Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
SEARCH OUR ARCHIVES!
September 2011
KCBS Radio 740AM & 106.9FM interview commemorates 100th Anniversary of First Plane to Land on U.S. Navy Ship in San Francisco Bay, Jan 11, 2011.
On November 14, 1865 U.S. Colored Troops of the Union Army were honored in a Grand Review hosted by the Garnet Equal Rights League and the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The event was held because the 200,000 African-American Patriots—25 of whom had earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation's highest award for military valor—were not invited to participate in the review of Union troops in Washington, DC at the conclusion of the Civil War.
Originally built as an estate for Major William Reuben Thomas and his family, "Sunkist Villa", as Thomas called it, was completed in 1910. After living in the house for 15 years, Thomas decided to renovate the building and use it as Hotel Thomas, opened for business in 1928 with 94 hotel rooms.
After the Thomas family decided to sell the property in 1968, it briefly housed Santa Fe Junior College before being designated on the National Register for Historic Places in 1973. The City of Gainesville purchased the building the following year and established it as a cultural center, complete with art galleries, period recreations, and historical exhibits.
The Hippodrome State Theatre, founded in 1972 by local actors, is a major performing arts venue in downtown Gainesville. Drawing over 4 million patrons since its founding, "the Hipp" conducts over 300 performances per year. After performing in converted shops and warehouses, "the Hipp" moved to its current location in 1979.
The building, a sterling example of Palladium Classical Revival architechture, has stood since 1911, originally serving as a Post Office and the Federal District courthouse for the Northern District of Florida. The building was added to the National Register for Historic Places in 1979.