text:
MetLife Building

The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the International style by Richard Roth, Walter Gropius, and Pietro Belluschi and completed in 1962, the MetLife Building is 808 ft tall with 59 stories. It was advertised as the world's largest commercial office space by square footage at its opening, with 2.4 e6ft2 of usable office space. , the MetLife Building remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the United States.

The MetLife Building contains an elongated octagonal massing with the longer axis perpendicular to Park Avenue. The building sits atop two levels of railroad tracks leading into Grand Central Terminal. The facade is one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City. In the lobby is a pedestrian passage to Grand Central's Main Concourse, a lobby with artwork, and a parking garage at the building's base. The roof also contained a heliport that operated briefly during the 1960s and 1970s. The MetLife Building's design has been widely criticized since it was proposed, largely due to its location next to Grand Central Terminal.

Proposals for a skyscraper to replace Grand Central Terminal were announced in 1954 to raise money for the New York Central Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the financially struggling railroads that operated the terminal. Subsequently, plans were announced for what later became the MetLife Building, to be built behind the terminal rather than in place of it. Work on the project, initially known as Grand Central City, started in 1959 and the building was formally opened on March 7, 1963. At its opening, the building was named for Pan American World Airways, for which it served as headquarters. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) bought the Pan Am Building in 1981 and used it as their headquarters before selling the building in 2005. The MetLife Building has been renovated several times, including in the mid-1980s, early 2000s, and late 2010s.

Site
The MetLife Building is at 200 Park Avenue, between the two roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct to the west and east, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building faces the Helmsley Building across 45th Street to the north and Grand Central Terminal to the south. Other nearby buildings include One Vanderbilt and 335 Madison Avenue to the southwest; the Yale Club of New York City clubhouse to the west; The Roosevelt Hotel to the northwest; 450 Lexington Avenue to the east; and the Graybar Building to the southeast. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code—10166—and is one of 41 such buildings in Manhattan,.

In 1871, the New York Central Railroad built the Grand Central Depot, a ground-level depot at the intersection of Park Avenue and 42nd Street; it was succeeded in 1900 by Grand Central Station, also at ground level. The completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of the areas around Grand Central, which became known as Terminal City. The Grand Central Terminal complex included a six-story building for baggage handling just north of the main station building, on what is now the site of the MetLife Building. The baggage handling building was converted to an office building late in its history. The surrounding stretch of Park Avenue was developed with International Style skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s.

Architecture
Designed in the International style by Richard Roth, Walter Gropius, and Pietro Belluschi, the MetLife Building was developed by Erwin S. Wolfson and completed in 1963 as the Pan Am Building. It is 808 ft tall with 59 stories, containing both commercial and office space. , the MetLife Building is the 35th-tallest building in New York City and 79th-tallest in the United States.

The Diesel Construction Company was the general contractor for the building; at the time of construction, Wolfson had owned that company. Numerous other engineers and contractors were involved in the building's construction, including Hideo Sasaki as site planning consultant and landscape architect; Jaros, Baum & Bolles as MEP engineers; and James Ruderman as structural engineer. From the beginning, the building was intended for large firms, with 2.4 e6ft2 in office floor area. In total, it has 2,841,511 ft2 of gross floor area, according to The Skyscraper Center.

Form
The massing consists of a base and an octagonal tower. Contemporary sources describe the base as measuring nine stories tall, atop which rises 50 tower stories. However, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat gives a conflicting measurement of 10 base stories and 49 tower stories. Exterior planted areas were planned for the sidewalks and above the roof of the base.

The tower stories' floor plates are designed in an elongated octagonal lozenge, with the longer axis running parallel to 45th Street. The north and south facades are divided into three broad segments, while the west and east facades are one segment each. The building's form may have been influenced by the 1961 Zoning Resolution, a major change to New York City zoning code that was proposed just before construction started. The massing is similar to Le Corbusier's unbuilt tower in Algiers, proposed between 1938 and 1942, as well as the nearly contemporary Pirelli Tower in Milan (completed in 1958). The architects intended for the octagonal shape and exterior curtain wall to reduce the building's perceived sense of scale.

Facade
The facade of the first two stories and mezzanines is clad with granite, aluminum, marble, and stainless steel with glass windows. On Depew Place, an alley running below the eastern leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct, fifteen loading docks were constructed for trucks to conduct deliveries and loading. On the Vanderbilt Avenue side, a marquee was installed over the entrance in the 1980s. The third through seventh stories are exclusively sheathed in granite, with window inserts. The eighth and ninth floors, which are slightly set back, are clad in aluminum.

The 10th through 59th stories of the MetLife Building contain one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City. The building includes about nine thousand light-tan precast concrete Mo-Sai panels, each of which surrounds a window measuring 4 ft wide by 8 ft high. The panels themselves measure 6 ft wide by 13.67 ft high and weigh 3500 lb. Each panel is coated with a quartz aggregate to give texture to the facade. Vertical concrete mullions project about 13 in from the facade, separating the panels on every story. Flat concrete spandrels separate the windows between stories. Though Walter Gropius had considered a precast concrete facade to be more solid than a glass curtain wall, this only made the building appear bulkier. Furthermore, the appearance of concrete degraded over time; this effect could be seen in structures such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum but was more pronounced on the MetLife Building's facade. During the building's construction, the manufacturer of the Mo-Sai panels declared bankruptcy, forcing Diesel Construction to buy out that company to prevent delays in construction.

The facade is recessed at the 21st and 46th stories, where there is mechanical space. These recesses create the impression of deep shadows. Both mechanical stories are surrounded by a colonnade of columns, which are spaced 16 ft apart on centers. The precast concrete curtain wall is recessed behind the columns.

The MetLife Building originally bore 15 ft "Pan Am" displays on its north and south facades and 25 ft globe logos on the east and west facades. This was swapped with neon "MetLife" displays to the north and south in 1992. These displays were changed again in 2017, being replaced with LED letters to conserve energy. The Pan Am Building was the last tall tower erected in New York City before laws were enacted preventing corporate logos and names on the tops of buildings. Modern New York City building code prohibits logos from being more than 25 ft above the curb or occupying over 200 ft2 on a blockfront. The sign replacements had been permitted because the city government considered the new signs to be an "uninterrupted continuation of a use" that was allowed before the zoning laws were changed.

Structural features
200 Park Avenue was built atop two levels of railroad tracks underground, which feed directly into Grand Central Terminal. The substructure of the building uses foundational columns that extend into the track levels, descending some 55 ft below street level into the underlying bedrock. The substructure includes more than 300 columns, each 18.5 in across and clad with 2 in of concrete. Ninety-nine columns were built specifically for the Pan Am Building; these columns were installed within several inches of existing steel members such as third rails, but had to be isolated from the other steel. The new columns weighed between 22 and 44 ST. Approximately two hundred existing columns, which supported the former baggage building on the site, were reinforced. The work involved abridging the tops of many existing columns and installing horizontal beams weighing up to 36 ST. A "triple decker sandwich" made of lead, asbestos, and sheet steel was installed under each level of tracks to provide insulation.

The superstructure was constructed similarly to bridge spans. To fabricate the floor slabs, builders used a process called composite action, in which concrete was bonded with structural steel panels to create a stronger structure. Steel panels were fabricated, rather than concrete floors, because steel panels were lighter and could be constructed regardless of unfavorable weather. Over 56 acre of steel panels are used in the floor plates, each of which contains wire and cable ducts. A standard floor slab could handle loads of 50 lb/ft2. The building's steel frame weighs over 45000 ST in total. The roof of the building contains NOAA Weather Radio Station KWO35, a National Weather Service radio station.

Helipad
The initial plans for the Pan Am Building were altered in March 1961 to provide for a helipad on the east side of the roof. The helipad garnered controversy immediately after it was announced, and opponents of the plan cited noise and safety concerns. The heliport's opening required approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the city government, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Lawyers for the building's owners applied for permission to operate the heliport in August 1963, and the New York City Planning Commission confirmed in early 1964 that the owners had sought a permit for the heliport. The New York City Board of Estimate gave final approval to the heliport in January 1965, and test flights began that March, amid continued opposition to the heliport.

Helicopter service started on December 22, 1965. The service was operated by New York Airways, which flew Vertol 107 helicopters from the rooftop helipad to Pan Am's terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). There was a ticket office for the heliport at the base of the building. Passengers would check in at the ticket office, then take an express elevator to the 57th floor, an escalator to the heliport lounge, then another elevator to the roof. The flight to JFK lasted an average of six minutes and twenty seconds. The New York City government renewed the heliport's operating license in 1966, despite continued opposition to the heliport. For a short period starting in March 1967, the company also offered service to Teterboro Airport. All helicopter service stopped on February 18, 1968, because of insufficient ridership, as well as disagreements over funding.

Though discussions to restart helicopter service were held in 1969, approval was not given until early 1977. Service to JFK resumed that February using Sikorsky S-61s. On May 16, 1977, about one minute after an S-61L landed and its 20 passengers disembarked, the right front landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to topple onto its side with the rotors still turning. One of the blades detached, killing four men who were waiting to board and a fifth person at ground level; two other people were seriously injured. Helicopter service was suspended that day and never resumed. The already-controversial building received further negative attention as a result of the incident, and both New York Airways and Pan Am suffered financially in subsequent years. During its short periods of operation, the heliport was largely perceived as a nuisance and danger, but its presence was also seen as satisfying what David W. Dunlap described as "the consummate technological fantasy of airborne travel through skyscraping pinnacles".

Structural and mechanical features
A central telephone office was installed on the 20th and 21st stories, serving 30,000 telephones within the building. The system, costing $11 million, was the first of its kind in an office building in the United States. The central office, operated by New York Telephone, eliminated the need for tenants to have individual telephone offices and equipment rooms. To avoid interfering with the subterranean railroad tracks, the telephone conduits were routed through the roof of the railroad tunnel. On the two floors where the telephone office was installed, the floor slabs were strengthened to handle loads of 150 to 300 lb/ft2, and floor heights were increased to provide clearance of at least 13.5 ft.

A refrigeration plant, described at the time of construction as the world's largest such plant, was installed on the roof with three steam-powered units each weighing 3333 ST. The plant was placed on the roof because the building has no usable basement, as all the subterranean space is part of Grand Central Terminal. The plant could melt up to 20 e6lb of ice each day and could use 200,000 pounds of steam every hour. Large fan rooms were placed on the mechanical stories at the 21st and 46th floors, dispersing air to the other floors, and two individual air supply systems were placed on each story. The ventilation systems could deliver 5,000,000 ft3 every minute. The pipes and ducts had to serve all the building's floors, with an electrical system and water pressure system capable of serving all the building's stories. At ground level was a room where wastepaper could be "baled" on-site to make easier to dispose of paper.

Westinghouse Electric Corporation also manufactured 65 elevators and 21 escalators for 200 Park Avenue, which at the time of construction was the largest-ever order for elevators. One bank of six elevators was able to travel 1600 ft/min, the fastest elevators in the world at the time of their installation. Five elevators were reserved for freight. The elevators rise from the second-story lobby because the elevator pits could not descend below the first story due to the presence of the tracks. The upper stories were served by 59 elevators. According to the Skyscraper Center,, the building has 85 elevators.

Lobby
The MetLife Building's base contains a lobby across its lowest two stories. At ground level is a 76 ft pedestrian passageway, enabling traffic flow between the Helmsley Building's pedestrian arcades and Grand Central Terminal. The 45th Street entrance to the passageway is set back 65 ft from the sidewalk. A 103 ft entrance arcade is placed on Vanderbilt Avenue, with the doorways set about 81 ft back from the sidewalk there. The building's main office lobby is placed at the second story, at the level of the viaduct. The lobby was also designed with plantings and a 40 ft enclosed plaza. The lobby contains 18 escalators in total. Four escalators lead to the Main Concourse at the southern end of the passageway, while fourteen more lead from the passageway to the office lobby.

Gropius was responsible for the original design of the lobby, which was largely austere. The building's original anchor tenant, Pan Am, had a ticket office under a 25 ft niche off the main lobby, measuring 135 ft long and 11 ft high, with circular counters and a wall with a relief map of the world. It was the world's largest airline ticket office at the time of its opening, covering 10000 ft2.

Renovations
During a 1980s renovation by Warren Platner, some 15000 ft2 of retail space were constructed in the lobby. Also installed was a staircase at the center of the lobby on 45th Street, which consisted of alternating travertine and gray-granite risers. The staircase ranged from 10 ft wide at the ground floor to 20 ft at an intermediate landing, where it split into two flights and reached a width of 30 ft at the mezzanine. There were four triangular planters at the bottom of the staircase, which complemented an orange carpet with flower motifs at the mezzanine. The lobby also contained unusual semicircular discs that were either mounted atop poles or suspended from the ceiling. In addition, a security desk was added and the storefronts were expanded.

In an early-2000s renovation by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the lobby received tile and black travertine floors, the storefronts were moved to the side, and the central staircase was removed. The storefronts were removed in the late 2010s, when the lobby was re-clad in light-colored travertine. The renovated lobby has an oak-floored reception lounge overlooking the entrance.

Artwork
The Pan Am Building's lobby was planned with several works of art, which comprised most of the original lobby's decoration. One such artwork is Flight, a triple-story wire sculpture by Richard Lippold. The sculpture contains a sphere, representing the earth; a seven-pointed star, representing the seven continents and seas; and gold wires representing aircraft flight patterns. It measures 80 ft wide, and 40 ft deep. The composer John Cage, a friend of Lippold's, had initially proposed a musical program to complement Flight, consisting of ten loudspeakers, which would have played works by Muzak whenever people walked in and out of the lobby. Lippold canceled the idea and management instead agreed to play classical music in the lobby.

At the Pan Am Building's opening, the entrance from the Main Concourse was topped by Manhattan, a 28 by mosaic mural of red, white, and black panels by Josef Albers. That work was removed in a 2001 renovation, though Albers had left exact specifications for reproducing the work, and a replica was installed in 2019.

Suspended over the 45th Street entrance was a mural by György Kepes, consisting of two aluminum screens with concentric squares. Kepes's mural measured 40 ft wide and was placed on the balcony; it was removed in the 1980s. At Vanderbilt Avenue, Robert Berks sculpted a bronze bust depicting the building's developer, Erwin S. Wolfson.

Other interior spaces
The MetLife Building was designed with a six-level parking garage with room for 400 cars. The garage contains entrances and exits from both roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct. According to owner Tishman Speyer,, the building's garage contains 248 spots across four levels.

A variety of commercial and office spaces were included in the Pan Am Building when it opened. Pan Am, the airline for which the building was originally named, contained a ticketing office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, similar in design to Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport. Office stories in the octagonal slab typically have between 32000 to 36000 ft2 of usable space, with elevators and stairs at the center, as well as uneven column spacing. This arrangement allows a large amount of window-office space for tenants, as each story contains 780 ft of outer perimeter walls. Different companies with full-floor leases designed their spaces in various manners. Some tenants placed private offices along the perimeter, with important executive offices at the far corners of the story. Other tenants placed open spaces at the west and east ends of the floor or in the center.

The Sky Club, a private luncheon club, had been on the 56th floor of the Pan Am Building. For several years the Sky Club had contained a private restaurant. Aircraft pioneer Juan Trippe, founder of Pan Am, was a member of this club. Trippe had commissioned a mural of clipper ships for the walls of the Sky Club; it was sent to Tucker's Point resort in Bermuda after the club shuttered. On the 57th and 58th stories was the Copter Club, which was used by passengers of the short-lived helicopter service.

Planning
By the 1950s, passenger volumes at Grand Central Terminal had declined dramatically from the early 20th century, and there were proposals to demolish and replace the station. The New York Central Railroad was losing money, partially on paying taxes on the building's air rights. New York Central wanted to sell the property or its air rights to allow the construction of a skyscraper above or on the terminal's site. At the same time, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad retained a partial interest in the terminal's operation.

Early plans
Initially, New York Central's chairman Robert R. Young had been negotiating with developer Erwin S. Wolfson and their mutual friends Herbert and Stuart Scheftel to determine how the Grand Central site could be redeveloped. After these discussions broke down, two competing plans for the replacement of Grand Central Terminal were proposed in 1954. One design, by I. M. Pei, was suggested by Young along with developer William Zeckendorf. The proposal called for an 80-story, 5 e6sqft tower that would have succeeded the Empire State Building as the world's tallest building. The other, by Fellheimer & Wagner, was put forth by New Haven's chairman Patrick B. McGinnis along with Wolfson. The plan envisioned a 55-story building, the largest office building in the world with 4 to 6 e6ft2. Both proposals were poorly received, with 235 architects cosigning a letter imploring Young and McGinnis to reject the plans. Neither plan was ultimately ever carried out.

Though the New Haven and New York Central continued to struggle financially, both railroads agreed to work with Wolfson, the New Haven's developer. In February 1955, Wolfson, the Scheftels, and Alfred G. Burger proposed a 65-story tower called Grand Central City, which would replace a six-story baggage structure north of the terminal. Richard Roth of Emery Roth and Sons, who created the design, had agreed to participate only if the office building would not result in the passenger concourse's demolition. The plans were widely circulated in the New York Herald Tribune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. The proposal garnered significant opposition after architect Giorgio Cavaglieri expressed concerns about the effects of the proposed building on traffic congestion in the area.

Roth and Wolfson's plan was effectively forgotten in March 1955 when Zeckendorf was named the partner for any new development in the vicinity of Grand Central. Zeckendorf and Pei modified the blueprints for their 80-story tower but never publicly announced the revised plans. Unpublished drawings indicate that Pei's second design was supposed to be a hyperboloid-shaped tower. For various reasons, the hyperboloid tower never progressed past the planning stage. The building had faced extensive criticism from both professionals and the general public; the railroads faced significant financial shortfalls; and the economy as a whole had started to decline, leaving Zeckendorf unable to finance the project. Meanwhile, traffic around Grand Central Terminal worsened in the late 1950s.

Revival of plans
In January 1958, representatives of an unnamed large company, who were unaware of Grand Central City's cancellation, notified Stuart Scheftel that they were interested in leasing space in the new building. Upon learning of the news, Young placed Scheftel in contact with his real estate agent. Although Young died by suicide shortly afterward, the remaining partners continued working on the project. A revised version of Roth's plan was announced in May 1958. The plan called for a 50-story aluminum and glass tower parallel to Park Avenue, with 3 e6ft2 of floor area; three theaters with a total capacity of 5,000; an open-air restaurant on the seventh floor; and a 2,000-spot parking garage. The New York Central and New Haven railroads were guaranteed at least $1 million a year from the agreement. Despite the presence of tracks under the building site, Wolfson said a survey of the site had "no insurmountable problems". James Ruderman, the building's structural engineer, had drawn up preliminary plans for a steel framework spanning the tracks. Wolfson hired James D. Landauer Associates Inc. to handle leasing at the proposed building, negotiating directly with tenants' brokers.

Wolfson found Roth's revised plan to be unsatisfactorily modest for such a prominent site. He said in the New York Herald Tribune that he wanted to "avoid adding just another massive shape to an already developed midtown business community". In July 1958, architects Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi were announced as co-designers for Grand Central City. Wolfson expressed his hope that Gropius and Belluschi, both prominent architects in the Modern style, would be able to help devise an "esthetic and functional design". Initially, Gropius and Belluschi were to serve a relatively minor advisory role. A week after being hired, Gropius suggested that the slab be oriented east–west, with a large plaza or courtyard in front of the tower, similar to the design of Lever House. Gropius also recommended that the building include a textured facade, rather than the metal-and-glass curtain walls commonly used by the Roth firm in its previous buildings. Gropius modified the plans in mid-1958; the facade would use simulated stone, the large plaza was dropped from the plans, and the tower was moved northward to 45th Street. That October, Wolfson traveled to Europe to study buildings and gain inspiration for the building's design.

Gropius and the Roth firm continued to modify their design through early 1959. The revised final plans were announced in February 1959. While Wolfson had promised a "modest" redesign, the new plans were a radical change from Roth's 1958 plan, calling for a 55-story octagonal tower parallel to 45th Street, with 2.4 e6ft2 of space. The Roth firm said the octagonal massing could absorb "different planes of light as on a diamond", while Gropius said the new alignment was easier for air conditioning. The octagonal building was smaller than the original plans, but Gropius's team reasoned that a 3 e6ft2 edifice would have been too large to rent out. The Roth firm expressed its concerns over the east–west orientation of the tower, since it would raise the cost of the superstructure by 50 percent compared to a slab oriented north–south. A model of the redesigned tower was exhibited publicly in November 1959.

Initial work
Five leases for a collective 600,000 ft2 in Grand Central City were announced immediately after the final design was announced in February 1959. A contract for 40000 ST of structural steel was awarded to U.S. Steel's American Bridge division that May; at the time, the contract was reportedly the most expensive ever awarded for an office building. Ruderman finalized his plans for the framework in September 1959. The next month British firm City Centre Properties invested $25 million and took a half interest in Grand Central City's development, covering part of the project's $100 million cost. It was the first British–American joint venture for a real estate development in the United States. Gordon I. Kyle, an appraiser who had calculated the valuations of more than two-thirds of Manhattan's skyscrapers, concluded that the building would be worth twice as much as the Empire State Building. Wolfson and City Centre paid Kyle $50,000, which at the time was the highest single appraiser's fee ever recorded.

The New York Central Railroad granted an 80-year lease for the air rights above the building, in exchange for a portion of the building's gross revenue. This agreement added about $6 million to the construction cost. Final plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on November 24, 1959. Construction on the structure officially started two days afterward on November 26, and Cushman & Wakefield were named as leasing agents for Grand Central City the following month. This was followed by contracts for the building's soundproofing and elevators in February 1960. James Ruderman had devised engineering plans for five other structures above the Park Avenue railroad tracks. As the Grand Central City site was impossible to excavate, the substructure had to be erected while the baggage building served as a staging area. Furthermore, as some materials would have to be delivered by railroad, material deliveries would be coordinated closely to avoid delays on the commuter rail lines entering Grand Central.

Construction of the substructure commenced in May 1960, during which the architects finalized plans for the entrances, lobbies, and facade lighting. Gropius was involved in all aspects of the building's design, from traffic flow to minor architectural details, which sometimes led to conflicts with the project's other architects and engineers. For example, he wanted the lobby's bronze details to contain a matte finish, and he requested that the elevator penthouse be no higher than 26 ft above the roof so that it did not "look silly". Work on the tower itself was held up by a steel strike that lasted through much of 1960; the baggage handling building was ultimately demolished starting that June. Foundations for the building were sunk in August 1960.

Pan Am lease and completion
Pan Am founder Juan Trippe signed a 25-year, lease for 613000 sqft across 15 floors, plus a new main ticket office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, in September 1960. In an indication of the widespread interest surrounding this lease, the mayor and the governor of New York both congratulated Grand Central City's builders after the lease was signed. Following this, Pan Am hired Ivan Chermayeff to design the building's signage. Grand Central City officially became known as the Pan Am Building in December 1960, after its major lessee. Signs bearing the company's name or logo were placed atop the four major facades. Originally, Trippe had wanted signs with the name "Pan Am" on all eight facades, but this was scaled down after Gropius objected that the large number of signs would decrease "the dignity of the building". The Pan Am Building's developers secured a $70 million mortgage loan and a $65 million construction loan during January 1961. At the time, the building was more than half rented.

The Pan Am Building's construction involved over 200 engineers and 7,500 workers from 75 trades. Three derricks were installed to erect the steel for the tower, while four derricks were used for the base. Five to seven steel columns were installed every day during two shifts, with materials deliveries taking place mostly at night. The Pan Am Building's structural steel topped out during May 1962. The facade cladding was installed in two ways. The facade of the base was bolted into place, down to the individual spandrels and mullions. The Mo-Sai panels for the tower were installed via an interior hoist. Wolfson, though recovering from surgery during mid-1962, continued to observe the building's progress using a helicopter. When Wolfson died that June, James D. Landauer was selected to oversee the building's completion. The lobby, the last part of the Pan Am Building to be completed, was built with cheap materials such as restroom tiles because the builders had run out of money toward the project's completion.

Opening and Pan Am ownership
The as-yet-incomplete Pan Am Building was formally opened on March 7, 1963, with a ceremony attended by British and American officials, and tenants started moving into the structure the following month. The building had secured tenants for 91 percent of its office space upon opening, in large part to its central location. Within three months, the Pan Am Building was 92 percent rented and 70 percent occupied; by the first anniversary of its opening, the building was 97 percent leased with 241 tenants. This contrasted greatly with the smaller Empire State Building, which was only 25 percent rented when it opened and did not reach full occupancy for more than a decade afterward. At the time of its completion, the Pan Am Building was the largest commercial office development in the world by square footage, being surpassed nearly a decade later by 55 Water Street and the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. In the 15 years prior to the Pan Am Building's opening, 147 office buildings had been completed in Manhattan, totaling 50.632 e6ft2 of office space.

Initially, the airline only had a 10 percent ownership stake in its namesake building. Besides Pan Am, other early tenants included the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Alcoa, the Hammermill Paper Company, National Steel Corporation, Kodak, the Reader's Digest Association, Mitsui, Chrysler, and the British Iron & Steel Corporation. The shops at the Pan Am Building's base were opened in August 1963. The tenant selection process was rigorous, as Cushman and Wakefield examining the services and goods sold by potential tenants: for example, the firm's vice president got haircuts from each of the six applicants for the lobby barbershop. Furthermore, average rents in the Pan Am Building were about 6.75 $/ft2, slightly higher than the average of 5.25 to 6 $/ft2 in other Midtown Manhattan buildings.

Although the Pan Am Building's completion averted the terminal's imminent destruction, New York Central had experienced further decline, merging with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968 to form the Penn Central Railroad. That year, Pan Am bought a 45 percent stake in the building from the estate of Jack Cotton, formerly chairman and co-owner of City Centre Properties. After Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, it sought to sell its properties, including the land below the Pan Am Building. Among the building's tenants during this time was the United Brands Company (now Chiquita Brands International), whose CEO, Eli M. Black, jumped from the 44th story to his death on February 3, 1975.

Pan Am was considering moving its headquarters from the building by 1978. That year, the airline bought the remaining 45 percent stake in the building from Wolfson, obtaining full ownership of the property. A Pan Am subsidiary, Grand Central Building Inc., acquired the underlying land for about the following year as part of a legal settlement with Penn Central. The airline sustained large financial losses during the early 1980s recession, leading it to announce in February 1980 that it was considering selling the building. About half the leases were scheduled to expire in three or four years. Many lessees were exempt from paying the building's operating costs, which made the Pan Am Building only marginally profitable for the airline. Amid high fuel costs and a lack of income from airfare, Pan Am decided in April 1980 that it would definitely sell the building.

Sale to MetLife and renovations
When the Pan Am Building officially went on the market in May 1980, Business Week magazine predicted that it might be sold for as much as. The sale was so complex that Landauer Associates published a 65-page brochure just to describe the terms of the sale. Nine bidders submitted offers, five of whom were selected for further consideration: the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), the Equitable Life Assurance Society; Donald Trump; Paul Milstein; and Olympia and York. In July 1980, Pan Am sold the building to MetLife for. At the time, it was the highest-priced sale of an office building in Manhattan. This was attributed not only to a rezoning of the surrounding area, allowing developers to erect higher buildings there, but also to a strong office market. The sale price amounted to 177 $/ft2, more than any other office building in Manhattan. MetLife did not plan to move any offices to the building, and Pan Am planned to keep its headquarters there. As a condition of the sale, the building would retain Pan Am's name until the airline ceased to be the building's anchor tenant.

The sale was finalized in 1981 when Pan Am transferred stock in the building to MetLife, a move that let the airline avoid paying most of the estate transfer tax. Pan Am normally would have paid a $4 million tax, but it ultimately paid only $125. Cross & Brown assumed the responsibility of leasing the building's space. At the time, leases for much of the interior space were set to expire all at once during the early 1980s. Starting in 1984, MetLife renovated about half of the space as the original tenants' leases expanded. The deteriorating lobby, used by 100,000 pedestrians a day, was extensively reconfigured by Warren Platner. In addition, some mechanical systems were upgraded to comply with building codes, and retail spaces were added. Asbestos fireproofing on the office stories was removed in advance of an anti-asbestos regulation passed by the city government in 1985. The lobby renovation had been completed by 1987 at a cost of $15 million.

By 1991, Pan Am's presence had dwindled to four floors. MetLife preferred to refer to the building as 200 Park Avenue, its address. At the time, the Pan Am Building was 95 percent occupied, and the public variously referred to the building by the names of its large tenants, such as Mitsui, Dreyfus, and Rogers & Wells. Pan Am moved its headquarters to Miami that year and closed down shortly afterward. In September 1992, MetLife announced that it would remove Pan Am signage from 200 Park Avenue and add letters bearing its own name. According to a MetLife spokesperson, the sign change was taking place because the airline had become defunct. The signs were changed in January 1993. Though 200 Park Avenue subsequently became known as the MetLife Building, its namesake was then headquartered in the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. As a result, the Park Avenue structure was known specifically as the "MetLife Building 200 Park Avenue".

21st century
Further renovations to 200 Park Avenue's exterior and lobby were undertaken during 2001 and 2002. Low-pressure compressed air was used to clean the facade, while Kohn Pedersen Fox renovated the lobby. In 2005, MetLife moved its board room from the Metropolitan Life Tower to 200 Park Avenue. The same year, the company considered selling 200 Park Avenue to pay for its acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity. Ultimately, MetLife sold the building that April for $1.72 billion, to a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Properties, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, and the New York City Teachers' Retirement System. At the time, the sale was the largest ever transaction involving an office building. The company still retained a boardroom and corporate suite at 200 Park Avenue.

MetLife announced in 2015 that it was consolidating its operations at 200 Park Avenue, with 500,000 ft2 of space in the building. At the time, Donald Bren, the billionaire owner of the real estate firm Irvine Company, held a 97.3 percent ownership stake in the building. While Tishman Speyer remained the managing partner of the property, the company's stake in the MetLife Building had been reduced to less than 3 percent. Plans to renovate the lobby were devised in 2016. The next year, the neon light sources for the signs atop the building were swapped with LED light sources to conserve energy. A renovation of 200 Park Avenue's lobby started in late 2018. The work was to simplify the lobby's layout by removing storefronts and restoring direct connections to some of Grand Central's platforms. Three restaurant owners leased space in the building in mid-2022. MetLife renewed its lease for 11 years in 2023, and CBRE took over as the building's leasing manager in 2024.

Response to original design
When the octagonal design for 200 Park Avenue was first announced in 1959, it was controversial. Architectural historian Sibyl Moholy-Nagy wrote in Progressive Architecture magazine that the original tower plans "provided human scale and architectural personality", which were "lost" in the revision. Walter McQuade, writing for The Nation, found even the drawings for the building to be dissatisfying. Grand Central City was lambasted internationally by Italian critic Gillo Dorfles and Romanian architect Martin Pinchis. Architect Victor Gruen questioned the parking garage's necessity given the site's proximity to a major railroad terminal, while Progressive Architecture editor Thomas H. Creighton suggested the space would be better left as an open plaza. Critics also expressed concerns that the building would burden existing transit infrastructure. The plan also had its defenders, such as Natalie Parry, who wrote in rebuttal to Moholy-Nagy that the plans preserved Grand Central's "star-studded" Main Concourse, "together with the precious air space above it". Historian Paul Zucker defended the building's urbanism, and urban planner Charles Abrams and Architectural Record editor Emerson Goble also defended the plan as an addition to the cityscape.

Upon its completion, the Pan Am Building received largely negative feedback, in large part because of its central location. Most critics deprecated the building's bulk, which was exacerbated by the design of the facade and its horizontal alignment. Gropius said the 1916 Zoning Resolution justified the building's large size, telling television presenter Dave Garroway that "every citizen has the right to use the law as far as he can"; this only prompted further negative reviews. James T. Burns Jr. wrote in Progressive Architecture that the placement of the base, tower, parking garage, and Grand Central Terminal were "occasionally inexcusably jarring" and considered the lobby to be a continuation of the exterior's "monolithism". Ada Louise Huxtable called the building "a colossal collection of minimums", with the lobby artwork being a "face-saving gimmick". Many observers viewed the monolithic design as obstructing vistas down Park Avenue. Art historian Vincent Scully, speaking in 1961, expressed his belief that the Pan Am Building was a "fatal blow" to Park Avenue's continuity, while Claes Oldenburg mocked the building's positioning on Park Avenue with his 1965 artwork Proposed Colossal Monument for Park Avenue, NYC: Good Humor Bar. The building's own engineers had not expected any praise for the building, which had been developed solely for the purpose of making money.

Goble, a close friend of Gropius and Belluschi, defended the building in a 1960 New York Times article in which he praised the pedestrian passageways in and around the building. Goble was one of the few people speaking in favor of the Pan Am Building in its early years, and he wrote another article praising the building in 1962. Gropius himself wrote a speech in which he praised the building but provided few specific details. This speech was published in the June 1960 version of Architectural Record with no modifications. Gropius had asked Paul Zucker of the New School to write an article that responded to criticism of the building on "an objective and professional level", although there is no evidence that Zucker ended up writing such an article.

Later commentary
The Pan Am Building was also highly criticized after its 1980s lobby renovation. Carter Wiseman compared the new decorations as being gaudy in a similar manner to performer Liberace, except that "even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity". Paul Goldberger of The New York Times said that even though the previous design was "stark and unwelcoming", the new decorations created "a space that is so forced in its joy, so false and so disingenuous, that they make one yearn for some good old-fashioned coldness". In 1987, New York magazine conducted a poll of "more than 100 prominent New Yorkers", asking which buildings they preferred to see demolished, and the Pan Am Building ranked at the top of that list. Architect Robert A. M. Stern said in 1988 that the building, a "wrong-headed dream badly realized", warranted preservation from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, although he rhetorically suggested tearing down the building when the Pan Am sign was replaced several years later.

By the beginning of the 21st century, some onetime critics expressed ambivalence toward the building's presence, while preservationists advocated the protection of mid-20th century buildings such as the MetLife Building. ArchDaily magazine described it in 2016 as "commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces, as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it". Furthermore, the building's reputation and presence made it the setting of several films or TV shows during its history.

title: MetLife Building


text:
Marchioness (disambiguation)

A marchioness (marquise) is a noblewoman with the rank of marquess (marquis), or the wife of a marquess.

Marchioness may also refer to:

 * Marchioness (ship), a brigantine which sailed between Nelson, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia in the 1850s
 * Marchioness disaster, the 1989 disaster that struck The Marchioness, a pleasure boat on the River Thames

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Marchioness (disambiguation)


text:
Visions of Cody

Visions of Cody is an experimental novel by Jack Kerouac. It was written in 1951–1952, and though not published in its entirety until 1972, it had by then achieved an underground reputation. Since its first printing, Visions of Cody has been published with an introduction by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg titled "The Visions of the Great Rememberer."

Origins
Visions of Cody is derived from experimental spontaneous prose inserts that Kerouac added to the original manuscript of On the Road in 1951–52. Part of the novel is a fast-forward recapitulation of the events described in On the Road, which was also about Kerouac and Neal Cassady. When Kerouac appeared on The Steve Allen Show in 1959, he secretly read from the introduction to the then-unpublished Visions of Cody although he was supposedly reading from On The Road, the book he was holding.

Excerpts from the novel were published by New Directions in 1959 as a 120 page, signed limited-edition of 750 copies, the entire novel being 'considered unpublishable' at the time.

Book structure
The first section of the book is essentially a collection of short stream-of-consciousness essays, which Kerouac called "sketches", many simply describing elements of Duluoz's (Kerouac's) post-World War II New York City environment, from the texture and smells of a lunch counter to St. Patrick's Cathedral, or minor events like the decision to masturbate in a public restroom—all interlaced with Kerouac's internal dialogue. Along the way through these descriptions, Duluoz meanders towards a decision to go visit Cody in San Francisco.

The second section consists mainly of the transcription of taped conversations between Kerouac and Cassady (and occasionally "Evelyn"—Cassady's last wife, Carolyn and various friends) that extended over five nights as they drank and smoked marijuana. This is followed by a brief section entitled "Imitation of the Tape," a writing experiment by Kerouac in which he attempted to work from the spontaneity and speech patterns of the tape. The remainder of the book contains Kerouac's recounting of his travels with Cassady and the effect they had on their spiraling relationship.

Character key
Kerouac often based his fictional characters on friends and family.

""Because of the objections of my early publishers I was not allowed to use the same personae names in each work.""

Themes and literary style
The novel is heavily focused on his perception of and relationship to Neal Cassady, renamed "Cody Pomeray." According to Kerouac, the book represented a vertical metaphysical study of Cassady as a character and its relationship to the general America. Continuing to experiment with the spontaneous prose method he had outlined in 1950, he aimed to find "the wild form that can grow with my wild heart". The tape recorder transcriptions injects the presence of speech into the text. The style has been described as New Journalism fifteen years early. There are several meta passages in the book in which Kerouac in the words of Allen Ginsberg "writes about writing", at one point in French. Donald Allen states that the book seems self-consciously unfinished in order to convey 'an undisturbed flow from the mind of personal secret idea words'.

title: Visions of Cody


text:
Talk:Balance of Power (video game)

Geopolitique
This sounds an awful lot like a game I used to play on the Apple II called "Geopolitique".

Page move
This article requires a qualifier to avoid confusion with the more widely known international relations theory of the balance of power. Ergo, it should be moved to Balance of Power (computer game), which is consistent with other articles of this nature.--Cyberjunkie 08:54, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

 * I wonder if the capitalization of "Power" would be enough differentiation, as the political phrase is not capitalized? The note at the top of the page would be similar in that case. --BlackTerror 02:57, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

DOS Game?
I was an avid player of this game, and I seem to remember that it actually ran on Windows 1.0. The game shipped with a very bare-bones Windows interface, but if you had the full version of WIndows 1 installed, it would run by itself. 69.29.101.49 16:52, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

You're right. It was, just as you stated, a Windows 1.0 game - complete with a stand-alone runtime for players without Windows already installed. Jweisz 23:51, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

 * I was going to query this. Windows games in 1986 must have been rare as hens teeth. 2fort5r (talk) 19:56, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Was the 1990 edition also shipped with a Windows interface or did it require Windows to be pre-installed? 2fort5r (talk) 12:47, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

 * I have managed to find a copy of this online and can confirm that the executable refuses to run under DOS. 2fort5r (talk) 12:58, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:BalanceOfPower.png
Image:BalanceOfPower.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 04:33, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

geopolitique comparison seems questionable
This seems like original research, basically someone accusing Balance of Power of being less original than it is usually considered to be. A citation would be needed for a claim like that to stay in the article, IMO. Has anyone actually make this comparison before Wikipedia? --Delirium 09:40, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

An anecdote
I remember this game. It was one of the few games which was approved of in my "liberal" household. I too thought that it was very progressive because it did not glorify the violence of war. Rather ironic, considering that every single turn meant killing tens or hundreds of thousands of virtual people ("fund insurgency", anyone? How many died in the 80s in Central America and Afghanistan alone - easily half a million), and, more games than not, I ended up destroying the planet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.214.33.193 (talk) 01:44, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

sentence needs fixing
"It was a sensation when it came out, but as a brutally realistic (some would say cynical) depiction of superpower maneuvering." makes no sense to me. Kingturtle (talk) 18:14, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Multiplayer
BOP (1990) is multiplayeer through Hotseat play. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.237.242.209 (talk) 05:18, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

ARTE TV show
On 2009-07-02, on the german/french TV channel ARTE, there was a broadcasting about Chris Crawford, discussing with a young computer game developer, also talking much about his "Balance of Power" games, the legacy and the new "2k" one, and the development of computer games from board game to computer supported board game to computer game, about the impact of "Castle Wolfenstein" and more.. hemmerling (talk) 08:12, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Balance of Power (video game)


text:
Countess (band)

Countess is a black metal band from the Netherlands. Formed in 1992, they have released more than a dozen full-length albums and are considered one of the most eminent Dutch black metal bands. After years of being a solo project, as of 2014, they are a band again and play live.

Discography
List of releases according to official website:

 * 1992: Permafrost Demo
 * 1993: The Gospel of the Horned One CD
 * 1994: The Wolves Awake Demo
 * 1994: Doomed to Live Livetape
 * 1994: The Return of the Horned One CD
 * 1995: The Wrath of Satan's Whore Cassette EP
 * 1995: Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam CD
 * 1996: Live in Berlin Livetape
 * 1996: The Book of the Heretic CD
 * 1997: Hell's Rock & Roll MCD
 * 2000: The Shining Swords of Hate CD
 * 2001: The Revenge of the Horned One Part I CD
 * 2002: The Revenge of the Horned One Part II CD
 * 2003: Orgasmatron Split 7"
 * 2004: Heilig Vuur CD
 * 2005: Spawn of Steel CD
 * 2006: Holocaust of the God Believers CD
 * 2007: Blazing Flames of War CD
 * 2010: Burning Scripture CD
 * 2011: On Wings of Defiance CD
 * 2013: Sermons of the Infidel Digital album
 * 2014: Ancient Lies And Battle Cries CD
 * 2014: Sermons of the Infidel CD
 * 2014: Fires Of Destiny CD

title: Countess (band)


text:
Pascual Orozco

Pascual Orozco Vázquez, Jr. (in contemporary documents, sometimes spelled "Oroszco") (28 January 1882 – 30 August 1915) was a Mexican revolutionary leader who rose up to support Francisco I. Madero in late 1910 to depose long-time president Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911). Orozco was a natural military leader whose victory over the Federal Army at Ciudad Juárez was a key factor in forcing Díaz to resign in May 1911. Following Díaz's resignation and the democratic election of Madero in November 1911, Orozco served Madero as leader of the state militia in Chihuahua, a paltry reward for his service in the Mexican Revolution. Orozco revolted against the Madero government 16 months later, issuing the Plan Orozquista in March 1912. It was a serious revolt which the Federal Army struggled to suppress. When Victoriano Huerta led a coup d'état against Madero in February 1913 during which Madero was murdered, Orozco joined the Huerta regime. Orozco's revolt against Madero somewhat tarnished his revolutionary reputation, but his subsequent support of Huerta compounded the repugnance against him.

Early life
Orozco was born to a middle-class family on Santa Inés hacienda near San Isidro, Guerrero, in the state of Chihuahua. His father was Pascual Orozco Sr. His mother was Amada Orozco y Vázquez (1852–1948); the Vázquez family were second-generation Basque immigrants. The family was not rich, but had standing locally, where his father ran a village store and was a minor office holder. Pascual Jr. was educated in the local public school and began working as a muleteer, a hands-on job that was a vital link in transporting goods in northern Mexico and as a revolutionary gave him intimate knowledge of the terrain. Orozco, like fellow northern revolutionary Pancho Villa, worked a stint with foreign owned mining companies.

Becoming a revolutionary
In the mountainous region of Chihuahua, "the outstanding leader in 1910-11 was Pascual Orozco, a tall, powerful, taciturn young man." He quickly rose to prominence once he had been recruited by Abraham González to the cause of Francisco I. Madero. Orozco was not so much a hard-line opponent of Porfirio Díaz, but rather the local strong man Joaquín Chávez, a client of the major power holder in Chihuahua, the Creel-Terrazas Family. One of his first actions after an early battle was to ransack Chávez's house.

On 31 October of that year, Orozco was placed in command of the revolutionary forces in Guerrero municipality. He led his forces to a series of victories against Díaz loyalists, and by the end of the year most of the state was in the hands of the revolutionaries. At this point, Orozco was a hero in Chihuahua, with over 30,000 people lining the streets upon his return. Madero promoted him to colonel, and in March 1911 to brigadier general. These promotions were earned without any kind of military knowledge or military training. On 31 October 1910 he was named jefe revolucionario (revolutionary leader) of the Porfirio Díaz Anti Re-election Club in Guerrero District. A week after the beginning of the war, he obtained his first victory, against General Juan Navarro. After ambushing the federal troops in Cañón del Mal Paso on 2 January 1911, he ordered the dead soldiers stripped and sent the uniforms to Presidente Díaz with a note that read, "Ahí te van las hojas, mándame más tamales". ("Here are the wrappers, send me more tamales.")

On 10 May 1911 Orozco and colonel Pancho Villa seized Ciudad Juárez, against Madero's orders. For revolutionaries who had fought for the overthrow of Díaz, the victory at Ciudad Juárez that forced Díaz to resign the presidency was sweet. However, dismaying the revolutionaries who had defeated the Federal Army, Madero entered into negotiations with the Díaz regime for a transfer of power that dismayed revolutionary fighters. The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez stipulated the resignations of Díaz and his vice president, allowing them to go into exile; the establishment of an Interim Presidency under Francisco León de la Barra, a diplomat and lawyer who was not part of the Díaz inner circle. Most galling was that the treaty kept the Federal Army intact and called for the demobilization of the revolutionary forces that brought success to Madero's side.

With the settlement brokered by Madero with the Díaz regime, Orozco turned to business interests, involved in mining, retail commerce, and transport.

Break with Madero
After Díaz's fall, Orozco became resentful at Madero's failure to name him to the cabinet or to a state governorship. Orozco was particularly upset with Madero's failure to implement a series of social reforms that he had promised at the beginning of the revolution. Orozco believed that Madero was very similar to Díaz, whom he had helped to overthrow. Orozco was then offered the governorship of Chihuahua, which he refused, and Madero finally accepted his resignation from the federal government.

When Díaz presented his resignation, Orozco was named to a relatively junior position, commander of the federal rural police (Los Rurales) in Chihuahua. In June 1911, Orozco decided to run for governor of Chihuahua for the Club Independiente Chihuahuense, an organization opposed to Francisco I. Madero. After receiving many admonitions by the revolutionary hierarchy, Orozco was compelled to resign his candidacy on 15 July 1911. Subsequently, he refused a request to command the troops fighting Emiliano Zapata in the south.

On 3 March 1912, he announced his intention to revolt against the government of President Madero. Orozco financed his rebellion with his own assets and with confiscated livestock, which he sold in the neighboring U.S. state of Texas, and where he bought weapons and ammunition even after an embargo proclaimed by U.S. president William Taft in March 1912.

Revolt against Madero
On 3 March 1912 Orozco decreed a formal revolt against Madero's government. Orozco's forces, known as the Orozquistas and Colorados ("Red Flaggers"), defeated the Federal Army under General José González Salas. Seeing the potential danger that Orozco posed to his regime, Madero sent General Victoriano Huerta out of retirement to stop Orozco's rebellion. Huerta's troops defeated the orozquistas in Conejos, Rellano and Bachimba finally seizing Ciudad Juárez.

After being wounded in Ojinaga, Orozco was forced to flee to the United States. After living for some months in Los Angeles, with his first cousin, Teodora Vázquez Molinar González (1879–1956) and husband, Carlos Díaz-Ferrales González (1878–1953) he was able to return to Chihuahua but extremely ill, affected with periodic rheumatism seizures.

After Huerta installed himself as President of Mexico in early 1913, Orozco agreed to support him if Huerta agreed to some reforms (such as payment of hacienda workers in hard money rather than company store scrip). Huerta agreed. Orozco led campaigns against the Constitutionalist Army that sought to oust Huerta in northern Mexico. Orozco's successes had brought promotions. As Commanding General of all Mexican Federal forces, he led attacks against the revolutionaries, including Pancho Villa and he rose to the rank of division general. Orozco defeated the Constitutionalist Army at Ciudad Camargo, Mapula, Santa Rosalía, Zacatecas, and Torreón. With his successes against that revolutionary force came their vitriol against him as a betrayer.

After Huerta's fall Orozco announced his refusal to recognize the government of the new president, Francisco S. Carvajal whom he viewed to be similar to Madero. After briefly leading a revolt financed with his own money where he took in Guanajuato where he won several successive engagements against the Constitutionalists, he was forced to retreat because he lacked sufficient manpower to hold the ground he won. He was again forced into exile and was named "Supreme Military Commander."

Orozco and Huerta
After General Huerta's barracks coup (Ten Tragic Days), Orozco, upon learning of the murders of Madero and Pino Suárez, met with his representatives. As of March 7, 1913, the Orozquista troops were incorporated into the irregular militia.

Government in exile
In efforts to overthrow Venustiano Carranza's government, Orozco and Huerta traveled throughout the United States, with the support of fellow exiles Gen. Marcelo Caraveo, Francisco Del Toro, Emilio Campa, and Gen. José Inez Salazar in Texas. Orozco traveled to San Antonio, St. Louis and New York. Eventually Enrique Creel and Huerta were able to strike a deal with the German government for the sale of $895,000.00 in weapons.

House arrest in the United States

In New York, Orozco and Huerta finalized plans to retake Mexico. En route to El Paso by train on 27 June 1915 the two were arrested in Newman, Texas, and charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. neutrality laws. He was placed under house arrest in his family's home at 1315 Wyoming Avenue El Paso, Texas, but managed to escape.

Orozco's Last Ride
Orozco successfully executed a planned escape to Sierra Blanca where he met up with leaders and future cabinet members (General José Delgado, Christoforo Caballero, Miguel Terrazas and Andreas Sandoval). The official U.S. report stated that Orozco and his men had crossed by Dick Love's ranch and had coerced the cook to prepare him a meal and attend his horses, while Orozco and his men got ready to steal Love's cattle. When the owner arrived, they fled on the rancher's horses. The facts of this are often disputed because in other accounts it is believed that the horses belonged to Orozco and Love set up Orozco to seek revenge for an earlier dispute. Love used his accusations to persuade 26 members from the 13th Cavalry Regiment, 8 local deputies and 13 Texas Rangers to pursue the mysterious horse thieves whom he purposefully fails to mention by name to ensure their participation. The posse in pursuit converged at Stephan's tank just west of High Lonesome in the Van Horn Mountains Orozco, and his four men (Delgado, Caballero, Terrazas and Sandoval) were camped in a box canyon above Stephan's Tank where law enforcement caught and killed them. A Mexican version asserts that Orozco was murdered trying to resist the theft of his own horses by Love and his men. On 7 October a local hearing against the 40-plus Americans involved was initiated, but the court found the people involved innocent of all charges.

Personal life
Pascual Jr. married Refugia Frías and dedicated his youth to the transport of precious metals between the mining firms of the state. He was also the uncle of Maximiano Márquez Orozco, who participated in the Mexican Revolution as a colonel in the Villista Army. In the first years of the 20th century he was attracted by the ideas of the Flores Magón brothers and, in 1909 he started importing weaponry from the United States in the face of the imminent outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. On 3 September 1915 Orozco's remains were placed in space 13 of the Masonic Holding Vault at Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas, at the decision of his wife, dressed in a full Mexican general's uniform, with the Mexican flag draping his coffin, in front of three thousand followers and admirers. In 1925, his remains were returned to his home state of Chihuahua and interred in the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres (Rotunda of Illustrious Persons), Panteón de Dolores, in Chihuahua.

In popular culture

 * Orozco appears as a character in The Friends of Pancho Villa (1996), a novel by James Carlos Blake.
 * Orozco is played by Mexican actor Arturo Martínez in the Mexican film "Pancho Villa y la Valentina" (1960).

title: Pascual Orozco


text:
Joan Jett

Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for founding and performing with the Runaways, who recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". With the Blackhearts, Jett is known for her rendition of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable songs include "Bad Reputation", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and her covers of "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" and "Dirty Deeds".

Jett has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Three of her albums have been certified platinum or gold. She has been described as "the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll". Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early life
Joan Marie Larkin was born on September 22, 1958, at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, to James and Dorothy Larkin. She is the oldest of three children. Her father was an insurance salesman and her mother was a secretary. Her family was Protestant, attending church and Sunday school, but were not strict in their religious beliefs. In 1967, her family moved to Rockville, Maryland, where she attended Randolph Junior High School and Wheaton High School. Jett got her first guitar at the age of 13. She took some guitar lessons, but soon quit because the instructor kept trying to teach her folk songs. Her family then moved to West Covina, California, in Los Angeles County, providing Jett with the opportunity to pursue her musical interests. Shortly after the move, her parents divorced and she changed her name to Joan Jett, because she thought it had more of a rock star sound than her birth name. She has admitted in recent years that "Jett" was not actually her mother's maiden name, even though that is what she used to tell people.

In Los Angeles, Jett's favorite night spot was Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco, a venue that provided the glam rock style she loved.

The Runaways
At age 16, Jett became a founding member of the Runaways with drummer Sandy West. After the brief tenure of Micki Steele, who sang and played bass, Jackie Fox, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie soon joined to complete the band which created the classic lineup. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar, and wrote or co-wrote some of the band's material along with Ford, West, and Currie. This lineup recorded three albums. The band toured around the world and became an opening act for Cheap Trick, Ramones, Van Halen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They found success abroad, especially in Japan. While touring England with the Runaways in 1976, Jett first heard the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" when she saw Arrows perform it on their weekly UK television series Arrows.

While the Runaways were popular in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and South America, they could not garner the same level of success in the United States. After Currie left the band, the band released two more albums with Jett handling the lead vocals: Waitin' for the Night and And Now... The Runaways. Altogether, they produced five albums from 1975 until they disbanded in the spring of 1979.

Soon after, Jett produced the Germs' only album, (GI).

In 2010, The Runaways, a movie about Jett's band, was released, starring Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Fanning as Currie.

Solo career
In 1979, Jett was in England pursuing a solo career. She recorded three songs there with the Sex Pistols' Paul Cook and Steve Jones, one of which was an early version of Arrows' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". This version appears on the 1993 compilation album Flashback. Later that year, she returned to Los Angeles, where she began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways to complete a film that was loosely based on the band's career entitled We're All Crazee Now! Three actresses stood in for the departed band members, including Rainbeaux Smith, who was also a rock drummer. While working on the project, Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who was hired by her manager Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing some tracks for the film. They became friends and decided to work together and Jett relocated to Long Beach, New York, where Laguna was based. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting after Jett fell ill, but in 1984, after she became famous, producers looked for a way to use the footage from the incomplete film. Parts of the original footage of Jett were eventually used in another project, an underground film called Du-beat-eo, which was produced by Alan Sacks, but not commercially released.

Jett and Laguna entered the Who's Ramport Studios with the latter at the helm, and Jett's self-titled solo debut was released by Ariola Records in Europe on May 17, 1980. In the US, after the album was rejected by 23 major labels, Jett and Laguna released it independently on their new Blackheart Records label, which they started with Laguna's daughter's college savings. Laguna remembers, "We couldn't think of anything else to do but print up records ourselves."

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
With Laguna's assistance, Jett formed the Blackhearts. Laguna recounted, "I told Joanie to forget the band and support herself on the advance money. There was enough for her but not for a band. She said she had to have a band. And I believe to this day that it was the Blackhearts, that concept, that made Joan Jett." She placed an ad in the LA Weekly stating that she was "looking for three good men". John Doe of X sat in on bass for the auditions held at S.I.R. studios in Los Angeles. He mentioned a local bass player, Gary Ryan, who had recently been crashing on his couch. Ryan was born Gary Moss, and adopted his stage name upon joining the Blackhearts in 1979, in part to cover up the fact that he was only 15 at the time. Ryan was part of the Los Angeles punk scene and had played bass with local artists Top Jimmy and Rik L. Rik. He had been a fan of the Runaways and Jett for years. Jett recognized him at the audition and he was in. Ryan in turn recommended guitarist Eric Ambel, who was also at the time part of Rik L. Rik. The final addition to the original Blackhearts was drummer Danny "Furious" O'Brien, formerly of the San Francisco band the Avengers. This lineup played several gigs at the Golden Bear, in Huntington Beach, California, and the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood before embarking on their first European tour, which consisted of an extensive tour of the Netherlands and a few key shows in England, including the Marquee in London.

Laguna fired O'Brien at the end of the tour, and upon returning to the States, Jett, Ryan, and Ambel moved to Long Beach, New York. Auditions were set up, and Lee Crystal, formerly of the Boyfriends and Sylvain Sylvain, became the new drummer. The band then toured throughout the US, slowly building a fan base, but struggling to remain financially afloat. Throughout 1980, the band was able to keep touring solely due to Laguna drawing on advances from outside projects. Jett and Laguna used their personal savings to press copies of the Joan Jett album and set up their own system of distribution, sometimes selling the albums out of the trunk of Laguna's Cadillac at the end of each concert. Laguna was unable to keep up with demand for the album. Eventually, old friend and founder of Casablanca Records, Neil Bogart, made a joint venture with Laguna and signed Jett to his new label, Boardwalk Records, and re-released the Joan Jett album as Bad Reputation.

A spring 1981 concert at the Palladium in New York City proved to be a turning point. Described by music journalists as a career-defining performance by Jett, it helped solidify a strong New York City following for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. After a year of touring and recording, the Blackhearts recorded a new album entitled I Love Rock 'n Roll for the label. Ambel was replaced by local guitarist Ricky Byrd during the recording. Byrd recalled in an interview with Guitarhoo!, "One day I went to a studio to jam around a bit with Jett and everything clicked". The first single from the album was the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which in the first half of 1982 was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row. It is Billboard No. 56 song of all time and has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.

Jett released Album (1983) and Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984). A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with the Police, Queen, and Aerosmith, among others. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic. According to Jett and Laguna, a riot occurred during their visit to Panama and Manuel Noriega requested Jett spend the night with him at the Presidential Palace.

After receiving her own MTV New Year's Eve special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day with Michael J. Fox. Bruce Springsteen wrote the song "Light of Day" especially for the movie, and her performance was critically acclaimed. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by Thommy Price and Kasim Sulton. Later that year, Jett released Good Music, which featured appearances by the Beach Boys, the Sugarhill Gang, and singer Darlene Love.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt–Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out. Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum. This album contains the single "I Hate Myself for Loving You", which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and had been used as the theme song for Sunday Night Football NFL games in America (with altered lyrics, by two singers) during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. This was followed by The Hit List, which was an album consisting of cover songs. During this time, Jett co-wrote the song "House of Fire", which appeared on Alice Cooper's 1989 album Trash.

In 1990, the band had a song on Days of Thunder's soundtrack, "Long Live the Night", written by Jett with Randy Cantor and Michael Caruso.

Her 1991 release, Notorious, which featured the Replacements' Paul Westerberg and former Billy Idol bass player Phil Feit, was the last with Sony/CBS, as Jett switched to Warner Bros. A CD single of "Let's Do It" featuring Jett and Westerberg was also released during this time, and appeared in the song credits for the movie Tank Girl. In 1993, Jett and Laguna released Flashback, a compilation of various songs on their own Blackheart Records.

Jett produced several bands prior to releasing her debut, and her label Blackheart Records released recordings from varied artists such as thrash metal band Metal Church and rapper Big Daddy Kane.

The press touted Jett as the "Godmother of Punk" and the "Original Riot Grrrl". In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well-received Pure and Simple, which featured tracks written with Babes in Toyland's Kat Bjelland, L7's Donita Sparks and Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna. Jett has also been described as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.

Ongoing work
Jett returned to producing for the band Circus Lupus in 1992 and again, in 1994, for Bikini Kill. This recording was the New Radio +2 vinyl 7-inch EP for which she also played and sang back-up vocals. The Riot Grrrl movement started in the early 1990s, with Bikini Kill as a representative band, and many of these women credited Jett as a role model and inspiration.

In 1997, Jett was featured on the We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute album. She performed a cover of the Johnny O'Keefe song "Wild One" (or "Real Wild Child"). Jett worked with members of the punk rock band the Gits, whose lead singer and lyricist, Mia Zapata, had been raped and murdered in 1993. The results of their collaboration was a live album, Evil Stig and a single, "Bob", whose earnings were contributed to the investigation of Zapata's murder. To this end, the band and Jett appeared on the television show America's Most Wanted, appealing to the public for information. The case was solved in 2004, when Zapata's murderer, Jesus Mezquia, was brought to trial and convicted.

Jett is a guest artist on Marky Ramone and the Intruders' 1999 album The Answer to Your Problems? on the track "Don't Blame Me". She is a guest vocalist on Peaches' album Impeach My Bush on the tracks "Boys Wanna Be Her" and "You Love It".

At an October 2001 9/11 benefit in Red Bank, New Jersey, Jett and Springsteen appeared together on stage for the first time and played "Light of Day".

In 2004, Jett and Laguna produced the album No Apologies by the pop punk band the Eyeliners, after signing them. Jett also guested on the track "Destroy" and made a cameo appearance in its music video.

In 2005, Jett and Laguna signed punk rockers the Vacancies and produced their second album, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (reaching the top 20 in CMJ Music Charts), and their third album in 2007, Tantrum. That same year, she was recruited by Steven Van Zandt to host her own radio show on Van Zandt's Underground Garage radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio. She hosted a four-hour show titled Joan Jett's Radio Revolution, broadcast every Saturday and Sunday. The program moved from Sirius 25 (Underground Garage) to Sirius 28 shortly before being canceled in June 2008.

In 2005, Jett and Laguna celebrated the 25th anniversary of Blackheart Records with a sellout show at Manhattan's Webster Hall.

In June 2006, Jett released her album Sinner, on Blackheart Records. To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour and on a fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal. Various other bands such as Antigone Rising, Valient Thorr, the Vacancies, Throw Rag and Riverboat Gamblers were to have joined the tour for a handful of dates each. Jett sang a duet with Chase Noles on "Tearstained Letters", a song on the Heart Attacks' 2006 album, Hellbound and Heartless.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts headlined the Albuquerque, New Mexico Freedom Fourth celebration on July 4, 2007, with an estimated crowd of 65,000 in attendance at the annual outdoor event. In November 2007, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts appeared with Motörhead and Alice Cooper in a UK arena tour; Jett opened eight American shows on Aerosmith's 2007 World Tour.

Following the Dave Clark Five's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on March 10, 2008, Jett, as part of the ceremony, closed the program with a performance of the Dave Clark Five's 1964 hit "Bits and Pieces". Joan Jett & the Blackhearts appeared on several dates of the True Colors tour in the summer of 2008. She opened for Def Leppard in August. On November 19, 2009, Mattel released a Joan Jett Barbie doll. Her name and likeness were used with her permission.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were part of the lineup for the Falls Music & Arts Festival, December 29 through January 1, 2010, in Australia.

Jett was an executive producer for the film The Runaways, which chronicled the Runaways' career. It was written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, who has directed videos for Marilyn Manson, the White Stripes and David Bowie. Production of the movie began filming around Twilight's Kristen Stewart's filming schedule, (i.e. of the sequels New Moon and Eclipse). Stewart played Jett in the film. In order to prepare for the role, Stewart met Jett around January 2009. In an interview, Stewart revealed that she hoped to be able to sing some songs in the film. The film explores the relationship between Jett and Runaways' lead singer, Cherie Currie, played by Dakota Fanning, and premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2010. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts appeared at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, at Harry-O's, to promote the film.

In March 2010, she released a 2-LP/CD Greatest Hits album with four newly re-recorded songs, as well as a hardcover biography, spanning her career from the Runaways to the present day. In June 2010, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts opened for Green Day on their UK tour alongside acts such as Frank Turner and Paramore. The band was the opening act for Aerosmith's September 2010 Canadian tour.

Jett, along with the Blackhearts, released the album Unvarnished on September 30, 2013. The album reached Billboard 's Top 50. It included songs dealing with the death of her parents and other people. August 1 was declared Joan Jett day in West Hollywood. She was named West Hollywood's Rock Legend.

Former Blackhearts drummer Lee Crystal (born Lee Jamie Sackett in 1956 in Brooklyn, New York) died from complications of multiple sclerosis on November 5, 2013, at the age of 57.

Jett starred in and was the executive producer of the film Undateable John, which was released in 2014. In April 2014, Jett fronted the remaining members of Nirvana for a performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She joined the band again later that night for its surprise concert at Saint Vitus. In April 2014, Jett was the first woman to win the Golden God Award. Former bandmates Cherie Currie and Lita Ford supported her. On April 24, 2014, Alternative Press magazine held its first-ever Alternative Press Music Awards, and Jett received the AP Icon Award. On July 12, 2014, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed at Tropicana Field after the baseball game in St. Petersburg, Florida. On October 29, 2014, Jett sang the U.S. national anthem at the New York Knicks vs. the Chicago Bulls basketball game. Jett and Hot Topic released Jett's first clothing line in 2014. It consists of jackets, shirts, pants, and a sweater.

On April 15, 2015, Jett & the Blackhearts opened for the Who, kicking off their "The Who Hits 50!" 2015 North American tour in Tampa, Florida. The Blackhearts opened for the Who for 42 dates in the U.S. and Canada, ending November 4 in Philadelphia. On July 4, 2015, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were part of the Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary show at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

In September 2018, Jett signed a music distribution deal with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, making her catalogue officially available for streaming.

Jett, along with the Blackhearts, was scheduled to join Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on the 2020 The Stadium Tour as an opening act along with Poison however tour was postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021 it was announced that tour was again postponed and will now happen in the summer of 2022. Jett announced that she will embark on a North American tour in the fall of 2021. The tour ended on September 28, 2021, at the Paramount in Huntington, NY.

On May 14, 2021, it was announced that to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of Jett's first two albums, Bad Reputation and I Love Rock & Roll, Z2 Comics was releasing two graphic novels titled Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - 40x40: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock 'n' Roll that will bring Jett's "songs to life as 20 vivid stories" by female writers and artists in the comic book industry. The books were released in November 2021.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released Changeup on March 25, 2022, the first acoustic album ever recorded by the band, featuring "Bad Reputation" and "Crimson and Clover". On June 2, 2023, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released the 6 song EP, Mindsets. The EP the band's first release of new material in ten years. Jett played a post pandemic welcome back concert in honor of first responders in the summer of 2022 at the Nassau County Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre hosted by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman that set a record attendance of 27,000 concert attendees.

Other work
Jett has long supported animal rights activism and organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). For Valentine's Day 2022, PETA created a (Black)Heart-Shaped Pizza as a limited-time collaboration with a Los Angeles pizza shop, PIZZANISTA!

Jett is a sports fan and has remained actively involved in the sports world. "Bad Reputation" was used by Ultimate Fighting Championship's Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey as her walkout song at the pay-per-view event UFC 157 and is her current theme music in WWE. In April 2019, Jett performed "Bad Reputation" at WWE's WrestleMania 35 as Rousey was making her entrance. Her cover of "Love Is All Around" (the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) was used by the NCAA to promote the Women's Final Four, as well as the song "Unfinished Business", which was never commercially released. "Love Is All Around" gained substantial radio play and became the number one requested song without a supporting album. Jett supplied theme songs for the ESPN X Games premiere and has contributed music to all their games since. At Cal Ripken Jr.'s request she sang the U.S. national anthem at the Baltimore Orioles game in which he tied Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. She also sang the national anthem at the final game played at Memorial Stadium. From 2006 to 2015, the melody for her song "I Hate Myself for Loving You" was used as the theme music for NBC Sunday Night Football with re-worked lyrics and retitled "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night". Beginning with the 2019 season, Jett performs the song with Carrie Underwood in the opener of Sunday Night Football games.

Though Jett supported Howard Dean in the 2004 election because of his opposition to the Iraq War, she has been a consistent supporter of the United States Armed Forces throughout her career and has toured for the United Service Organizations for over 20 years, and even performed at the United States Military Academy. She often explains that while she doesn't like war, she loves the military.

In 2024, Jett contributed guitar to a re-release of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Satire and tributes
In 1983, musical satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" entitled "I Love Rocky Road", changing the singer's passion for rock music with that for ice cream.

Her name appears in the lyrics of the Le Tigre song "Hot Topic", released in 1999.

In 2019 British blogger "Ladbaby" released a parody of I love Rock 'n' Roll, changing the singer's passion for rock music with that for sausage rolls. "I love Sausage Rolls" became the Christmas No.1 in the UK.

The comic strip Bloom County included a character named Tess Turbo; her band was the Blackheads.

Film, stage and television appearances
Jett's first appearance on film is in the 1981 live concert film Urgh! A Music War, performing "Bad Reputation" with the Blackhearts at the Ritz in New York City.

She made her acting debut in 1987, co-starring with Gena Rowlands and Michael J. Fox in the Paul Schrader film Light of Day. She has appeared in independent films, including The Sweet Life and Boogie Boy.

In 1992, she was a guest star in "Free Fall", a first-season episode of TV's Highlander: The Series.

In 1997, she appeared on the sitcom Ellen, in the episode "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah", performing the title song.

The 1999 series Freaks and Geeks used the song "Bad Reputation" as the opening theme.

In 2000, Jett appeared in the Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show in the role of Columbia. That same year, Jett appeared on Walker, Texas Ranger as an ex-CIA agent turned assassin hired to kill Walker and Alex.

In 2002, Jett appeared in the film By Hook or by Crook in the role of News Interviewee.

From 2000 to 2003, Jett hosted a showcase of new film and video shorts, Independent Eye, for Maryland Public Television.

In 2004, Jett narrated a short film, Godly Boyish, about two teenagers who share suicidal fantasies.

In 2008, Jett made a cameo appearance in Darren Lynn Bousman's rock opera/file Repo! The Genetic Opera as the guitarist in Shilo's room during the piece "Seventeen". Also in 2008, she appeared in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Reunion" as a rock-and-roll talk show host who is murdered.

Jett played Betsy Neal in the film Big Driver. The film, based on Stephen King's novella of the same name, premiered on Lifetime on October 18, 2014.

Jett provided the voice for the character Sunshine Justice in an episode of Steven Universe.

Jett was the subject of a documentary, Bad Reputation, which was released in theaters and streaming on September 28, 2018.

Equipment
Jett's signature guitar is a white Gibson Melody Maker, which she has played on all her hits since 1977. Jett bought her first Melody Maker from Eric Carmen, following the breakup of the Raspberries. In regard to her white Melody Maker, the singer once stated:

"In The Runaways I was using a blond Les Paul. It's beautiful, and I still have it, but it's heavy as shit. I jump and run around a lot onstage, and it was really getting to my shoulder, so I was looking for a lighter guitar. I heard from one of our road crew that Eric Carmen from the Raspberries was selling a Melody Maker, so I ended up buying it. Now, this is the guitar that he played on 'Go All the Way' and all those [Raspberries] hits. And then I played it on 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', 'Crimson and Clover', 'Do You Want to Touch Me', 'Bad Reputation' ...all those early records. Then I took it off the road because I got nervous that someone was gonna steal it or break it. It's so beautiful. It's white, has no stickers on it, and there are cracks in the paint and yellowing from age or club cigarettes. It's an unbelievable-looking guitar. I have it in a closet and I take it out occasionally to record. But I don't even need to use it to record anymore, because I have a guitar that sounds pretty much like it. I'm actually kind of afraid to bring out the original. It's got a great heritage. It's a guitar full of hits."

In 2008 Gibson released the "Joan Jett Signature Melody Maker". It differs from Jett's model by having a single burstbucker 3 humbucking pickup, an ebony fretboard and a double-cutaway body in white with a black vinyl pickguard. It also features a kill switch in place of a pickup selector. It retails for $839. There is now also a "Blackheart" version of this guitar introduced in 2010. All specs are the same, but it is finished in black, with red and pearl heart inlays. In June 2019, Gibson announced and released a third signature guitar for Jett, which is a wine-colored ES-339. The guitar was released after two years of research and development with Jett.

Personal life
Jett has been a vegetarian since the late 1980s and supports animal rights.

For years Jett refused to either confirm or deny rumors that she is lesbian or bisexual. In a 1994 interview with Out magazine she said, "I'm not saying no, I'm not saying yes, I'm saying believe what you want. Assume away—go ahead." In 2006, she responded to an interviewer who had asked her when she had "come out" as a lesbian by saying, "I never made any kind of statement about my personal life on any level. I never made any proclamations. So I don't know where people are getting that from."

In 2016, former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford revealed in her memoir that she temporarily quit the band because the other members were "all gay," saying "First I found out that Sandy, the one I had bonded with the most, was a lesbian. Then I found out that Cherie was messing around with Joan. I was so freaked out that I quit the band. When I found out that the girls were all gay in the band, I wasn't sure how to take it. I didn't know what it was."

In a 2018 interview with the New York Times, when asked about how an LGBT film festival did not want to show her documentary because she was not "out", Jett said: "They don't want the movie there because I don't declare? [Holding up her necklace] What the [expletive] is that? Two labryses, or axes, crossing each other, inside of two women's symbols crossing each other. It's not been off since I got it. And I wear this one every day. [She turns around, lifts her shirt and reveals a tattoo with similar female symbols on her lower back.] I don't know how much more you can declare."

Jett lives in Long Beach, New York, and has been a New York resident since the late 1970s. She is an avid Baltimore Orioles fan.

Kim Fowley rape allegation
In July 2015, attorney Jackie Fuchs (formerly Jackie Fox of the Runaways) alleged that Kim Fowley raped her on New Year's Eve 1975, at a party following a Runaways performance at an Orange County club. Sixteen years old at the time, Fuchs was reportedly given Quaaludes by a man she thought was a roadie, and while she was incapacitated, Fowley allegedly raped her in full view of a group of partygoers and her bandmates Currie, West, and Jett; Ford was not present. Look Away, a documentary about sexual abuse in the rock music industry features Fuchs' story.

Fuchs said that her last memory of the night was seeing Currie and Jett staring at her as Fowley raped her. Kari Krome (co-founder and songwriter for the group) stated that she saw, "Jett and Currie sitting off to the side of the room for part of the time, snickering" during the rape. In 2015, Jett stated "Anyone who truly knows me understands that if I was aware of a friend or bandmate being violated, I would not stand by while it happened. For a group of young teenagers thrust into '70s rock stardom there were relationships that were bizarre, but I was not aware of this incident. Obviously Jackie's story is extremely upsetting and although we haven't spoken in decades, I wish her peace and healing." Victory Tischler-Blue (Fuchs's replacement in the group) said that all the members of the group "have always been aware of this ugly event".

Awards and honors

 * Long Island Music Hall of Fame (Class of 2006).
 * Rolling Stone 100 greatest guitarists of all time (No. 87).
 * Gibson manufactured a signature model of her Melody Maker, a white double cutaway with a zebra humbucker and "kill" toggle switch.
 * 2012 Nanci Alexander Activist Award for her work on behalf of animal welfare.
 * 2013 named and awarded West Hollywood's Rock Legend.
 * 2014 AP Icon Award
 * 2014 Golden God Award
 * Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2015)

Discography
Solo with the Blackhearts
 * Joan Jett (1980); re-released as Bad Reputation (1981)
 * The Hit List (1990)
 * I Love Rock 'n Roll (1981)
 * Album (1983)
 * Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984)
 * Good Music (1986)
 * Up Your Alley (1988)
 * Notorious (1991)
 * Pure and Simple (1994)
 * Naked (2004)
 * Sinner (2006)
 * Unvarnished (2013)
 * Changeup (2022)
 * Mindsets (2023)

title: Joan Jett


text:
Alfred Vaucher

Alfred-Felix Vaucher (March 18, 1887 – May 22, 1993) was an Italian theologian, church historian, and bibliographer. He was a pioneer in the history and study of Seventh-day Adventism.

Preaching his first sermon at age 14, Vaucher studied at a church in Paris. In 1903, he was engaged by the Adventist church, to which he devoted an active ministry of approximately eighty years.

Vaucher traveled around Europe, including Switzerland and Italy as a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist. He published over 1,100 articles and pamphlets on French church history and wrote a score of books, some of which are: L'Histoire du Salut, Le P. Manuel Lacunza y Diaz, L'Antichrist, Le Jour du Repos, and Le Jour Seigneurial. Vaucher also taught at Salève Adventist University, Collonges-sous-Salève, Haute-Savoie, a French biblical college, from 1921 to 1941 and 1945–1983.

He died at age 106.

title: Alfred Vaucher