title: Wakefield

text: The most prominent landmark in Wakefield is Wakefield Cathedral, which at has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Other landmarks in the Civic Quarter on Wood Street include the Grade II* Neoclassical Crown Court of 1810, Wakefield Town Hall designed by T.E. Collcutt and opened in 1880, and the County Hall of 1898 built in a Queen Anne Style which are Grade I listed. St John's Church and Square, St John's North and South Parade are part of residential development dating from the Georgian period.


title: Wakefield

text: The old Wakefield Bridge with its Chantry Chapel, Sandal Castle, and Lawe Hill in Clarence Park are ancient monuments.


title: Wakefield

text: Another prominent structure is the 95-arch railway viaduct, constructed of 800,000,000 bricks in the 1860s on the Doncaster to Leeds railway line. At its northern end is a bridge with an span over Westgate and at its southern end a iron bridge crossing the River Calder.


title: Wakefield

text: The Ridings Centre, opened in 1983, was a UK first and served as a template for many shopping centres throughout the UK.


title: Wakefield

text: Clayton Hospital, a substantial Victorian edifice completed in 1880, closed in 2012 and has since been demolished.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield has good access to the motorway system, with the intersection of the M1 and M62 motorways, junctions 42/29, lying to the north west, whilst the M1 to the west is accessed at junctions 39, 40 and 41. The A1(M) is to the east of the district. Wakefield is crossed by the A61, A638, and A642 roads and is the starting point of the A636 and A650 roads.


title: Wakefield

text: The council is working with West Yorkshire Metro, the other four West Yorkshire district councils and transport operators to provide an integrated transport system for the district through the implementation of the West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan.


title: Wakefield

text: A network of local buses, coordinated by West Yorkshire Metro and departing from Wakefield bus station in the town centre, serves Wakefield and district. Buses are operated by Arriva Yorkshire, Watersons Coaches, Poppletons, Team Pennine, Stagecoach Yorkshire and National Express.


title: Wakefield

text: East Coast Main Line, trains to Leeds, Doncaster, and stations towards London King's Cross. CrossCountry trains go to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham and the South West. East Midlands Railway also run a limited service via Sheffield, Derby and Leicester to London St Pancras. Wakefield Westgate is on the Wakefield Line of the West Yorkshire Metro network. The line was electrified in 1989. Wakefield is served by inter-city express trains from both its railway stations. London can be reached in less than two hours.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield Kirkgate station was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840. Wakefield Kirkgate is unstaffed and operated by Northern who operate trains to Barnsley, Meadowhall Interchange, Sheffield, Normanton, Pontefract, Knottingley, Leeds, Castleford and Nottingham. The station serves the Hallam Line, Huddersfield Line and the Pontefract Line of the MetroTrain network. Grand Central operating between London King's Cross and Bradford Interchange stop at Kirkgate. In 2009 CCTV was installed at the station, but it had acquired a reputation for being one of the country's worst stations. It has, however, undergone extensive renovation (2014–).


title: Wakefield

text: The Aire and Calder Navigation is from Leeds to Goole, and from Wakefield to Castleford, and was created by Act of Parliament in 1699. It was opened to Leeds in 1704 and to Wakefield in 1706, enabling craft carrying 100 tons to reach Wakefield from the Humber. It is still used by a small amount of commercial traffic and leisure craft.


title: Wakefield

text: The Calder and Hebble Navigation was created by Act of Parliament in 1758 with the intention of making the Calder navigable to Sowerby Bridge. The route was originally surveyed by John Smeaton, remains open and is used by leisure craft. The Barnsley Canal, a broad canal with 20 locks, opened in 1799 connecting Barnsley to the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield and was abandoned in 1953.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield's oldest surviving school is Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, a boys-only school established in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth I by Royal Charter.


title: Wakefield

text: The original building in Brook Street is now the 'Elizabethan Gallery'. QEGS moved to Northgate in 1854.


title: Wakefield

text: The school was administered by the Governors of Wakefield Charities who opened Wakefield Girls High School WGHS on Wentworth Street in 1878. These two schools today are independent schools. National schools were opened by the Church of England including St Mary's in the 1840s and St John's in 1861. The original St Austin's Catholic School opened about 1838. A Methodist School was opened in Thornhill Street in 1846. Pinders Primary School, originally Eastmoor School is the only school opened as a result of the Education Act 1870 which remains open today.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield College has its origins in the School of Art and Craft of 1868 and today is the major provider of 6th form and further education in the area, with around 3,000 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and campuses in the city and surrounding towns. In 2007 Wakefield City Council and Wakefield College announced plans to establish a University Centre of Wakefield but a bid for funding failed in 2009. Other schools with sixth forms include: QEGS, Wakefield Girls High School, and Cathedral High School, which is now a Performing Arts College for ages 11 to 18.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield's oldest church is All Saints, now Wakefield Cathedral, a 14th-century parish church built on the site of earlier Saxon and Norman churches, restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century, and raised to cathedral status in 1888. The first Bishop of Wakefield was William Walsham How.


title: Wakefield

text: In 1356 the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin on Wakefield bridge was built originally in wood, and later in stone. This chapel is one of four chantry chapels built around Wakefield and the oldest and most ornate of the four surviving in England.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield is also known for the Wakefield Cycle, a collection of 32 mystery plays, dating from the 14th century, which were performed as part of the summertime religious festival of Corpus Christi and revived in recent times.


title: Wakefield

text: St John's Church was built in 1795 in the Georgian style. Three new Anglican Commissioners' churches, partly financed by the "Million Fund" were built as chapels of ease in the surrounding districts and were St Peter at Stanley in 1824, St Paul at Alverthorpe in 1825, and St James at Thornes in 1831. Holy Trinity in George Street was built in 1838–9. St Andrew's Church opened on Peterson Road in 1846 and St Mary's Church on Charles Street was consecrated in 1864. St Michael's was consecrated in 1861.


title: Wakefield

text: The Westgate Unitarian Chapel dates from 1752. In the 19th century Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent Methodist chapels were opened and the Baptists opened a chapel in George Street in 1844. St John the Divine was built at Calder Grove in 1892.


title: Wakefield

text: The Church of England diocese of Wakefield covered parishes mainly in West Yorkshire, parts of South Yorkshire and five parishes in North Yorkshire. It was dissolved on Easter Sunday 2014. Stephen Platten was the 12th and last Bishop of Wakefield. The Diocese of Leeds now covers Wakefield.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield has two Catholic parishes – in the north St Martin de Porres incorporates the churches of St Austin's, Wentworth Terrace, opened in 1828, and English Martyrs, opened in 1932, on Dewsbury Road, Lupset, and in the south, St Peter and St Paul's off Standbridge Lane which has a modern church built in 1991. Wakefield is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.


title: Wakefield

text: The ruins of Sandal Castle and its visitor centre are open to the public, overlooking the Pugneys Country Park.


title: Wakefield

text: The Theatre Royal Wakefield on Westgate, designed by architect Frank Matcham opened in 1894 as the Opera House, and currently presents a programme of entertainment including musicals, drama, live music, stand-up comedy and dance.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield's two central libraries moved into the £31 million Wakefield One in October 2012. The new library was officially opened by singer Jarvis Cocker on 10 November 2012. Wakefield Museum moved from the former Mechanics' Institute on Wood Street to Wakefield One at the same time. The museum was officially opened by Sir David Attenborough on 9 March 2013.


title: Wakefield

text: Balne Lane library managed a regional collection of more than 500,000 items of music and 90,000 copies of plays for Yorkshire Libraries & Information (YLI). The Yorkshire Music and Drama Library at Balne Lane closed on 31 March 2012 when the music section moved to Huddersfield and the drama section to Leeds.


title: Wakefield

text: In May 2011 the Hepworth Wakefield gallery opened on the south bank of the River Calder near Wakefield Bridge, displaying work by local artists Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore and other British and international artists. The gallery is thought to be the largest purpose-built gallery to open in the United Kingdom since 1968.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield's three adjoining parks have a history dating back to 1893 when Clarence Park opened on land near Lawe Hill. The adjacent Holmefield Estate was acquired in 1919, followed by Thornes House in 1924, becoming Holmefield Park and Thornes Park respectively. The three parks form Wakefield Park to the south west of the city. Clarence Park Music Festival is held annually in Clarence Park, promoting local bands.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield's newspaper, the "Wakefield Express", was founded in 1852. Another newspaper, the "Wakefield Guardian" was established in 2007, but has ceased publishing. Wakefield's radio station, Ridings FM, was founded in 1999,and rebranded in September 2020 as Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire.


title: Wakefield

text: Two children's nursery rhymes with Wakefield connections are "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" which may have been sung by women inmates at Wakefield prison. and


title: Wakefield

text: "The Grand Old Duke of York" which may allude to the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, referring to Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York. The lyrics of the popular hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" were written at St Peter's Church in nearby Horbury.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield is known as the capital of the Rhubarb Triangle, an area notable for growing early forced rhubarb. In July 2005 a sculpture was erected to celebrate this facet of Wakefield, and there is an annual 'Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb" which takes place over the last weekend in February.


title: Wakefield

text: The West Riding Registry of Deeds on Newstead Road is the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Archive Service, housing records from the former West Riding and West Yorkshire counties, and is the record office for the Wakefield Metropolitan District.


title: Wakefield

text: In 1913 Albert Winstanley opened the Picture House cinema in Westgate. Shortly after opening it was renamed the Playhouse, and by 1972 it was part of the Classic cinema chain. It is now a nightclub.


title: Wakefield

text: In 1935 Associated British Cinemas (ABC) opened the Regal Cinema in Kirkgate. The Art Deco building was renamed the ABC in 1962 and became a Cannon in 1986. Cineworld's first purpose-built multiplex in Britain opened in Wakefield in December 1996. The ABC closed in 1997 and has remained derelict, but there have been successive proposals to redevelop or demolish it.


title: Wakefield

text: The British rock band The Beatles played at the ABC Cinema Wakefield on 7 February 1963 as part of the Helen Shapiro Winter Tour. The Cinema may still have been named the Regal at the time. This was their only performance in Wakefield and took place just a few days before the band recorded their first album Please Please Me.


title: Wakefield

text: The National Coal Mining Museum for England (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage), the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Nostell Priory are within the Wakefield metropolitan area, as is Walton Hall, a Georgian mansion set in what was the world's first nature reserve, created by the explorer Charles Waterton; the house is now a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sir David Attenborough has stated that "Walton Hall is an extremely important site in the history of nature conservation worldwide. It is, arguably, the first tract of land anywhere in modern times to be protected, guarded and maintained as a nature reserve."


title: Wakefield

text: The 1963 film "This Sporting Life" starring Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, William Hartnell and Arthur Lowe was partially filmed in Wakefield, specifically at Wakefield Trinity Rugby Ground, Belle Vue, the area around the top of Westgate and the demolished "Locarno Night Club" – Southgate, now the Cathedral entrance to Ridings Shopping Centre. The film's screenplay was by Wakefield born writer David Storey.


title: Wakefield

text: The 1996 film "Brassed Off", starring Ewan McGregor, was partly filmed at The National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield.


title: Wakefield

text: The 2018 television mini series "The ABC Murders", starring John Malkovich, Eamon Farren, Michael Shaeffer and Rupert Grint was partly filmed at St Johns Baptist's Church and St John's Square.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield Trinity is a Rugby League club currently playing in the Super League. The club, founded in 1873, was one of the initial founders of the Northern Union after the split from the Rugby Football Union in 1895. The club plays at Belle Vue stadium. Several local teams play in different leagues of the British Amateur Rugby League Association, BARLA.


title: Wakefield

text: They include Wakefield City, Westgate Wolves, Crigglestone All Blacks, Kettlethorpe and Eastmoor Dragons.


title: Wakefield

text: Rugby Union Football is played at Sandal RUFC and was played by Wakefield RFC at College Grove from 1901 to 2004 when the club ceased to play.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield briefly had a football team when Emley F.C. moved to play at Belle Vue, the ground of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. After moving ground first to College Grove and then briefly to share with Ossett Town, Wakefield FC folded in June 2014. AFC Emley was founded to restore the club's original links with the village of Emley.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield Sports Club at College Grove also has the Yorkshire Regional Hockey Academy, Wakefield Bowls Club and Wakefield Squash Club on the same site.


title: Wakefield

text: The Wakefield Archers meet at QEGS in Wakefield or at Slazengers Sports Club, Horbury and has archers shooting Olympic re-curve bows, compound bows and longbows.


title: Wakefield

text: Thornes Park Athletics Stadium is home to Wakefield Harriers A.C. Members Martyn Bernard and Emily Freeman competed in the Beijing Olympics.


title: Wakefield

text: There is a watersports lake at Pugneys Country Park catering for non-powered watersports such as canoeing, sailing and windsurfing. Golf clubs include the municipal course at Lupset and the private Wakefield Golf Club at Sandal.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield Prison, originally built as a house of correction in 1594, is a maximum security prison. Wakefield is policed by the West Yorkshire Police force and is within the DA, Wakefield division, which covers the whole district. Wakefield is also the location of the West Yorkshire Police Headquarters. The statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, from Wakefield fire station. Hospital services are provided by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and community health services, including GPs, district and community nurses, dentists and pharmacists, are coordinated by Wakefield District Primary Care Trust.


title: Wakefield

text: Waste management is co-ordinated by the local authority. Wakefield's distribution network operator for electricity is CE Electric. Yorkshire Water manages Wakefield's drinking and waste water.


title: Wakefield

text: Novelist George Gissing was born in Wakefield in 1857; his childhood home in Thompson's Yard is maintained by The Gissing Trust.


title: Wakefield

text: Sculptor Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield in 1903. There is an art gallery called The Hepworth Wakefield named after her which features her work alongside other local artists such as Henry Moore.


title: Wakefield

text: Dame Marjorie Williamson was born in Wakefield in 1913. She was an academic, educator, physicist and university administrator.


title: Wakefield

text: David Storey born in Wakefield in 1933 was a novelist and playwright who in 1960 wrote "This Sporting Life", which was made into a film in 1963 and shot largely on location in the city.


title: Wakefield

text: Former Archbishop of York, David Hope The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Hope of Thornes KCVO PC, was born in 1940 in Thornes.


title: Wakefield

text: The Liberal Democrat politician John Leech was born in Wakefield in 1971. He was Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2015.


title: Wakefield

text: Wakefield was previously twinned with Belogorod, Russia, but this agreement was ended in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Nine-ball

text: Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick, players must strike the white cue ball to nine colored billiard balls, hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game (or ) is won by the player pocketing the . Matches are usually played as a to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match.


title: Nine-ball

text: The game is currently governed by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with multiple regional tours. The most prestigious nine-ball tournaments are the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships. Notable 9-Ball players in the game include Luther Lassiter, Buddy Hall, Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening. The game is often associated with hustling and gambling, with tournaments often having a "buy-in" amount to become a participant. The sport has featured in popular culture, notably in the 1961 film "The Hustler" and its 1986 sequel "The Color of Money".


title: Nine-ball

text: Nine-ball has been played with varied rules, with games such as ten-ball, seven-ball and three-ball being derived from the game. While usually a singles sport, the game can be played in doubles, with players completing alternate shots. Examples of tournaments featuring doubles include the World Cup of Pool, World Team Championship and the Mosconi Cup.


title: Nine-ball

text: The game was established in America by 1920, although the exact origins are unknown. Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as eight-ball and other pool games.


title: Nine-ball

text: The game of nine-ball is played on a billiard table with six pockets. The , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the nine , which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9-ball typically having a yellow stripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as the ) and balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball. As long as the lowest numbered ball on the table is contacted first by the cueball, and any one or more of the object balls are pocketed in any of the pockets with no being committed, a player's continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if the prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes , anywhere on the table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's , regardless of how many balls have been pocketed beforehand. This can happen earlier than the nine-ball being the sole remaining object ball on the table if it is pocketed via a or other indirect method.


title: Nine-ball

text: Each rack begins with the object balls placed in a rack and one player playing a . The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1-ball positioned at the front on the , and the 9-ball placed in the center. The rack used to position the balls may be either triangle-shaped, as is used for eight-ball and other pool games, or a specific diamond-shaped rack that holds only nine balls may be used. Racks are usually made of wood or plastic. A template that lies on the table during the break has also come into use.


title: Nine-ball

text: The break consists of hitting the 1-ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the nine-ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a . Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the , and players can be chosen to break alternately or whoever won the preceding rack. The break is often the most crucial shot in nine-ball, as it is possible to win a rack without the opponent having a single shot. This is often called a , or running the rack. Earl Strickland holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996. The first break of a match is sometimes decided by a flip of a coin, but often by playing a , with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break.


title: Nine-ball

text: After the break, if no fouls were committed, the shooter has the option to continue the rack as usual, or to play a . The rules on a push out are different to those of a regular shot, as the shot does not need to hit a rail or ball. After the push out, the opposing player has the option to play the shot that has been left, or to force their opponent to play on from that location. In early versions of nine-ball the push out could be called at any time during the game, but is now only for the shot after the break.


title: Nine-ball

text: If a player misses potting a ball on a shot, or commits a foul shot, then their opponent plays the next shot. A foul shot can involve not making first contact with the lowest numbered ball, pocketing the cue ball, or not making contact with a with the object ball. A foul shot for any reason offers the opponent , which means they can place the cue ball at any location on the table. A player making three successive fouls (for any reason) awards that rack to the opponent. Unlike some other cue sports, such as snooker, players are allowed to jump the cue ball over other balls. However, if any ball leaves the cloth at the end of a shot, it is counted as a foul. Jumping is common in nine-ball, and players often have a dedicated jump cue.


title: Nine-ball

text: As of the 2000s, the rules have been somewhat in flux in certain contexts, especially in Europe. The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), the WPA-affiliate in Europe, has instituted a requirement on the Euro Tour is that the break shot be taken from a "" a rectangular box smaller than the regular nine-ball breaking area. While making the money ball on breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult with the break box. This was later used on the annual international Mosconi Cup tournaments. Another Mosconi Cup rule change in 2007 called for racking such that the 9-ball rather than the 1-ball is on the , which further stops overpowered break-off shots.


title: Nine-ball

text: The general rules of the game are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the earliest format set by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA). These later formed the basis of the standardized WPA rules, which the BCA follows as a member, although amateur league play may be governed by similar but slightly different rules promulgated by the American Poolplayers Association (APA) and other organizations.


title: Nine-ball

text: Nine-ball events worldwide are run at the highest level by the WPA. The WPA World Nine-ball Championship has events for men, women and junior players. Events are generally open to any player who can pay the entry fee, however, some events are based on qualification. The WPA hosts a world ranking schedule based on WPA events, with other ranking systems also operated by the APA and the EPBF. Other major events held by the WPA include the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, China Open 9-Ball Championship and the International 9-Ball Open. In addition, Matchroom Sport runs major events such as the Mosconi Cup, World Cup of Pool and World Pool Masters.


title: Nine-ball

text: Outside those events held on an worldwide basis, nine-ball is played in continental tour series. Events are held on series such as the Diamond Pool Tour, Asian Tour and Euro Tour.


title: Nine-ball

text: Several games have been derived from nine-ball. Six-ball is essentially identical to nine-ball but with three fewer balls, which are racked in a three-row triangle, with the money ball placed in the center of the back row. According to Rudolf Wanderone, the game arose in early 20th century billiard halls; halls charged for matches by the 15 ball rack rather than by table, so players of nine-ball had six balls left over. For this reason, the game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15-ball as the money ball.


title: Nine-ball

text: Seven-ball is also similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls, which are racked in a hexagon, and players are restricted to pocketing the money ball on their designated side of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in the early 1980s. While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster ESPN's "Sudden Death Seven-ball" which aired in the early 2000s.


title: Nine-ball

text: The most common derivative game is the game of ten-ball. The game is a more stringent variant, using ten balls in which all pocketed balls must be . Unlike in nine-ball, the money ball cannot be pocketed on the break for an instant win. Due to its more challenging nature, and the fact that there is no publicly known technique for reliably pocketing specific object balls on the break shot, there have been suggestions among the professional circuit that ten-ball should replace nine-ball as the pro game of choice, especially since the rise of the nine-ball soft break, which is still legal in most international and non-European competition. Ten-ball has its own world championship known as the WPA World Ten-ball Championship.


title: Nine-ball

text: The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 1956 novel "The Hustler" and its 1961 film adaptation, and the 1984 novel sequel "The Color of Money" and subsequent film


title: Katatonia

text: Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to add more band members for live performances, though outside of the band's founders, the lineup was a constantly changing, revolving door of musicians throughout the 1990s, notably including Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth for a period. After two death/doom albums, "Dance of December Souls" (1993) and "Brave Murder Day" (1996), problems with Renkse's vocal cords coupled with new musical influences led the band away from the screamed vocals of death metal to a more traditional, melodic form of heavy metal music.


title: Katatonia

text: The band released two more albums, "Discouraged Ones" (1998) and "Tonight's Decision" (1999), before settling into a stable quintet lineup for all of the 2000s. The band released four more albums with said lineup: "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" (2001), "Viva Emptiness" (2003), "The Great Cold Distance" (2006) and "Night Is the New Day" (2009), with the band slowly moving away from their metal sound while adding more progressive rock sounds to their work over time. While lineup changes started up again into the 2010s, Renkse and Nyström persisted, and the band continued on to release their ninth and tenth studio albums, "Dead End Kings" (2012) and "The Fall of Hearts" (2016). After touring in support of the album through 2017, the band entered a hiatus at the beginning of 2018. The band returned from their hiatus in February 2019, with their eleventh studio album, "City Burials", released in April 2020.


title: Katatonia

text: The band was first formed in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström as a two piece studio-based project. Renkse would provide clean and screamed vocals and drums, while Nyström would provide all bass and guitars. Renkse was the primary lyricist, while Nyström was the primary music composer. The duo had been working together with music in some capacity since 1987, but became serious about making music in 1991, when they began work on their first release, the demo "Jhva Elohim Meth... The Revival". The release, along with the next few subsequent releases by the band, were of the death/doom metal sound, with the members being inspired and influenced by the rise of death metal becoming popular in Europe at the time. The release was enough of a hit in the underground metal scene to garner the attention of a small music label, Vic Records, which re-released it as an EP in 1993, which helped gain more exposure for the duo. The newfound popularity found them recruiting a bass guitarist, Guillaume Le Huche, so the trio could play live performances, and returning to the studio to recreate a debut full-length album. The resulting work, "Dance of December Souls", was released in late 1993. The album's bleak melancholy and despair of their sound continued to give them the classification of death-doom.


title: Katatonia

text: After touring in support of the album, the trio recorded another EP, "For Funerals to Come...", which was released in early 1995. However, Le Huche left the band shortly after, and issues finding a replacement found the band break up for a year, while Renkse and Nystrom worked separately on their own projects. Of note, Renkse started up a new band, October Tide, with guitarist Fredrik Norrman. After working some with Norrman on the project, Renkse decided to revive Katatonia with Norrman as the new third member.


title: Katatonia

text: After the year off, the band reformed in 1996 to record and release a second studio album, "Brave Murder Day". In addition to Fredrik Norrman contributing guitars to the album, the band also recruited Renkse's friend, Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth, to perform the screamed vocals, as Renkse became unable to do them himself anymore due to medical issues. The release, alongside the EP "Sounds of Decay" released with the same lineup the next year, were considered their last in the genre of doom/death metal, with the band starting to focus more on clean vocals in subsequent releases. To promote the album, the band recruited Mikael Oretoft to play bass and they embarked on their first European tour with progressive metal band In the Woods...


title: Katatonia

text: While Renkse experimented with clean, melodic vocals over metal instrumentation as early as the 1994 recording of the track "Scarlet Heavens" (later released in very limited capacity on Katatonia/Primordial in 1996), the band did not feel ready to pursue that sort of sound at the time. However, after the band's 1997 releases, due to a desire to create more emotive and evolving music, the band decided to move in that direction. The first of said releases was an EP entitled "Saw You Drown", released in early 1997, which also contained the first wide release of "Scarlet Heavens". Later in 1998, the band released their first full-album of this style, titled "Discouraged Ones".


title: Katatonia

text: After the release, the band signed a multi-album record deal with Peaceville, which would mark the first time the band would work with a bigger label, and stay with them for the long-term. Additionally, Renkse wanted to focus further on dedicating himself to developing his clean vocals, leading him to no longer do any further drumming for the band. The band kept active, recording and releasing their fourth album, "Tonight's Decision", in 1999. The sessions were difficult, with the writing alone taking Renkse and Nystrom over seven months to complete. Once recording, they recruited Dan Swanö, who had helped assist the band in the past, as a sessions drummer. While the album contained no screamed vocals, the band still retained Åkerfeldt still assisted with vocal production on the album, as they had with "Discouraged Ones".


title: Katatonia

text: After the release of "Tonight's Decision", the band, tired of continually searching for session musicians, finally decided to put together a concrete, permanent lineup. Fredrick Norrman recruited his brother, Mattias Norrman, as a bassist and Daniel Liljekvist joined the band as the drummer.


title: Katatonia

text: With the band finally achieving a stable lineup with Renkse, Nystrom, the Norrman brothers and Liljekvist, the band began work on their fifth album, the first of four albums the quintet would release over the course of the next decade. While personnel issues no longer plagued the band, recording sessions were still difficult, this time due to financial constraints, which limited how much time they could spend in the studio. The band worked on recording the album off and on from April to December 2000, and while the stopping and starting proved to be troublesome, it also kept them re-evaluating and reworking their material in the downtime, something they felt ultimately helped the shaping of the album. The resulting album, "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" was released in May 2001, and marked the band further distancing itself from traditional heavy metal music, in favor of more of a hard rock sound. The band decided to release the "Teargas" EP shortly prior to the album release, essentially as a single, containing the album track "Teargas" and two B-sides. Another EP of music from the same sessions, "Tonight's Music", was also released shortly after the album. The band rounded out the year with a European tour with Åkerfeldt's band Opeth, with Renkse and Nystrom even providing guest vocals at some of the Opeth shows when Åkerfeldt was experiencing trouble with his vocal cords.


title: Katatonia

text: By mid-2002, the band had started to write material for their sixth album, and by October 2002, they had entered the studio to begin formal recording sessions. In April 2003, the band released the resulting album, "Viva Emptiness". The album was promoted by the release of the single "Ghost of the Sun" and the similarly named "Ghost of the Spring" tour. The tour, which went through Europe with support act Daylight Dies, went as planned, though the band later had to cancel a June performance in Germany due to sickness, and had July festival appearances cancelled due to issues beyond their control with third party organizers. Still, the album was a success, being their first to chart on any official charts, peaking at no. 17 on the Finnish charts.


title: Katatonia

text: The band continued to spend much of 2003 and 2004 touring in support of the album. The band started writing for their seventh studio album as early as October 2004, and spent six months of 2005 in the studio recording the album, while taking breaks for further touring. The band's only releases during the time period was two compilation album releases: "Brave Yester Days", a collection of songs from their death metal era in the mid-1990s, and "The Black Sessions", a collection of songs from after they moved away from death metal. While initially planning on releasing the album by the end of 2005, recording sessions went late into 2005, pushing its release into 2006. The album, entitled "The Great Cold Distance", released in March 2006, along with the accompanying singles "My Twin" and "Deliberation".


title: Katatonia

text: The band again turned to touring, most notably their live performance at Summer Breeze Open Air in 2006 being used for the release of a live album titled "Live Consternation" in 2007. Additionally, the band's first full North American tour, with Daylight Dies and Moonspell, ran through October and November 2006. The band continued to tour into 2007, focusing on Europe in the first half of the year, and returning to North America, even Mexico, in the latter half of the year.


title: Katatonia

text: With focusing on touring in support of "The Great Cold Distance" for most of 2006 and 2007, the band turned their focus to working on a new album in early 2008. By mid-2008, the band had booked studio time twice, but cancelled both times, not satisfied with the material accumulated to record each time. Writer's block, largely stemming from the band feeling pressure to release a follow up that could measure up to "The Great Cold Distance", was main reason for the slow progress, as the album had been their biggest success, critically and financially, at the time. Renkse and Nystrom also had difficulty deciding in what direction the album's sound would move into, eventually deciding to move the band into a more progressive rock sound. Progress continued to be slow, with the band continuing to write into 2009, but not entering the studio until mid-2009. The band continued to tour intermittently as well, including a short tour supporting Porcupine Tree in Europe. After over three and a half years, the band finally released their eighth studio album, in November 2009, under the title "Night Is the New Day", including the single "Day and Then the Shade" a month prior. The time spent on the album paid off, with it being generally well received by critics. PopMatters deemed the album the second best metal album of 2009.


title: Katatonia

text: Shortly after the release of "Night is the New Day", the band's first lineup change in a decade occurred when both Norrman brothers amicably left the band, stating they wanted to focus on life at home rather than further touring cycles abroad. They were replaced by longtime guitar tech Per Eriksson on guitar and Niklas Sandin on bass. In March 2010, the band also released another EP, featuring unreleased and alternate versions of songs from "Night is the New Day", titled "The Longest Year", which were later included on the special edition reissue of the album in 2011. The band continued to tour extensively, including Sonisphere Festival in the UK, and another North American tour with Swallow the Sun in 2010, and another North American tour with Opeth on their "Heritage" tour in 2011. The band wrapped up the year with a 20th Anniversary concert in December, with the band playing songs spanning their career, and having past members, including the Norrman brothers and Le Huche, rejoin the band to play on some songs.


title: Katatonia

text: The band entered the studio to begin work on their ninth studio album on 30 January 2012. The resulting album, "Dead End Kings" was released in August in Europe and North America. In support of the release, the band co-headlined the "Epic Kings Idols Tour" with The Devin Townsend Project, in North America in September, followed by the "Dead Ends of Europe Tour" with Alcest and Junius in November of the same year. A music video for the single "Lethean", directed by Lasse Hoile, was released on 18 February 2013. In September 2013, the band also released "Dethroned & Uncrowned", an album which featured more acoustic leaning re-workings of the songs from "Dead End Kings". It was jointly funded by the Burning Shed record label and a crowd sourcing effort on PledgeMusic, which accumulated 190% of the target goal. The band embarked on an acoustic tour – "The Unplugged & Reworked Tour" in support of the album in 2014. Just prior to the touring, the band released another EP of b-sides, "Kocytean" for Record Store Day 2014.


title: Katatonia

text: In 2014, Eriksson and Katatonia "mutually agreed to part ways" due to "a difference in views" and Eriksson's decision to live in Barcelona. Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief temporarily filled in Eriksson for the band's May tour, while Tomas Åkvik filled in on guitar afterwards in mid-2014. Longtime drummer Liljekvist also left the band in April 2014, on friendly terms, citing personal and financial reasons. The band released another live album, "Sanctitude", on 31 March 2015. In November 2015, the band announced Daniel Moilanen as their new drummer and revealed that they were working on a new album to be released in 2016. The album, "The Fall of Hearts" was released on 20 May 2016. The album, as well as featuring new drummer Daniel Moilanen, was also the first to feature new guitarist Roger Öjersson; who replaced Eriksson's position as second guitarist. Two singles were released in promotion of the album, "Old Heart Falls" and "Serein". The band continued touring in support of the album in 2017, including a North American tour that started in March.


title: Katatonia

text: The band announced they would enter a hiatus in 2018. The band cited Öjersson being hospitalized by a serious back injury at the end of 2017, and a number of other undisclosed issues, for the band needing to take some time off and "re-evaluate what the future holds for the band." In February 2019, the band announced their return to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their 2009 album "Night Is the New Day", with an anniversary tour and deluxe release of the album. Their eleventh studio album, "City Burials", was released in April 2020; its first single was "Lacquer".


title: Katatonia

text: The band is known for changing its sound over the course of its three-decade career. Nystrom summarized it in a 2006 interview:


title: Katatonia

text: Yeah sure, we see ourselves as a metal band, but without boundaries and limitations to our sound. We do not necessarily belong to a certain subgenre within metal. We're just playing dark and heavy music and keeping an open mind to evolve and being true to ourselves. I'm proud to say that I believe KATATONIA sounds like no other band. We have eloquently avoided the gothic metal genre most bands tend to fall in when changing their sound from doom/death metal to something more rocking and melodic. We're leaning towards more of a contemporary alternative sound, free of all cheese and clichés.


title: Katatonia

text: Similarly, Nystrom noted of the band's live performances: Well, it must be hard sometimes for Jonas to sing his heart out with lyrics referring to personal dark and depressive matters and at the same time also be accused of being a reluctant frontman. I actually think much of the stuff he sings about doesn't go in hand with running around on stage, throwing horns, smiling and firing up the audience. We're not an energetic power metal band. I think the withdrawn and shy aura actually does more justice to the concept of our songs than going wild, but we have some songs mainly on the two last albums that don't really fall into the doom and gloom category, but are still dark. And there the more aggressive approach fits better.


title: Katatonia

text: Renkse stated that early inspirations for Katatonia included bands of the death metal variety, namely Morbid Angel, Entombed, Carnage, Autopsy and Paradise Lost; especially the latter's album "Gothic". Moreover, Renkse has on multiple occasions cited the work of American progressive metal band Tool as an influence. Nystrom has cited the work of Porcupine Tree as a large influence for the band in their post-death metal eras. For the 2011 Katatonia documentary "Last Fair Day Gone Night", Nyström also credited alternative metal bands such as A Perfect Circle and Mudvayne with inspiring the heavy, single-string riff-oriented sound introduced on 2003's "Viva Emptiness".


title: Katatonia

text: Their early sound has been described as death-doom and death metal, and later they incorporated other styles, such as progressive rock, progressive metal, doom metal, gothic rock and gothic metal.


title: Katatonia

text: Some artists and bands have cited Katatonia as an influence, among which are Agalloch, Nachtmystium, Andy Schmidt of Disillusion, Niklas Kvarforth of Shining, Klimt 1918, Marcela Bovio of Stream of Passion, Daylight Dies, Nucleus Torn, Khors, Marjana Semkina of iamthemorning, Wet, Vladimir Agafonkin of Obiymy Doshchu, Nahemah, Forest Stream, Forgotten Tomb, Alex Vynogradoff of Kauan, Bilocate, Maxime Côté of Catuvolcus, Nocturnal Depression, Last Leaf Down, Schizoid Lloyd, and Pallbearer.


title: Katatonia

text: In addition, other artists have been quoted expressing admiration for their work including Mark Jansen of Epica, Luc Lemay of Gorguts, Jim Matheos of Fates Warning, Esa Holopainen of Amorphis, and Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief.


title: Stromboli (food)

text: Stromboli is a type of baked turnover filled with various Italian cheeses (typically mozzarella) and usually Italian cold cuts (typically Italian meats such as salami, capocollo and bresaola) or vegetables served hot. The dough used is either Italian bread dough or pizza dough. Stromboli was invented by Italian-Americans in the United States in the Philadelphia area. The name of the dish is taken from a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily.


title: Stromboli (food)

text: A stromboli is similar to a calzone or scaccia, and the dishes are sometimes confused. Unlike calzones, which are always stuffed and folded into a crescent shape, a stromboli is typically rolled or folded into a cylinder, and may sometimes contain a thin layer of tomato sauce on the inside.


title: Stromboli (food)

text: Many American pizza shops serve a stromboli using pizza dough that is folded in half with fillings, similar to a half-moon-shaped calzone. At other establishments, a stromboli is made with a square-shaped pizza dough that can be topped with any pizza toppings and is then rolled into a cylindrical jelly roll shape and baked. Other variations include adding pizza sauce or deep-frying, in a similar manner as a "panzerotti".


title: Stromboli (food)

text: There are several claims regarding the origin of the usage of the name "stromboli" for food in the United States.


title: Stromboli (food)

text: Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria claims to have first used the name in 1950 in Essington, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, courtesy of Nazzareno Romano, an Italian immigrant. The pizzeria owner had experimented with "pizza imbottita", or "stuffed pizza", and added ham, cotechino sausage, cheese and peppers into a pocket of bread dough. His future brother-in-law suggested he name it after the recently released movie "Stromboli", notorious for an off-screen affair between married actress, Ingrid Bergman, and married director, Roberto Rossellini, resulting in a love child.


title: Stromboli (food)

text: In 1954, Mike Aquino of Mike's Burger Royal in Spokane, Washington, says he also named a turnover after the same movie. However, Aquino's version appears to only share the same name as the commonly accepted version of the stromboli and is significantly different from the Philadelphia turnover version that is usually defined as a "stromboli". Aquino's "stromboli" consists of capicola ham and provolone cheese covered in an Italian chili sauce on a French bread roll. Variations also exist in Indiana.


title: BMW E9

text: The BMW E9 is a range of coupés produced from 1968 to 1975. Initially released as the 2800 CS model, the E9 was based on the BMW 2000 C / 2000 CS four-cylinder coupés, which were enlarged to fit the BMW M30 six-cylinder engine. The E9 bodywork was built by Karmann.


title: BMW E9

text: As a racing car, the E9 was very successful in the European Touring Car Championship and the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, especially the 3.0 CSL homologation model.


title: BMW E9

text: The E9's predecessor are 2000 C and 2000 CS models, which were produced from 1965 to 1969 as part of the BMW New Class range.


title: BMW E9

text: The first of the E9 coupés, the 2800 CS, replaced the 2000 C and 2000 CS in 1968. The lead designer was Wilhelm Hofmeister. The wheelbase and length were increased to allow the engine bay to be long enough to accommodate the new straight-six engine code-named M30, and the front of the car was restyled to resemble the E3 sedan. The rear axle, however, remained the same as that used in the lesser "Neue Klasse" models and the rear brakes were initially drums - meaning that the 2800 saloon was a better performing car, as it was also lighter. The CS' advantages were thus strictly visual to begin with. The 2800 CS used the version of the engine used in the E3 sedans. The engine produced at 6000 rpm.


title: BMW E9

text: Not only was the 2800 CS lighter than the preceding 2000 CS, it also had a smaller frontal aspect, further increasing the performance advantage. The curb weight of the 2800 CS is .


title: BMW E9

text: At the 1969 Geneva Motor Show, BMW unveiled the "2800 Bertone Spicup" concept car. This model, which has a similar appearance to the 1967 Alfa Romeo Montreal, did not reach production.


title: BMW E9

text: The 2800CS was replaced by the 3.0 CS and 3.0 CSi in 1971, which was bored out to give a displacement of . The 3.0 CS has a 9.0:1 compression ratio, twin carburetors and produces at 6000 rpm. The 3.0 CSi has a 9.5:1 compression ratio, Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, and produces at 5500 rpm. Transmission options were a 4-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic.


title: BMW E9

text: Introduced in May 1972, the 3.0 CSL was a homologation special built to make the car eligible for racing in the European Touring Car Championship. 1,265 were built.


title: BMW E9

text: The "L" in the designation meant "leicht" (light), unlike in other BMW designations, where it meant "lang" (long). The lightness was achieved by using thinner steel to build the unit body, deleting the trim and soundproofing, using aluminium alloy doors, bonnet, and boot lid, and using Perspex side windows. The five hundred 3.0 CSLs exported to the United Kingdom were not quite as light as the others, as the importer had insisted on retaining the soundproofing, electric windows, and stock E9 bumpers on these cars. The CSL was not sold in the United States.


title: BMW E9

text: Initially using the same engine as the 3.0 CS, the 3.0 CSL was given a very small increase in displacement to by increasing the engine bore by one quarter of a millimetre to . This was done in August 1972 to allow the CSL to be raced in the "over three litre" racing category, allowing for some increase in displacement in the racing cars. In 1973, the engine in the 3.0 CSL was given another, more substantial increase in displacement to by increasing the stroke to , rated at at 5600 rpm and at 4200 rpm of torque . This final version of the 3.0 CSL was homologated in July 1973 along with an aerodynamic package including a large air dam, short fins running along the front fenders, a spoiler above and behind the trailing edge of the roof, and a tall rear wing. The rear wings were not installed at the factory, but were left in the boot for installation after purchase. This was done because the wings were illegal for use on German roads. The full aero package earned the racing CSLs the nickname "Batmobile".


title: BMW E9

text: The CSL competed in Group 2 form in the European Touring Car Championship, with CSL drivers winning the Drivers title six times in the years 1973 and 1975 to 1979. The CSL also competed in Group 5 Special Production guise, winning three rounds of the 1976 World Championship for Makes. In FIA Group 4 spec, notably when driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck (car featured in Enthusia Professional Racing), they competed against racing versions of the Porsche 911 and Ford Capri with some success.


title: BMW E9

text: The last version of the E9 to be introduced was the 2.5 CS in 1974. This was a response to the 1973 oil crisis, such that the buyer could choose the smaller, more economical engine. The engine, from the 2500 sedan, displaced and produced at 6000 rpm. Only 874 were made until the end of E9 production in 1975, and none were exported to the United States.


title: BMW E9

text: In 1973, Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship in a 3.0 CSL and co-drove a 3.0 CSL with Dieter Quester to a class victory at Le Mans. Hezemans and Quester had driven to second place at the 1973 German Touring Car Grand Prix at Nürburgring, being beaten only by Chris Amon and Hans-Joachim Stuck in another 3.0 CSL. 3.0 CSLs would win the European Touring Car Championship again in every year from 1975 to 1979.


title: BMW E9

text: The 3.0 CSL was raced in the IMSA GT Championship in 1975, with Sam Posey, Brian Redman, and Ronnie Peterson winning races during the season.


title: BMW E9

text: The 3.5 CSL was built for Group 5 racing and BMW won three races in the 1976 World Championship for Makes with this model.


title: BMW E9

text: The first two BMW Art Cars were 3.0 CSLs; the first was painted by Alexander Calder and the second by Frank Stella.


title: BMW E9

text: In 2015, BMW introduced the 3.0 CSL Hommage concept car at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The car is a tribute to the 3.0 CSL. It has an inline-six engine with an eBoost hybrid system in the rear of the car. As a homage to the original, the 3.0 CSL Hommage has a minimal interior to keep the weight as low as possible; carbon fibre and aluminium are used in the cockpit for the same reason. The Hommage has Laser-LED lights similar to those in the i8.And in August 2015, BMW introduced the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R concept car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car celebrates both the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America and the racing success of the 3.0 CSL in 1975.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Building (also known as the Singer Tower) was an office building and early skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. The headquarters of the Singer Manufacturing Company, it was at the northwestern corner of Liberty Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Frederick Gilbert Bourne, leader of the Singer Company, commissioned the building, which architect Ernest Flagg designed in multiple phases from 1897 to 1908. The building's architecture contained elements of the Beaux-Arts and French Second Empire styles.


title: Singer Building

text: The building was composed of four distinct sections. The original 10-story Singer Building at 149 Broadway was erected between 1897 and 1898, and the adjoining 14-story Bourne Building on Liberty Street was built from 1898 to 1899. In the first decade of the 20th century, the two buildings were expanded to form the 14-story base of the Singer Tower, which rose another 27 stories. The facade was made of brick, stone, and terracotta. A dome with a lantern capped the tower. The foundation of the tower was excavated using caissons; the building's base rested on shallower foundations. The Singer Building used a steel skeleton, though load-bearing walls initially supported the original structure before modification. When completed, the 41-story building had a marble-clad entrance lobby, 16 elevators, of office space, and an observation deck.


title: Singer Building

text: With a roof height of , the Singer Tower was the tallest building in the world from 1908 to 1909, when it was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. The base occupied the building's entire land lot; the tower's floors took up just one-sixth of that area. Despite being regarded as a city icon, the Singer Building was razed between 1967 and 1969 to make way for One Liberty Plaza, which had several times more office space than the Singer Tower. At the time of its destruction, the Singer Building was the tallest building ever to be demolished.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Building was at the northwest corner of Liberty Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, abutting the City Investing Building to the north. The land lot was nearly rectangular, though slightly skewed due to the layout of the street grid, and measured on Broadway by on Liberty Street. The structure, as completed in 1908, was composed of four distinct sections: the original Singer and Bourne buildings, an annex next to both buildings, and the tower. All of these structures were designed by Ernest Flagg for Frederick Bourne, who led the Singer Manufacturing Company.


title: Singer Building

text: The structure was designed with elements of the Beaux-Arts style and the French Second Empire style. American architect George W. Conable prepared plans and working drawings. An architectural office with an engineering department led by Otto F. Semsch, and mechanical equipment engineer consultants Charles G. Armstrong and steel engineers Boller & Hodge, oversaw construction. Over 40 other companies were involved in the construction process, and nearly 100 construction contracts were awarded. There were no general contractors on the project; the owners communicated directly with the suppliers responsible for each contract.


title: Singer Building

text: When the tower addition was completed in 1908, its roof was high. The tower was topped by a flagpole, giving it a ground-to-pinnacle height of . The Singer Building was the world's tallest building at the time of its completion and the world's tallest building to be destroyed upon its demolition. Contemporary sources at the time of the building's construction described the "Singer Tower" as referring only to the building's tower portion, rather than its base. The "Singer Building" name originally referred only to a portion of the base, although by the mid–20th century it referred to the entire structure.


title: Singer Building

text: The base of the building filled the entire lot. It was composed of the 10-story original structure (later expanded to 14 stories) and the 14-story annex known as the Bourne Building. The original Singer Building, on the southeastern portion of the lot, had a frontage of on Broadway and on Liberty Street. The Bourne Building, on the southwestern portion, was 58 feet deep and had a frontage of approximately on Liberty Street. From 1906 to 1907, the original Singer Building was extended northward and the Bourne Building was extended westward. The original Singer and Bourne buildings were about tall.


title: Singer Building

text: The 41-story tower above the northwest corner of the base was square in plan, with floor dimensions of . When the dome and lantern at the tower's pinnacle were included, the Singer Tower was the equivalent of a 47-story building. The tower was set back behind the base's frontage on Broadway, and it filled only one-sixth of the total lot area. There was a gap of between the Singer Building's tower and the City Investing Building immediately to the north, which was built during the same time. The columns required to support the Singer Tower would have been too large to place atop the original Singer Building, so they were instead built in the northern portion of the lot. The tower had a height-to-width ratio of 7:1, setting a record at the time of its completion.


title: Singer Building

text: The facade was made of red brick, light-colored stone, and terracotta. Some of terracotta was used for both the facade and the interior partitions. About five million bricks were used in the entire project, including one million in the tower section. About of North River bluestone was also used, as was of limestone, mainly above the 33rd floor. The contractors for these materials included John B. Rose Company for the brick; Martin P. Lodge for the bluestone; J. J. Spurr & Sons for the limestone; and New Jersey Terra Cotta for the terracotta.


title: Singer Building

text: For decorative elements, of sheet copper was used. Whale Creek Iron Works provided ornamental iron while Jno. Williams Inc. provided the ornamental bronze. There were of glass in the entire building, about 10percent of which was interior glass. There was extensive ornamentation throughout the building, including eight arches atop the tower's exterior.


title: Singer Building

text: The original Singer Building was faced with stone and brick. When it was built, the plans called for the lowest two stories to be clad with stone. The third story contained a balcony extending along both facades. The four following stories were faced with brick and contained windows with stone surrounds. The seventh story was clad with stone and had a balcony doubling as a cornice, while the facade on the eighth story was made of brick. The original top stories comprised a decorative copper-and-slate roof with dormers and stone chimneys. The main entrance was on Liberty Street and had sculptures and ornament. The Bourne Building was faced with Indiana Limestone on its lowest two stories and red brick above. The base had ironwork ornamentation in their mullions and window railings.


title: Singer Building

text: After the 1906–1907 modifications, the main entrance faced Broadway on the eastern facade. This main entrance had a three-story-tall semicircular arch. A two-story architrave was beneath the arch, with an engraved cartouche reading "Singer" at the center. The upper part of the arch had a fanlight with five vertical mullions, below which was a bronze grille measuring wide and tall.


title: Singer Building

text: As a result of the modifications, the first three stories were faced with rusticated North River bluestone. Four stories were added between the seventh floor and the three-story roof during that time, and the Broadway facade was expanded from two bays to five. With the modifications, the vertical bays were separated with vertical strips from the fourth to the 10th floors, with pediments above the sixth-floor windows. The 11th and 12th floors of the modified base consisted of two rows of small windows, with the 11th-floor windows spaced between brackets supporting a 12th-floor iron balcony. The top two stories contained dormer windows projecting from the mansard roof. The sloped portions of the roof were clad with slate shingles, while glazed roof tiles covered the flat portion.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Tower's facade was made of brick masonry ranging in thickness from at the top to at the base. The Singer Tower contained five bays on each side, each measuring wide. Construction plans show that there were 36 windows on each floor. The faces of the tower were made of dark red brick, except for decorative elements such as trimmings, copings, courses, and windowsills, which were made of North River bluestone. On each side, vertical limestone piers separated the outermost bays from the three center bays, dividing the facade into three vertical sections. The outermost bays were illuminated by small windows. The corners of the tower were made of solid masonry, which concealed the diagonal steel bracing inside. The tower had cast-iron balconies and fascias, as well as wrought-iron jambs and mullions. The use of iron balconies, as well as the large amount of glass in the facade, was inspired by the design of the Little Singer Building at 561 Broadway, built in 1904.


title: Singer Building

text: Horizontal belt courses wrapped around the tower above the 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 29th, and 30th stories, while there were terracotta balconies on each side at the 18th, 24th, and 30th stories. Iron balconies also projected from the building at intervals of seven stories. Near the top of the tower, the vertical stone bands on each side formed a tall arch evocative of the tower's dome. On the 36th floor, an ornamental balcony cantilevered about outward on each side; it was supported by brackets on the 35th floor. Stone architraves surrounded the corner windows of the 36th and 37th stories, while ornate stone arches framed the center bays on the 36th through 38th stories. There were oval windows on each corner at the 38th floor. Above that level, a heavy stone cornice ran around the corners and above the arches.


title: Singer Building

text: The top of the tower contained a dome covering the top three stories, capped by a lantern that measures across at its base and stretches tall. The dome's roof was made of slate, while the roof ornamentation, dormers, and lantern were made of copper sheeting. In its final years, the dome's trapezoidal skylights were replaced with dormer windows. The top of the lantern was above ground level, and a steel flagpole rose above the lantern, bringing the height of the Singer Tower to when measured from ground to tip. The flagpole was actually long, but the base of the flagpole was embedded into the tower. The entire exterior was lit at night by 1,600 incandescent lamps and thirty projectors, which were visible at distances of up to .


title: Singer Building

text: Load-bearing walls initially supported the original Singer Building at 149 Broadway, while the Bourne Building annex at 85–89 Liberty Street had an internal steel skeleton. The original Singer Building was altered between 1906 and 1908 to use a steel skeleton. The entire building used 850 steel columns. The columns were generally constructed in two-story segments. One- to three-story-tall column segments were used on the basements, first floor, and 14th through 16th floors. Rafters supported the mansard roof of the base, excluding the tower. Milliken Brothers Inc. was the structural steel supplier for the project.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Tower addition of 1906–1908 had a steel skeleton and weighed . The tower's columns were spaced apart on their centers. Because the three center bays on each side contained windows, only the corners used diagonal bracing and, as such, were treated as square prisms. Inside, there was another structure for the central elevator shafts, which were connected to the corners of the tower via longitudinal beams. A girder supported the columns at the tower's corners at the fourth floor, while 36 columns rose from the basement into the tower. Four pillars were placed at each corner of the tower and six more pillars were placed in the elevator shafts. Each truss extended upward for two stories, causing the columns and braces to act as wind-resistant cantilevers. The braces on the north and south contained 11 panels each while those on the east and west contained 10 panels. The four columns at the center of the tower supported its dome.


title: Singer Building

text: The superstructure was erected using two boom derricks. One of them, with a capacity of , a mast, and a boom, lifted the steel beams from ground level to a 17th-story platform. The other was installed on the 17th floor and had a capacity of ; this derrick erected the tower's steel. Generally, it took less than five minutes to transfer the steel from ground level to the superstructure. German steel was used in the Singer Tower's framing because of Flagg's belief that German workmanship was better than that of Americans. The tower's superstructure was intended to withstand wind pressure of , even though the highest recorded wind pressure in the neighborhood was less than at the time of the Singer Building's construction.


title: Singer Building

text: The internal structure also used of Portland cement and of concrete subflooring. The Singer Building's floors generally used terracotta flat arches deep, and many of the internal partitions also used terracotta blocks.


title: Singer Building

text: The underlying layer of bedrock extended as deep as , above which were layers of quicksand, hardpan, rocks, clay, and soil. The groundwater level was below the Singer Building. The ground composition under the lot varied significantly, as the hardpan was compact in some places and loose in others. Below the groundwater level, the saturation of the ground made it unfeasible to dig the cellar conventionally. The Foundation Company excavated the tower's foundation using pneumatic caissons. The caissons were used to extract the underlying soil, then filled with concrete to create piers.


title: Singer Building

text: Each caisson pier was designed to carry . A gridiron of steel girders was placed atop the caisson piers. Because of the design of the tower addition's wind-bracing superstructure, the upward pull on some of the piers was greater than the dead load these piers carried. As a result, eyebars of different lengths were embedded in 10 of the caissons, the concrete being poured onto the eyebars. The rods were embedded into the caisson piers. The system, devised in house by Flagg's office, was more than twice as expensive as a conventional foundation would have cost for a building of the Singer Tower's size. The original plan was for the caissons to be sunk only deep, but the builders changed plans midway through the excavations, so that the caissons would go to hardpan.


title: Singer Building

text: The original portions of the building were built on grillages below the sidewalk level. These foundations were strengthened when the tower was added. The total weight of the Singer Building, including the tower addition, was carried by 54 steel columns atop the concrete foundation piers.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Building was intended to be fireproof, and the tower section used mostly concrete floors, with wood used in some doors, windows, railings and decorative elements. The base used more wood than the tower, mainly in the floors, windows, and doors. All the building's stairs were made of cast iron. The interior trim in the Singer Building was made of metal painted to resemble wood, including in the doors. Actual wooden furniture was used in the Singer Company's main offices on the 34th floor. There were also ornamental plaster features executed by H. W. Miller Inc. Plaster was used extensively for the walls and ceilings. The usable office space in the building totaled .


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Building took water from the New York City water supply system, where it was filtered through ammonia coils and then through two filters into two suction tanks. Inside the Singer Building, there were seven water tanks to serve a projected demand of each hour. Three tanks on the Singer Tower's 29th, 39th, and 42nd floors had a combined capacity of 15,000 gallons and served several portions of the tower. To provide water to the base, there was one tank of in the Bourne Building and three tanks of a combined in the original Singer Building. This allowed all the offices in the tower portion to be provided with cold, hot, and ice water. Two heaters in the basement provided heated water to the entire building. There was also a refrigeration plant with two pumps and a small freezing system capable of producing of ice daily.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Building contained a vacuum steam system, although the ground-floor lobby and the basement vaults were heated by an indirect-steam system. Heating came from steel radiators on each floor; the radiators in the ground-floor banking rooms and the Singer Company's 33rd and 34th floor offices were enclosed within ornamental screens. About 1,600 steam radiators were installed throughout the building. As well as providing heat, the building's boilers also provided electric power to the entire building. Initially, the Bourne and original Singer buildings had boilers aggregating and power generators with a capacity of . With the 1906–1908 addition, boilers aggregating were installed, and generators with a capacity of were added, replacing the old ones. A steel smokestack at the northwest corner of the building was shared with the City Investing Building to the north.


title: Singer Building

text: The lobby, accessed from Broadway, was finished with Pavonazzo marble and had of bronze work. "New York Times" architectural writer Christopher Gray characterized the lobby as exuding "celestial radiance". Two rows of eight square marble piers trimmed with bronze beading supported the lobby ceiling. Each pier was made of Pavonazzo marble and had a border of Montarenti Sienna marble. There were large bronze medallions atop each pier, depicting either the Singer Company's monogram or a needle, thread, and bobbin. At the tops of the piers were decorative pendentives, which supported glazed plaster domes above. The pendentives were ornately decorated with gold leaf. The domes' drums originally contained flat, circular amber glass lights in steel frames, which were later replaced with modern glass lighting fixtures.


title: Singer Building

text: Immediately outside the entrance, on either side of the lobby, were stairs leading up to a balcony and down to the basement, while the south wall contained stairs to the original Singer Building. The stairs were made of cast iron and wrought iron, and the handrails and newel posts were made of bronze. The elevators were clustered on the northern wall, opposite the stairs to the original Singer Building. Each of the elevator doors in the lobby were made of four bronze leaves. A balcony, trimmed with bronze, overlooked the lobby. There were Italian marble stairs at the rear of the lobby which split into two flights connecting to either portion of the balcony. A master clock on the central landing of the rear stairs controlled all the clocks in the building. The lobby was a popular spot for meetings.


title: Singer Building

text: There were also two secondary entrances on Liberty Street—one to the original Singer Building and one to the Bourne Building. Both secondary entrances connected to the main lobby to the north. There was retail space on the ground floor as well.


title: Singer Building

text: The boiler room and mechanical plant were in the basement, and consisted of five boilers and five generators. The boilers were clustered under the western portion of the building, while an engine room was in the center. A pump room and machine room were in the southeastern corner, with a chief engineer's office, electrician's room, and waste paper room. A compressor room was at the northeastern corner.


title: Singer Building

text: From the basement, a corridor extended east to the safe deposit vaults. There were 10 vaults used by the Safe Deposit Company of New York, within a space of . The vaults each contained several thousand safe deposit boxes, and the vault walls were formed of several layers of steel. The door to the largest vault weighed over . The vaults abutted three committee rooms for the company.


title: Singer Building

text: The 2nd through 13th floors contained offices flanking a "T"-shaped corridor facing away from the elevators. The ceilings of these story were generally painted in white watercolor while the walls were light tan. In addition, these stories contained oak trim, partitions, and decorative moldings. The average story at the base contained 40 offices.


title: Singer Building

text: The tower stories contained a "U"-shaped layout surrounding the elevators in the center of the building, with emergency stairs in the tower's core. In the Singer Building's tower, there were very few partitions, except for elevators and restrooms. The average floor in the tower contained 16 offices. On these stories, the ceilings were painted ivory, the walls were olive green, and the metal trim was painted to resemble wood grain. The Singer Company's main offices, on the 33rd through 35th floors, had a plethora of ornamental plaster.


title: Singer Building

text: The highest publicly accessible point in the Singer Building was above the curb, at the lantern balcony. When the observation deck opened on June 23, 1908, visitors paid $0.50 () to use the observation area at the top of the building. From this observation deck, visitors could see as far as away. After two people jumped from the deck and died, the Singer Tower was nicknamed "Suicide Pinnacle", and its deck was closed by the 1930s. From the observation deck, a series of steep ladders and stairs led to the lantern.


title: Singer Building

text: There were 15 Otis electric traction elevators in the completed building, and one electric-drum elevator, for a total of 16 elevators. The tower portion had nine elevators, eight of which ran from the lobby. Four were "local" elevators making all stops between the lobby and the 13th floor; two of these continued down to the basement. Four "express" elevators ran from the lobby to the upper floors; three of them terminated at the 35th floor and the fourth at the 40th floor. Another "shuttle" elevator served only the 35th through 38th floors. The elevators could carry loads of up to and could travel from the lobby to the top floor at , faster than any other elevator then in existence.


title: Singer Building

text: The base had seven elevators: four in the Bourne Building and three in the original Singer Building. Two of the elevators in the base, one each in the Bourne and original Singer buildings, served all floors from the basement to the roof. The other five ran only from the first floor to the 14th floor. The original Singer Building's elevators were in a single group on the southeastern side of the building, while the Bourne Building's elevators were in two pairs opposite each other. The building's managers hired female elevator operators, whom they characterized as "businesslike in appearance and polite in manner", as opposed to the "slovenly male operator with the ever-ready 'back talk'". The cabs also had telephones, with which the elevator operators and starters could communicate.


title: Singer Building

text: During the late 19th century, New York City trailed Chicago in the development of early skyscrapers; New York had just four buildings over 16 stories tall in 1893, compared to twelve such buildings in Chicago. Part of the delay was caused by New York City authorities, who until 1889 would not allow metal-frame construction techniques. Skyscraper development in New York City changed in 1895 with the construction of the American Surety Building, a 20-story, development that broke Chicago's height record. From then on, New York thoroughly embraced skeleton frame construction. The early years of the 20th century saw a range of technically sophisticated, architecturally confident skyscrapers built in New York; academics Sarah Landau and Carl Condit term this "the first great age" of skyscraper development.


title: Singer Building

text: Isaac M. Singer and Edward C. Clark had founded I. M. Singer & Company in 1851. The company, which manufactured sewing equipment, became the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865. The Singer Manufacturing Company was also involved in real estate during the latter half of the 19th century, Clark commissioning Henry Janeway Hardenbergh to design the Dakota and other New York City residential buildings in the 1880s. By the following decade, at the behest of Clark's son Alfred Corning Clark, the Singer Company was instead working with Ernest Flagg, then a recent graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts. Frederick Bourne, who had become the Singer Company's president in 1889, oversaw the firm's expansion into European markets during that time.


title: Singer Building

text: In February 1890, the Singer Manufacturing Company acquired the lot at 151–153 Broadway. The next month, they bought the lots at 149 Broadway and 83 Liberty Street, at the northwest corner of the two streets. The three lots had cost the company over $950,000 (), and at the time were occupied by four- to six-story buildings. The three lots were separate prior to the Singer Company's acquisition but, under their ownership, were combined.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Manufacturing Company hired Ernest Flagg for the design of their new headquarters. Flagg filed plans for the new Singer Building at 149 Broadway in early 1897. They called for a 10-story stone-and-brick building with banking rooms on the lowest two stories, rental office space on six of the center stories, and the Singer Company's offices on the upper stories. Construction began that year. While workers were excavating the site in June 1897, a water main burst and flooded the lot. Despite this, the new Singer Building was completed in early 1898.


title: Singer Building

text: In December 1897, before the new Singer headquarters was completed, Bourne bought three five-story structures for the company at 85–89 Liberty Street, on a plot measuring . Flagg was retained to design the 14-story Bourne Building on the site, and when he submitted building plans in 1898, the annex was estimated to cost $450,000. Bourne did not take title to the Bourne Building's site until September 1899, and the Bourne Building was completed the same year. By 1900, the Singer and Bourne buildings were both fully occupied. The tenants included the law office of Augustus Van Wyck, and the Trust Company of America. Boiler manufacturers Babcock & Wilcox were long-term tenants, occupying the Singer Building for more than forty years from the beginning of the 20th century.


title: Singer Building

text: Further acquisitions followed in the first decade of the 20th century. In 1900, Bourne bought an iron-front building at 155 and 157 Broadway, with a frontage of about on Broadway. The purchase of 163 Broadway, a house with a frontage of only , followed in 1902, and in 1903 by the purchase of the five-story 93 Liberty Street, which added a frontage of . By 1905, the Singer Company controlled most of the block along both Broadway and Liberty Street; the original Singer Building was an L-shaped structure extending west and then north from the northwestern corner of Broadway and Liberty Street.


title: Singer Building

text: Concurrently with the land acquisitions, Flagg was retained to design a second addition to the Singer Building in 1902. By early the next year, he was planning a building that would be the tallest in the world, with over 35 stories. However, the Singer Manufacturing Company did not reveal specific details until February 1906, when it announced that it would build a tower, the world's tallest. Revised plans were filed in July 1906, which provided for a more wind-resistant structure. The company intended to occupy the space above the 31st floor and planned to rent out the bottom section of the tower to tenants to subsidize their use of the upper floors. The Singer Company projected that it would earn $250,000 in rent per year, given a baseline rental cost of . Engineers were hired to create the construction plans as soon as the architect's plans and specifications were published.


title: Singer Building

text: Before the foundations were built, the builders drilled several test boreholes to determine the composition of the underlying soil. Contracts for digging the foundation were awarded in August 1906 before the plans were approved. The plans for the Singer Tower were approved on September 12, 1906, and excavation began later that month, with work officially beginning on September 19. A timber platform, measuring wide and descending from Broadway to the excavation site, was constructed so that workers could receive materials and extract soil more efficiently. The first steel shipments for the anchorages arrived in October 1906. Foundation work was completed on February 18, 1907.


title: Singer Building

text: The superstructure was constructed afterward. A temporary elevator was installed while the tower's superstructure was being erected. During the construction process, city building inspectors alleged the builders had violated city law by installing concrete flooring instead of hollow-tile floors. As a result, the builders were ordered to replace some non-compliant arches. By August 1907, the steel frame had reached 36 stories, surpassing the Washington Monument's height. That month, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden visited the 29th floor to see the construction process. On October 4, 1907, the building topped out with the hoisting of the flagpole. After the building topped out, the interiors were furnished and plastered. Despite high winds, there were no serious accidents during construction. There was a small fire on the 40th floor in February 1908, which the "Los Angeles Times" described at the time as "the highest fire in any building in the world".


title: Singer Building

text: In late 1905, Flagg was hired to design a westward annex to the Bourne Building and a northward annex to the original Singer Building. The Bourne and Singer buildings were to be united internally, and the old Singer Building was to be expanded to 14 stories. The top story of the Bourne Building would also be expanded so that it would cover the same area as the Bourne Building's lower floors. Plans for the Bourne and Singer extensions were filed in late 1906 and early 1907, respectively.


title: Singer Building

text: During the construction of the Singer Tower, the original Singer Building was shored up and additional foundations were built. The top three stories of the old Singer Building, including the mansard roof, were temporarily taken apart in June 1907, so that four more stories could be inserted above the existing seventh story. As such, the old eighth story of the old Singer Building became the new 12th story. This added of usable space without disturbing tenants on the lower floors. Several columns were erected at the old building's front and rear elevations, extending from the basement to the 11th floor to support the raised roof. Holes were created in the existing floors of the Singer Building so that they could be supported by steel columns instead of by the bearing walls. The old Singer Building was extended north by , the three extra bays on Broadway having the same style as the original two.


title: Singer Building

text: In the Bourne Building, the three existing elevators were removed and replaced with four elevators, necessitating the complete replacement of the framing around the old elevator shafts. A small window replaced the main entrance to the original Singer Building.


title: Singer Building

text: On May 1, 1908, the tower was opened to the public. The construction workers held a dinner that week to celebrate the completion of work. A month later, on June 23, the observation balcony opened. The Singer Building quickly became a symbol of Manhattan with its floodlit tower. Surpassing Philadelphia City Hall in height, the Singer Building remained the tallest in the world for a year after its tower's completion. The record was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, at 24th Street and Madison Avenue.


title: Singer Building

text: In the building's first few months, the elevators were involved in at least two deaths; a painter was decapitated on May 4, 1908, while a plumber's assistant was crushed between an elevator cab and a shaft on July 24, 1908. In a publicity stunt in 1911, the aviator Harry Atwood flew around the Singer Building. The expanded building's tenants included the Chatham and Phenix National Bank, whose main office moved to the Singer Building in 1916. The Safe Deposit Company of New York originally used the vaults. The power source for the building's steam plant was converted from coal to oil in 1921, making the Singer Building the city's first office building to use oil as a fuel.


title: Singer Building

text: In 1921, the Singer Company placed the building up for sale at an asking price of $10 million. Four years later, the company made an agreement with a buyer representing the Utilities Power and Light Corporation, a holding company for several states' power companies. The transaction involved a cash deal of $8.5 million. According to property records, the sale was never finalized. Also in 1925, a subbasement vault was dug for the Chatham and Phenix National Bank after the bank's merger with the Metropolitan Trust Company, and three of the lower floors were renovated for the bank's use.


title: Singer Building

text: The Singer Company made relatively few changes to the building; "The New Yorker" wrote that the firm was "wise enough to leave magnificence alone". Over the Singer Building's existence, its lighting system was changed at least five times. The copper ornamentation on the tower's dome was restored in 1939. The flagpole and roof cresting were removed entirely in early 1947. The building experienced an electrical fire in 1949 that forced the evacuation of the entire building, although only one person was injured. To comply with modern building codes, automatic elevators were installed in either 1957 or 1959. In addition, some offices received air conditioning, though they retained their original thermostats. The revolving doors at the base had been removed by 1958, being replaced with standard doors. Toward the end of its existence, the Singer Building's two large ground-level storefronts were subdivided into smaller ones.


title: Singer Building

text: Taller buildings continued to be constructed in New York City; by its 50th anniversary in 1958, the Singer Building was only the 16th tallest in the city. Singer announced it would sell the building in 1961, and the company moved to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. According to property records, Iacovone Rose bought the Singer Building and immediately sold it to Financial Place Inc. Real estate developer William Zeckendorf acquired the building and attempted to convince the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to move there. The plans failed after the NYSE opted to expand its existing headquarters instead. Even so, the construction of the World Trade Center nearby in the mid-1960s caused real-estate values in Lower Manhattan to increase dramatically. In 1964, United States Steel bought the Singer and City Investing buildings. U.S. Steel planned to demolish the entire block to erect a 50- or 54-story headquarters on the same site. Meanwhile, under U.S. Steel's ownership, the Singer Building began to decay.


title: Singer Building

text: The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was created in 1965, in the wake of several notable buildings in the city having either been demolished or threatened with demolition. Although the Singer Building was considered to be one of the most iconic buildings in New York City, the LPC never considered designating it as a landmark, which would have prevented the building's demolition. In August 1967, LPC executive director Alan Burnham said that, if the building were to have been made a landmark, the city would have to either find a buyer or acquire the building on its own. Sam Roberts later wrote in "The New York Times" that the Singer Building had been one of the city's notable structures that "weren't considered worth preserving". Demolition had commenced by September 1967, despite protests by "Architectural Forum" magazine and other preservationists, who suggested incorporating the lobby into the U.S. Steel Building. A "New York Times" writer observed in March 1968 that the lobby looked like "a bomb had hit it". The last piece of scrap had been carted away in early 1969, when the "Daily News" observed: "The Singer fell victim to a malady called progress."


title: Singer Building

text: The U.S. Steel Building (later known as One Liberty Plaza) was built on the site and completed in 1973. One Liberty Plaza contained per floor, compared with the per floor in the Singer Building's tower. One Liberty Plaza had at least twice the two former buildings' combined interior area. At the time of the Singer Building's demolition, it was the tallest building ever to be destroyed. The record was surpassed during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which caused the collapse of the nearby World Trade Center. Afterward, the Singer Building remained the tallest building to be destroyed by its owners, until 2019, when workers started demolishing the 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. In the 21st century, the Singer Building became a subject of the unfounded Tartaria conspiracy theory, which claimed that the skyscraper was evidence of a long-lost civilization.


title: Singer Building

text: Flagg, a noted critic of existing skyscrapers, justified taking on the project as a way of generating support for skyscraper reform, by convincing the public that such tall skyscrapers were detrimental because they blocked light from reaching the surrounding streets. As late as 1904, one architectural magazine wrote that "ten stories were his limit". According to Flagg, buildings over tall, or 10 to 15 stories, needed to have a setback tower occupying no more than a quarter of the lot. He had once written, "Our rooms and offices are becoming so dark that we must use artificial light all day long." The Singer Building's design expressed Flagg's opinions on city planning and skyscraper design. The building's design partly influenced the city's 1916 Zoning Resolution, which required many skyscrapers in New York City to have setbacks as they rose. For over four decades, the ordinance prevented the city's new skyscrapers from overwhelming the streets with their sheer bulk. These setbacks were not required if the building occupied 25 percent or less of its lot area.


title: Singer Building

text: "New York Times" architectural critic Christopher Gray said in 2005 that the Singer Building's tower resembled "a bulbous mansard and giant lantern". Architectural writer Jason Barr stated in 2016 that the Singer Building was a "transitional building" in skyscraper development. Landau and Condit described the building as "an aesthetic triumph that enriched the city by demonstrating the sculptural possibilities of the steel-framed skyscraper". "Architectural Forum" wrote in 1957 that the Singer Building was a "very coherent, virile piece of design". Just before the building's demolition, "Architectural Forum" wrote that the building was "distinguished for more than mere height". Ada Louise Huxtable said, "The master never produced a more impressive ruin than the Singer Building under demolition."


title: Singer Building

text: Not all critics appraised the Singer Building positively. "The New York Globe" in the 1900s had called the Singer Building an "architectural giraffe" and said such a tall building would hinder the ability of fire services to rescue people on the upper floors.


title: Richard Rishi

text: Richard Rishi is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films and few Malayalam and Kannada films. He is known for Koottu, "A Film by Aravind" and his controversial caste movies with director Mohan G, namely "Draupathi" and "Rudra Thandavam".


title: Richard Rishi

text: Despite a relatively high-profile launch through "Kadhal Virus", Rishi found it difficult to experience further success in the following years. After that he acted in the Malayalam film called Koottu released in 2004 which gave him a great success and improved his career. Koottu was a great nostalgic film. Films such as "Thiru 420" by director duo Sekar Kumar and Sengattuvan, where he starred opposite former Miss India contestant Swetha Vijay, were stalled after production began.


title: Richard Rishi

text: Richard studied in Loyola Matriculation. He has two younger sisters, former film actresses Shalini and Shamili. Their father is from Kollam and mother hails from a Malayali family living in Chennai. The sole reason behind his father's shifting to Madras was to become an singer.


title: Richard Rishi

text: Rishi made his acting debut with "Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari" which is released in 1990. He was cast as a child artiste in the Tamil film "Anjali" in the same year 1990. He first appeared as an adult actor in "Kadhal Virus" in 2002, playing the lead opposite Sridevi Vijaykumar. The film was released after some delay and fared poorly at the box office.


title: Richard Rishi

text: His next movie was "Koottu" (2004), which tells the story of two college buddies. Koottu was a great success and the songs were hit, this film was great in Kerala which gave Rishi a good name to the malayalees and also this film is a nostalgia in everyone’s mind. In 2005, "Girivalam" a remake of the Bollywood film "Humraaz" was released. The movie "A Film by Aravind" (2005) made him famous. In 2006, the Tamil movie "Naalai" was released. The same year came another film, "Yuga" (2006). Richard had a lesser role to play, and the film received mixed reviews. "Bhagyalakshmi Bumper Draw", a Telugu film was released in 2007. It was the remake of Bollywood film "Malamaal Weekly". It also had Rishi playing a side role. Then came the movie "Bangaru Konda" (2007) with actress Navaneet Kaur. "Maharajasri", is another movie for 2007 came and lost at the box office. In 2008, came "Veedu Mamoolodu Kadu" with Rishi portraying as negative role, then "Geetha", a remake of the Hollywood film "Phone Booth" and "Three" in which Rishi was reunited with the director Sekhar Suri from "A Film by Aravind". In 2009, he acted in Tamil movie "Thamizhagam". In 2010, he appeared in Telugu movie "Dammunnodu". His next movie "Pen Singam" (2010) failed at the content of story. In 2011, "Uppukandam Brothers Back in Action" (2011) was received negative reviews. Then came the movie "Endukante... Premanta!" (2012) where Rishi was in again in a small side role but the film was a commercial hit. The film "Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara?" (2012) was a Telugu socio-fantasy with Rishi in a small role. In 2013, the only film that came was Kannada action-comedy film "Benki Birugali", where Rishi was in the lead.


title: Richard Rishi

text: His film "Ner Ethir" (2014), which was a remake of "Across the Hall" followed by "Ninaithathu Yaaro" (2014). Then came "Avatharam" (2014), with a devotional story. The film "Netru Indru" (2014) and "Sutrula" (2014) and was not received well. The Telugu film "Adavi Kaachina Vennela" (2014) was released to positive reviews. In 2015, came the comedy-horror, "Maharani Kottai" and action film, "Adhibar". In 2016, he appeared in Telugu, "Srimathi Bangaram" followed by three Tamil films "Kallattam", "Pazhaya Vannarapettai" and "Andaman". His following films are "Dr Chakravarty" (2017) and "Oollo Pelliki Kukkala Hadavidi" (2018). Richard Rishi has joined hands with his 2016's political thriller "Pazhaya Vannarapettai" director Mohan G, to deliver a revenge drama stained with casteism in "Draupadi" (2020). The film turns into a drama where message gains preference over storytelling. He appeared alongside Trisha and Nandha in the political thriller film, "Paramapadham Vilayattu" (2021), portraying David, a goon who tries to strike fear with psychopathic tendencies.