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Iglesias, Sardinia

Iglesias (, ; from ; Igrèsias ) is a comune and city in the province of South Sardinia, Italy. It was co-capital of the province of Carbonia-Iglesias with Carbonia, and the province's second-largest community.

Under Spanish control Iglesias was one of the most important royal cities on Sardinia, and it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iglesias. At an elevation of 190 m in the hills of southwestern Sardinia, it was the centre of a mining district from which lead, zinc, and silver were extracted. Iglesias was also a centre for the distillation of sulfuric acid.

Prehistory and ancient history
The area around present-day Iglesias was inhabited in prehistory, with the oldest traces of human settlement dating to the Neolithic. The fourth-millennium-BC domus de Janas, attributed to the Ozieri culture, were discovered in the mountainous region of San Benedetto. Other pre-Nuragic finds attributed to the Monte Claro, Bell Beaker and Bonnanaro cultures were discovered in nearby caves, followed by evidence of a Nuragic, Punic and Roman presence. Ancient Roman sources record a city known as Metalla, perhaps located along Iglesias' border with Fluminimaggiore.

Medieval history
During the ninth century AD, after a period of human absence, a small town arose with a Byzantine church (the Church of San Salvatore). When the Byzantine influence left Sardinia, the southern part of the island was controlled by the Judicate of Cagliari.

After the fall of the Judicate in 1258, south-western Sardinia (the curatorias of Cixerri and Sulcis) was assigned to the Della Gherardesca family; the Cixerri region was controlled by Ugolino della Gherardesca. The count took advantage of the region's silver resources and established a city: Latin: Villa Ecclesiae (Churchville), renovating old buildings and constructing new ones. The Della Gherardesca family built the medieval Castle of Salvaterra, defence walls, a hospital and an aqueduct. After Ugolino's March 1289 death in Pisa's Tower of Muda (where he was imprisoned in the summer of 1288 for sedition and treason), his Sardinian holdings in the Cixerri reason were inherited by his son, Guelfo della Gherardesca; escaped from Pisa in 1288, he had settled in the Villa di Chiesa. Guelfo, hostile to the Pisan government, tried to seize one-sixth of the former Judicate of Cagliari (Sulcis) owned by Gherardo della Gherardesca's heirs and occupied Villamassargia's Castle of Gioiosa Guardia. Pisa's response was swift; in 1295 republican troops, supported by the forces of Marianus II of Arborea, attacked Villa di Chiesa. Guelfo was wounded near Domusnovas; after trying to escape to Sassari, he died from an infection in the hospital of Siete Fuentes. Villa di Chiesa was briefly administered by Arborea before falling under Pisan control between 1301 and 1302.

Under Pisan domination, Villa di Chiesa was one of the most important and populous cities on Sardinia thanks to its lead and silver resources. At the beginning of the 14th century, its mines produced an estimated 10 percent of Europe's circulating silver. The city, primarily inhabited by Sardinians and Pisans, also housed other communities from Tuscany and the Italian Peninsula, Corsica and Germany. The city was governed by the Breve di Villa di Chiesa, its original legal code, a 1327 version of which is preserved in the municipal archives. A mint was established in the city.

Conquered by the Aragonese on February 7, 1324, after an over seven-month siege, Villa di Chiesa was the first Sardinian city to fall to the Iberians and the first city of the new Kingdom of Sardinia to be recognised as a royal city in June 1327. During the Aragonese period, the city's name changed from Villa di Chiesa to Iglesias. During the transition from Pisan to Aragonese rule, 6,000–7,000 people lived in Villa di Chiesa; however, the Black Plague of 1348 killed much of the population. In late 1353 a revolt began against the Aragon government, siding with Marianus IV of Arborea (who had begun hostilities against the Crown of Aragon). After the 1355 peace of Sanluri, the city returned to Aragon; in 1365, with the resumption of a conflict between the Judicate of Arborea and the Kingdom of Sardinia, Villa di Chiesa was recaptured by Marianus IV of Arborea. The city remained in Arborean hands until 1388 when, after the treaty between Eleanor of Arborea and John I of Aragon, it was returned to the Aragonese. In 1391 the city again revolted against the Aragonese, welcoming the judge's army led by Brancaleone Doria. It was seized by the Iberians in the summer of 1409.

In 1436, Alfonso V of Aragon gave the city in fief to Eleonora Carroz for 5,000 gold florins; however, after paying a ransom Villa di Chiesa regained the status of a royal city in 1450.

Modern history
In 1720, after almost 400 years of Aragonese-Spanish rule, the city passed with the rest of Sardinia to the House of Savoy. Since the mid-19th century, thanks to the reopening of nearby mines, Iglesias has experienced a period of economic, social and cultural renewal. Many miners, workers and technicians from elsewhere on Sardinia and northern Italy settled in the city, whose population increased from 5,000 to 6,000 during the 1850s to about 20,000 in the early 20th century. After the Second World War the Sardinian mining sector was in crisis, the effects of which involved the Iglesiente's mines and the town of Iglesias.

Demographics
On 31 December 2015, 418 foreigners lived in Iglesias. The largest immigrant groups came from Romania, Senegal and China. The town's population is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

Economy
Iglesias' economy has waxed and waned because it has been largely focused on mineral resources. During the 21st century, with little surviving mining activity, the town has tried to emphasise medieval tourism with a medieval parade, a tournament of archers and a living game of chess.

Castle of Salvaterra
The Castle of Salvaterra was probably built as part of urbanization after 1258 under Ugolino della Gheradesca. It was designed as a bulwark from which to survey the town and its surroundings as far as the silver mines.

In 1297 Sardinia and Corsica were made subject to the Crown of Aragon by Pope Boniface VIII, but were not taken possession until 1324. The castle of San Guantino changed its name to Salvaterra and its status; a 1325 stone slab calls it castris regalis, a royal castle.

The square castle's northern and eastern sides, built in courses of stone alternating with brick, seem to adhere to the original medieval plan and confer solidity. It had a chapel dedicated first to San Guantino and later to Eulalia of Barcelona. The castle well has been rebuilt in its internal courtyard.

Santa Chiara Cathedral
Construction of the Santa Chiara Cathedral was an initiative for demographic and urban development undertaken by the Donoratico della Gherardesca family. The cathedral has a variety of architectural styles. Over the centuries it has been transformed several times by successive rulers or restoration, particularly during the 19th century). The cathedral's façade, with a pitched roof, is divided into two parts by a horizontal, moulded cornice at the level of the architrave over the doorway.

It has a large nave with six side chapels, and a cross-vaulted roof supported on pillars with carved capitals. The cathedral's bell tower houses a 1337 Andrea Pisano bronze bell; the tower was plastered and its spire added in 1862. The Museum of Sacred Art is in the cathedral's crypt.

In the late Twentieth century the church was closed in order to undergo a restoration that will last until 2013. During the restoration, the floor tiles made of white marble and the Nineteenth century altar were removed.

Church of San Francesco
The Church of San Francesco has a gabled façade with smooth stonework; the door in its centre is surmounted by a rose window and flanked by two side oculi. Its wood-ceilinged nave is divided into seven bays, flanked by seven side chapels; the chapels and the presbytery were added during the 16th century. The chapels all have simple cross vaulting (meeting in a hanging pendant), except for the Crucifix Chapel. The stone choir replaced the original wooden choir, which was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. The church has a marble font and artworks in the chapels, including a retablo by Antioco Mainas. The monastery, with the San Francesco Cloister, was annexed to the church during the 16th century.

Church of Santa Maria di Valverde
The Church of Santa Maria di Valverde is outside the town walls and nearly contemporary with the cathedral, with similar style and structure. Like the cathedral, it has a typical Romanesque style with Gothic features. The church's façade underwent conservation and restoration until the twentieth century. Built of pink trachyte ashlar, it is divided into two parts by a horizontal, moulded cornice. Its nave originally had a lower, wooden roof; it ends in a large, square, cross-vaulted presbytery with four pendants. The central pendant, larger than the others, depicts the Madonna and child.

Medieval fortifications
Pisan walls surround the city's historic centre, following its irregular outline and using its incline with the Castle of Salvaterra. Although urban expansion led to the incorporation of several stretches of wall into private homes, the remnants retain the features of medieval military fortifications: blind façades of mixed stones arranged in horizontal courses to create an uneven mass, providing resistance to attack. With 23 towers, the walls could be passed through four gateways: Porta Maestra, Porta Castello, Porta Sant Antonio and Porta Nuova.

Town Hall
Town Hall is at the heart of the historic town centre relative to the medieval walls. According to plans by civil engineer Antonio Cao Pinna, it was built by the Vincenzo Sulcis company between 1871 and 1872. The façade, set on a base of volcanic-stone ashlar, is divided horizontally by stringcourse cornices. The council meeting room was decorated during the 1920s in a design by Sardinian sculptor Francesco Ciusa and painter and illustrator Remo Branca. Artist Carmelo Floris created a triptych of panel paintings which decorates the rear walls.

Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie
The Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie dates to the 12th and 13th centuries, and was initially dedicated to the Cagliari martyr San Saturno. The communities which have altered the building can be seen in its façade. The oldest portion is in the centre.

The church nave is divided into six bays by pointed trachyte arches supporting a wooden vault with exposed beams. Openings in the thick outer walls simulate chapels. Two chapels are on the sides of the presbytery: one dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the other to Saint Francis.

Mining Art Museum
The museum was conceived in 1998 by a group of mining men who wanted a tangible reminder of their origins so the history of their land would not be forgotten. Housed in the basement of the Giorgio Asproni Mining Institute, it displays scale model reproductions, newspaper articles about life in the mines and a collection of photographs. The museum also contains various machinery for excavation, drilling and transport and a reconstruction of a mechanical workshop with modern machinery. The tunnels underneath the building are reached by a ramp along a railway, along which elements of work in the mines have been reconstructed.

Archive
The archive preserves the history of Villa di Chiesa from the Catalan-Aragonese, Spanish and Savoy periods. The documents begin with Il Breve di Villa di Chiesa, a book of laws dating back to 1327. Written on parchment (possibly mutton), only a few pages are missing. Its text, in Gothic script, was written in the Pisan dialect. The book was the result of a process of legislative drafting which began during Donoratico rule and ended with Aragon dominion. The definitive version, in four books, dates back to the period of direct rule by Pisa.

Porto Flavia
The harbour has an important position in innovation and technology in Sardinian mining construction. The Belgian Vieille Montagne company appointed engineer Cesare Vecelli to conduct a planning study from 1922 to 1924 of reducing the cost of transporting ore from the mine to the port. A tunnel runs through the mountain for 600 m before opening high above the sea. The opening consists of a façade with a large arch beneath the inscription "Porto Flavia", flanked by a tower. The work consisted of excavating nine reservoirs in the mountain for the ore by enlarging natural caverns. The nine large rooms open into two tunnels, one on top of the other, opposite the islet known as Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf).

Monteponi mine
When mining activity in the region began is uncertain, but "Monte Paone" was mentioned in the 1324 will of Berto da San Miniato (a trader from Pisa). Unprofitable mining operations alternated between the government and private companies until 1850, when investors led by the Ligurian Paolo Antonio Nicolay founded the Monteponi company as a 30-year mining project using existing structures. The four-level settlement is a workers' village. A 2008 project by architects Herzog & de Meuron planned to restore the industrial area for tourism and culture.

Saint Michele Church
Dating to the Aragonese period, the church is linked to the Archfraternity of the Holy Virgin of Santo Monte. The only feature distinguishing the façade from a secular building is its oculus and moulded, arched lintel. The interior is a small hall and nave, divided into two bays by a pointed arch. At the centre of the presbytery, a stone table is decorated with a relief of the Last Supper; behind it is a niche with a statue of Saint Michael. A 1727 chapel dedicated to the Mysteries, contains processional statues to commemorate the Passion of Jesus. A stone font, with four fish carved into the bowl, dates to the 16th or 17th century.

Saint Giuseppe Church
This church was built near the church of Santa Lucia, with a hospital annex run by brothers. As Santa Lucia fell into disuse, the Sanctuary of San Giuseppe became the new location of the Confraternity of Santa Lucia (which later changed its name). Its simple facade is surmounted by a tympanum; an oculus in the centre has coloured glass forming an image of Saint Joseph and the child Jesus. The nave has a vault of pointed arches and the presbytery, with a square apse, has cross-vaulting. Two chapels are furnished with simulacra, including a wooden niche.

Purissima Church
As the only example in Iglesias of Counter-Reformation architecture, the predominant feature of this church is the correspondence between its interior and exterior. The facade has white plaster contrasting with red trachyte. Its bell tower, which functions as a clock tower, was rebuilt during the 20th century. The interior has a large nave with three side chapels and marble ornamentation. Decorative features added after 1774, when the Jesuits left the city after the suppression of their order, contrast with the church's general sobriety; its paintings date to the early 20th century, in fact. An exhibition on sacred architecture in Sulcis-Iglesiente is in the church's underground rooms.

Saint Domenico Church
The church is distinctive for its sober, decorative façade, reminiscent of embroidery. Framed by Corinthian columns and an architrave engraved with the Cannavera coat of arms, the doorway is in Gothic-Catalan style. The nave has a barrel vault, divided into four spans by pointed arches. Two chapels are on each side, dedicated to the corporations which financed the work. The chapels added in 1910 differ from the original building in displaying its exposed rock. Four memorial tablets include one dedicated to Bishop Nicolò Cannavera, who built the church.

Saint Marcello Church
Saint Marcello Church was the headquarters of the San Marcello brotherhood and was adjacent to the Church of San Francesco until the end of the 19th century, when it was moved to make room for a primary school. The reconstruction project was planned by engineer Luigi Degrossi in 1901 with material recovered from the original church, including slate slabs for the inside flooring. The red, sloping neo-Gothic façade, its doorway containing a pointed arch, is all that remains of the original building. At the cusp of the arch, a Greek orthodox cross points to the rose window above; the top of the façade has a motif of small Gothic arches, identical to those on the windows of the bishop's palace.

Saint Antonio Abbot
Saint Antonio Abbot dates back prior to the construction of the town (after 1258). On a hill near the Cixerri Valley, the church would have been at the centre of a small village. The building, which has undergone much reconstruction, has a simple facade with a gabled roof in the Byzantine style. Its facade indicates the church's age, traces of which remain in the present sacristy; neighbouring buildings have absorbed one of the original building's three naves. Inside is a fairly-small, quadrangular room with four pointed arches marking four bays and terminating in a large, horseshoe-shaped apse.

Saint Salvatore Church
Saint Salvatore Church, also dating to before the city's construction, is outside the city walls. A comparison with the Church of Santa Croce in Ittireddu dates it to the ninth or tenth century. The church follows the structural layout of other churches of average size, with a cruciform plan built near developing settlements. The simple building has a sloping facade, dominated by an arched doorway from which its weight is distributed to the external walls. The nave crosses the transept and ends in a window, tracing the ancient apse.

Saint Francesco Cloister
The church and monastery of San Francesco belonged to the Friars Conventual Minor in Sardinia. The cloister was an open space, surrounded on four sides by porticos. The monastery includes wings developed according to the model of open ground-floor loggias, arranged around a green area accessed through broad arches of pink trachyte. It was heavily damaged during World War II (when it was used as an air-raid shelter), but part of the original complex has been restored.

Cemetery
The cemetery covers the area between Via Cappuccini and Su Pardu, following a plan with intersecting avenues marking squares. At the centre, a stairway leads to the chapel on the principal avenue. Developed during successive enlargements, the cemetery does not follow a plan; certain aspects stand out, such as the Avenue of the Children. Its nucleus is eclectic in its outer railings, funeral stones, urns, owls and angels flanking the stairway. The entrance from Via Cappuccini separates the sober Liberty-style flowers and Masonic symbols on one side from memorials to the war dead on the other. It includes sculptures by Giuseppe Sartorio.

Piazza Sella
Piazza Sella, with benches, a pedestrian area and the town market, is Iglesias's social centre. It is bordered by Via Garibaldi (which leads to the railway station and separates it from nearby Piazza Oberdan), Via Valverde and Via Gramsci. The piazza is named after Quintino Sella because of the statue of the politician and economist by Giuseppe Sartorio which was erected in its centre in 1885; Sella developed Iglesias as a mining town.

Piazza Oberdan
Opposite Piazza Sella is a piazza named after Guglielmo Oberdan, with a war memorial in its centre created in 1928 by Francesco Ciusa. The area bordering the piazza was a car park during the 1930s and 1940s and was also the Satas bus station. The piazza has been used for military commemorations, from Fascist gatherings and parades to present-day celebrations of national events. A renovation of Piazza Oberdan was proposed in April 1953; pavement slabs were laid and flower beds were arranged around the monument, which was fenced off with chains. In 1981, the piazza was resurfaced and its flower beds rearranged.

Saint Barbara Cave
Discovered in 1952, some scholars estimate that the cave dates back to the Silurian (between 444 and 416 million years ago). A tour takes about three hours; it begins on a small train which runs to a lift, which approaches a grotto. A spiral staircase leads into the interior. A large, elliptical room with a diameter of 70 m at its widest point and a height of 25 m, the cave has aragonite columns, calcareous formations in a variety of shapes and a pool 20 m in diameter. The cave is covered in concretions, and "organ pipes" are calcareous formations which reproduce the sound of an organ when touched.

Cala Domestica Tower
The tower was built for defence and counterattack on the furthest promontory of the coast between Portixeddu and Porto Paglia, above the harbour entrance, against Muslim invasion as part of a network of hundreds of towers and outposts built by the Spanish crown. The towers, equipped with cannons, would open fire while the watchtowers sent smoke signals or drumbeat warnings. A fortress in the shape of a truncated cone, 11 m high and 12 m in diameter, was constructed of calcareous stone ashlar. The doorway, about 6 m high, leads into a domed room about 7 m wide with six loopholes.

Mineralogical Museum
The museum was built in 1871, at the same time as the mining school, to complete the miners’ theoretical training. It has two rooms with about 3,000 items, one of the sector's most complete and valuable collections. The first room has samples from all over the world, including samples from the Paris basin. In addition to the mineral samples, there are examples of the tools used to extract them. The second room contains the nucleus of the collection, with underground minerals (now no longer obtainable) from throughout the region. The Liberty style display cases have grotesque and arabesque carvings and herms.

Bays and beaches
In Iglesias' littoral zone, (8 km from the city centre), are the following bays and beaches (listed north to south):
 * Cala Domestica, with the Spanish tower
 * Su Forru (the Oven) cavern
 * Portu Sciusciau shore, with cliffs up to 100 m high
 * Seabass Cavern
 * Punta Corr'e Corti shore, with cliffs up to 103 m high
 * Porto di Canal Grande (Big Channel Port) shore
 * Sardigna Cavern, a small cave in the shape of Sardinia
 * Punta Sedda 'e Luas shore, with cliffs up to 115 m high
 * Schina 'e Monti Nai shore, with cliffs up to 162 m high
 * Punta Buccione (or Punta Buccioni) shore, with cliffs up to 167 m high
 * Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf) islet, 133 m high
 * Porto Bega Sa Canna (Reed Valley Port)
 * Masua Beach
 * Portu Cauli Beach
 * Bay at Punta Corallo (Coral Point)
 * Portu Ferru shore
 * Portu Bruncu Cobertu shore
 * Portu Banda shore
 * Porto Ghiano shore
 * Nebida shore
 * S'Agusteri islet, 35 m high, where lobsters are fished
 * Portu Raffa Bay
 * Porto Flavia

Sister cities
Iglesias has been a sister city to Oberhausen, Germany, since 2002 and to Pisa since 2009.

title: Iglesias, Sardinia


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ChitChat

ChitChat was an open-source instant messaging client for Mac OS X supporting the Yahoo! Messenger protocol. It enabled users to chat with each other over the global Yahoo! chat system. The last version, ChitChat 1.2, had a more refined user interface, speed improvements, Address Book support, IM reformatting, an improved events system, and numerous bug fixes. ChitChat was programmed in the REALBasic programming environment.

History
ChitChat was an offshoot of "miChat!", a Yahoo! Chat program for Macintosh computers written by J. Seth Lowe in the REALbasic programming language. In late 2000, Seth publicly asked for other REALbasic programmers to join the project, in the hope that it would spawn a number of competing Yahoo! Chat clients and enrich the Macintosh experience. A programmer by the name of Tomis Erwin responded to this query. After collaborating on several features, Seth encouraged him to take free rein in creating his own client from the miChat code base.

The new program, dubbed "ChitChat", went through several major interface overhauls throughout its existence, seemingly in perpetual beta or pre-release, though it was available publicly. Finally, "ChitChat 1.0" was released in early 2004 with versions for Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and Windows 98.

Over the years ChitChat had picked up a rather large feature set. In an effort to deflect feature creep without crippling the program, "ChitChat Lite" was introduced in late 2005. The Lite version, a simplified no-frills release, never picked up as large a user base as its predecessor.

End of the Line
In April 2006, Yahoo! disconnected their "Java Chat" (known internally as YCHT protocol) in favor of the newer Yahoo! Messenger protocol (known as YMSG). ChitChat was designed on this older protocol and would need to be rewritten to support the new system. Citing the amount of time and effort a re-write would entail, Tomis announced that ChitChat was effectively terminated.

"...I would like to thank everyone for all the support over the years. It was fun, and I learned a lot..." ~ Tomis Erwin, ChitChat Homepage

During the years that ChitChat was in active development, a new trend in chat clients emerged; that of the multi-client. Multi-Clients connect to more than one service at once, this reduces the number of programs a user must simultaneously run on their computer. The only multi-client that can connect to Yahoo! Chat (as opposed to regular Instant Messaging) as of this writing is Adium

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

title: ChitChat


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Splashpower

Splashpower Ltd. was a United Kingdom-based company founded in June 2001. It had been attempting to develop technology for wireless charging of portable devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, mp3 players and cameras. Their system worked through electromagnetic induction, adding a free positioning induction loop (at the "SplashPad") to the conventional fix induction loop at the wallplug (used to shift between AC and DC currents). According to the company's claims, rechargeable devices equipped with a small SplashModule were placed upon a mousepad-sized SplashPad and had their batteries recharged at a normal rate. A Splashpower system was featured on Tomorrow's World (a popular science/IT programme from the BBC) some years ago, where it was given praise and demonstrated a London cafe setting where be-suited executive types were able to charge their phones and PDAs whilst having a power lunch. the company had yet to make an announcement as to when products would be commercially available or at what price. Some technical details of the Splashpower technology can be found in US patent 6,906,495 (available also from the USPTO). the company had not publicly disclosed key parameters of its technology—such as the power transfer efficiency, the practical limits on power levels, and how tolerant the technology is to the presence of metallic objects in the magnetic field—which made it difficult to evaluate the product. Splashpower technology was predicted to become available during 2007, but the company was not able to bring the technology to market. As of April 2008, the company had declared bankruptcy. In May 2008 Splashpower was acquired by Fulton Innovation, the developers of eCoupled wireless power technology.

title: Splashpower


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User talk:Rstohr

Detroit
Despite what you may have heard there is nightlife in Detroit and nice apartments and condos, many downtown along the riverfront. Normally the first thing I would mention is that Detroit levies an income tax of 2.65% on residents, 1.325% on non-residents but I don't know if that would apply in your case. That is one reason many people choose to live in the suburbs, not the city itself. Nightlife in the suburbs is more popular especially in Royal Oak, Dearborn, Windsor, Ontario in Canada and the university town of Ann Arbor. Hiking opportunities include the metro parks along the Huron and Clinton Rivers which offer walking, bicycling, limited hiking, canoeing, swimming, etc. And a 45 minute drive west of the city is the Pinckney-Waterloo State Recreation Area which includes a 40-mile trail for backpacking. Note that you will certainly need your own car in this area even if you live in the city. There is no rail/tram system and bus service is available but insufficient. Rmhermen 13:57, Feb 15, 2005 (UTC)

File:410055 Ramsgate.jpg missing description details
Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as File:410055 Ramsgate.jpg is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors to make better use of the image, and it will be more informative for readers.

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If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 10:15, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

File:Ramsgate.jpg needs authorship information.
Dear uploader:

The media file you uploaded as File:Ramsgate.jpg appears to be missing information as to its authorship (and or source), or if you did provide such information, it is confusing for others trying to make use of the image.

It would be appreciated if you would consider updating the file description page, to make the authorship of the media clearer.

Although some images may not need author information in obvious cases, (such where an applicable source is provided),authorship information aids users of the image, and helps ensure that appropriate credit is given (a requirement of some licenses).

If you created this media yourself, please consider explicitly including your user name, for which: will produce an appropriate expansion,

or the own template..

If you have any questions please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 19:09, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

title: User talk:Rstohr


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Dunes (hotel and casino)

The Dunes Hotel & Country Club was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened on May 23, 1955, as the tenth resort on the Strip. It was initially owned by a group of businessmen from out of state, but failed to prosper under their management. It also opened at a time of decreased tourism, while the Strip was simultaneously becoming overbuilt with hotel rooms. A few months after the opening, management was taken over by the operators of the Sands resort, also on the Strip. This group failed to improve business and relinquished control less than six months later.

Businessman Major Riddle turned business around after taking over operations in 1956. He was involved with the resort until his death in 1980. He had several partners, including Sid Wyman, who worked for the Dunes from 1961 until his death in 1978. Mafia attorney Morris Shenker joined in 1975, following one of the most extensive routine investigations ever conducted by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The Dunes had frequent connections with Mafia figures, some of whom were alleged to have hidden ownership in the resort, and state officials were concerned about Shenker's association with such figures.

In 1957, the Dunes debuted Las Vegas' first topless show, Minsky Goes to Paris, prompting other resorts to follow suit. Two other successful shows, by Frederic Apcar, would later debut at the Dunes. The resort also offered amenities such as the Emerald Green golf course, which opened in 1964. The Dunes was one of two Strip resorts to include a golf course, the other one being the Desert Inn. The Emerald Green was the longest course in Nevada, at 7,240 yards.

The Dunes opened with 194 rooms, while a 21-story tower brought the total to 960. The tower was among the tallest buildings in Nevada, and was opened in 1965. By this time, the resort also had the tallest free-standing sign in the world, rising 181 feet. Several popular restaurants were also added in the 1960s, including the underwater-themed Dome of the Sea, and the Top O' the Strip, located at the top of the hotel tower. Another tower, 17 stories in height, was opened in 1979, giving the resort a total of 1,282 rooms. The Dunes added a second gaming facility, the Oasis Casino, in 1982.

The Dunes experienced financial problems in the 1980s, and had many prospective buyers during this time, including businessman Steve Wynn. Japanese investor Masao Nangaku eventually bought the resort in 1987, at a cost of $157 million. Nangaku intended to renovate and expand the Dunes, although his plans were derailed by an unusually lengthy control board investigation, which dissuaded financiers. Wynn's company, Mirage Resorts, bought the Dunes in November 1992, paying $75 million. Plans were announced to replace it with a lake resort.

The Dunes closed on January 26, 1993. The original North Tower was imploded on October 27, 1993, during a highly publicized ceremony which helped promote Wynn's new Treasure Island resort, located about a mile north. The demolition event garnered 200,000 spectators. The newer South Tower was imploded on July 20, 1994, without the fanfare of the first implosion; it attracted 3,000 spectators. Wynn's new resort, Bellagio, eventually opened on the former Dunes site in 1998.

History
The Dunes was initially owned by a group of businessmen that included Robert Rice of Beverly Hills, James A. Sullivan of Rhode Island, Milton Gettinger of New York, and Alfred Gottesman, a wealthy theater operator in Florida. Rice and Gottesman were new to the gaming industry. The group proposed the project, originally called the Araby, in July 1953. It was later renamed the Vegas Plaza, and then Hotel Deauville. Groundbreaking took place on June 22, 1954, with the resort now known as the Dunes. It was built by the Los Angeles-based McNeil Construction Company, which spent 11 months working on the resort.

The Dunes opened on May 23, 1955, as the tenth resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The opening attracted many celebrities, including Cesar Romero, Spike Jones, and Rita Moreno. Gottesman and Sullivan were majority stockholders, and also served as 50-50 partners in the operation of the casino. Businessman Kirk Kerkorian bought a three-percent interest a couple months after the opening, marking his first Las Vegas investment.

The Dunes was one of four new Las Vegas resorts to open within a six-week period, resulting in financial trouble for each of them. The Las Vegas Valley had been overbuilt with hotel rooms during a time of lessened demand, and the Dunes was also the southernmost resort on the Strip, located a considerable distance from other properties. A Dunes attorney blamed the resort's financial trouble on a persistent losing streak in its casino. Rice believed that the financial problems were the result of it competing with other resorts for expensive live entertainment. In addition, the Dunes had numerous creditors. Among these was McNeil Construction, which filed a $166,000 lien against the ownership group, representing unpaid salary. The group said it would not pay the balance, stating that the construction contract had been violated.

In August 1955, an agreement was reached for Sands Hotel Corporation, owner of the Sands Hotel and Casino, to lease and operate the struggling Dunes. To mark the management change, a three-day celebration was held starting on September 9, 1955. Singer Frank Sinatra headlined the ceremony and entered on a camel. Sands closed the casino portion in January 1956, due to falling profits. It was the third Las Vegas casino to close in recent months, following the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Royal Nevada. Live entertainment also ceased, although the hotel remained open. Rice blamed disagreements within Sands for the casino's failure. The group lost $1.2 million operating the Dunes, and relinquished control of the resort on February 1, 1956.

Businessman Major Riddle subsequently partnered with local hotel operator William Miller to reopen the casino. They would be equal partners with 44-percent ownership, while Rice would own the remainder. The Dunes casino reopened in June 1956. Seven months later, plans were announced for Sullivan and Gottesman to sell the property to Jacob Gottlieb, owner of a Chicago trucking firm. Gottlieb became the resort's landlord through Western Realty Company, and Miller departed the property as president and general manager. The resort was managed through Riddle's operating company, M&R Investment. The Dunes was sold in a Clark County sheriff's auction at the end of 1957, to satisfy the debt owed to McNeil Construction. It sold for $115,000, but was valued at $3.5 million. Gottesman, Sullivan, and Gettinger bought it back in November 1958.

The resort thrived under Riddle, who added several new shows and facilities. On April 15, 1959, the Dunes hosted the first double groundbreaking ceremony in Las Vegas history: one for a convention center, built south of the existing resort facilities, and another for a 500-space parking lot directly north of the resort. In 1961, St. Louis businessmen Sid Wyman, Charlie Rich, and George Duckworth invested in the Dunes and became the new operators through a lease agreement. Wyman was put in charge of casino operations, and Riddle remained as the majority owner. The following year, he sold 15 percent of the operating corporation to the three men, reducing his interest to 37 percent.

Several notable individuals were married at the Dunes, including Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker (1962), Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon (1965), and Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim (1965). Mike Goodman, author of the best-selling 1963 book How to Win: At Cards, Dice, Races, Roulette, was a pit boss at the Dunes during the 1960s. Gambling author Barney Vinson also worked there.

During the 1960s, the resort's western edge was condemned for construction of Interstate 15. The resort added a golf course in 1964. A 21-story hotel tower, initially known as the Diamond of the Dunes, was opened in May 1965, to mark the resort's 10th anniversary. It was part of a $20 million expansion project, and later became the North Tower, following the addition of another hotel building to the south.

In 1969, M&R merged with Continental Connector Corporation, a New York-based electronics firm. M&R became a subsidiary of Continental Connector, which owned the Dunes and the land beneath it. Later in 1969, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against Continental Connector, accusing it of making inaccurate financial statements regarding earnings at the Dunes. The company subsequently sought a buyer for the resort. In 1970, businessman Howard Hughes was in discussions to purchase the Dunes, although negotiations ended without a deal. Rapid-American Corporation began discussions to acquire the resort, but eventually dropped out.

Rice, Wyman, Duckworth and three other top resort officials were indicted in 1971 by a federal grand jury, alleging that they filed false corporate income tax returns and that they conspired to skim money from the gaming tables. The officials pleaded innocent, and Wyman later divested his ownership, but remained with the Dunes as a consultant.

Mafia connections
The Dunes had numerous Mafia connections for much of its history. Sullivan's early ownership in the resort was actually held by Raymond Patriarca, and Gottlieb was affiliated with Jimmy Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union. During the 1950s and 1960s, the union financed many casino expansions in Las Vegas through its pension fund. This included a $5 million loan for the Dunes' original hotel tower. Allen Dorfman, who handled negotiations on behalf of the pension fund, was alleged to have hidden ownership in the Dunes. The Dunes occasionally provided first-class treatment to Mafia figures such as Anthony Giordano, who was arrested at the resort in 1969, while visiting Wyman. The FBI planted surveillance bugs at the Dunes during the 1960s, and certain resort employees worked as informants for the agency during the 1970s. In 1972, a new group emerged as a prospective buyer for the resort, still under the ownership of Continental Connector. The group included San Diego developer Irvin Kahn and partner Morris Shenker, a St. Louis attorney who was representing Wyman and other resort officials in their case. The Nevada Gaming Control Board launched a routine investigation into Shenker and Kahn's financing, but halted its probe in 1973, following Kahn's death. In 1974, Shenker owned 37 percent of the Dunes through stock holdings in Continental Connector, and he sought to buy out the remainder, prompting the control board to reopen and expand its investigation into his financial background. It was one of the most extensive investigations in Nevada gaming history, as state officials had concerns about Mafia figures with whom Shenker was associated. Shenker later denied allegations that his ownership in the resort was a front for Nick Civella, whom Shenker had represented previously as attorney. Civella had a comped visit at the resort in 1974, but Shenker noted that he had not yet taken control of the Dunes at that time, and said he would not have allowed Civella to stay there if he had been in charge.

In 1975, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro began spending extensive time in the Dunes casino, where he would take phone calls routed to the poker room. The gaming control board accused him of treating the Dunes as his personal office, and questioned Shenker and Riddle as to why he was allowed on the premises, given his Black Book status. The men denied knowing Spilotro or his background, and said they only had an outdated photograph of him from 20 years earlier, making it difficult to identify him. The control board alleged that management was, in fact, aware of Spilotro and had already been warned about his presence at the resort.

M&R had negotiated a $40 million loan from the Teamsters Union pension fund in 1974. A $75 million expansion was planned to begin in 1976, and would include two additional hotel towers. The project would be financed in part by the Teamsters loan. However, the union withheld the funds, citing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Specifically, the union stated that the loan could not be granted because Continental Connector owned a trucking company which employed teamsters who had contributed to the pension fund. Shenker criticized the pension fund's reasoning, saying that Continental Connector had already divested itself of ownership in the trucking company. A second tower, rising 17 stories, eventually opened in 1979.

In 1980, members of the Colombo crime family received comped stays at the resort.

Later years
Wyman died of cancer in June 1978, and gaming at the Dunes was halted for two minutes in his honor. In 1979, Continental Connector was renamed Dunes Hotels and Casinos Inc., amid plans for a second Dunes resort in Atlantic City. Riddle died in 1980, and Shenker suffered a heart attack that year, prompting him to seriously consider selling the Dunes. In 1982, the resort added a second casino building, known as the Oasis Casino.

In December 1982, it was announced that the resort would be sold to brothers Stuart and Clifford Perlman for $185 million, which would include the assumption of $105 million in debt. The Perlmans provided a $10 million loan to prevent the Dunes from being seized by the Internal Revenue Service, but later backed out of the purchase after learning that the debt would be $20 million more than initially expected. Circus Circus Enterprises subsequently considered a purchase, as did Golden Nugget chairman Steve Wynn, who made a $115 million offer.

In May 1984, the Dunes was sold to John Anderson, a farmer in Davis, California, who also owned the Maxim hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Shenker maintained a 26-percent stake. M&R filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1985. Later that month, Wynn made another $115 million offer, which was rejected by Anderson and Shenker, deeming it too low and valuing the Dunes at $143.5 million. Numerous other offers would be made over the next two years, including one by New York businessman Donald Trump. Blumenfeld Properties, a Philadelphia real estate development company, made a $145.5 million offer for the Dunes, but ultimately did not purchase the resort. Burton Cohen was named as the resort's president in January 1986, following the departure of its previous president.

Financial firm EF Hutton eventually formed a partnership that was interested in purchasing the Dunes, while a separate group led by Kerkorian was also in discussions. Talks with the two prospective buyers ended in February 1987, without a deal. Shortly thereafter, Texas-based lender Southmark Corporation purchased the first and second mortgages of the Dunes from Valley Bank and First Security Leasing, the Dunes' two major creditors. Later in 1987, Hilton Hotels and Japanese investor Masao Nangaku both considered buying the Dunes. Foreclosure was delayed to allow more time for a possible purchase. Hilton offered $122.5 million, and planned to refurbish the existing rooms while adding a third tower, at an additional cost of $110 million. Cohen believed that the resort needed 2,000 hotel rooms to adequately compete with other resorts. Kerkorian re-emerged as a prospective buyer, and Sheldon Adelson also considered purchasing the 163-acre resort. Nangaku ultimately prevailed, offering a $157.7 million bid in August 1987. His purchase was finalized four months later.

While Nangaku waited to receive a gaming license, he hired Dennis Gomes to operate the Dunes, replacing Cohen as president. Nangaku underwent an unusually long gaming control board probe. Investigators suspected that unlicensed people from Nangaku's company, Minami Group, were involved in the resort. The control board encountered difficulty when looking into Nangaku's business associates because of differences in how Japan handles documents, which are generally kept confidential. Investigators also suspected that the associates were making attempts to hinder their efforts.

In December 1988, Nangaku received a limited two-year gaming license while investigators continued their probe. Nangaku planned up to $280 million in renovations, including a new hotel tower and the demolition of the original motel-style structures, although little work had been done by mid-1989. He blamed the limited gaming license, stating that financiers were hesitant to lend money because of uncertainty about whether he would remain licensed in the near future.

The first phase of Nangaku's multimillion renovation eventually began in September 1989. The following year, Nangaku announced a planned $200 million remodeling project. He also hired the architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum to design the new high-rise tower. Nangaku eventually received a permanent gaming license in May 1991, at which point he was seeking a partner to help renovate and operate the Dunes. The resort had laid off hundreds of workers that year, due to financial troubles brought on by the early 1990s recession. Despite Nangaku's expansion plans for the resort, he ultimately invested only $12 million in basic repairs.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal had written in 1988 that the Dunes had lost its "mystical luster" over the past 20 years, with its high rollers migrating to "more attractive" resorts. The newspaper's John L. Smith wrote that the Dunes had lost its "classy resort" reputation and had become "a dump by Strip standards" despite its name recognition and prime location on the central Strip. The Dunes failed to stay competitive against new megaresorts opening on the Strip, including The Mirage in 1989, and the Excalibur a year later. During 1990, the resort was losing $500,000 monthly.

Wynn's company, since renamed as Mirage Resorts, agreed to purchase the Dunes in October 1992. It was sold the following month for $75 million. At the time, the property was losing $2 million a month. Gaming executive Richard Goeglein led a team which helped operate the Dunes in the months leading up to its closure.

Closure and demolition
The Dunes closed on January 26, 1993. Wynn said: "It's becoming in death a much better place than it was in life. This thing about melancholy in its passing is sorta strange. No one felt that while it [the Dunes] was laying there, terminally ill. It's been laying there on life support systems for many years". At the time of its closing, the Dunes employed more than 1,200 people. Employees held reunions each year following the closure. An on-site sale of the Dunes inventory, including light fixtures and carpeting, began in March 1993.

Demolition started on September 16, 1993. A four-alarm fire began on-site that afternoon, after workers accidentally ran over an electrical outlet in a bulldozer. The fire affected a two-story hotel building and eventually spread across the property. More than 200 firefighters responded, and six blocks of the Strip were closed off for more than four hours until the fire was contained.

The original North Tower was demolished on the night of October 27, 1993, one day after the opening of Wynn's new Strip resort Treasure Island, located about a mile north. The tower was imploded with great fanfare in an event emceed by Wynn that incorporated his new resort; on his command, a faux pirate ship at Treasure Island shot its cannon several times, simulating the Dunes' destruction by cannonballs as the implosion began. The tower was brought down around 10:10 p.m., following a six-minute fireworks show. The $1.5 million demolition event attracted 200,000 spectators. The Dunes was the first Las Vegas resort to be imploded, and numerous others would follow suit into the next decade.

The tower's implosion was handled by Controlled Demolition, Inc. The demolition required 365 pounds of dynamite, and 550 gallons of aviation fuel were also used, creating fireballs that went up each floor of the tower's east side, facing the Strip and spectators. The Oasis Casino and the Dunes' two-story casino building were not part of the implosion. Fireworks sparked two small fires on the roof of the Oasis, and numerous small fires began in the Dunes' casino area, all put out by on-site firefighters. Both facilities were bulldozed following the implosion. A three-month clean-up project began to remove the debris left from the imploded tower. During the clean-up, workers discovered hundreds of $100 Dunes casino chips in the resort's foundation; some casinos executives would dispose of outdated chips by burying them in the foundation of their buildings.

The South Tower was briefly used as a job center for Treasure Island. It was eventually imploded on the morning of July 20, 1994, without the fanfare of the first implosion. Mirage Resorts had urged people not to show up for the second implosion, which attracted approximately 3,000 spectators.

Commenting on the end of the Dunes, Wynn said, "This is not an execution; this is a phoenix rising". His new resort, Bellagio, eventually opened on the former Dunes site in 1998. The resort's lake covers much of the land once occupied by the Dunes' casino and hotel structures.

Fire safety and 1986 arson spree
New fire-safety rules were implemented in Las Vegas following the MGM Grand fire (1980) and Las Vegas Hilton fire (1981). In 1985, the Dunes was one of seven hotels that failed to comply with the new safety rules, receiving six citations. The Dunes agreed to close its main showroom and convention center in exchange for a county extension, allowing time to raise $13.5 million needed to bring the facilities up to standard. In February 1986, the Dunes won additional extensions to meet the fire-safety requirements.

Later that month, a series of arson fires were set to several Strip resorts, including the Dunes, the Holiday Casino, and the Sands. As a precaution, 1,650 hotel guests were evacuated from the Dunes just before midnight. On the casino floor, many gamblers refused to leave and continued playing. Firefighters quickly determined that the fires posed no threat to the casino area. Crews battled a total of five fires at the Dunes, and guests were allowed to return to their rooms after three hours. Six people were treated for smoke inhalation, and damage was estimated at $55,000. The Dunes offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the arsonist. A man was eventually arrested for the arson spree and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In light of the recent fires, the county reconsidered the extensions previously granted to the Dunes. By May 1986, the resort had made significant progress on its fire retrofit work.

Features
The Dunes featured an Arabian theme, and was designed by Robert Dorr Jr. and John Replogle. The resort initially occupied 85 acres. The casino opened with 120 slot machines. The 6600 sqft convention center, opened in 1959, included seating for 800 people. The casino was remodeled in 1961, and a keno lounge would be added 10 years later, part of a $2 million renovation project.

In 1965, the Dunes became the first Strip business to offer a nursery, which would supervise children while their parents enjoyed the resort's amenities. By that point, the Dunes also had two swimming pools and a dozen shops, while additional retailers would be added in 1979.

An 85000 sqft addition, containing various amenities, was approved by the county in 1981. The expansion cost $15 million, and included the Oasis Casino, which opened on August 20, 1982. The structure, with an exterior of black mirrored glass, was built at a cost of $17 million. The Oasis provided the Dunes property with an additional 18000 sqft of gaming space. Although the Oasis was a two-story building, it opened without the second floor, which was unfinished and sealed off.

The Oasis Casino featured curved neon palm trees at its entrance, standing 70 feet with fronds 20 feet in length. They were designed by Ad-Art sign designer Jack DuBois, based on early design work by Raul Rodriguez. The palms were dismantled in April 1993, after being sold during the liquidation sale to a buyer in Taiwan. By 1999, the palms had been installed at the entrance to the NASA nightclub in Bangkok. The club closed some time after that, and the whereabouts of the palms are unknown.

Hotel
The Dunes opened with 194 rooms, and plans for additional rooms were already in the works, although it would be years before they came to fruition. In 1957, plans were announced for a $2 million expansion that would include a 14-story tower. A year later, the proposed tower was increased to 18 stories. An additional 246 rooms were eventually added in 1960, with the opening of the Olympic Wing, joining the existing Seahorse Wing.

Groundbreaking for the tower eventually took place on October 20, 1962. It was designed by Milton Schwartz, and the opening was pushed back because of design changes. The tower eventually opened in May 1965. It had 510 rooms, bringing the total room count to 960. At 21 stories, it was among the tallest buildings in Nevada.

The tower was originally known as Diamond of the Dunes, and was later called the North Tower, following the addition of the South Tower. Construction of the latter began on July 26, 1978, part of a $100 million expansion and remodeling project. The 17-story South Tower was topped off on April 12, 1979, and was opened that December. The second tower was designed by Maxwell Starkman and included 464 rooms, for a new total of 1,282.

Golf course
The Dunes opened its Emerald Green golf driving range in November 1961. The Emerald Green golf course debuted in 1964, and had its formal opening in April 1965. Since then, the resort was sometimes known as the Dunes Hotel and Country Club, reflecting its golf amenities. The Emerald Green measured 7,240 yards, making it the longest course in Las Vegas. It stretched south from Flamingo Road to Tropicana Avenue, occupying roughly 80 acres along the eastern edge of I-15. Riddle bought the site from banker Jerry Mack and Mel Close, bringing the resort a total of 163 acres.

The Emerald Green's closure in 1993 left the Desert Inn as the only other Strip resort with a golf course. At the time, the Emerald Green had seen an average of 65,000 golfers each year, second only to the Las Vegas Municipal Golf Course. It was especially popular among celebrities. The Emerald Green site is now occupied by parts of Park MGM (opened in 1996) and CityCenter (2009), as well as T-Mobile Arena (2016).

Sultan and neon sign
The Dunes originally featured a 30-foot-high sultan statue above its entrance. The fiberglass statue was created by sculptor Kermit Hawkins. The sultan's turban included a diamond that lit up at night, and which was actually a car headlamp that had been put in place. In 1964, the sultan was moved to the edge of the golf course along I-15, serving as an advertisement to motorists. The sultan was destroyed by fire, caused by a short circuit, on the night of December 31, 1985.

Lee Klay of the Federal Sign and Signal Company designed a roadside sign for the Dunes, activated on November 12, 1964. Klay recalled that the resort owners asked him to create "a big phallic symbol going up in the sky as far as you can make it". At 181 feet, it was the tallest free-standing sign in the world. The foundation measured 80 feet in width, and supported two white-colored columns forming a bulbous onion dome or stylized spade shape at the top. Contained within this shape were two-story-high letters spelling out "Dunes", with a large diamond atop the lettering.

The sign contained 16,000 feet of neon tubing, including 7,200 lamps. At night, the sign lit up in red coloring. Blackout curtains were added in hotel rooms facing the sign, as some guests had trouble sleeping because of the neon lighting. Schwartz objected to the construction of the sign, believing that it conflicted with the design of his hotel tower, although Riddle overrode him. A full-time, three-man team worked to maintain the sign, which had a service elevator going up one of its columns to the top. The sign was intentionally destroyed as part of the 1993 implosion event, with the use of 18-grain detonating cord. Architectural historian Alan Hess had advocated for saving the sign, although Mirage Resorts stated that it was in extremely poor condition, with demolition being cheaper than preservation. Saving the sign would have required it to be disassembled in eight-foot sections, at a cost of up to $100,000.

A smaller, similar sign exists at the city's Neon Museum. In 2019, filmmaker Tim Burton also debuted a Dunes-inspired sign as part of Lost Vegas: Tim Burton, an exhibit at the Neon Museum. An original neon entrance sign from the resort is also located at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas.

Restaurants
A popular fine-dining restaurant, Sultan's Table, opened on March 4, 1961. It was designed by Schwartz, and included live music for diners. Riddle was inspired to build Sultan's Table after visiting an upscale restaurant, the Villa Fontana, in Mexico City. Sultan's Table was the first gourmet restaurant to open on the Strip, and Diners Club named it "America's finest and most beautiful new restaurant".

The Dunes opened its Dome of the Sea on June 12, 1964. It was a seafood restaurant with an underwater theme. It was also designed by Schwartz, who created the exterior as a circular building that "looked like it came from outer space". Schwartz collaborated with designer Sean Kenny on the interior, which had a budget of $150,000. Images of fish and seaweed were projected onto the restaurant's interior walls. It also featured a harpist, dressed as a mermaid, who performed in the center of the room. For a brief period starting in 1972, the restaurant would transform into Dome After Hours, offering cocktails and continuous live entertainment between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00 a.m.

A restaurant and lounge, Top O' the Strip, opened on June 4, 1965. It was located on the top floor of the new hotel tower, providing views of the city. It was popular among tourists, and also featured live entertainment. It was renamed Top O' the Dunes in 1979.

Live entertainment
Comedian Wally Cox was an early entertainer at the Dunes, opening there in July 1955, although he was fired due to poor audience reception. Gottesman acknowledged that Cox was ill-prepared and brought no new material to his performances. Cox had been signed for four weeks, but only gave three performances. Comedian Stan Irwin briefly filled in for Cox, who was then hired back later in the month.

Entertainers at Top O' the Strip included Art and Dotty Todd, Russ Morgan, and Bob Anderson. The Dunes also opened a Comedy Store location in 1984, hosting numerous comedians. It relocated to the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in 1990, but briefly returned to the Dunes in 1992.

Shows
The Dunes' 1955 opening included Vera-Ellen in a production show titled New York-Paris-Paradise, which was contracted for a four-week run. It was part of Gottesman's policy to focus on shows rather than big-name stars; he said, "There aren't enough name stars in the world to play all the Vegas hotels". New York-Paris-Paradise was directed by Robert Nesbitt and played in the Dunes' showroom, known as the Arabian Room.

On January 10, 1957, Riddle debuted Las Vegas' first topless show, titled Minsky Goes to Paris. Riddle said, "We have something people can't get on television". The show's success inspired other resorts to debut their own topless shows. During 1958, the show was attracting 9,000 viewers weekly. Later known as Minsky's Follies, the show ran until 1961.

Riddle brought Tenderloin, a Broadway musical, to the Dunes in May 1961. The Broadway show Guys and Dolls, starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey, also played at the Dunes for about six months, starting in 1962.

The Dunes opened a new venue, the Persian Room, in December 1961. It replaced the Sinbad Cocktail Lounge. The Persian Room debuted with Vive Les Girls, a French musical revue by Frederic Apcar. It was successful, becoming an annual show at the Dunes. It closed in 1971, when the Persian Room was replaced by the keno lounge.

The Dunes had also debuted another show by Apcar in December 1963, titled Casino de Paris and initially starring Line Renaud. The show cost approximately $6 million to create, featuring 100 cast members and more than 500 costumes. The show incorporated a custom stage known as the Octopus or Octuramic. Designed by Schwartz and Kenny, the stage had several arms capable of extending 50 feet above the audience. Circular dancing platforms, 20 feet in diameter, were built at the end of each arm, allowing showgirls to dance above the audience. The show ended in June 1981, due to the high costs of putting it on each week.

Showstoppers, a family show by Jeff Kutash, was planned to open in 1990, but was canceled before its premiere.

Boxing
Many major professional boxing events took place at the Dunes from 1975 to 1990; notably the May 20, 1983, undercard that featured Ossie Ocasio retaining his WBA's world Cruiserweight title by fifteen round unanimous decision over Randy Stephens, Greg Page beat Renaldo Snipes by twelve rounds unanimous decision in a WBC's Heavyweight division elimination bout, Michael Dokes retained his WBA world Heavyweight title with a fifteen-round draw (tie) over Mike Weaver in their rematch, and Larry Holmes won over Tim Witherspoon by a twelve-round split decision to retain his WBC world Heavyweight title. This was the first time in history that two world Heavyweight championship fights took place on the same day.

In popular culture
The Dunes made numerous appearances in television, including a 1964 episode of Arrest and Trial. It is featured in a 1977 episode of The Bionic Woman titled "Fembots in Las Vegas",  and a 1978 episode of Charlie's Angels titled "Angels in Vegas". The Dunes sign is used in the intro of the television series Vega$, and the resort is seen in the pilot episode of the 1980s television series Knight Rider, titled "Knight of the Phoenix". It also appears in the season-two premiere episode "Goliath".

The Dunes made film appearances as well, including the 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever, in which it serves as the office of Whyte House casino manager Bert Saxby. The Dunes sign also makes an appearance in the film, and a deleted scene, available on home media releases, takes place in the Dome of the Sea restaurant.

In the 1984 film Oxford Blues, the main character (portrayed by Rob Lowe) works as a parking attendant at the Dunes. The sign and hotel also appear in the 1984 film Cannonball Run II, and are seen in the closing credits of the 1989 film K-9. The sign also appears in the 1991 comedy Hot Shots!, when the pilot nicknamed "Wash Out" mistakes a runway and lands near the hotel. The 1991 film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man includes footage of the casino and hotel, including its rooftop.

The hotel's 1993 implosion was filmed for Treasure Island: The Adventure Begins, a television special promoting Wynn's Treasure Island resort. The implosion is also among other Las Vegas resort demolitions featured during the closing credits of the 2003 film The Cooler.

The Dunes is shown across from the fictional Tangiers casino at the beginning of the 1995 film Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese. The Dunes is also seen during the Las Vegas sequence of Scorsese's 2019 film The Irishman.

title: Dunes (hotel and casino)


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Talk:Monteiro Lobato

Untitled
I am a great fan of Monteiro Lobato and have read all his books for children and some of his works for grownups. In reading his biography at WIKIPEDIA, I found fault with the statement that he was strongly in favour of the Brazilian federal government's establishing a state oil monopoly. It is easy to check on this by reading his book "The Petroleum Scandal". As a matter of fact, he had started himself a company for oil exploration and was very much at odds with the Vargas government because public officials at the National Department of Mines strived to prevent his company from developing its business. Lobato was an admirer of the US, where he had been Commercial Attaché during the administration that preceded Vargas' and was totally in favour of private initiative. I did not want to edit the article lest its author could feel abused or overstepped. João Carlos de Rezende Martins (jcmartins@antares.com.br) Note: my present e-mail address is pegureiro@gmail.com (3.Aug.2010)

"His copyright is due to expire in 2008." ==> Not 2018? He died 1948, + 70= 2018!?? --Sei Shonagon 18:58, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

This man was an eugenicist
This article has many failures.To exemple, this article claims that Petrobras was founded in 1952, but it was in fact founded in 1953.Even worse failures of this article, came it forgets that this brazilian was also, an eugenicist.

About oil, he really tried to found a company for oil exploration, but it was a complete failure.Monteiro Lobato really knew nothing about oil geology.This company using shares bought from dumb brazilians, perfurated some oil wells in Brazil, but any single drop oil was found.This company went to bankurapcy.He was put under arrest, not because of political views, but because of this oil company, that stole many money from dozens of brazilian dumbs.Agre22 (talk) 13:38, 17 June 2008 (UTC)agre22

The brazilian (in portuguese) site [] has informations about the link between Monteiro Lobato and eugenics. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Agre22 (talk • contribs) 12:22, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Yeah you are right. He also wrote a book called in english "The Black President" in this book a black guy wins the elections in usa but in the end of the book the whites criate a final solution to the black problem and the white race win. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.53.160.122 (talk) 21:09, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Although I keep being a great fan of Lobato, I have to acknowledge these criticisms about his racist position. However I thimk this does not detract from his overall intelectual valour and entrepreneurial initiative. Martins —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.19.210.161 (talk) 01:54, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Martins. But I believe the "Black President" issue should be made into the article. Ricardo Dirani (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 12:39, 23 January 2011 (UTC).

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User:Red blaze

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 * bgcolor="lightyellow"|  R e n é D e s c a r t e s  s a i d,  " I  t h i n k ,  t h e r e f o r e  I  a m . "
 * bgcolor="lightyellow"|  R e n é D e s c a r t e s  s a i d,  " I  t h i n k ,  t h e r e f o r e  I  a m . "

' I agree: Red Blaze''. '''

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title: User:Red blaze


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Talk:Rocquigny

Untitled
The following text was moved from the article page: olivier 14:01, Feb 15, 2005 (UTC)

 * Rocquigny was the small village in France where my father was taken prisoner of war on 24th March, 1918, after serving in the British army in France and Belgium since April, 1915. Having written a short history of his service with the 7th Battalion, City of London Regiment, I have often wondered what the modern "village" is like.

title: Talk:Rocquigny


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hamburger or Truth

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was speedy deleted. —Korath (Talk) 05:55, Feb 16, 2005 (UTC)

Hamburger or Truth
Joke. Thue | talk 14:01, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Speed deleted as a recreation of deleted prank article Hamburger of Truth. Wile E. Heresiarch 15:18, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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Iglesias

Iglesias may refer to:
 * Iglesias, Sardinia, a town in a comune in the province of South Sardinia, region of Sardinia, Italy
 * Iglesias, Province of Burgos, a municipality in the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain
 * Province of Carbonia-Iglesias an ex province in the region of Sardinia, Italy
 * Iglesias (surname)

title: Iglesias


text:
Talk:Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

Re: Steam locomotives section
This section of the article is in serious need of NPOV edits. I would much prefer this section look like any of the other preserved locomotive sections that we've already got in places like EMD BL2, Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works or Union Pacific Railroad. While the model operation mentioned in the article is interesting, it doesn't really fit with the article in this section. slambo 14:02, Feb 15, 2005 (UTC)
 * I'm removing it as it pseudo-spam and doesn't add anything to the article.--CVaneg 05:58, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Copyright violation: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
I am the author of the article on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad but I did not give permission for it to be included on Wikipedia. I have removed it according to the instructions at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Possible_copyright_infringements. The article was taken from my web site at www.railga.com. Steve Storey.

 * Looks like you did that correctly (except that it wasn't listed on WP:CP, but when it's only a part of a page it should just be removed). --SPUI (talk) 06:15, 29 May 2005 (UTC)

WP:GA/R Article's Good Article status under review for delisting
See WP:GA/R. LuciferMorgan 20:54, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.)

For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, and, if allowed under fair use, may copy sentences and phrases, provided they are included in quotation marks and referenced properly. The material may also be rewritten, providing it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Therefore, such paraphrased portions must provide their source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. Mackensen (talk) 04:07, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Atlantic Coast Line Railroad


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User:Femto/elem footer

! colspan="2" style="background:; color:" | References
 * }

title: User:Femto/elem footer


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User:Femto/elem header

{| align="right" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" ! colspan="2" style="background:; color:" | General
 * colspan="2" |
 * Name, Symbol, Number
 * Name, Symbol, Number

title: User:Femto/elem header


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Talk:Atlantic Coast Line Railroad/to do

 * Add photos of ACL facilities and trains.
 * Clean up and expand the narrative in the History section
 * Populate the Steam locomotives and Diesel locomotives sections
 * Add a system map

title: Talk:Atlantic Coast Line Railroad/to do