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1271 Avenue of the Americas is a 48-story skyscraper on Sixth Avenue, between 50th Street and 51st Street, in Midtown Manhattan, a neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Wallace Harrison of Harrison, Abramovitz, and Harris, the building was developed between 1956 and 1960 as part of Rockefeller Center. The building's eight-story base partially wraps around its 48-story main shaft. The facade comprises glass panels between limestone columns. The lobby has walls of white marble and stainless steel walls, and red-burgundy glass ceilings, with artwork by Josef Albers, Fritz Glarner, and Francis Brennan. The ground floor also includes storefronts. Each of the upper floors covers 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m²), with the offices arranged around the core. Construction started in May 1957, the building was topped out during November 1958, and the occupants took possession in late 1959. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the lobby as a city landmark in 2002. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Everett Railroad 11

... that Everett Railroad 11 (pictured) had to be modified after it met a sharp curve on its first trip?
... that David Fishwick went from a £27.50-a-week pebbledashing job to becoming the biggest minibus supplier in Britain?
... that modern Chinese drama was banned during the Cultural Revolution?
... that American football player Rich Romer was selected three times as an All-American by Pizza Hut?
... that the medieval font of St Peter's Church, Stapenhill, was restored in 1973?
... that as a nine-year-old, Anastasia Somoza lobbied U.S. president Bill Clinton?
... that Bini's performance of "Cherry on Top" at KCON 2024 was the first act by a Filipino pop group at the event?
... that French cellist Nicolas-Joseph Platel is considered to be the founder of the Belgian school of cello playing?
... that Saint George fought a dragon at the Paradise Theater until both were stolen?

In the news

Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, signing the impeachment resolution

President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.

On this day

December 17: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Memorial to victims of the 1970 Polish protests

942 – William Longsword of Normandy was ambushed and assassinated by supporters of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, while both were at a peace conference to settle their differences.
1948 – The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.
1967 – Harold Holt, the prime minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria; his body was never recovered.
1970 – Polish soldiers fired at workers (memorial pictured) emerging from trains in Gdynia, beginning the government's crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country.
2010 – Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution.

Rumi (d. 1273)
Émile Roux (b. 1853)
Willard Libby (b. 1908)
Alicia Boole Stott (d. 1940)

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Today's featured picture

The Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra) is a rare and endangered species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It is endemic to the southern Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, where it resides in several types of forest, including degraded areas, as well as plantations. With a length of around 14 centimetres (5.5 inches), breeding males are olive brown, with a red head, breast and rump patch, and black lores. Females, non-breeding males and juveniles are olive brown with white wing bars and a brown bill. The bird feeds on insects such as grasshoppers, beetle larvae, caterpillars, and also spiders. Berries are eaten regularly by some individuals, and it feeds on nectar regularly, using its specialised brush-tipped tongue. This male Mauritius fody was photographed on the Île aux Aigrettes, an island off Mauritius's south-eastern coast.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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