Building Permit - City Of Beacon: Fill & Download for Free

No. Batman and Robin would have even more trouble in SF than Gotham.They would be chased out of the Mission for gentrifying the place.The Batmobie would be towed for blocking a driveway. Plus it's so not sustainable.The building department would red tag the bat cave for building permit violations.The bat beacon would be cited for operating without a permit. Environmentalists would sue them for not filing an EIR on the light pollution.The Telegraph Hill Dwellers association would accuse them of actually trying to do something good for the city.The Guardian and Weekly would run a weekly expose accusing them of being on the payroll of downtown banking interests.City Council would ban them if they thought it was the mayor's idea. The mayor would veto them if he thinks it was City Council's idea. Progressive members would urge a boycott for not having enough GLBTQQ representation.

It depends where you live and who lives in the building.This is the last building in the West End of Boston, an entire massive section of the city demolished for “urban renewal”. The only reason this building survived was because one of the Partriarca’s, the biggest crime family in Boston, lived there.In 1966 the concept of the National Historic Register became law, in no small part because of the outrage at the destruction of Penn Station in NYC but for decades, citizens had been seeking a tool to halt the wanton destruction of historic buildings for “progress”. Already in Boston, the entire West End community (where Leonard Nimoy grew up) had been bulldozed into rubble - an entire community. The residents were promised they would be allowed to move back when the new urban community was rebuilt. Guess what? They weren’t.This is Acorn Street, the oldest original street in America and the most photographed object in Boston.At the time the law went into effect in 1966, Boston was struggling with a kind of rebirth. Boston had become a moribund, ghost-city of swaths of ghetto with boarded up, abandoned buildings and drugs, race crime, poverty, block-busting, shilling and fires. For a while, Boston was the Arson Capital of the World with over 2500 fires in just 5 years. Turns out the arson ring was lead by the head of the State Police Arson Unit, a man named DeFuria.While all this was going on a heroic man by the name of Titus Sparrow was building a coalition of urban Blacks and suburban Whites to stop the I-95 Highway Corridor which was slated to make a superhighway right through the center of the city - in mostly Black neighborhoods. The government’s mistake was to equate all Blacks as equally worthless, but the highway was to cut through the South End, at the time, the wealthiest Black neighborhood in Boston, as it was the traditional home of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters who was always Black, unionized and had good jobs and pensions from the railroads. Sparrow made the first changes to the Interestate Highway Act of 1958 that halted construction of the highway through Boston and it’s “ghettoes”. A massive park in the South End, called the “Titus Sparrow Park” was made in the rubble and named after him.This is Titus Sparrow Park, literally built on the dynamited remains of schools, homes, hospitals and stores. Titus Sparrow was the first Black tennis umpire in America for the USTA but he saved an entire section of Boston from destruction - and doomed the commuters to gridlock forever.At the same time the National Historic Register made developers put a halt to whatever they were doing all over Boston until an investigation was made into the historical values of the buildings. What they were trying to do was stop the travesty of 20 story apartment complexes made of cheap concrete in the Brutalist style then popular on Beacon Street among the 100 year old Victorians and 200 year old Revolutionary War, Bullfinch mansions. Today, when you go down Beacon Street you can still see one of these monstrosities that was completed before the law. It’s like a melanoma on your belly. The famed architect Graham Gund bought the burned out Congregational Church of Beacon Hill (remember, Boston was the arson capital) and was going to put a massive tower there - but he was stopped. Instead, he built a park and garden in the ruins and a “form-follows-function” set of expensive condos that are beautifully integrated with the area.This is inside the sanctuary of the burned out Congregational Church. A 2BR apartment here is 4000 dollars a month. Parking extra.This is what it looks like from the outside.The new laws said that the facades of historic buildings could not be changed, not once screw, not one nail except for historic upkeep. The result was that there are many steps to places where there are no doors. Construction was stopped midstride. Buildings that had been stables could be converted to condos, but they had to retain their outer appearance. You can take a foot tour of Boston and see these stables that are now million-dollar condos. You can buildings that have steps but no doors. You can see the horse hitching rails and the boot scrapers - all things that would have been scrapped.This is the Old State House in Boston; the Boston Massacre occurred below the balcony; the Declaration of Independence was first read from this balcony to the throngs below. It was sold in the 1800s to a bunch of Chicago businessmen who planned to dismantle it and bring it to Chicago.Yes, you will need a permit, especially if you live in a historic building or a building that’s suspected of being historic. It’s a big deal to make any change at all to a historic building in Boston - and it should be. In the mid-1800s, a group of businessmen bought the Old State House where the Boston Massacre occurred and were going to dismantle it brick-by-brick and re-assemble it in Chicago. Outraged citizens had to raise an enormous pile of money to buy it back. Today it still is there - but it was saved only at enormous expense. Today, you cannot cavalierly decide to destroy history. You have to get a permit first. And it’s hard.

Answered in 22 May, 2019A2AIn the Song of Ice and Fire books, Tyrion and Sam Tarly have both read ‘Wonders Made by Man’- a compendium written by Lomas Longstrider, a famous traveller who records nine man-made wonders of the known world; Lomas’s second work seems to have recorded seven natural wonders.I will give a 2 part answer: first , there will be Wonders from Westeros, and further down- Wonders from Essos ..this way, the whole ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ Universe Wonders will be represented.Part 1.The most interesting Westerosi ‘wonders’, in my opinion, are:The Wall.The WALL is a colossal fortification stretching for 100 leagues (300 miles) along the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, separating the realm from the North Of The Wall( Real North)- a place where the Wildlings (and the White Walkers) live. The Wall is over 700 feet tall and it is made of solid ice.It is said that the wall was built 8,000 years before current timeline, with both magic (from Children of The Forest, Giants, others?) and mundane means , in the aftermath of the Long Night, when the realm fought against the White Walkers - a race that dwell in the far north, in The Land of Always Winter.The Wall is defended and held by the Sworn Brothers of the Night's Watch. The Wall has grown considerably since its conception- the Night's Watch has spent the years upgrading its defenses and augmenting its height with ice blocks .The WallHarrenhalHarrenhal is the largest castle in all of Westeros, though it is also the most ill-omened. It is located on the northern shore of the Gods Eye lake at the heart of the Riverlands, south of the River Trident and northwest of King's Landing.The castle was the home built by House Hoare to whitstand any ARMY. The construction lasted for years and was finished the day the Targaryens started their Conquest of Westeros.Lord Harren Hoare refused to yield to Ageon the Conqueror. Ageon flew his dragon Balerion the Black Dread, high above the clouds over Harrenhal. Descending in the black of night, Ageon set fire to the vast castle, killing Harren and his last sons in the fires that followed.The castle has five towers of dizzying size, with equally monstrous curtain walls. The walls are incredibly thick and its rooms are so huge that they seem built for giants than humans. With the exception of dragons, Harrenhall is built to withstand attacks from the most formidable armies in Westeros.Harrenhal has the largest chamber in Westeros, larger than the Red Keep's throne room. The Crown chose it as the location of the first Great Council because -not knowing how many would attend-wanted a hall for at least five hundred lords and their entourages; more than a thousand came. The castle covers three times as much ground as Winterfell .The HIGHTOWER of OldtownThe Hightower is a massive lighthouse located in Oldtown, the oldest city of Westeros. It serves as the seat of House Hightower.The foundation of the Hightower is a fortress of black stone of uncertain origin on Battle Isle. The stone is reminiscent of Valyrian roads and the Black Walls of Volantis. A possible Valyrian origin is supported by the claim of Maester Jellicoe that Oldtown began as a trading post for ships of Valyria, Old Ghis, and the Summer Isles, predating the arrival of the First Men to Westeros. Septon Barth claimed Valyrians came to Westeros because their priests prophesied that the Doom of Man would come out of the land beyond the narrow sea. In contrast to the Valyrian theory, Archmaester Quillion suggests the fortress was made by the mazemakers. Maester Theron suggests it was created by Deep Ones, citing its similarities to the Seastone Chair. Some smallfolk believe the Hightower simply appeared from the waters.The Citadel and its LibraryThe Library of the Citadel is the biggest library in all of Westeros- and the whole world. Therefore, the Citadel is the greatest repository of knowledge in the known world. In the novels, Jon Snow states that there are so many books in its library that "no man can hope to read them all."The headquarters of the Order of Maesters, the Citadel is a network of buildings located in the coastal city of Oldtown, the second largest city in the Seven Kingdoms. The Citadel lies on the Honeywine , where its towers and domes are connected with arching stone bridges. Houses and stalls sit on the bridges.The gates are flanked by a pair of tall green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles and the tails of serpents. One has the face of a man, the other a woman.The Order of Maesters itself came about through a man named Peremore Hightower in the Age of Heroes. Hightower was a contemporary of legendary figures like Bran the Builder, who helped to build both Winterfell and the Wall. He might have even been alive during the Long Night- the first invasion of the White Walkers. Each castle employs a Maester for their vast knowledge.The Fist of the First Men“The hill jutted above the dense tangle of forest, rising solitary and sudden, its windswept heights visible from miles off. The wildlings called it the Fist of the First Men, rangers said. It did look like a fist…punching up through earth and wood, its bare brown slopes knuckled with stone…the way up was steep and stony, the summit crowned by a chest-high wall of tumbled rocks. They had to circle some distance west before they found a gap large enough to admit the horses.”“..it was the ringwall that drew Jon’s eye, the weathered grey stones with their white patches of lichen, their beards of green moss. It was said that the Fist had been a ringfort of the First Men in the Dawn Age. “An old place, and strong…these heights will be easy to defend, if need be.”JON IV, ACOKThe Fist of the First Men isn’t just a natural feature – it’s been built as a defensive structure. If it does indeed date back to the Dawn Age, that means it predates the Pact of the Isle of Faces (which ended the Dawn Age) and indeed, the Long Night …and the construction of Winterfell and the Wall. Given its location this far north, this close to a “haunted forest” and the Land of Always Winter, I think that this is a forward observation post, a way for humanity to give an early warning signal against the Others(White Walkers) and the Outside.The Fist has got a strong ring-fort at the summit, but (as the Night’s Watch will find out) it doesn’t have any place to fall back to once the ring falls . It is still a high vantage point- which would be difficult for normal humans to attack ( but the Others have pale spiders that can climb sheer surfaces …which negates that).Whatever purpose The Fist of the First Men was intended for originally, it is still an impressive and very old structure - one of the few remnants of the ages beyond any memory or legend.The castle of Casterly RockOne of the most formidable and well-defended castles in all of Westeros , the castle of Casterly Rock is carved out of a hillside of solid rock.It is located on the west coast of the continent, just north of the city of Lannisport. It is considered to be the second largest castle in the land - the largest being Harrenhal. The castle originally belonged to the extinct Casterly family. Legends say that Lann the Clever, believed to be the Lannisters' ancestor, tricked the Casterlys into leaving their castle and then claimed it as his own.The castle consists of fortifications built into and on top of the Rock, but the most splendid parts are actually located within the Rock itself, beneath the visible castle. Additional catacombs, dungeons and redoubts are built deep into the bowels of the formation, since Casterly Rock is also the Lannisters' primary mine – this is in fact the reason for all the semi-subterranean construction, as mines were converted into parts of the castle as their wealth was extracted. Casterly Rock's main entrance is the heavily-defended Lion's Mouth.Winterfell and its GardensFor thousands of years, Winterfell stood as the capital of the North and the seat of power of House Stark. Until Aegon the Conqueror arrived and made them Wardens of Westeros’ largest kingdom, they ruled there as the Kings of Winter. Said to have been built by the legendary figure and the family’s founder, Bran the Builder, the Starks’ home remains one of the oldest and most important castles in all of Westeros.Located near the center of the North, Winterfell is surrounded by two walls:an 80-foot outer wall and a 100-foot inner one. Winterfell is more than just a castle, though. It’s a huge complex covering numerous acres, and (among its many sections) are multiple courtyards, a large underground crypt, and an ancient godswood that remains as it did 10,000 years ago.Legend says that the larger-than-life figure from the Age of Heroes, Bran the Builder, the mythical founder of House Stark, built Winterfell after the living defeated the dead during the first Long Night. (That was believed to have happened roughly 8,000 years ago….and that’s 2,000 years before the Andals came to the Realm).Winterfell is built on top of natural hot springs, which keeps it warm during cold winter. The Great Keep stands on top of these hot springs, and hot water is piped throughout the keep, the other buildings and also the castle’s walls.The hot springs which keep the castle reasonably well-heated are also allowing for food to be grown in the greenhouses- this is especially useful during the long winters. In the greenhouses of Winterfell grows the famous Blue Rose that is so significant in Lyanna Stark’s story (and of her ancestor Stark female).The Eyrie and the Gates of the Moon*The Eyrie by Leon Tukker Game of thrones redesign - The EyrieThe Eyrie is the ancestral seat of House Arryn, who have ruled the Vale since the Andal Invasion. It is situated in the Mountains of the Moon, astride the peak known as the Giant's Lance, several thousand feet above the valley below.Although small compared to the seats of other Great Houses in Westeros, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to attack.A notable feature are its Moon Cells- cells that have a slight downward angle and are open to the abyss below. Sleep in the Moon Cells is perilous- see Tyrion’s imprisonment.Gates of the MoonThe Gates of the Moon is a castle at the foot of the Giant's Lance in the heart of the Vale. Wedged within a mountain pass, it features formidable defenses that have historically protected the Vale from invaders.The Gates of ther Moon castle is larger than the Eyrie, and in the winter, it serves as the residence of the main branch of House Arryn.The Water Gardens of DorneThe Water Gardens is a palace of many gardens and waterworks that serves as a private residence to House Martell of Sunspear, the rulers of Dorne. It is located on the coast a short distance down the road from Sunspear itself.Pale pink marble paves the gardens and courtyard. Terraces overlooking the numerous pools and fountains of the Water Gardens, shaded by blood orange trees, can be reached via a fluted pillar gallery leading to a triple archway.A few ‘magical locations’ :The North GroveThe North Grove is a protected area north of the Wall inhabited by the bastard children of Lord Gregor Forrester. The wildlings have heard stories about it, about a "forest within a forest". Gregor Forrester, Josera Snow, Elsera Snow, Duncan Tuttle, Gared Tuttle, Rodrik Forrester, Cotter and Sylvi are the only people in Westeros so far to know that the North Grove truly exists. Most inhabitants of the North believe it is only a story.Gared Tuttle: "What is this place?"Elsera Snow: "A refuge against the forces of darkness during the Long Night. A place of great power to those who know how to use it."— Elsera Snow describes the North Grove to Gared TuttleJon Snow told Gared that the North Grove was mentioned in one of Old Nan's stories. Finn said it's a witch's den where they turn children into giants. Theories say it is just a keep full of Ironwood in case of emergency, whereas other theories say that there is an ice dragon inside. But as it is said, what is in the North Grove is unknown, but it has an important role in the future of House Forrester. The North Grove is also protected by an army of wildling warriors, that are implied to be undead and controlled by Elsera (the **bastard** daughter of Lord Gregor Forrester ) with blood magic.Dragonstone and The Painted TableThe birthplace of Daenerys Targaryen, Dragonstone is an intimidating castle simply to behold, much less to lay siege. Dragonstone's formidable structure can be attributed to the Valyrians who built it, using stonemasonry, fire, and ancient sorcery.Its primary function is as a stronghold and military base, rather than a political seat, and as thus was built with the intention of being garrisoned to withstand sieges and defending against raids. Its isolated position also makes Dragonstone a difficult location to reach, leaving any attacking forces depleted by the time they arrive.The Painted Table is a large carved table depicting Westeros. It is located in the **Chamber of the Painted Table**, a round room on the top floor of the Stone Drum in Dragonstone with four tall windows, overlooking the north, south, east and west.The PykeMost maesters would agree that the oldest castle in Westeros is Pyke. The castle is so ancient that no one can say with certainty when it was built, nor the name of the lord who built it. Like the Seastone chair, its origins are lost in mystery. The Pyke is a castle located on the island of the same name, which is one of the eight major Iron Islands.*Pyke by Feliche Feliche on DeviantArtAncient Pyke was originally built on a cliff jutting out into the sea, but over time the cliff has eroded, leaving the castle's keeps and towers standing on three barren islands and a dozen small stacks of rock, surrounded by water. The towers are connected by swaying rope bridges. The keep, its towers, and walls are made of the same grey-black stone of which the rest of the island is composed. In the thousands of years the castle has stood, it has become covered with green lichen.Part 2.Essos wonders that are highly interesting--in the ASOIAF world:The Titan of Braavos.The Titan of Braavos is a fortress in the shape of a massive statue that guards the harbor entrance to Braavos. It stands nearly 400 feet tall. The feet of the statue lie on two separate islands, including Sellagoro's Shield. Each foot is set upon a mountain. The legs and lower torso were originally a natural black archway. The colossus’s upper body is made of bronze. There are arrow slits that puncture its bronze breastplate. One hand rests on the top of a ridge and the other hand is thrust into the air, holding the hilt of a broken sword. The Titan's head has green-dyed hempen rope for hair. In its eyes burn large beacon fires, lighting the way back inside the lagoon for returning ships. The Titan's hips are encased in an armored skirt of a green bronze hue, the bottom covered in murder holes.Enemy ships can be steered onto the rocks by the watchmen inside the Titan, and stones and pots of burning pitch can be dropped onto the decks of any that attempt to pass between the Titan's legs without permission. However, this has seldom been necessary; since the Century of Blood there haven’t been attempts to conquer Braavos.Titan of BraavosThe Palace With A Thousand Rooms in Sarnath of The Tall Towers/Vaes Khewo (now in ruins- after the city was destroyed by the Dothraki).Built upon the edge of the River Sarne, Sarnath sits upon the road that travels from Qohor to the Steel Road that passes the Bone Mountains. Rathylar was to west and the trading behemoth of Kasath -to the east.As the Capital of the Kingdom of Sarnor, Sarnath was ruled by the High-King, Mezo Alexi, from The Palace With a Thousand Rooms - the largest palace West of the Bone Mountains. With a room for every servant, slave, noble, emissary and high merchant, all who served the High-King of Sarnor were welcomed into the royal home of Mezo Alexi. It was built with heavy blocks of marble and emblazoned with gold and the finest gems found in the known world. The tiled floors were lined with liquid silver, sealing the marble together, so the floors sparkled and radiated great wealth as the embers of torchlight created a shiny gloss as any man walked upon them.The Five FortsThe Five Forts are a series of immense fortifications along the northeastern border of Yi Ti - a line of massive citadels, large enough to house 10,000 men each. The forts' walls are slabs of fused black stone almost a thousand feet high. .The Five Forts’ walls are thought ot be Valyrian in origin (as fused stone is usually obtained by burning stones with dragonfire), although there is no record of Valyrians having visited the area- and the Forts predate the rise of the Valyrian Freehold by quite some time.. The forts also predate the Golden Empire of Yi Ti ( a realm located in the Further East of Essos). Some suggest they were built by the Pearl Emperor at the time of the Great Empire of the Dawn to defend against the demons of the Lion of Night .The Valyrian roads.In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Valyrian roads (also known as the "dragon roads") are broad stone highways that were built when the Valyrians ruled Essos. The roads are straight and usually connect economic centres, which allows for swift transport of goods. The dragonlords of Valyria used dragonfire (Dragonflame) to fuse stone and make such roads.During one stop, he used the time to have a closer look at the road. Tyrion knew what he would find: not packed earth, nor bricks, nor cobbles, but a ribbon of fused stone raised a half foot above the ground to allow rainfall and snowmelt to run off its shoulders. Unlike the muddy tracks that passed for roads in the Seven Kingdoms, the Valyrian roads were wide enough for three wagons to pass abreast, and neither time nor traffic marred them. They still endured, unchanging, four centuries after Valyria itself had met its Doom. He looked for ruts and cracks but found only a pile of warm dung deposited by one of the horses.- A Dance with Dragons - Tyrion II.The Great Pyramid of GHIS.The Great Pyramid of Ghis is located in Old Ghis- a ruined city, on the southern coast of Essos. It was once the ancient capital of the Ghiscari Empire, but was destroyed by the Valyrian Freehold with the use of dragons. The Great Pyramid of Ghis had thirty-three levels, a number considered sacred to the gods of Ghis, and was eight hundred feet tall. It had red marble halls.Ghis was destroyed by the Valyrian Freehold during the fifth and final war between the Freehold and the Empire. The Valyrians marched on the city and obliterated it. Only the colossal ruins of the pyramid remain. It is now the haunt of bats and spiders.The Great Pyramid of Meereen.The Great Pyramid of Meereen is 800 feet tall (243,84 meters), from its huge square base to the lofty apex. This is the largest building in the city of Meereen. A huge bronze harpy once stood at the apex. It is said a thousand slaves died during its construction.The Great Pyramid had been built as an echo of the Great Pyramid of Ghis. Like its ancient predecessor, the Meereen Pyramid has thirty three levels, a number chosen intentionally, since it is considered sacred to the gods of the Ghiscari religion. The walls in the hearth of the pyramid are eight feet thick. The outer walls are thirty feet thick (9.14 meters).The three bells of Norvos: Noom, Narrah, and Nyel.Norvos's three bells govern every aspect of the lives of those in the city. The bells tell the Norvoshi when to rise, sleep, work, rest, when to take arms, when to pray, and when they are permitted to have carnal relations. Each bell has its own distinctive 'voice' and name:-Noom, with a deep sound-Narrah, with a strong sound-Nyel, with a higher pitched sound.The triple walls of Qarth.Qarth is defended by immense stone walls and strong gates, and the Qartheen have been known to bar entry to the city to those who do not meet their approval. Qarth is surrounded by three thick walls of thirty, forty, and fifty feet in height, respectively engraved with portraits of animals, war, and lovemaking.Long Bridge of Volantis- the longest bridge in the world.The Long Bridge is a great structure located in the Free City of Volantis. It is a bridge spanning the mouth of the immense Rhoyne River just before it spills into the Summer Sea.The bridge is so large that it is covered in rows of multi-level buildings, taverns, brothels, and marketplaces, forming a small neighborhood of the city unto itself.****NA: What a great question- and a brilliant idea! Thank you for it.