Alaska. Anchorage. The Russian soul

3. Alaska. Anchorage. The Russian soul.

At all all the history of America is the history of immigrants. They had brought their own culture and rules to the territories where they inhabite. It is very interesting to see America like a mosaic of diffrent cultures, and without the every part of that mosaic it canùt be the full picture. But for us, for Russian people the post interesting part of America is of course Alaska. There we feel the precence of Russian spirit.

On March 30, 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents an acre; "Seward's Folly" many called it, after Secretary of State William H. Seward. On January 3, 1959, Alaska, with a land mass larger than Texas, California and Montana combined, became the 49th state in the union. It is a large state, 1/5 the size of all the other states together, reaching so far to the west that the International Date Line had to be bent to keep the state all in the same day. It's also the only U.S. state extending into the Eastern Hemisphere. In Alaska, the "family car" has wings, vegetables and fruit grow to two times their normal size and moose interrupt golf games when they feel like it.

The name "Alaska" was used by the Russians to refer only to the peninsula. This name was used by the United States to refer first to the entire Territory and then to the State after its purchase in 1867.

The name "Alaska" is taken from the Aleut word "aláxsxaq" that refers to an object to which the sea is directed, in this case the mainland.

The biggest city of Alaska is Anchorage. Anchorage has a maritime climate modified by its 61 degree north latitude and by continental influences. Summers are cool and winters are cold. However, Anchorage does not experience the seasonal temperature extremes of interior Alaska or the north-central U.S. Total precipitation for Anchorage is only 15.91 inches per year, with the greatest amount being recorded in late summer and fall. Total snowfall averages 69.3 inches, but is mostly light and dry, i.e. low in water content. Reflecting its northerly latitude, Anchorage experiences dramatic seasonal swings in the amount of daylight, ranging from a low of about 5.5 hours per day in mid-December to a high of over 19 hours in mid-June.

Suggesting our intention to find a place to live somwhere in America, Anchorage is maybe not the best place to live, but of cource it merit our attention. Only th eproblem with a cold climate. Let’ s we petter take a look of the Western coast of USA. There the climate is better and the people is more friendly. There where the Hoolywood is situated and where th edreams come true. We go to Los Angeles!

4. LA. City of Angels.

The mayor of LA is a very ambitious person. He take care about every point of social life of his city. Here is, for example, the extract from his program «Dine LA»: “I want to encourage everyone to dine out every Tuesday and Thursday so that Los Angeles residents can get back to their normal daily lives and keep our economy on track,” said Mayor Hahn, who dined at Fabiolus Café, one of the participating restaurants. “You will not only get a great meal, but you’ll be helping local businesses.” Really very good place to live if even the mayor is so concerned about what his people eat.

Also what can be one of convinience to live in Los Angeles is that it is a big port. The harbor was an active shipping center in 1897 when a federal panel selected San Pedro Bay over other coastal communities as the site for development of a major port. Construction of the breakwater began in 1899. In 1906, the City of Los Angeles annexed a 16-mile strip of unincorporated land from its southern border to a waterfront tract in San Pedro Bay, which was christened Harbor City.

On December 9, 1907, the Los Angeles City Council created the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, marking the official founding of the Port of Los Angeles.

In the early part of this century, the Port bustled with longshore gangs unloading millions of board feet of lumber for local construction projects. Thousands of commercial fishermen and workers in a dozen canneries were involved in catching and processing tuna. More than 20,000 ship builders were working in four yards on various cargo and tanker vessels. Busy and colorful commercial areas sprang up adjacent to the Port to accommodate these workers as well as the ship crews that would be in port of up to 10 days at a time.

The Port today may seem almost serene by comparison, yet it is part of the largest container complex in the United States, handling 3000 vessel arrivals a year, some of which transport as many as 5,000 cargo containers each voyage. A gateway for international commerce and an economic engine for the region, the Port supports one out of every 24 jobs in Southern California.

In 1997 APL Limited's Global Gateway South opens. Considered to be one of the world's largest and most technologically advanced ocean and rail container terminals. The Los Angeles Export Facility opens, serving as a West Coast gateway for exporting high-grade steam coal and petroleum coke from the western United States to industrialized countries in Asia. Terminal Island Container Transfer Facility completed, responding to the needs of Evergreen and NYK Line for on-dock intermodal capability. This 47-acre facility allows for the direct transfer of containers to and from ships and railcars.

In 1999 World's largest shipping line, Maersk Sealand, commits to be the Port's exclusive customer at Pier 400. New partnership estimated to bring the Port $2 billion over a 25-year lease.

In 2000 the completion of Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Programat last happened, the largest such project in America, a significant milestone in positioning the Port to accommodate the tremendous growth in international trade well into the 21st century.

And now let us take the Angel walk, how the native citizens call the look of their city.

Los Angeles - the City of Angels - is a city built on dreams. The dream of the immigrant seeking a new beginning, the dream of Hollywood with its promise of a life of glamour and riches, the dream of wide open spaces and sunny golden days. In the Bunker Hill/Historic Core Angels Walk you will experience these dreams in the L.A. that exists today, in an L.A. that thrived almost a century ago and in an L.A. that existed only in imagination. You'll see a Victorian's view of what a futuristic building would look like in the year 2000 and its splendors will take your breath away. Shop for pigs' snouts and exotic medicinal roots in a bustling indoor-market. Hear water fountains crash like ocean waves in a dramatic water garden that covers more than an acre. See a headless businessman take out his frustrations on an office building and see a library topped by a golden pyramid. Journey through the pages of Raymond Chandler and through the scripts of Blade Runner, Speed, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Chinatown. Ride into history on the shortest railway in the world. All this and more is here in Downtown Los Angeles within a square mile (or two). And you can see them all just by taking a short journey. There we can find also Victor Clothing Company a 100-foot tall mural depicting Anthony Quinn in his Oscar winning role as Zorba the Greek by mural artist Eloy Torrez, adorns the Victor Clothing Company, a prominent establishment specializing in wedding outfits. The star-struck owner felt that the accomplished actor, though portraying a Greek, exuded his Latin presence. The Broadway of course, which offers a colorful variety of shops and eateries in an open bazaar-like atmosphere. Music wafts out of many of the stores on this highly successful and important retail thoroughfare creating a very lively street scene. And as a simbol of LA The Million Dollar Theater. The Million Dollar Theater is one of America's first motion picture palaces. It was built with a flourish by showman Sid Grauman in 1918 at a cost of $1 million. The theater was designed by William L. Woolett, and its flamboyant facade is in the architectural style known as Churrigueresque. Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin were among those who attended the opening night, February 1, 1918. The 2,200-seat auditorium resembles a Spanish Colonial cathedral. The floors above the theater once housed the offices of The Metropolitan Water District. William Mulholland was the visionary chief engineer and was responsible for (some might say guilty of) creating the water supply that fueled L. A.'s spectacular growth in the 20's, 30's and 40's. The movie Chinatown dramatized this story providing even more mystery and intrigue. The offices were later converted into apartments, where it is said some of Hollywood's most notable faces had residences.

Everybody in LA obligatory tell you the story of famous LA aqueduct. This is the story of how the dream of a few far-sighted people at the turn of the 20th Century became a reality. Follow the links below for details on how the Los Angeles Aqueduct was conceived and built.

Over the years, construction crews set numerous records for miles of tunnel cut and length of pipe installed. The Los Angeles Board of Public Works estimated that crews could dig eight feet of tunnel per day at each tunnel end, for a total of 16 feet per day. Crews dug more than 22 feet per day while constructing the five-mile Elizabeth Tunnel. They finished the tunnel 20 months earlier than the Board's estimate of five years. After World War II, the City began the Mono Basin Project as a way of providing a larger and more dependable flow in the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Four of Mono Lake's seven tributary streams, Lee Vining, Parker, Walker and Rush Creeks, were tapped for export to Los Angeles through an 11-mile tunnel. Crowley Lake and Grant Lake were also built as part of the Mono Basin Project. The completion of the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1970 and the City's plans to augment the Aqueduct flow with Owens Valley groundwater prompted renewed local protests. Inyo County filed suit against Los Angeles under the new California Environmental Quality Act, seeking an Environmental Impact Report on new aqueduct. In 1984, after years of disagreements and court hearings, Inyo County and Los Angeles entered into an Agreement to produce a EIR together. Mulholland, who was thy mayor of LA in 80-th, truly had a vision when he looked to the Eastern Sierra and envisioned an aqueduct to bring water to a growing city. Los Angeles has become the nation's second largest city because of his decision to find another reliable water supply.

OK, now we now a lot of facts about this marvelous city and will keep it in mind untill the moment we have to make final desision where to live. But to have a choice we should see some other cities. How it will looks like if we go to… Chicago! Probably we find there the traces of romantic and bloody history of Al Capone?