magazine is a 20-by-20-foot (6.1 m × 6.1 m) brick and stone structure that was used to store gunpowder during the Civil War. It was originally part of Camp Drum, a facility built upon the outbreak of the American Civil War to address concerns about the loyalty and security of the Los Angeles area. Many of the area’s residents were recent arrivals from the Southern states, and southerner John C. Breckenridge received twice as many local votes as Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 Presidential election.[2] Phineas Banning, the founder of Wilmington (then known as New San Pedro), wrote to President Lincoln advising that the Union would lose California unless some provision was made to quell pro-Confederacy sentiment. Camp Drum was built between 1862 and 1863 and was the home base for the California Column, commanded by Colonel James Henry Carleton.[3] Between 2,000 and 7,000 soldiers were stationed at Camp Drum, and Wilmington became a thriving community with a population greater than Los Angeles during the war. The Powder Magazine is one of only two surviving structures from Camp Drum, the other being the Drum Barracks, which is now operated as a Civil War museum by the City of Los Angeles.[4] The Powder Magazine has been used for various private uses over the years, at one point having another structure built around it. When the larger structure was torn down, the Powder Magazine was re-discovered. In order to save it from demolition, it was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #249) in August 1982.[1] For more than two decades, it has sat on a vacant, fenced-off lot two blocks south of the Drum Barracks.

Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California (now the port community of Los Angeles). A small section remains in military use by the United States Air Force as a housing and administrative annex of Los Angeles Air Force Base. The fort is named in honor of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur. His son, Douglas MacArthur, would later command American forces in the Pacific during World War II.

Not only was this Alexandria restaurant a favorite of George Washington, the tavern played host to the first five presidents, according to Visit Alexandria. The circa-1785 tavern was a center of political life in Alexandria, holding dances, meetings and theatrical performances.

According to the Gadsby Tavern Museum, George Washington attended two annual Birthnight Balls held in his honor. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette all visited the tavern. Today, you can visit the museum or have a meal at Gadsby’s Tavern, which serves classic American fare like burgers, peanut soup and a dish called “George Washington’s favorite” with grilled duck breast, scalloped potatoes and corn pudding.

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum consists of two buildings, a ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Hotel. The buildings are named for Englishman John Gadsby who operated them from 1796 to 1808. Mr. Gadsby’s establishment was a center of political, business, and social life in early Alexandria. The tavern was the setting for dancing assemblies, theatrical and musical performances, and meetings of local organizations. George Washington enjoyed the hospitality provided by tavernkeepers and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent patrons included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and the Marquis de Lafayette.

Occidental Grill & Seafood is a DC dining institution just steps from the White House, with a history dating back more than 110 years. This iconic gathering place combines legendary staying power with a constantly evolving, cutting-edge menu that takes a fresh and current approach to classic American cuisine.Occidental Grill & Seafood invites patrons to celebrate its 110th anniversary by enjoying different classic American dishes and drinks each month throughout 2016. Occidental will spotlight a modernized dish and cocktail each month, with the cocktail offered all month and the featured dish available on Thursdays in a throwback to Occidental’s past. Guests will be glad to note Occidental’s continued commitment to local, seasonal ingredients in their reinvented classics.

Old Ebbitt Grill is a historic bar and restaurant located at 675 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is Washington’s oldest bar and restaurant,[1] and as of 2012 was owned by Clyde’s Restaurant Group. It opened as an unnamed restaurant in the Ebbitt House Hotel. The Hotel distinguished itself as the first hotel in Washington to remain open all summer instead of closing when Congress adjourned. In 1827 the Hotel was razed and rebuilt in the same location. Ebbitt House Hotel was razed in 1925 to make way for the National Press Building, built in 1926. The restaurant was incorporated by Anders Lofstrand, Sr., as a stand-alone business. It moved into new quarters at 1427 F Street NW. After Lofstrand’s death in 1955, the restaurant was purchased by Peter Bechas in 1961. The restaurant was sold at a tax sale in June 1970, and was purchased by Clyde’s Restaurant Group. The 1427 F Street NW location was demolished in 1983 during redevelopment, and Old Ebbitt Grill moved into its current quarters at 675 15th Street NW.

For many years as part of Ebbitt House, the bar/restaurant had no stand-alone name or identity. It began using the name “New Ebbitt Café” in November 1910. In 1926, after the restaurant became incorporated as a stand-alone business, it was known as both “Ebbitt’s Grill” and “Old Ebbitt Grill”. Over time, only the “Old Ebbitt Grill” name was used. It retained that name after its ownership changes in 1961 and 1970.

Since 1970, because of its popularity Old Ebbitt Grill has been frequented by numerous politicians, some known for scandals and maneuvering. It has also been the site of parties hosted by famous actors and singers. For many years, it has been the restaurant with one of the highest amount of sales in the United States. Old Ebbitt Grill created a popular annual event known as the Oyster Riot in 1995.

Since its founding in 1956, Bel Air Presbyterian has become one of the largest churches in Los Angeles. The church is on the “Educational Corridor” on Mulholland Drive, on a hill overlooking the San Fernando Valley. On Jewish high holy days, Bel Air Church hosts services for the Stephen S. Wise Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation, which is in the same Bel Air neighborhood.[2]

The original sanctuary organ was a four-manual, sixty-eight rank mechanical action pipe organ by Casavant. It was seriously damaged, mostly by water leakage, in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. It was later rebuilt as a pipe combination instrument with a digital console from Rodgers Instruments Corporation, in protest of which Casavant declared it to be “destroyed” and stricken from their register of surviving instruments.[citation needed] At the time of its re-dedication, it was one of the world’s largest digital/pipe combination organs in the world.

In 2007, the church completed a $12 million campus expansion program, The Campaign for Bel Air: Phase I, which included the two story Education Building, Discipleship Center, and Administration Building, including staff offices with stunning views overlooking the San Fernando Valley. The campus also has a full-service cafe.

Former Senior Pastors include Rev. Dr. Louis H. Evans Jr., Rev. Dr. Mark Brewer, Rev. Dr. Michael H. Wenning, Rev. Paul Pierson, Rev. Dr. David G. McKechnie, Dr. Donn D. Moomaw, and Rev. Dr. Michael Wenning.

Rev. Dr. Moomaw gave the invocation at President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981. Rev. Dr. Wenning gave the invocation at President Reagan’s state funeral.[3]

Rev. Dr. Moomaw presided over a private service for the family of First Lady Nancy Reagan before her state funeral at the Reagan Library.

Gadsby’s Tavern is a historic commercial building at 138 North Royal Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Built c. 1785 and enlarged in 1792, the tavern was a central part of the social, economic, political, and educational life of the city of Alexandria, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. Currently, the building is home to Gadsby’s Tavern Restaurant, American Legion Post 24, and Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, a cultural history museum. The museum houses exhibits of early American life in Virginia, and the restaurant operates in the original dining room, serving a mixture of period and modern foods.
Gadsby’s Tavern consists of two buildings: one is the tavern built around 1785, and the other is the 1792 City Hotel. John Gadsby leased and operated them from 1796 to 1808, and it is his name attached to the location.

Early history

Gadsby’s Tavern was not the first tavern in its location. Between 1749 and 1752, Charles and Anne Mason had begun a tavern business they called Mason’s Ordinary on the lot. In the 1770s, Mary Hawkins opened a tavern on the lot now occupied by the Gadsby’s buildings. The original lot where Hawkin’s tavern sat extended from the southwest corner of Royal and Cameron streets to about mid-block on both streets.[4] In 1778, the plot was subdivided, and Edward Owens purchased the lot on the corner of the two streets.[4] With the end of the Revolutionary War, and the booming economy that followed, Marylander John Wise purchased the plot in 1782 from Owens, and built the existing Georgian-style tavern ca. 1785, and the Federal City Tavern in 1792.[4] Englishman Gadsby leased the City Tavern, the most prominent tavern in Alexandria in 1796. He renewed the lease in 1802 to include the smaller 1780s tavern from Wise, and operated both until 1808 when he moved to Maryland.[4]

John Wise died in 1815, and with his death the buildings went through different hands, being run as taverns, lawyers’ offices, auction houses, and possibly as hospitals during the American Civil War.

In 1816, a 23-year-old woman succumbed to a disease contracted on the ship to Alexandria on which she traveled with her husband. On her deathbed, she made the people surrounding her swear an oath that they would never reveal her identity. The promise was kept; her grave, a table-like structure in St. Paul’s Cemetery is marked “Female Stranger”. Her ghost is said to haunt the cemetery and Room 8 of Gadsby’s Tavern, the room in which she died.[5] The unusual monument and story surrounding it have long been noted as a peculiar oddity of the town.[6]

19th and 20th century
By the turn of the 20th century, Gadsby’s Tavern, renamed the City Hotel and Tavern, no longer operated as a hotel. Once considered one of the finest establishments of its kind in the country, the building had fallen into complete disrepair. The rooms that had been the setting for political dinners, grand balls, and elaborate public affairs were relegated to housing odd shops.[7] On May 21, 1917, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City took away some of Alexandria’s most important pieces of history.[7] In doing so, they inadvertently preserved the historic ballroom when it was moved to New York.

The Museum negotiated with the owners of Gadsby’s Tavern to purchase architectural elements from the hotel. The Met purchased the unique musicians gallery, cornice, door frames, and mantelpieces from the ballroom. Two mantelpieces from the City Hotel dining rooms and the exterior doorway were also sold.[7] On November 11, 1924, the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art — featuring the permanent installation of the recreated Gadsby’s Tavern Ballroom with original woodwork (now named the “Alexandria Ballroom”) — opened to the public

Famous guests
George Washington frequently visited the taverns, and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent customers of the tavern included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson was feted in 1801 with a banquet in the ballroom of the City Tavern. The Marquis de La Fayette was also guest to festivities at the City Tavern during his tour of the United States in 1824. New York planter, theologian, abolitionist, and owner of the famous Archbrook Tavern and the Montskill Estate & Gardens,
Gadsby’s Tavern and Museum sign
The Tavern as a museum
Threatened with demolition in the early 20th century, the buildings were saved and preserved by efforts first undertaken by F. Clinton Knight and carried on by the American Legion, Post 24, along with other “patriotic groups.”[8] The buildings were reopened in 1976, after extensive renovation, by the City of Alexandria as a museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the social and cultural heritage of Alexandria by teaching the public about the site and its significant contributions.[9] Clint Knight, a former city councilman, postmaster, and commander of Post 24 mortgaged his home to help purchase the Tavern. The renovators reproduced on the second floor of the Tavern the woodwork of the ballroom that the Metropolitan Museum of Art had earlier acquired.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1963.

The Tavern Museum today
Today, the City of Alexandria continues their preservation and interpretation through Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and by leasing the restaurant space, in the hotel building, to a private restaurateur. The original ballroom woodwork can still be seen at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The museum offers daily tours for individuals and families, and group tours by appointment. Admission is charged.

The museum is part of the American Whiskey Trail, which provides an educational journey into the history and cultural heritage of distilled spirits in American society.

The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of the last class of U.S. Navy battleships. The battleship was originally commissioned in 1943,[1] and served during World War II, Korean War, and Cold War. USS Iowa has earned 11 battle stars during her career and hosted three U.S. Presidents, ultimately earning the nicknames, Battleship of Presidents and Big Stick. The USS Iowa was awarded to the Pacific Battleship Center on September 6, 2011 for display at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California – home to the United States Battle Fleet from 1919 to 1940.

On October 27, 2011, the battleship was relocated from Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet to the Port of Richmond, California for painting and refurbishment.[2] On May 27, 2012, the USS Iowa was towed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge on its 75th anniversary for final placement at the LA Waterfront.[3] The USS Iowa opened in Los Angeles on July 4, 2012 to a crowd of over 1,500 supporters and veterans at Port of Los Angeles Berth 87.[4] The USS Iowa museum celebrates the American spirit through daily tours, group programs, education visits, special events, filming, military ceremonies, and is in the process of starting an overnight program.

Daily tours include visits to see the largest guns (16″/50 caliber) on a U.S. Navy ship,[5] officers ward room, President Roosevelt’s cabin, armored bridge, missile decks, enlisted berthing, mess decks, helicopter deck, and other areas. The ship is located at the Los Angeles World Cruise Center[6] and has over 2,100 parking spaces available.

USS Iowa has played various roles in films and television series including NCIS: Los Angeles, American Warships, Bermuda Tentacles, and Dark Rising. USS Iowa is home to annual American-focused events including the City of Los Angeles Veterans Appreciation,[7] a Memorial Day Celebration,[8] and September 11 remembrance.

El Adobe de Capistrano, or simply known as El Adobe, is a restaurant located in San Juan Capistrano, California. It has been operated since 1948 and is in a building composed of two historic adobes near Mission San Juan Capistrano. It is also famous for being frequented by[1] and being a favorite of U.S. President Richard Nixon[2] who lived in nearby San Clemente.

The adobe which comprises the northern portion of the restaurant was built as the home of Miguel Yorba in 1797. The southern portion, from 1812, was the Juzgado (court and jails). The Juzgado’s jail cell now serves as the restaurant’s wine cellar and is rumored to harbor a ghost. In addition there have been reports of a headless friar in front of the restaurant.

In 1910, Georgia Mott Vander-Leck bought the two properties, combining them for use as her home and store. In 1948, Mr. Clarence Brown established the El Adobe restaurant, opening it on July 8, 1948 for the wedding and reception of the First Commandant of Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base, General Fagan.

While in office, former President Richard Nixon whose nearby San Clemente home was known as the Western White House, visited the restaurant many times. The restaurant was originally continental cuisine, but after comments by Nixon, it gained attention for its Mexican fare and changed the menu.