title: Bipedalism

text: An alternative explanation is that the mixture of savanna and scattered forests increased terrestrial travel by proto-humans between clusters of trees, and bipedalism offered greater efficiency for long-distance travel between these clusters than quadrupedalism. In an experiment monitoring chimpanzee metabolic rate via oxygen consumption, it was found that the quadrupedal and bipedal energy costs were very similar, implying that this transition in early ape-like ancestors would not have been very difficult or energetically costing. This increased travel efficiency is likely to have been selected for as it assisted foraging across widely dispersed resources.


title: Bipedalism

text: The postural feeding hypothesis has been recently supported by Dr. Kevin Hunt, a professor at Indiana University. This hypothesis asserts that chimpanzees were only bipedal when they eat. While on the ground, they would reach up for fruit hanging from small trees and while in trees, bipedalism was used to reach up to grab for an overhead branch. These bipedal movements may have evolved into regular habits because they were so convenient in obtaining food. Also, Hunt's hypotheses states that these movements coevolved with chimpanzee arm-hanging, as this movement was very effective and efficient in harvesting food. When analyzing fossil anatomy, "Australopithecus afarensis" has very similar features of the hand and shoulder to the chimpanzee, which indicates hanging arms. Also, the "Australopithecus" hip and hind limb very clearly indicate bipedalism, but these fossils also indicate very inefficient locomotive movement when compared to humans. For this reason, Hunt argues that bipedalism evolved more as a terrestrial feeding posture than as a walking posture.


title: Bipedalism

text: A related study conducted by University of Birmingham, Professor Susannah Thorpe examined the most arboreal great ape, the orangutan, holding onto supporting branches in order to navigate branches that were too flexible or unstable otherwise. In more than 75 percent of observations, the orangutans used their forelimbs to stabilize themselves while navigating thinner branches. Increased fragmentation of forests where A. afarensis as well as other ancestors of modern humans and other apes resided could have contributed to this increase of bipedalism in order to navigate the diminishing forests. Findings also could shed light on discrepancies observed in the anatomy of A. afarensis, such as the ankle joint, which allowed it to "wobble" and long, highly flexible forelimbs. If bipedalism started from upright navigation in trees, it could explain both increased flexibility in the ankle as well as long forelimbs which grab hold of branches.


title: Bipedalism

text: One theory on the origin of bipedalism is the behavioral model presented by C. Owen Lovejoy, known as "male provisioning". Lovejoy theorizes that the evolution of bipedalism was linked to monogamy. In the face of long inter-birth intervals and low reproductive rates typical of the apes, early hominids engaged in pair-bonding that enabled greater parental effort directed towards rearing offspring. Lovejoy proposes that male provisioning of food would improve the offspring survivorship and increase the pair's reproductive rate. Thus the male would leave his mate and offspring to search for food and return carrying the food in his arms walking on his legs. This model is supported by the reduction ("feminization") of the male canine teeth in early hominids such as "Sahelanthropus tchadensis" and "Ardipithecus ramidus", which along with low body size dimorphism in "Ardipithecus" and "Australopithecus", suggests a reduction in inter-male antagonistic behavior in early hominids. In addition, this model is supported by a number of modern human traits associated with concealed ovulation (permanently enlarged breasts, lack of sexual swelling) and low sperm competition (moderate sized testes, low sperm mid-piece volume) that argues against recent adaptation to a polygynous reproductive system.


title: Bipedalism

text: However, this model has been debated, as others have argued that early bipedal hominids were instead polygynous. Among most monogamous primates, males and females are about the same size. That is sexual dimorphism is minimal, and other studies have suggested that "Australopithecus afarensis" males were nearly twice the weight of females. However, Lovejoy's model posits that the larger range a provisioning male would have to cover (to avoid competing with the female for resources she could attain herself) would select for increased male body size to limit predation risk. Furthermore, as the species became more bipedal, specialized feet would prevent the infant from conveniently clinging to the mother - hampering the mother's freedom and thus make her and her offspring more dependent on resources collected by others. Modern monogamous primates such as gibbons tend to be also territorial, but fossil evidence indicates that "Australopithecus afarensis" lived in large groups. However, while both gibbons and hominids have reduced canine sexual dimorphism, female gibbons enlarge ('masculinize') their canines so they can actively share in the defense of their home territory. Instead, the reduction of the male hominid canine is consistent with reduced inter-male aggression in a pair-bonded though group living primate.


title: Bipedalism

text: Recent studies of 4.4 million years old "Ardipithecus ramidus" suggest bipedalism. It is thus possible that bipedalism evolved very early in homininae and was reduced in chimpanzee and gorilla when they became more specialized. Other recent studies of the foot structure of "Ardipithecus ramidus" suggest that the species was closely related to African-ape ancestors. This possibly provides a species close to the true connection between fully bipedal hominins and quadruped apes. According to Richard Dawkins in his book "The Ancestor's Tale", chimps and bonobos are descended from "Australopithecus" gracile type species while gorillas are descended from "Paranthropus". These apes may have once been bipedal, but then lost this ability when they were forced back into an arboreal habitat, presumably by those australopithecines from whom eventually evolved hominins. Early hominines such as "Ardipithecus ramidus" may have possessed an arboreal type of bipedalism that later independently evolved towards knuckle-walking in chimpanzees and gorillas and towards efficient walking and running in modern humans (see figure). It is also proposed that one cause of Neanderthal extinction was a less efficient running.


title: Bipedalism

text: Joseph Jordania from the University of Melbourne recently (2011) suggested that bipedalism was one of the central elements of the general defense strategy of early hominids, based on aposematism, or warning display and intimidation of potential predators and competitors with exaggerated visual and audio signals. According to this model, hominids were trying to stay as visible and as loud as possible all the time. Several morphological and behavioral developments were employed to achieve this goal: upright bipedal posture, longer legs, long tightly coiled hair on the top of the head, body painting, threatening synchronous body movements, loud voice and extremely loud rhythmic singing/stomping/drumming on external subjects. Slow locomotion and strong body odor (both characteristic for hominids and humans) are other features often employed by aposematic species to advertise their non-profitability for potential predators.


title: Bipedalism

text: There are a variety of ideas which promote a specific change in behaviour as the key driver for the evolution of hominid bipedalism. For example, Wescott (1967) and later Jablonski & Chaplin (1993) suggest that bipedal threat displays could have been the transitional behaviour which led to some groups of apes beginning to adopt bipedal postures more often. Others (e.g. Dart 1925) have offered the idea that the need for more vigilance against predators could have provided the initial motivation. Dawkins (e.g. 2004) has argued that it could have begun as a kind of fashion that just caught on and then escalated through sexual selection. And it has even been suggested (e.g. Tanner 1981:165) that male phallic display could have been the initial incentive, as well as increased sexual signaling in upright female posture.


title: Bipedalism

text: The thermoregulatory model explaining the origin of bipedalism is one of the simplest theories so far advanced, but it is a viable explanation. Dr. Peter Wheeler, a professor of evolutionary biology, proposes that bipedalism raises the amount of body surface area higher above the ground which results in a reduction in heat gain and helps heat dissipation. When a hominid is higher above the ground, the organism accesses more favorable wind speeds and temperatures. During heat seasons, greater wind flow results in a higher heat loss, which makes the organism more comfortable. Also, Wheeler explains that a vertical posture minimizes the direct exposure to the sun whereas quadrupedalism exposes more of the body to direct exposure. Analysis and interpretations of Ardipithecus reveal that this hypothesis needs modification to consider that the forest and woodland environmental preadaptation of early-stage hominid bipedalism preceded further refinement of bipedalism by the pressure of natural selection. This then allowed for the more efficient exploitation of the hotter conditions ecological niche, rather than the hotter conditions being hypothetically bipedalism's initial stimulus. A feedback mechanism from the advantages of bipedality in hot and open habitats would then in turn make a forest preadaptation solidify as a permanent state.


title: Bipedalism

text: Charles Darwin wrote that "Man could not have attained his present dominant position in the world without the use of his hands, which are so admirably adapted to the act of obedience of his will". Darwin (1871:52) and many models on bipedal origins are based on this line of thought. Gordon Hewes (1961) suggested that the carrying of meat "over considerable distances" (Hewes 1961:689) was the key factor. Isaac (1978) and Sinclair et al. (1986) offered modifications of this idea, as indeed did Lovejoy (1981) with his "provisioning model" described above. Others, such as Nancy Tanner (1981), have suggested that infant carrying was key, while others again have suggested stone tools and weapons drove the change. This stone-tools theory is very unlikely, as though ancient humans were known to hunt, the discovery of tools was not discovered for thousands of years after the origin of bipedalism, chronologically precluding it from being a driving force of evolution. (Wooden tools and spears fossilize poorly and therefore it is difficult to make a judgment about their potential usage.)


title: Bipedalism

text: The observation that large primates, including especially the great apes, that predominantly move quadrupedally on dry land, tend to switch to bipedal locomotion in waist deep water, has led to the idea that the origin of human bipedalism may have been influenced by waterside environments. This idea, labelled "the wading hypothesis", was originally suggested by the Oxford marine biologist Alister Hardy who said: "It seems to me likely that Man learnt to stand erect first in water and then, as his balance improved, he found he became better equipped for standing up on the shore when he came out, and indeed also for running." It was then promoted by Elaine Morgan, as part of the aquatic ape hypothesis, who cited bipedalism among a cluster of other human traits unique among primates, including voluntary control of breathing, hairlessness and subcutaneous fat. The "aquatic ape hypothesis", as originally formulated, has not been accepted or considered a serious theory within the anthropological scholarly community. Others, however, have sought to promote wading as a factor in the origin of human bipedalism without referring to further ("aquatic ape" related) factors. Since 2000 Carsten Niemitz has published a series of papers and a book on a variant of the wading hypothesis, which he calls the "amphibian generalist theory" ().


title: Bipedalism

text: Other theories have been proposed that suggest wading and the exploitation of aquatic food sources (providing essential nutrients for human brain evolution or critical fallback foods) may have exerted evolutionary pressures on human ancestors promoting adaptations which later assisted full-time bipedalism. It has also been thought that consistent water-based food sources had developed early hominid dependency and facilitated dispersal along seas and rivers.


title: Bipedalism

text: Prehistoric fossil records show that early hominins first developed bipedalism before being followed by an increase in brain size. The consequences of these two changes in particular resulted in painful and difficult labor due to the increased favor of a narrow pelvis for bipedalism being countered by larger heads passing through the constricted birth canal. This phenomenon is commonly known as the obstetrical dilemma.


title: Bipedalism

text: Non-human primates habitually deliver their young on their own, but the same cannot be said for modern-day humans. Isolated birth appears to be rare and actively avoided cross-culturally, even if birthing methods may differ between said cultures. This is due to the fact that the narrowing of the hips and the change in the pelvic angle caused a discrepancy in the ratio of the size of the head to the birth canal. The result of this is that there is greater difficulty in birthing for hominins in general, let alone to be doing it by oneself.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedal movement occurs in a number of ways and requires many mechanical and neurological adaptations. Some of these are described below.


title: Bipedalism

text: Energy-efficient means of standing bipedally involve constant adjustment of balance, and of course these must avoid overcorrection. The difficulties associated with simple standing in upright humans are highlighted by the greatly increased risk of falling present in the elderly, even with minimal reductions in control system effectiveness.


title: Bipedalism

text: Shoulder stability would decrease with the evolution of bipedalism. Shoulder mobility would increase because the need for a stable shoulder is only present in arboreal habitats. Shoulder mobility would support suspensory locomotion behaviors which are present in human bipedalism. The forelimbs are freed from weight-bearing requirements, which makes the shoulder a place of evidence for the evolution of bipedalism.


title: Bipedalism

text: Unlike non-human apes that are able to practice bipedality such as "Pan" and "Gorilla", hominins have the ability to move bipedally without the utilization of a bent-hip-bent-knee (BHBK) gait, which requires the engagement of both the hip and the knee joints. This human ability to walk is made possible by the spinal curvature humans have that non-human apes do not. Rather, walking is characterized by an "inverted pendulum" movement in which the center of gravity vaults over a stiff leg with each step. Force plates can be used to quantify the whole-body kinetic & potential energy, with walking displaying an out-of-phase relationship indicating exchange between the two. This model applies to all walking organisms regardless of the number of legs, and thus bipedal locomotion does not differ in terms of whole-body kinetics.


title: Bipedalism

text: Early hominins underwent post-cranial changes in order to better adapt to bipedality, especially running. One of these changes is having longer hindlimbs proportional to the forelimbs and their effects. As previously mentioned, longer hindlimbs assist in thermoregulation by reducing the total surface area exposed to direct sunlight while simultaneously allowing for more space for cooling winds. Additionally, having longer limbs is more energy-efficient, since longer limbs mean that overall muscle strain is lessened. Better energy efficiency, in turn, means higher endurance, particularly when running long distances.


title: Bipedalism

text: Running is characterized by a spring-mass movement. Kinetic and potential energy are in phase, and the energy is stored & released from a spring-like limb during foot contact, achieved by the plantar arch and the Achilles tendon in the foot and leg, respectively. Again, the whole-body kinetics are similar to animals with more limbs.


title: Bipedalism

text: Bipedalism requires strong leg muscles, particularly in the thighs. Contrast in domesticated poultry the well muscled legs, against the small and bony wings. Likewise in humans, the quadriceps and hamstring muscles of the thigh are both so crucial to bipedal activities that each alone is much larger than the well-developed biceps of the arms. In addition to the leg muscles, the increased size of the gluteus maximus in humans is an important adaptation as it provides support and stability to the trunk and lessens the amount of stress on the joints when running.


title: Bipedalism

text: Quadrupeds, have more restrictive breathing respire while moving than do bipedal humans. "Quadrupedal species normally synchronize the locomotor and respiratory cycles at a constant ratio of 1:1 (strides per breath) in both the trot and gallop. Human runners differ from quadrupeds in that while running they employ several phase-locked patterns (4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 5:2, and 3:2), although a 2:1 coupling ratio appears to be favored. Even though the evolution of bipedal gait has reduced the mechanical constraints on respiration in man, thereby permitting greater flexibility in breathing pattern, it has seemingly not eliminated the need for the synchronization of respiration and body motion during sustained running."


title: Bipedalism

text: Respiration through bipedality means that there is better breath control in bipeds, which can be associated with brain growth. The modern brain utilizes approximately 20% of energy input gained through breathing and eating, as opposed to species like chimpanzees who use up twice as much energy as humans for the same amount of movement. This excess energy, leading to brain growth, also leads to the development of verbal communication. This is because breath control means that the muscles associated with breathing can be manipulated into creating sounds. This means that the onset of bipedality, leading to more efficient breathing, may be related to the origin of verbal language.


title: Bipedalism

text: For nearly the whole of the 20th century, bipedal robots were very difficult to construct and robot locomotion involved only wheels, treads, or multiple legs. Recent cheap and compact computing power has made two-legged robots more feasible. Some notable biped robots are ASIMO, HUBO, MABEL and QRIO. Recently, spurred by the success of creating a fully passive, un-powered bipedal walking robot, those working on such machines have begun using principles gleaned from the study of human and animal locomotion, which often relies on passive mechanisms to minimize power consumption.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Bismack Biyombo Sumba (born August 28, 1992) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and subsequently traded to the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets). Biyombo has also played for the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo was born in Lubumbashi, Zaire, to parents François and Françoise Biyombo along with his three brothers, Billy, Biska, and Bikim, and three sisters, Bimeline, Bikelene, and Bimela. He played for Lupopo in the 2008 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, Africa's premier senior league, at age 16.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: He was discovered by coach Mário Palma at the age of 16 at a youth tournament in Yemen. His play impressed Palma and earned him an opportunity to train in Spain.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo started the 2009–10 season with Fuenlabrada-Getafe Madrid of the EBA before moving to CB Illescas of the LEB Silver league. He also started the 2010–11 season with CB Illescas before moving to Baloncesto Fuenlabrada of the ACB league in January 2011.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo made his debut in the Spanish ACB League with Fuenlabrada against DKV Joventut on January 9, 2011, recording 5 points and 7 rebounds in just over 13 minutes of play. In Fuenlabrada's narrow defeat to Real Madrid, he recorded 6 points and 3 blocks, one of them against former Spanish League MVP and Spanish national team player, Felipe Reyes.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: At the 2011 Nike Hoops Summit, Biyombo participated for the World Select Team (against the USA Select Team), and recorded a triple double, with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks. It was the first recorded triple-double in the Summit's history.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo was drafted seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA draft, but his rights were later traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in a draft night trade. On December 19, 2011, Biyombo signed a multi-year deal with the Bobcats. After averaging five points per game over his first two seasons with Charlotte, Biyombo's minutes and subsequent production dropped dramatically in 2013–14 as he fell out of favor with coach Steve Clifford, as he averaged just 2.9 points in 13.9 minutes per game.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: The Bobcats changed their name to the "Hornets" ahead of the 2014-15 season. While his forte in defense and rebounding did drop in 2013–14, Biyombo began the 2014–15 season in much better form despite missing seven out of the first eight games of the season largely due to the acquisition of Jason Maxiell in the 2014 off-season. With the late-December injury to center Al Jefferson, Biyombo was placed into the starting line-up. On June 30, 2015, the Hornets decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Biyombo, making him an unrestricted free agent.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: On July 18, 2015, Biyombo signed a two-year, $5.7 million contract with the Toronto Raptors. On August 1, 2015, he played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game. He made his debut for the Raptors in the team's season opener against the Indiana Pacers on October 28, recording 7 points and 5 rebounds in a 106–99 win. Biyombo started in 18 straight games between mid-November and late December while Jonas Valančiūnas was recovering from a fractured hand. On December 17, he recorded 8 points, a then career-high 18 rebounds, and a career-high tying 7 blocks in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Five days later, he recorded 9 points and a then career-high 20 rebounds in a 103–99 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Biyombo returned to a bench role on December 30. He returned to the starting line-up in mid-March with Valančiūnas out injured again. On March 17, 2016, Biyombo scored a career-high 16 points and set a franchise record with 25 rebounds in guiding the Raptors to a 101–94 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. On March 30, he recorded seven points and six rebounds in a 105–97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, helping the Raptors record a 50-win season for the first time in franchise history.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: The Raptors finished the regular season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56–26 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Raptors faced the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers, and in a Game 5 win on April 26, Biyombo recorded 10 points and 16 rebounds off the bench to help the Raptors take a 3–2 series lead. The Raptors went on to win the series 4–3, moving on to the second round where they faced the Miami Heat. In Game 7 of the Raptors' series with the Heat, Biyombo recorded 17 points and 16 rebounds as a starter in a 116–89 win, helping the Raptors advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. In Game 3 of the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Biyombo set a Toronto playoff record with 26 rebounds, helping the Raptors cut the Cavaliers' advantage in the series to 2–1. The Raptors went on to lose the series in six games.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: After declining his $2.9 million player option for the 2016–17 season, Biyombo became an unrestricted free agent on June 7, 2016. Biyombo later revealed that he wished to re-sign with the Raptors, but with the re-signing of DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors did not have the salary cap space to make it possible.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: On July 7, 2016, Biyombo signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Orlando Magic. After exceeding the flagrant foul limit during the 2016 playoffs, Biyombo was forced to serve an NBA-mandated one-game suspension to begin the 2016–17 season. He made his debut for the Magic in the team's second game of the season on October 28, scoring two points in just under 23 minutes in a 108–82 loss to the Detroit Pistons. On January 16, 2017, he scored a season-high 15 points against the Denver Nuggets. He tied that mark on February 11, scoring 15 points against the Dallas Mavericks. On March 5, he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds against the Washington Wizards.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: On January 1, 2018, Biyombo recorded 13 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in a 98–95 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. On January 12, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 125–119 loss to the Washington Wizards. On April 4, he had 12 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high five assists in a 105–100 win over the Dallas Mavericks.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: On July 7, 2018, Biyombo was traded back to the Charlotte Hornets in a three-team deal. On January 5, 2019, he scored a season-high 16 points in a 123–110 loss to the Denver Nuggets.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: On November 27, 2019, Biyombo recorded a season-high 19 points along with 9 rebounds and two blocks in a 102–101 win against the Detroit Pistons. On December 16, 2021, he logged a season-high 17 rebounds along with 11 points and a block against the Indiana Pacers.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo re-signed with the Hornets on November 30, 2020. On February 5, 2021, he scored a season-high 13 points, along with four rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes against the Utah Jazz. On April 13, he recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers. On May 1, he had a season-high five blocks off the bench against the Detroit Pistons. Biyombo again scored 13 points on May 13, where he also recorded seven rebounds and one assist against the Los Angeles Clippers.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo became an unrestricted free agent after the 2020–21 season. He did not sign with any team throughout 2021 in part due of him grieving for the passing of his father, François. On January 1, 2022, he signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns via the COVID-19 hardship exemption. On January 11, Biyombo signed for the rest of the season after showing off some very positive production during his 10-day contract. On January 17, Biyombo had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Five days later, on January 22, Biyombo recorded 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists coming off the bench. From January 26–30, Biyombo became a starter once again due to injuries to Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee. In the games Biyombo played from January up until February 12, the Suns were undefeated in the 17 games he played in.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo started the Bismack Biyombo Foundation in 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the foundation donated around $1 million worth of medical supplies to people in Congo.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: Biyombo is eligible to play for the DR Congo men's national basketball team, but never played for the team, despite his intentions to do so in November 2018.


title: Bismack Biyombo

text: In March 2022, Biyombo announced that he had pledged his entire 2021–22 season salary towards the construction of a hospital in Congo, in honor of his father.


title: James Meredith

text: James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government (an event that was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement). Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans.


title: James Meredith

text: In 1966, Meredith planned a solo 220-mile March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi; he wanted to highlight continuing racism in the South and encourage voter registration after passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He did not want major civil rights organizations involved. The second day, he was shot by a white gunman and suffered numerous wounds. Leaders of major organizations vowed to complete the march in his name after he was taken to the hospital. While Meredith was recovering, more people from across the country became involved as marchers. He rejoined the march and when Meredith and other leaders entered Jackson on June 26, they were leading an estimated 15,000 marchers, in what was the largest civil rights march in Mississippi. During the march, more than 4,000 African Americans registered to vote, and it was a catalyst to continued community organizing and additional registration.


title: James Meredith

text: In 2002 and again in 2012, the University of Mississippi led year-long series of events to celebrate the 40th and 50th anniversaries of Meredith's integration of the institution. He was among numerous speakers invited to the campus, where a statue of him commemorates his role. The Lyceum-The Circle Historic District at the center of the campus has been designated as a National Historic Landmark for these events.


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith was born in 1933 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, the son of Roxie (Patterson) and Moses Meredith. He is of African-American, English Canadian, Scots and Choctaw heritage. His family nickname was "J-Boy". European traders intermarried with some Choctaw during the colonial period. In the 1830s, thousands of Choctaw chose to stay in Mississippi and become United States citizens when most of the tribe left their traditional homeland for Indian Territory during the federally imposed removal. Those in the state had unions with European Americans and African Americans (some of whom were enslaved), adding to the multi-racial population in the developing territory.


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith completed 11th grade at Attala County Training School (which was segregated as "white" and "colored" under the state's Jim Crow laws) and completed 12th grade at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. He graduated from high school in 1951. Then, Meredith enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served from 1951 to 1960.


title: James Meredith

text: In 1961, inspired the day before by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Meredith started to apply to the University of Mississippi, intending to insist on his civil rights to attend the state-funded university. It still admitted only white students under the state's culture of racial segregation, although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, as they are supported by all the taxpayers.


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith wrote in his application that he wanted admission for his country, race, family, and himself. He said,


title: James Meredith

text: Nobody handpicked me...I believed, and believe now, that I have a Divine Responsibility... I am familiar with the probable difficulties involved in such a move as I am undertaking and I am fully prepared to pursue it all the way to a degree from the University of Mississippi.


title: James Meredith

text: He was twice denied admission. During this time, he was advised by Medgar Evers, who was head of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).


title: James Meredith

text: On May 31, 1961, Meredith, with backing of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, alleging that the university had rejected him only because of his race, as he had a highly successful record of military service and academic courses. The case went through many hearings, after which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Meredith had the right to be admitted to the state school. The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which supported the ruling of the appeals court.


title: James Meredith

text: On September 13, 1962, the District Court entered an injunction directing the members of the Board of Trustees and the officials of the University to register Meredith. The Democratic Governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, declared "no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your governor". The state legislature quickly created a plan. They passed a law that denied admission to any person "who has a crime of moral turpitude against him" or who had been convicted of any felony offense or not pardoned. The same day it became law, Meredith was accused and convicted of "false voter registration," in absentia, in Jackson County. The conviction against Meredith was trumped up: Meredith both owned land in northern Mississippi and was registered to vote in Jackson, where he lived. "Later the clerk testified that Meredith was qualified to register and vote in Jackson [where he was registered]."


title: James Meredith

text: On September 20, the federal government obtained an injunction against enforcement of this Act and of the two state court decrees that had barred Meredith's registration. That day Meredith was rebuffed again by Governor Barnett in his efforts to gain admission, though university officials were prepared to admit him. On September 28, the Court of Appeals, "en banc" and after a hearing, found the Governor in civil contempt and ordered that he be arrested and pay a fine of $10,000 for each day that he kept up the refusal, unless he complied by October 2. On September 29, Lieutenant Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. (elected Governor on November 5, 1963) was also found in contempt by a panel of the court, and a similar order was entered against him, with a fine of $5,000 a day.


title: James Meredith

text: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy had a series of phone calls with Governor Barnett between September 27 to October 1. Barnett reluctantly agreed to let Meredith enroll in the university, but secretly bargained with Kennedy on a plan which would allow him to save face.


title: James Meredith

text: Barnett committed to maintain civil order. Robert Kennedy ordered 127 U.S. Marshals as well as 316 deputized U.S. Border Patrol and 97 Federal Bureau of Prisons officers to accompany Meredith during his arrival and registration. On September 29, President Kennedy issued a proclamation commanding all persons engaged in the obstruction of the laws and the orders of the courts to "cease and desist therefrom and to disperse and retire peaceably forthwith", citing his authority under , , and to use the militia or the armed forces to suppress any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.


title: James Meredith

text: On the evening of September 29, the day after State Senator George Yarbrough withdrew the State Highway Police, a riot broke out. Whites opposing integration had been gathering at the campus and began fighting with federal agents. Despite the Kennedy administration's reluctance to use force, it ordered the nationalized Mississippi National Guard and federal troops to the campus. In the violent clashes which followed, two civilians were killed by gunshot wounds, and white rioters burned cars, pelted federal agents and soldiers with rocks, bricks and small arms fire, and damaged university property.


title: James Meredith

text: The day after the riots, on October 1, 1962, after federal and state forces took control, Meredith became the first African-American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Meredith's admission is regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of civil rights in the United States.


title: James Meredith

text: Many students harassed Meredith during his two semesters on campus, but others accepted him. According to first-person accounts, students living in Meredith's dorm bounced basketballs on the floor just above his room through all hours of the night. Other students ostracized him: when Meredith walked into the cafeteria for meals, the students eating would turn their backs. If Meredith sat at a table with other students, all of whom were white, the students would immediately get up and go to another table. He persisted through harassment and extreme isolation to graduate on August 18, 1963, with a degree in political science.


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith continued his education, focusing on political science, at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He returned to the United States in 1965. He attended law school through a scholarship at Columbia University and earned an LL.B (law degree) in 1968.


title: James Meredith

text: In 1966, Meredith organized and led a solo, personal March Against Fear for 220 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, beginning on June 6, 1966. Inviting only black men to join him, he wanted to highlight continuing racial oppression in the Mississippi Delta, as well as to encourage blacks to register and vote following passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorized federal oversight and enforcement of rights. Governor Paul Johnson promised to allow the march and provide State Highway Police protection. Meredith wanted blacks in Mississippi to overcome fear of violence.


title: James Meredith

text: Despite police, on the second day, Meredith was shot and wounded by Aubrey James Norvell, a white man whose motives were never determined, and who pleaded guilty at trial. Meredith was quickly taken to a hospital. Leaders of major organizations rallied at the news and vowed to complete the march in Meredith's name. They struggled to reconcile differing goals, but succeeded in attracting more than 10,000 marchers from local towns and across the country by the end.


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith recovered from his wounds and rejoined the march before it reached Jackson on June 26, when 15,000 marchers entered the city in what had become the largest civil rights march in state history. During the march, more than 4,000 black Mississippians registered to vote. Continued community organizing was catalyzed by these events, and African Americans began to enter the political system again. Black voters in Mississippi have established a high rate of voter registration and voting participation.


title: James Meredith

text: In 1967, while living and studying in New York, Meredith decided to run as a Republican against incumbent Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a multi-term Democrat, in a special election for the Congressional seat in Harlem. He withdrew from the race and Powell was re-elected. Meredith said later of his campaign, "The Republican Party [of New York] made me an offer: full support in every way, everything." He had full access to top New York Republicans.


title: James Meredith

text: After returning to Mississippi to live, in 1972 Meredith ran for the US Senate against Democratic senator James Eastland, who had been the incumbent for 29 years in what had operated as a one-party state. Following provisions of a new state constitution in 1890 that made voter registration extremely difficult, African Americans had been effectively disenfranchised and the Republican Party had been crippled. Meredith conceded that he had little chance of winning unless Governor George Wallace of Alabama entered the presidential race and split the white vote.


title: James Meredith

text: An active Republican, Meredith served from 1989 to 1991 as a domestic adviser on the staff of United States Senator Jesse Helms. Faced with criticism from the civil rights community for working for the avowed segregationist, Meredith said that he had applied to every member of the Senate and House offering his services, and only Helms' office responded. He also wanted a chance to do research at the Library of Congress.


title: James Meredith

text: In 2002, officials at the University of Mississippi celebrated the 40th anniversary of Meredith's historic admission and integration of the institution with a year-long series of events. Of the celebration, Meredith said,


title: James Meredith

text: It was an embarrassment for me to be there, and for somebody to celebrate it, oh my God. I want to go down in history, and have a bunch of things named after me, but believe me that ain't it.


title: James Meredith

text: He said he had achieved his main goal at the time by getting the federal government to enforce his rights as a citizen. He saw his actions as "an assault on white supremacy." In 2003, he was far more proud that his son Joseph Meredith graduated as the top doctoral student at the university's graduate business school.


title: James Meredith

text: In 2011 miniseries "The Kennedys", he was portrayed by Matthew G. Brown in episode five of the series, "Life Sentences".


title: James Meredith

text: A highly independent man, Meredith has identified as an individual American citizen who demanded and received the constitutional rights held by any American, not as a participant in the Civil Rights Movement. There have been tensions between him and leaders of major organizations of the movement. When interviewed in 2002, the 40th anniversary of his enrollment at University of Mississippi, Meredith said, "Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind."


title: James Meredith

text: Meredith was a supporter of the unsuccessful 1967 gubernatorial bid of ex-Mississippi Governor (and avowed segregationist) Ross Barnett, as well as the 1991 gubernatorial campaign of Louisiana State Representative and ex-Klansman David Duke.


title: James Meredith

text: In a 2002 interview with CNN, Meredith said of his efforts to integrate Ole Miss, "I was engaged in a war. I considered myself engaged in a war from Day One. And my objective was to force the federal government—the Kennedy administration at that time—into a position where they would have to use the United States military force to enforce my rights as a citizen."


title: James Meredith

text: On March 14, 1956, Meredith married Mary June Wiggins. She later worked as a high school English teacher. They had three sons, James, John and Joseph Howard Meredith. Mary June Meredith died of heart failure in December 1979.


title: James Meredith

text: In 1982, Meredith married Judy Alsobrooks in Gary, Indiana. She had one son, Kip Naylor, from a previous marriage. Jessica Howard Meredith was born to their union. The couple live in Jackson, Mississippi.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Constanzia "Connie" Corleone is a fictional character in "The Godfather", a 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, and the 1972 film "The Godfather". In the film, Connie is portrayed by Talia Shire, the sister of the director Francis Ford Coppola. Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Connie Corleone in "The Godfather Part II".


title: Connie Corleone

text: Born in 1925, Connie is the youngest child and only daughter of Mafia don Vito Corleone and his wife Carmela. She is the sister of Sonny, Fredo and Michael Corleone and adopted sister of Tom. In 1945, she marries Sonny's friend Carlo Rizzi. Vito disapproves of the match, due to the fact that Carlo's mother is from Northern Italy rather than Sicily, and only agrees to the marriage on the condition that they have a traditional Sicilian wedding.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Puzo characterizes Carlo as "a punk sore at the world", and his angry behavior is exacerbated by the Corleone family shunting him aside after marrying into the family. He physically abuses and cheats on Connie. On their wedding night, he blackens Connie's eye when she refuses to give up the bridal purse containing thousands of dollars in cash wedding gifts.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Connie complains about Carlo's abuse to her family. Her brothers despise Carlo for mistreating their sister; Sonny is particularly enraged. Vito refuses to intervene and he strictly forbids anyone in the family from retaliating against Carlo. Connie is hurt and confused by this seeming indifference. Vito, however, is concerned, but feels powerless; Italian tradition forbids interfering in another person's marriage, and Vito worries his son-in-law will be unable to discharge his "duties as a husband" if he fears the family. Vito instead has Carlo secretly watched. This perceived inaction only emboldens Carlo to become more abusive. Sonny obeys his father's command not to interfere until he visits Connie and finds her sobbing and battered. Sonny severely beats Carlo in the street, threatening to kill him if he hurts Connie again.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Rival mob boss Emilio Barzini recruits Carlo in a plot to murder Sonny. Carlo arranges for his mistress to call the apartment to provoke a fight with the pregnant Connie. After Carlo severely beats Connie, she hysterically phones the Corleone compound. An enraged Sonny drives off alone to Connie's apartment, his bodyguards following in a separate car. At the causeway toll booth, Sonny is ambushed and killed by Barzini's Tommy gun-wielding men.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Michael returns from Sicily and assumes Sonny's place as Vito's heir apparent. Connie and Carlo's relationship seems to improve and they have a second child. Following Vito's death, Michael becomes the new Don and avenges Sonny's murder by having Carlo garroted by "caporegime" Peter Clemenza, one part of a wave of murders orchestrated by Vito and Michael to eliminate their enemies. Connie (who was unaware of her husband's role in Sonny's murder), hysterical after Carlo's death, blames Michael, denouncing him in front of his wife, Kay. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Carlo's demise, apparently relieved to be rid of an abusive, philandering husband. Days later, she apologizes to Michael for her outburst and assures Kay that Michael is blameless. Kay initially believes both Connie and Michael, but later learns her husband did have Carlo killed, along with the other Mafia heads.


title: Connie Corleone

text: In "The Godfather Part II", set three years later, Connie is still angry at Michael, and has several meaningless affairs just to spite him. Michael, to his dismay, is often caretaker for Connie's children during her frequent absences. On the day of Michael's son Anthony's First Communion, she comes to Michael's house and asks for money so she can marry Merle Johnson, a man Michael disapproves of. Michael refuses, and Connie storms off. At the end of the film, Connie returns for her mother's funeral and makes peace with Michael. She intercedes on Fredo's behalf after Michael disowns him for conspiring with Corleone rival Hyman Roth, pleading with Michael to forgive him. Michael publicly appears to forgive Fredo, but later has him killed after Connie organized a visit for Kay behind Michael's back which breaks the agreement. Connie later says that Fredo had drowned, feigning ignorance of the truth. After Michael and Kay divorce, Connie helps care for Michael's children. In a flashback at the end of the film, it is revealed that Sonny introduced her to Carlo in 1941 during Vito's birthday party.


title: Connie Corleone

text: In "The Godfather Part III", set 20 years later, Connie has become one of Michael's closest advisors, gradually assuming an active role in Corleone Family operations. She encourages Michael to bring Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini into the Corleone family and support him in his feud with Joey Zasa.


title: Connie Corleone

text: When Michael suffers a diabetic stroke following an attempt on his life, Connie and Michael's bodyguard Al Neri give Vincent the approval to kill Zasa, who was complicit in the attack. Michael is furious that Connie gave an order behind his back, but she maintains that it was necessary to strike fear into his enemies and prevent further hit attempts upon Michael. In a hospital room meeting with Vincent, Neri and Connie, rather than simply ordering Connie to stay out of Corleone Family illegal activities, Michael demands -- and gets -- her agreement to abide by his decisions, essentially granting her authority in family operations subject only to his own.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Connie travels with the Corleone family to Palermo, Sicily to watch Anthony's operatic debut. Now acting with full authority, Connie tells Vincent to prepare a counterattack if Michael is killed. She then stands at Michael's side when he retires and names Vincent his successor. She attends the opera, along with the entire Corleone family. Upon discovering that her godfather Don Altobello is the mastermind of the plot against their family, she kills him by giving him a gift of poisoned cannoli.


title: Connie Corleone

text: The Italian-language version of "The Godfather Part III" changes Connie's name's spelling to the far more standard and common "Costanza" rather than keeping the original "Constanzia", which is rare and archaic in Italy.


title: Connie Corleone

text: Connie is Vito's only daughter and has been described as his favorite child, next to Michael. Connie attempts to have her family accept Carlo in the first film, and is, at least initially, devastated by his murder, despite the abuse she suffered at his hands. Talia Shire described her character as "'a pain-in-the-ass, whiny person' in the shadow of all-powerful men."


title: Connie Corleone

text: In "The Godfather, Part II", Connie has become an irresponsible social climber, paying scant attention to her sons while speeding through two superficial marriages, much to the disapproval of Michael.


title: Connie Corleone

text: With Vito and Sonny dead, and Fredo proving incapable of serving as any kind of family authority figure, Connie must beg Michael for money to support her party-girl lifestyle. Following the death of matriarch Carmela Corleone, Connie apparently abandons her promiscuous ways, and returns to the now-divorced Michael to assume a supportive role in his household.


title: Connie Corleone

text: By the events of "The Godfather, Part III", Connie has become more decisive and self-sufficient, apparently having accepted the need for Michael to have eliminated Carlo. (Her sons by Carlo are not mentioned in the film.)


title: Connie Corleone

text: Although still feigning ignorance of the true circumstances of Fredo's death, she rationalizes it with Michael as "God's will."


title: Connie Corleone

text: Connie appears as a supporting character in Mark Winegardner's sequel novels "The Godfather Returns" and "The Godfather's Revenge".


title: 2013 NHL Entry Draft

text: The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Aleksander Barkov going to the Florida Panthers, and Jonathan Drouin going to the Tampa Bay Lightning.


title: 2013 NHL Entry Draft

text: Ice hockey players born between January 1, 1993, and September 15, 1995, were eligible for selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players born in 1992 were eligible for the draft; and those players who were drafted in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 30, 1993, were also eligible to re-enter the draft.


title: 2013 NHL Entry Draft

text: Beginning with the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, all 14 teams not qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs had a "weighted" chance at winning the first overall selection. The Colorado Avalanche won the 2013 draft lottery that took place on April 29, 2013, thus moving them up from the second pick to the first pick.


title: Epiphyte

text: An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone (e.g., many mosses, liverworts, lichens, and algae) or in the tropics (e.g., many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads). Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal water and soil requirements. Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.


title: Epiphyte

text: The term "epiphytic" derives from the Greek "epi-" (meaning 'upon') and "phyton" (meaning 'plant'). Epiphytic plants are sometimes called "air plants" because they do not root in soil. However, there are many aquatic species of algae that are epiphytes on other aquatic plants (seaweeds or aquatic angiosperms).


title: Epiphyte

text: The best-known epiphytic plants include mosses, orchids, and bromeliads such as Spanish moss (of the genus "Tillandsia"), but epiphytes may be found in every major group of the plant kingdom. 89% of terrestrial epiphyte species (about 24,000) are flowering plants. The second largest group are the leptosporangiate ferns, with about 2800 species (10% of epiphytes). In fact, about one third of all ferns are epiphytes. The third largest group is clubmosses, with 190 species, followed by a handful of species in each of the spikemosses, other ferns, Gnetales, and cycads.


title: Epiphyte

text: The first important monograph on epiphytic plant ecology was written by A.F.W. Schimper ("Die epiphytische Vegetation Amerikas", 1888). Assemblages of large epiphytes occur most abundantly in moist tropical forests, but mosses and lichens occur as epiphytes in almost all biomes. In Europe there are no dedicated epiphytic plants using roots, but rich assemblages of mosses and lichens grow on trees in damp areas (mainly the western coastal fringe), and the common polypody fern grows epiphytically along branches. Rarely, grass, small bushes or small trees may grow in suspended soils up trees (typically in a rot-hole).


title: Epiphyte

text: Epiphytes however, can generally be categorized into holo-epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes. A holo-epiphyte is a plant that spends its whole life cycle without contact with the ground and a hemi-epiphyte is a plant that spends only half of its life without the ground before the roots can reach or make contact with the ground. Orchids are a common example of holo-epiphytes and Strangler Figs are an example of hemi-epiphytes.


title: Epiphyte

text: Epiphytes are not connected to the soil, and consequently must get nutrients from other sources, such as fog, dew, rain and mist, or from nutrients being released from the ground rooted plants by decomposition or leaching, and dinitrogen fixation. Epiphytic plants attached to their hosts high in the canopy have an advantage over herbs restricted to the ground where there is less light and herbivores may be more active. Epiphytic plants are also important to certain animals that may live in their water reservoirs, such as some types of frogs and arthropods.


title: Epiphyte

text: Epiphytes can have a significant effect on the microenvironment of their host, and of ecosystems where they are abundant, as they hold water in the canopy and decrease water input to the soil. Some non-vascular epiphytes such as lichens and mosses are well known for their ability to take up water rapidly. Epiphytes create a significantly cooler and more moist environment in the host plant canopy, potentially greatly reducing water loss by the host through transpiration.


title: Epiphyte

text: The ecology of epiphytes in marine environments differs from those in terrestrial ecosystems. Epiphytes in marine systems are species of algae, bacteria, fungi, sponges, bryozoans, ascidians, protozoa, crustaceans, molluscs and any other sessile organism that grows on the surface of a plant, typically seagrasses or algae. Settlement of epiphytic species is influenced by a number of factors including light, temperature, currents, nutrients, and trophic interactions. Algae are the most common group of epiphytes in marine systems. Photosynthetic epiphytes account for a large amount of the photosynthesis in systems in which they occur. This is typically between 20 and 60% of the total primary production of the ecosystem. They are a general group of organisms and are highly diverse, providing food for a great number of fauna. Snail and nudibranch species are two common grazers of epiphytes. Epiphyte species composition and the amount of epiphytes can be indicative of changes in the environment. Recent increases in epiphyte abundance have been linked to excessive nitrogen put into the environment from farm runoff and storm water. High abundance of epiphytes are considered detrimental to the plants that they grow on often causing damage or death, particularly in seagrasses. This is because too many epiphytes can block access to sunlight or nutrients. Epiphytes in marine systems are known to grow quickly with very fast generation times.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo/D'Angelo Holmes on February 13, 1979). They are not twin brothers. The group debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Britney Spears on her album "In the Zone" and with Lil Jon on "Get Low". In 2004 and 2005, Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker", "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Shake" and "Badd". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime (featuring Homebwoi)" which is played at New Orleans Saints homegames after most touchdowns. In 2008, the hip hop duo released "The Official Work" mixtape. In 2009, they followed with their "Ying Yang Forever" mixtape. Just three months later, the duo released "Legendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits". In 2013, the Ying Yang Twins released the "Ass in Session" and "Twurk or Die" mixtapes.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: Their debut single "Whistle While You Twurk" was played on urban and pop radio stations and peaked at #17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. They toured with Juz tha King, Kat Nu and Demo Dil. Their full-length debut album "Thug Walkin"' was released that year.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artist Lil Jon, A&R Bryan Leach began talks with representative Mr. Collipark about signing them to TVT Records. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time for the label to release their next album "", which instead appeared in 2002 on Koch Records. The album was successful among hip-hop fans in the Southern United States. The same year, the group appeared on the album "Kings of Crunk" by Lil Jon on the single "Get Low", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: "Me & My Brother", their first album for TVT, was certified platinum on April 12, 2005, and yielded three more hits — "What's Happenin!", "Naggin'" and the popular Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker". The same year the duo appeared on Britney Spears' album "In the Zone" singing the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name. In 2004, TVT released "My Brother & Me", an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD of the group's videos.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: A new album "U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)" appeared in Summer 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Badd", and "Shake" were dominating popular music and rap radio stations, and "U.S.A. Still United", a collection of outtakes, remixes, and collaborations similar to "My Brother & Me" followed in December 2005. It, too, was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from the "U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)" period.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Ball, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: The group's fifth album "Chemically Imbalanced" was released in November 2006. For this album, the Twins collaborated with producers Wyclef Jean and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album. The first two singles were the Hall & Oates-sampling "Dangerous", featuring Wyclef Jean, and "Jigglin'". In 2008, the Twins released the mixtape "The Official Work" and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon Mu chapter of Sigma Chi. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records, "Ying Yang Forever", and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in many National Football League football stadiums, and iy is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during their Super Bowl victory season, but it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade. The song has also been used in "NFL Street 2" and "Madden NFL 11" as well as the opening tip at home games for the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs throughout the majority of the 2000s.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes top 10 hits "What's Happenin!", "Shake", "Salt Shaker", and "Wait (The Whisper Song)" plus three new tracks.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: On June 29, 2012, Ying Yang Twins revealed on Twitter that they had signed to Epic Records and released their first single from their untitled album "Fist Pump, Jump Jump", featuring singer Greg Tecoz.


title: Ying Yang Twins

text: Their Christmas song "Deck Da' Club" featured heavily in the 2019 Christmas show of "The Unbelievers Podcast".


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Robert Allan Jacobs, the tower is tall with 38 stories. The International Style building with a public plaza, completed in 1958, initially served as the headquarters of the Seagram Company, a Canadian distiller.


title: Seagram Building

text: Phyllis Lambert, daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, heavily influenced the Seagram Building's design, an example of the functionalist aesthetic and a prominent instance of corporate modern architecture. A glass curtain wall with vertical mullions of bronze and horizontal spandrels made of Muntz metal form the building's exterior. The pink granite plaza facing Park Avenue contains two fountains. Behind the plaza is a tall elevator lobby with a similar design to the plaza. The lowest stories originally contained the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, which were replaced respectively by the Grill and Pool restaurant and the Lobster Club. The upper stories contain office spaces of modular construction.


title: Seagram Building

text: Seagram revealed plans for the building in July 1954, when it announced construction of its headquarters on the up-and-coming commercial strip of Park Avenue. After Lambert objected to Pereira & Luckman's original design, Mies was selected as the architect that November. The building's construction began in late 1955 and finished in 1958, although the official certificate of occupancy was not granted until 1959. The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) purchased the building in 1979, and it remained Seagram's headquarters until 2001. TIAA sold the building in 2000 to Aby Rosen's RFR Holding LLC, which has continued to operate the structure.


title: Seagram Building

text: Upon opening, the Seagram Building was widely praised for its architecture. Described in "The New York Times" as one of "New York's most copied buildings", the Seagram Building has inspired the designs of other structures around the world. Within New York City, the Seagram Building helped influence the 1961 Zoning Resolution, a zoning ordinance that allowed developers to construct additional floor area in exchange for including plazas outside their buildings. In 1989, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Seagram Building's exterior, lobby, and The Four Seasons Restaurant as official city landmarks. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Building is at 375 Park Avenue, on the east side of the avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was never officially named for its original anchor tenant, Canadian conglomerate Seagram, and is legally known only by its address. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code, 10152; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes . The land lot has a frontage of on 52nd Street to the south, on Park Avenue to the west, and on 53rd Street to the north. The site slopes down to the east.


title: Seagram Building

text: The 53rd Street side contains an alley about wide, facing 100 East 53rd Street; the alley allows the Seagram Building to remain symmetrical despite the site's irregular shape. Other nearby buildings include 345 Park Avenue across 52nd Street to the south; 399 Park Avenue across 53rd Street to the north; Lever House diagonally across Park Avenue and 53rd Street; and the Racquet and Tennis Club Building and Park Avenue Plaza across Park Avenue to the west. In addition, 599 Lexington Avenue and the Citigroup Center, as well as the New York City Subway's Lexington Avenue/51st Street station (served by the ), are on Lexington Avenue less than one block to the east.


title: Seagram Building

text: During the late 19th century, the Seagram Building's site had included the original Steinway & Sons piano factory, as well as tenements made of brick or brownstone. The Park Avenue railroad line had run in an open-cut in the middle of Park Avenue until the 1900s. The construction of Grand Central Terminal in the early 20th century covered the line, spurring development in the surrounding area, Terminal City. The adjacent stretch of Park Avenue became a wealthy neighborhood with upscale apartments, including the Montana Apartments, on the site of the piano factory. Largely commercial International Style skyscrapers replaced many of the residential structures on Park Avenue during the 1950s and 1960s. These skyscrapers included the Seagram Building, Lever House, the Union Carbide Building, and the Pepsi-Cola Building. When the Seagram site was assembled in the early 1950s, it contained the Montana Apartments and four smaller row houses and apartment buildings.


title: Seagram Building

text: German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Seagram Building in the International Style. Philip Johnson was the co-architect and the partnership of Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs were the associate architects. Numerous consultants were involved in the building's design, including mechanical engineers Jaros, Baum & Bolles; structural engineers Severud-Elstad Krueger; electrical engineer Clifton E. Smith; lighting consultant Richard Kelly; acoustics consultant Bolt-Beranek & Newman; graphics consultant Elaine Lustig; and landscape architects Charles Middeleer and Karl Linn.


title: Seagram Building

text: Phyllis Lambert, a Bronfman family member and the daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, whose idea it was to develop the building, did not impose a budget on Mies. Lambert said the Seagram Building was supposed to "be the crowning glory of everyone's work, his own, the contractor's, and Mies's". The architects used new or redesigned materials if they believed these innovations provided an improvement over existing products. The design used costly, high-quality materials, including bronze, travertine, and marble. The lavish interior, overseen by Johnson, was designed to ensure cohesion with the appearance of the facade. The Seagram Building was the first office building in the world to use extruded bronze on a facade, as well as the first New York City skyscraper with full-height plate glass windows.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Building occupies half the site and is recessed behind Park Avenue. The building's main section is a 38-story slab topped by a mechanical story; it does not include any setbacks. The slab rises above ground. As planned, the slab measured . Along the eastern end of the slab is a narrow shaft with an emergency-exit stair, which is sometimes referred to as the "spine". The spine, which forms part of the building's framework, contains restrooms on the sixth to tenth floor and offices above.


title: Seagram Building

text: There are two five-story wings east of the main slab, facing 52nd and 53rd Streets. The 10-story central section between the wings is sometimes characterized as a "bustle". As planned, the "bustle" measured while the wings measured . The April 1955 edition of "Architectural Forum" described the relative simplicity of the building's massing as "a no-setback building but a building all set back".


title: Seagram Building

text: A pink granite plaza with pools and greenery lies on the western side of the Seagram Building. The plaza is raised slightly above sidewalk level on Park Avenue, with three steps leading from the center of the Park Avenue frontage. A low granite retaining wall runs on either side of the flight of steps, extending around to 52nd and 53rd Streets, where they flank the building. There are marble caps atop the retaining walls on the side streets. At the eastern ends of the retaining walls on 52nd and 53rd Streets are granite steps from street to lobby, above which are travertine canopies. The parapets on the side streets each measure wide by long and are made of 40 pieces of green Italian marble.


title: Seagram Building

text: The plaza is largely symmetrical with rectangular pools placed on the northwest and southwest corners. The southern pool contains a bronze flagpole, the only deviation from the design's symmetry. The water level of the pools is just below that of the plaza. The cluster of fountain jets at the center of either pool is not part of the original design. The pools measure wide by long and each contain of water recirculated every two-and-a-half hours. The initial plan had been to place abstract sculptures in the plaza. Mies abandoned this when he could not find a sculptor he felt could produce work suited for the landscape. East of both pools are three planting beds with ivy and a gingko tree. These planting beds had contained weeping beeches before November 1959, when they were replaced with hardier gingko trees. The plaza contains a heating system to prevent ice buildup. At the building's completion, the plaza's surface required daily vacuuming with a sweeper.


title: Seagram Building

text: From its construction, the plaza was intended not only as an urban green space but as a point of interest. Architecture critic Lewis Mumford said of the plaza: "In a few steps one is lifted out of the street so completely that one has almost the illusion of having climbed a long flight of stairs." In its simplicity, the plaza's design was a marked contrast to the Channel Gardens in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern describes as being known for its festiveness.


title: Seagram Building

text: The northern, southern, and western ends of the slab overhang the plaza and are supported by bronze-clad columns at their perimeters, forming an arcade in front of the entrance. Each column measures across and two stories tall. The arcade's ceiling contains recessed light fixtures within a ceramic tile surface. The first-story walls behind the arcade contain full-height glass panes. Above the arcade, on the western side of the building, is a marquee made of Muntz metal, with recessed lighting. The bases of the wings on 52nd and 53rd Streets, beneath the first story, are clad in granite and contain entrances to the restaurant and bar spaces inside. The eastern portions of both wings contain garage doors, while the eastern wall of the 53rd Street wing is faced in brick. The eastern section of the 52nd Street wing has an entrance that leads to the Grill and Pool restaurant while bypassing the main lobby. A similar entrance exists on the 53rd Street wing to the Brasserie restaurant.


title: Seagram Building

text: The curtain wall begins above the lower stories and is composed of non-structural glass walls, which are colored amber-gray. The glass panels cover about and are designed to be heat- and glare-resistant. Because the windows are sealed permanently, and the tower rises with no setbacks, the Seagram Building's window washing team could not use standard window-washing equipment. Therefore, a custom-made pneumatic scaffold was installed, with a deck that covers six columns of windows at a time. Behind each window, Mies sought to avoid irregularity when window blinds were drawn. As a result, the building uses window blinds with slats angled in 45-degree positions, allowing the blinds to be set in three positions: fully open, halfway open, or fully closed.


title: Seagram Building

text: The facade used of bronze, manufactured by General Bronze. The glass panes are set within vertical bronze mullions made from extrusions of I-beams. The bronze mullions separate the facade into bays, or vertical spaces between columns; each bay contains five windows per floor. The tops and bottoms of the mullions are tapered, exposing their cross-sections. The Seagram Building's mullions are only for aesthetics and are thus susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction. At the building's completion, General Bronze said the facade would need to be cleaned twice a year with soap, water, and lemon oil to prevent discoloration; this work could be performed using the window-washing scaffold. Spandrels, made of Muntz metal, separate the windows on each story horizontally, which gives them an appearance similar to that of copper. A sample facade section, tested in a wind tunnel in 1956, was resistant to winds of up to .


title: Seagram Building

text: The design of the slab's facade is carried onto the wings and "bustle". The "spine" on the eastern side of the slab is clad with serpentine marble panels instead of glass because of the presence of shear walls made from concrete. The curtain-wall facade cost , equivalent to in . Above the 38th story is a triple-height mechanical story with a louvered screen.


title: Seagram Building

text: The superstructure is a steel frame covered with concrete and gypsum. At the time, American building codes required that all structural steel be covered in a fireproof material, such as concrete, because improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires. The concrete core shear walls rise to the 17th floor, while the diagonal core bracing, with shear trusses, extends to the 29th floor. The structural system also includes steel columns whose centers are apart. The Seagram Building's heating and air conditioning systems are divided into two sections: a basement unit serving the 20th story and all floors below, and a roof unit serving the 21st story and all floors above. Ducts for utilities such as electric, telephone, and closed-circuit television cables were embedded into the concrete floor slabs.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Building has of floor space, including three basement stories. Two of the basement levels originally contained a 150-space parking garage, connected to the lobby via its own elevator. Starting in 2019, the garage was renovated into a gym known as the Seagram Playground. To attract younger employees, the gym was designed in a contrasting style to the original building. It contains a multipurpose basketball, pickleball, and volleyball court with a climbing wall. The gym could also be used as a 150-seat theater with eight tiers of wooden bleachers. The basements also contain storage, loading platforms, and service areas for the first-floor occupants.


title: Seagram Building

text: Inside the building were the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, originally designed by Philip Johnson. The restaurant interiors were decorated with numerous artworks. These included the Seagram murals by Mark Rothko, which he claimed were intended to sicken the patrons of the Four Seasons Restaurant, as well as Pablo Picasso's painted curtain "Le Tricorne", designed for the Ballets Russes in 1919. By 2017, the building housed three restaurants owned by Major Food Group: the Pool, the Grill, and the Lobster Club. The Pool was merged with the Grill in 2020, though a separate event space called the Pool Lounge continues to operate.


title: Seagram Building

text: Unlike designs in Beaux-Arts office buildings, the Seagram Building's lobby lacks a central space, instead leading visitors directly from the plaza to the elevators or restaurants. The lobby is designed as if it were an extension of the plaza, leading Mumford to write: "Outside and inside are simply the same." It is divided into three parts: a western section facing the plaza; a central section with elevators; and an eastern section facing the restaurant space.


title: Seagram Building

text: The western part of the lobby has three bronze revolving doors and is interrupted by two bronze columns. The central section comprises three corridors connecting the western and eastern thirds of the lobby, within four elevator and stair enclosures, whose walls are clad with travertine. There are three elevators on each corridor's north and south walls—a total of eighteen elevators. The elevators abutting the northern corridor serve floors 25–38; those in the center corridor serve floors 2–10; and those in the southern corridor serve floors 10–25. The northernmost and southernmost elevator enclosures have fire stairs exiting to the plaza, and all enclosures have mechanical spaces and service closets. The interiors of the elevator cabs contain stainless steel and bronze mesh panels, while the ceilings contain white panels that illuminate each cab. Above the elevator doors are fluorescent lights installed in the doorway soffits. The central third of the lobby contains mailboxes, a standpipe alarm box, and service doors made of bronze.


title: Seagram Building

text: The eastern section has two additional revolving doors within the northern and southern glass walls. A cross-passage connects the two sets of doors. There are service doors on the eastern wall of the cross-passage, as well as an elevator control panel, a fire station panel, and directories on the western wall. From the cross-passage, a set of travertine steps connects to the restaurant spaces that originally comprised the Four Seasons Restaurant.


title: Seagram Building

text: Throughout the entire lobby, the -tall ceiling is made of black cement and gray glass mosaic tiles. Recessed within the lobby ceiling are lights with dimmers. The floors, walls, and columns are also clad with travertine. The exterior walls of the lobby contain bronze mullions within which the exterior glass panes are set. A horizontal bronze bar, about above the floor level, surrounds the exterior walls. The horizontal bronze bar was installed in the 1970s per New York state building regulations. Signs in the lobby were originally designed in a square serif font custom-made for the Seagram Building.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Grill and Pool (formerly the Four Seasons Restaurant) occupy two stories in the Seagram Building's "bustle", east of the lobby and main shaft. The upper story is just above the lobby, while the lower story is at ground level near 52nd and 53rd Streets. When they opened as separate restaurants in 2017, the Grill served mid-20th-century cuisine while the Pool largely served seafood. The Grill and Pool, named after the rooms of the same name in the former Four Seasons, contains similar design features to the lobby. It has travertine walls and floors, cement ceilings with gray-glass mosaic tiles, and bronze engaged piers. The original Four Seasons had five dining rooms, preserved in the modern-day Grill and Pool restaurant. The Pool is on the north side of the first floor; the Grill is on the south side. There are two dining areas on a balcony above the Grill, as well as a balcony above the Pool. A staircase leads down from the Grill Room to a separate entrance lobby and foyer on 52nd Street.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Grill and Pool are discrete rooms. Both major rooms and their auxiliary spaces have ceilings with gridded off-white aluminum panels and recessed lighting. The outer walls are glass curtain walls, containing metal curtains that ripple from air released by hidden ventilating ducts. Running north–south between them is a corridor, which is at the top of the stairs leading from the eastern lobby. A glass wall and bronze double doors separate the corridor from the main lobby. The corridor's north and south walls contain doors leading to vestibules outside either room. The Pool is centered around a white marble pool. On the eastern side of the Pool, a staircase connects to a mezzanine on a podium slightly above the main floor. The Grill had a lounge in its northwest corner and a bar at its southwest corner. The two private dining rooms are on a balcony raised above the main Grill, accessed by separate staircases and separated from the main Grill by walnut paneled doors.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Lobster Club is at ground level on 53rd Street, immediately below the Pool room, within the space formerly occupied by Brasserie. It serves Japanese seafood. Philip Johnson had designed the original interior, which was damaged in a fire and redesigned by Diller + Scofidio from 1995 to 1999. During a 2017 renovation, the Lobster Club was redesigned by Peter Marino.


title: Seagram Building

text: The entrance connects to a lobby with restrooms to the east, a coat check to the west, and the dining room to the south. The main dining room is slightly above the 53rd Street lobby, reached by a set of stairs. The lobby is on the north wall of the main dining room, while kitchens and waiters' stations are on the south wall. A second dining room is reached through a doorway at the center of the west wall. A door on the south wall leads to a fire stair to the lobby. The Lobster Club's main dining room has brightly colored furniture and upholstery, 150 drip-painted concrete floor tiles by artist Laura Bergman, and three bronze-partitioned booths on the south wall. There is a bar on the eastern side of the dining room. The second dining room is a private suite with white partition walls, red terrazzo flooring, and metal sculptures.


title: Seagram Building

text: When used by Brasserie, the foyer had contained a stone wall, and a video camera displayed images of patrons entering from the street, with an LCD sign announcing every customer's entry. The main dining room had a "U"-shaped counter surrounded by circular tables and glass-partitioned dining alcoves. The main dining room had wooden panels on its walls. A set of plates designed by Picasso was mounted onto the wooden paneling. The west wall contained a bar on its northern section and a dining alcove on its southern section. The bar, alcove, and second dining room had carpeted floors; the main dining room had wooden floors. The ceiling was made of flat plaster with recessed lighting fixtures. The Brasserie could seat 150 patrons.


title: Seagram Building

text: The office stories were intended to contain executive suites. The office floors generally have a flexible plan, arranged in modules around the elevator core. The flexibility of the office stories derives from the superstructures' wide bays. In general, each of the second through fourth stories has about of rentable office space; the fifth through tenth stories, around ; and the upper stories, around . Johnson mainly oversaw the interior design; all the materials were custom-designed for the Seagram Building.


title: Seagram Building

text: The elevator landings have green terrazzo floors, travertine walls, gray elevator-door surrounds, and gypsum ceilings. The remaining office stories used modules. The elevator doors, suite doors, and partitions were designed to rise from floor to ceiling, which made the openings appear as though they were part of the paneling. Partition panels were designed with washable materials, which became standard after they were used in the Seagram Building. Doorknobs were made of lever handles instead of round knobs. The ceilings are acoustically tiled dropped ceilings. Each story's ceiling is surrounded by luminous tiled panels, activated by a timer, which are arranged in a consistent band measuring about wide. The luminous panels, in turn, contain vinyl diffuser panels measuring wide. The rest of each story uses indirect lighting. Air conditioning fixtures are placed only above the floor slab, enabling the windows to be full-height glass walls.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Company occupied the second through eighth stories when the building was completed. Philip Johnson, Phyllis Lambert, and J. Gordon Carr collaborated in the design of the Seagram offices. The offices had a reception room, containing tapestries and a travertine wall with Seagram's seal. There was also an executive office with furniture designed by Mies. The executive suites contained an oak-paneled dining room and kitchen, which could double as a conference room. On three sides of the fifth floor were offices with oak paneling, luminous ceilings, and ocher carpeting. The outer offices on the fifth story were wider than on other floors, signifying that story's function as an "important" floor. The fourth floor contained several large spaces for meetings and receptions, including a assembly room that could be partitioned into three sections. Floor-to-ceiling travertine partitions walled off the restrooms in the Seagram suites. Another feature of the Seagram suites was display lights that could retract into the ceiling when they were not being used. "Architectural Forum" described Seagram's offices as setting "a high standard" for subsequent tenants.


title: Seagram Building

text: After the 1933 repeal of Prohibition in the United States, Seagram Distiller's CEO Samuel Bronfman began planning a large Manhattan headquarters, though this plan was not executed for almost two decades. Bronfman decided the headquarters should be situated somewhere on Park Avenue between 50th and 59th Streets, which was becoming a commercial area.


title: Seagram Building

text: In 1951, the company bought a lot on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street, across from Lever House, for $4 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Bronfman sought to develop a structure that would be considered an "important building". He wanted the building to be completed by 1957, coinciding with the company's centenary. According to Philip Johnson, the earlier Lever House had set an example for the construction of what became the Seagram Building. Ely Jacques Kahn sent a letter and a brochure to Bronfman in July 1951, requesting an interview with him. The next month, prominent lawyer Alfred L. Rose wrote a letter to Bronfman endorsing Kahn and Jacob's work. Kahn, working with several rental agents, sketched numerous diagrams for the massing of a hypothetical tower on the site, which they called "Operation Skytop". The only extant diagram, labeled as "scheme 2", depicted a bulky tower rising from several shallow setbacks.


title: Seagram Building

text: Bronfman met with Charles Luckman, the former president of Lever Brothers soap company, in June 1954. Bronfman told Luckman that he intended to build a 35-story office tower topped by an imported English castle. In July 1954, Seagram announced it would build a 34-story tower designed by Luckman and William Pereira, his partner in the firm Pereira & Luckman. The structure was projected to cost $15 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Luckman, who had overseen the development of Lever House, said he was "very happy to come back to Park Avenue for a repeat performance". Seagram's building, as originally planned, would have contained a four-story base of marble and bronze topped by a 30-story metal-and-glass shaft. The design would have provided for an auditorium, film screening room, display rooms, and executive offices, as well as interior garden courts. Pereira & Luckman filed plans for the tower with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) the same month.


title: Seagram Building

text: Pereira & Luckman's design attracted negative criticism when it was announced. According to the August 1954 edition of "Architectural Forum", critics likened the building's appearance to an "enormous cigarette lighter" and "big trophy". Lambert, Bronfman's 27-year-old daughter, was living in Paris when she saw a rendering of Pereira & Luckman's plan in the "New York Herald Tribune" Paris edition. Recounting the incident, Lambert said she had been "boiling with fury" at the proposal. Lambert wrote a letter to her father that August, arguing that any new headquarters should be a "contribution" to the city in addition to serving as a symbol of Seagram. In a 2013 book recalling the building's development, Lambert wrote, "This letter starts with one word repeated very emphatically [...] NO NO NO NO NO."


title: Seagram Building

text: At his friend Lou Crandall's suggestion, Bronfman relented, allowing his daughter to find an alternate architect. Pereira & Luckman's design was still publicly marketed as a "preliminary model" but, as "Interiors" managing editor Olga Gueft said, media reports suggested the original plan "had been dumped overboard". Lambert became acquainted with Johnson, then the departmental director of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art. Following his recommendation, Lambert examined several leading modernist architects and conducted several interviews. Lambert selected Mies van der Rohe to design the building in November 1954; she described Mies's buildings, such as 860–880 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, as "sublimely urban". Bronfman, having approved Mies's selection, designated his daughter as the building's planning director. Lambert received an annual salary of $20,000 from this position. Because Mies was not a licensed architect in New York state, Johnson was selected as a co-architect. At the time, Johnson had never designed a skyscraper before, so Crandall convinced Bronfman to hire Kahn and Jacobs as associate architects.


title: Seagram Building

text: Mies, who had never designed a project in New York City, wished to design a simple slab. He was dissatisfied with the setbacks in most skyscrapers designed after the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Mies considered three alternatives for a slab behind a large plaza, with a facade divided into multiple bays. One plan called for a square tower; the second plan called for a 3-by-7-bay rectangle with three bays on Park Avenue; and the third plan called for a 5-by-3-bay rectangle with five bays facing Park Avenue. He created several scale models for the proposed structure. Ultimately, Mies selected the third plan, which Lambert praised. After the architects were selected, Seagram purchased some of adjacent land for $900,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). The land acquisition allowed the building to be set back from Park Avenue while complying with the 1916 Zoning Resolution.


title: Seagram Building

text: Mies filed updated plans with the DOB in March 1955; the structure was projected to cost $20 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The DOB records listed Mies's plans as a modification to Pereira & Luckman's original plans, rather than completely new ones. At the time, 20 of 250 existing tenants on the site had left. The April 1955 issue of "The New York Times" described the proposed tower as one of several on Park Avenue that "add up in sum to a boom". Upon Bronfman's suggestion, the architects specified that the tower would be made of bronze and glass. Kahn had sketched an alternative design for the Seagram Building, which called for a significantly different massing than the one Mies had proposed. Lambert disapproved of the alternative plan, saying that Kahn was "undermining Mies's decisions", and Kahn ultimately acquiesced to using Mies's design.


title: Seagram Building

text: Demolition of existing buildings on the site began in September 1955 and was completed in March 1956. Mies moved to a nearby apartment to oversee the Seagram Building's development, and he applied for membership in the American Institute of Architects (AIA)'s New York division, but was rejected in December 1955. He took the AIA rejection as an affront and moved back to Chicago, placing Johnson in full control of the building's design. Kahn wrote in his diary that the project had encountered delays in April 1956. When Mies received a license to practice architecture in New York, he rejoined the project that June.


title: Seagram Building

text: Construction of the superstructure began in May 1956, with the first major steel column installed at the beginning of the next month. Seven hundred workers fitted over 5,000 individual pieces of steelwork together, which weighed in aggregate . Because of a no-idling rule implemented in Midtown Manhattan, some truckers were ticketed while delivering steel beams to the work site, prompting them to strike temporarily until the rule was changed to allow deliveries. The steelwork's construction involved bolting steel beams, rather than riveting them, to reduce noise; this work received an official "Quiet City Award" from the city. During construction, Lambert convinced the builders to carry through Mies's original design, including minor details such as the brick bonding, which was hidden from view. The superstructure was topped out during December 1956, The building's bronze and glass facade was installed starting in September 1956 and was completed in April 1957. According to Kahn's diary, the architects discussed "violent changes" to the building's cost and design in July 1957, though these changes were not implemented.


title: Seagram Building

text: The Seagram Company moved into its offices in December 1957, and the Department of Buildings granted a temporary certificate of occupancy the next year. The Seagram Building officially opened on May 22, 1958, with the Seagram Company leasing the office space that it did not occupy. The Department of Buildings granted a permanent occupancy certificate in 1959. Including the $5 million land purchases, the project was estimated to cost $43 million, or about . The construction cost per square foot was about twice that of similar buildings in the city. Seagram vice president Arthur S. Margolin said in a 1989 interview that the building had cost approximately $40 million.


title: Seagram Building

text: By July 1958, ninety percent of the Seagram Building's space was rented. Tenants were willing to pay for space on the upper floors, compared to an average of about for ordinary new buildings. In the building's first year of operation, the office space was expected to earn about a 13 percent return on investment. Cushman & Wakefield was hired as the rental agency. Among the initial occupants were "a number of industrial and service corporations" involved in manufacturing, as well as Bethlehem Steel and Maruzen Oil. The building also housed Goodson-Todman Productions; the sales headquarters of Eagle Pencil; an industrial designer; a property manager; an art producer; a direct-mail advertising company; and various other commercial tenants. Restaurant Associates took ground-level space for the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, which opened in 1959. Ultimately, the Seagram Building's luxuriously designed spaces had 115 tenants, which were drawn partly because of Mies's international stature. By 1961, there was a waiting list for space in the Seagram Building.


title: Seagram Building

text: In its early years, the Seagram Building and its plaza were used for displays and exhibitions. For instance, in 1958, the building held an art show to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the United Nations. A sculptured head from the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization was displayed in the plaza in 1965. The World Monuments Fund displayed a moai head in the Seagram Building's plaza in 1968 to draw attention to the artifacts on Easter Island, which were seen as endangered. "Atmospheres and Environment XII", an environmental steel sculpture by Louise Nevelson, was installed at the Seagram Building's plaza in 1971. Other sculptures or artworks erected in the Seagram Building and plaza included Barnett Newman's sculpture "Broken Obelisk", displayed in 1967, as well as Jean Dubuffet's sculpture "Milord la Chimarre", displayed in 1974.