The Sphere

255 Sands Avenue

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Sphere cost a galactic $2.3 billion making it the most expensive entertainment venue built in the Las Vegas Valley from 2019-2023.  The Sphere is an entertainment venue near the Las Vegas Strip known for its immersive audio-visual technology including a huge wrap-around LED screen and an advanced sound system.  The architect was Populous Holdings, Inc. It is a global firm specializing in the design of sports stadiums and entertainment arenas. 

 It has over 167,000 speaker drivers and beamforming technology which directs sound to specific seats.  The system is so precise it can deliver different audio to different sections such as different languages to specific seats simultaneously. 

The Sphere opened September 29, 2023 hosting concerts, films and special events featuring 4D effect like wind and scent.  Its exterior features a 580,000-square-foot LED display, while the interior features a 160,000-square-foot 16K resolution wrap-around screen making it a major architectural landmark. 

The Sphere stands 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide making it the world's largest spherical structure.  

The Sphere Experience is a two-part show that includes a pre-show with five AI-powered robots named "Aura" who interact with guests designed to represent creativity, innovation, connection, longevity and productivity.  The Sphere features a screening of the 4D film directed by Darren Aronofsky, Postcard from Earth  and a immersive 4D, 1939 film experience of The Wizard of Oz.

The Sphere's unique structural design required 3,000 tons of steel and 32 trusses to build the massive dome.  The seating capacity ranges from 17,600 to 20,000 standing with most seats having high-speed internet. The Sphere has 23 executive suites.

Despite its massive power usage, the venue has a 25-year solar energy deal aiming to offset up to 70% of its energy consumption. 

 And due to incredible fan demand, Backstreet Boys has announced their final summer 2026 dates as part of their highly successful Into the Millennium residency at the Sphere in 2025.  The group was the first pop act to hold a residency at the venue.  U2 opened the venue in 2023-2024 and was in residency from September 29, 2023 to March 2, 2024.  The shows featured a setlist centered on their 1991 album, Achtung Baby. The 40 concerts, which lasted over two hours each, featured notable visual technology. The overall attendance was 663,000 with the box office totaling $244.5 million.  The Sphere paid U2 $10 million to produce their show, on top of their guaranteed earnings of $4 million per show from Live Nation.

What was U2 biggest concert ever recorded?  It was recorded on October 25, 2009 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California during the band's U2360 tour.  The Rose Bowl concert featured a sold-out crowd of 97,014 breaing the US record for single concert attendance for one headline act. 

SPHERE .. now open.

Circa September 29, 2023

 

The Stratosphere Tower

2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

Las Vegas, Nevada 

The Stratosphere Tower (now known as The STRAT is 1,149 feet tall including the antenna spire.  It is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States and the tallest building in Las Vegas.  It is the second-tallest observation tower in the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario Canada.

Top of the World is a renowned fine-dining restaurant located 844 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.  It features a 360-degree rotating dining room that completes a full revolution every 80-90 minutes providing panoramic views.  The menu focuses on high-end American steakhouse fare, seafood and cocktails. Top of the World is consistently recognized by Wine Spectator for its wine list and lauded for its romantic ambiance. Arriving prior to sunset is highly recommended to witness the transition from daylight to the city's night lights. 

The Stratosphere groundbreaking was November 5, 1991 with construction beginning February 1992. It opened April 30, 1995 at a cost of $70 million.  The architect was Ned Baldwin who was also the supervising architect of the CN Tower.  

Fireworks from the STRAT

December 31, 2020

 

CN Tower

290 Bremner Blvd.

Toronto, Ontario Canada

The CN Tower is a 553.3 meter (1,815 feet) communications and observation tower. It is a major national icon, once the world's tallest freestanding structure from 1975 to 2007. It features observation decks with glass floors and the higher SkyPod, the high-altitude Edgewalk for thrill-seekers, the revolving 360 Restaurant serving Canadian cuisine and serves as a telecommunications hub.  Completed in 1976, it remains the tallest in the Western Hemisphere and offers panoramic views of the city and Lake Ontario. The tower's lights change color for holidays and special events.  The lights are dimmed during bird migration seasons. 

The CN Tower was built by Canadian National Railway, construction started in 1973 and opened in 1976.  In 1995, Canadian National sold the CN Tower to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation specializing in attractions of national interest.  It was then that the tower truly became Canada's National Tower both in name and in deed. 

The CN Tower's antenna spire is a 315 foot steel structure extending from the top of the concrete tower bringing the total height to 1,815 feet.  It is essential for television and radio broadcasting in Toronto and was installed in sections using a Sikorsky helicopter.

The CN Tower Story

The 1960s ushered in an unprecedented construction boom in Toronto, a city quickly growing up from a regional hub to a thriving, cosmopolitan destination.  Existing transmission towers were simply not high enough to broadcast radio and television signals over the tall new buildings which bounced the signals away from the intended audience.  To solve this problem and to demonstrate the aspirations of Canadian innovation and industry .. Canadian National, the Crown corporation that operated the country's largest railway network, employed more than 1,500 workers for 40 months to build the CN Tower. Once completed, it would be the tallest tower in the world, capable of broadcasting signals far and wide across the region. 

Tower construction crews moved in on February 6, 1973 and started to removed over 56 metric tons of earh and shale for the foundation.  Once the foundatio was ready, work began on the CN Tower's (1,100-foot) concrete shaft, a hexagonal core with three curved support arms.  To produce the CN Tower's tapered contour, construction crews poured concrete into a massive mold known as a slipform. As the concrete hardened, the slipform, supported by a ring of climbing jacks powered by hydraulic pressure, moved upwards, gradually decreasing in size to impart the curve in the Tower.  

By February 1974, the Tower was already the tallest structure in Canada.  In August 1974, work began on the seven-story sphere that would eventually house the observation decks and the revolving 360 Restaurant.  

TOPPING IT OFF

The CN Tower approached completion in March 1975, when Olga, the giant Sikorsky helicopter, flew into the city to lift the 39 pieces of the antenna into place.  The CN Tower was finished on April 2, 1975 and opened to the public on June 2, 1976.  

The CN Tower would remain the tallest freestanding structure in the world until surpassed by Dubai's mixed-use skyscraper titled Burj Khalifa in 2009 standing at 828 meters (2,717 feet) with 163 floors.  It opened January 4, 2010.

Today, the CN Tower is the centre of telecommunications for Toronto, serving more than 17 Canadian television and FM radio stations.  The tower is also the workplace of more than 500 people throughout the year.  And, of course, the CN Tower is an internationally renowned tourism destination, welcoming more than two million visitors each year. 

 

The Space Needle

400 Broad Street

Seattle, Washington 

(you can find the iconic landmark at the Seattle Center in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood)

Space Needle History

1959

.. It all started with a doodle ..

In 1959, Seattle hotel executive Edward E. Carlson who was a chief organizer of the 1962 World's Fair, traveled to Stuttgart Germany where he was inspired by a broadcast tower featuring a restaurant.  He doodled an idea of a dominant central structure for the fair on a napkin in a hotel cafe convinced that such a tower could make a permanent center-piece for the fair and an enduring symbol for Seattle.  He called it a "Space Needle".

.. With innovation comes challenges ..

Carlson and his supporters soon found moving the symbol from doodle to drawing board and then to the construction phase was far from easy.  The first obstacle was the structure's final design.  Carlson's initial sketch underwent many transformations including designs that resembled a landed UFO, a tethered balloon and even a cocktail shaker with a tram ferrying visitors to the top.  Architect, John "Jack" Graham, Jr. fresh from his success in designing the world's first auto-centric shopping mall (Seattle's Northgate) and experimenting with a revolving bar in Hawaii, focused on a flying saucer-shaped top house.  Graham's team worked on sketches and ideas before a final design was reached just a year and a half before the World's Fair.  

1961

.. Home sweet home .. planting our three legs ..

Location and financing were also major challenges.  The tower had to be privately financed and situated on land that could be acquired for private use on the fairgrounds.  Early investigations indicated such a plot of land did not exist.  However, just before the search was abandoned, a suitable 120-foot-by-120-foot lot on the site of an old fire station was found and sold to investors for $75,000 in 1961, just 13 months before the opening of the World's Fair.  Construction, managed by the Howard S. Wright Construction Company, progressed quickly.  An underground foundation was poured into a hole 30' deep and 120' across.  It took 467 cement trucks an entire day to fill the hole and the largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West.  Once the pour was completed, the foundation weighed as much as the Space Needle, itself, establishing the center of gravity just five feet above ground.

December 1961

..Let's get 'Spacey'

The basic Space Needle tower was completed in December 1961, eight months after it began.  In keeping with the 21st Century theme of the World's Fair, the final coats of paint were dubbed 'Astronaut White' for the legs, 'Orbital Olive' for the core of the structure, 'Re-entry Red' for the Halo and 'Galaxy Gold" for the sunburst and pagoda roof.  The Space Needle's chief engineer, John Minasian, had also designed rocket gantries for NASA.

April 21, 1962

Opening day.  Hooray!

The Space Needle officially opened the first day of the World's Fair.  During the expo the tower hosted an estimated 2.65 million visitors.  They included world celebrities including Elvis Presley, Prince Philip of Great Britain, Bobby Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Chubby Checker, Billy Graham, John Glenn, Jonas Salk, Carol Channing, Neil Armstrong, Lyndon Johnson, Walt Disney and scores of others.  The mast originally topping the structure was a natural gas torch that was lit up at night in rainbow colors. 

1963

After the fair, a radio broadcast booth was built in the Space Needle for a local radio station.

1982

Skyline

The 100' Skyline Level was added as a special event space, hosting view-spectacular weddings, receptions and business meetings. 

1999

Legacy Lights

The Space Needle unveiled its Legacy Lights for the first time.  The powerful beam of light is powered by lamps that total 85 million lights shining upwards from the top of the tower to honor national holidays and special occasions.  In 2001, the Legacy Lights remained lit for eleven days in response to the September 11th attacks.

April 21, 1999

37 Looks good on you.  Happy Birthday!

On April 21, 1999 the Space Needle's 37th birthday, the City's Landmarks Preservation Board named it an official City of Seattle Landmark.  In its Report on Designation, the Landmarks Preservation Board wrote the following:

"The Space Needle marks a point in history of the City of Seattle and represents American aspirations towards technological prowess.  It embodies in its form and construction the era's belief in commerce, technology and progress."

On April 19, 1999 the Space Needle was designated an historic Seattle Landmark.

2000

The tower completed a $20 million revitalization in 2000.  The project included construction of the Pavilion Level, SpaceBase retail store, SkyCity restaurant, Observation Deck improvements, exterior lighting additions, exterior painting and more.  In comparison, the Space Needle was built for about $4.5 million dollars in 1962.  If the Space Needle were to be built today, it would cost $100 million.

2012

Space Race

For the Space Needle's 50th anniversary, it sponsored "Space Race 2012".  It was a contest that selected one lucky individual to win an actual flight into orbit.  The contest was announced by Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo 11 astronaut who was the second man to walk on the moon.

2017

Century Project

In September 2017, the Space Needle commenced construction on the largest renovation project in its history, "The Century Project".  The renovation aimed to reveal the tower's internal structure and harken back to the original conceptual sketches, all while expanding and improving its views.  The Space Needle remained open to the public during its 360-degree "Spacelift" revealing its new look in late summer of 2018.  Guests are now surrounded by two breathtaking, multi-level, floor-to-ceiling glass viewing experiences including an outdoor observation level with open-air glass walls and Skyriser glass benches.  The upper observation level is now connected by the Oculus Stairs to The Loupe, the world's first and only rotating glass floor below. 

The Space Needle is designed to withstand Category 5-plus wind speeds of 200 mph and an earthquake magnitude up to 9.1. It is designed to sway, approximately 1 inch for every 10 mph of wind. In 2018, the Space Needle received a $100 million upgrade.  It is now a multi-level, floor-to-ceiling glass viewing experience offering seriously breathtaking vistas.  Approximately 1.3 million people visit the historic landmark each year with 60 million having ticked it off their bucket list since its opening.

The 1962 World's Fair theme was "The Age of Space" therefore the Space Needle's futuristic design continues to symbolize the innovative spirit of Seattle. America was in the midst of a 'Space Race' during this time, with Seattle already recognized as an 'aerospace city' thanks to the opening of a Boeing airplane assembly line. 

The Space Needle's second architect, Victor Steinbrueck drew inspiration from the abstract sculpture, 'The Feminine One' giving the Space Needle its graceful hourglass shape. Standing 605 feet, it takes approximately 41 seconds to travel in the elevator from the ground to the tower's highest level, 520 feet above Seattle. The panorama view takes in downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier and Puget Sound.  

Seattle at Night 

from

The Space Needle

 

"The Little Rascals"

These unforgettable and adorable "rascals" originally known as "Our Gang" was a pioneering comedy series created by producer Hal Roach that ran from 1922 to 1944.  It focused on the comedic adventures of a diverse, motley group of children, spanning 221 short films in both silent and sound eras which were later syndicated as "The Little Rascals". 

The original of the series was unique because children were the main characters, acting out the "mischief and charm" of childhood.  

Produced by Hal Roach Studios, the series was sold to MGM in 1938.  When the shorts were sold to television in the early 1950s, they were rebranded as The Little Rascals.

It was revolutionary casting as the series was groundbreaking for featuring an integrated cast of Black and white children playing together as peers, even in the segregated South.

The cast frequently changed when actors became too old, leading to several different "eras" of characters including notable actors like Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Porky,  Buckwheat and Stymie.

The films were characterized by natural acting, often instructed to act naturally rather than read lines.

My favorite was Alfalfa played by Carl Dean Switzer (1927-1959 and Spank played by George Robert Phillips McFarland (1928-1993)

"Alfalfa"

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer was one of the most instantly recognizble and popular members of the kiddies stars.  As a comic type, he was indelible.  He truly had (and has, to this day) one of the best comic get-ups in American film history.  Tall and thin, he was always dressed in clothes that were too small (you could see ample amounts of socks underneath his high-water pants), suspenders, bow tie and, above all, everything above his neck .. freckles, wonderful eyes that could bug out, pop and even cross.  And that hair! It was slicked down with goose grease within an inch of its life! It was severely parted in the middle, with a crazy cartooonish cowlick riding the back of his head like a tail!  You just pictured his other fussing, cuffing and combing every morning.  And then there was his voice which was rural and Southern-sounding, always squeaky and cracking.  He would inevitably sing terrible versions of well-known airs such as "I'm the barber of Seville!"

Alfalfa was an extremely funny kid, just a natural and the stark. Iconic clownishness of his costume and persona ranks up there with the greatest in American comedy like Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and Peewee Herman. Alfalfa was easily the most memorable member of the long-lasting "Our Gang" series.

McFarland as "Spanky" in Our Gang Follies 

Spanky

George Robert Phillips McFarland was an American actor most famous for starrring as a child named Spanky in "Our Gang" series of short-subject comedies.  Along with Spanky "Our Gang Follies" featured Carl Switzer as Alfalfa, Darla Hood as Darla, Eugene Lee as "Porky" and Billie Thomas as "Buckwheat". He started his career as a child model. 

Alfalfa and Spanky 

Darla

Darla Hood (1931-1979) was an American child actress best known for her role as "Darla" from 1935-1941.  She became a popular staple of the series, often featured as the love interest of Alfalfa.  She was discovered at age four and appeared in over 50 "Our Gang" episodes.  Outside of the series, she appeared in the feature film "The Bohemian Girl (1936) with Laurel and Hardy. As an adult, she appeared on television shows with entertainers such as Jack Benny and Groucho Marx.  She also did voiceover work including for the "Chicken of the Sea" tuna commercials.  Darla is fondly remembered for her talent and charm in the "Our Gang" series. 

Porky

Eugene Gorden Lee (1933-2005) is most notable for appearing as "Porky" from 1935 to 1939 in "The Little Rascals".  During his tenure in Our Gang", Porky originated the catchphrase "O-tay!" though it is commonly attributed to "Buckwheat". He was Buckwheat's side kick.  

Buckwheat

Lee in "Our Gang Follies of 1938"

William Thomas, Jr.

William (Billie) Thomas, Jr. (1931-1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of "Buckwheat" in the "Our Gang" short films from 1934 untl the series ended in 1944.   He was a native of Los Angeles and had a successful decades-long carer as a film lab technician with the Technicolor corporation processing negative film reels for motion pictures such as Jaws and for Metrocolor, processing Logan's Run.

Stymie

Beard as "Stymie" in "School's Out". 

Matthew Beard, Jr.

Matthew Beard, Jr. (1925-1981) was an American actor. As a child actor, he was most famous for playing "Stymie" in "Our Gang" short comedy films of 1930-1935.  The role was so well-known tht he adopted the name Stymie Beard and was so credited in some later roles such as his 1978 appearance in The Buddy Holly Story.

Baby Patsy and Spanky

Patsy Doris Dittemore

Patsy Doris Dittemore (1934-2013) is fondly remembered for her role as 'Baby Patsy' in the "Our Gang" comedy film series from 1935 to 1940.  Born Patsy Doris Dittemore, her mother passed when she was only nineteen days old.  Her maternal grandparents took her back to their native state of California and legally adopted her, thus changing her name to Patsy Doris May.  Her grandparents began taking to her auditions and at the age of about 20 months old, Hal Roach signed her to a five-year contract to play Spanky's little sister in "Our Gang".  Later, she became one of the Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz".

Petey, the beloved pup of "Our Gang"

No character in "Our Gang" (later "the Little Rascals") was as instantly recognizable as Petey, the lovable dog with the iconic ring around this eye!  Petey's real name was Pal, the Wonder Dog.  His black eye-ring was partly natural though later perfected with makeup! Petey was more than just a pet .. he was a true scene-stealer, often helping the Gang out of troube (or into it!) with his playful antics.  Whether pulling pranks or simply being adorable, he became one of the most beloved dogs in television and film history.

The Little Rascals's legacy is a cultural cornerstone known for pioneering child-led comedy and depicting integrated, relatable childhood friendships.  It left a lasting impact through iconic characters spawning a 1994 remake. While many original actors moved on to private lives or different careers their childhood roles remain celebrated to this day. The original series and the remake series is remembered for its timeless, humorous and heartfelt portrayal of childhood adventures.

 

May your chocolate Easter bunny be solid. 

And the Peeps in your Easter basket be fresh.

 

Forty-eight percent of Americans say they love Peeps.  Twenty-five percent say they hate them.  But both groups keep buying them every Easter and that is the strange part. Two billion Peeps are produced every year from a single factory in Bethehem, Pennsylvania.  The entire process takes six minutes. 

Before 1953, every marshmallow chick was hand-piped from fabric pastry bags and took 27 hours to dry.  Then one engineer built a machine that compressed the process, but the original chicks had to lose their wings permanently to make it work.

What's your favorite color of Peep?

Happy Easter Weekend