Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940).
91-640: The Greenwich Avenue Historic District is a historic district representing the commercial and civic historical development of the downtown area of the town of Greenwich, Connecticut . The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1989. Included in the district is the Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District , which was listed on the National Register
182-507: A Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), and the historic commission or architectural review board may decide upon the changes. The COA process is carried out with all aspects of due process, with formal notification, hearings, and fair and informed decision-making. According to the National Park Service, historic districts are one of the oldest forms of protection for historic properties. The city of Charleston, South Carolina
273-508: A Fawcett staffer in 1927 after doing some spot illustrations for Fawcett editor Weston "Westy" Farmer, and Saunders' first cover illustration was for the August 1929 issue of Modern Mechanics and Inventions . He continued to do covers for Fawcett into the 1930s, and when Fawcett opened Manhattan offices in 1934, Saunders and other staffers relocated to New York. Larry Eisinger, the workshop and science editor of Mechanix Illustrated , spearheaded
364-444: A State Historic Preservation Office, not all states must have a "state historic district" designation. As of 2004, for example, the state of North Carolina had no such designation. Local historic districts usually enjoy the greatest level of protection legally from any threats that may compromise their historic integrity because many land-use decisions are made at the local level. There are more than 2,300 local historic districts in
455-774: A bank account of $ 100 when his wife handed him a telegram from literary agent Scott Meredith on July 7, 1950 indicating his first sale. Although Prather's first novel was unsold, Gold Medal liked his second novel and his Shell Scott character enough to offer a four-book contract, and Prather's Case of the Vanishing Beauty soon set sales records. In 1950, Bruno Fischer's House of Flesh sold 1,800,212 copies. In 1951, Charles Williams' Hill Girl sold 1,226,890 copies, Gil Brewer's 13 French Street sold 1,200,365 and Cassidy's Girl by David Goodis sold 1,036,497. Authors were attracted to Gold Medal because royalties were based on print runs rather than actual sales, and they received
546-610: A borrowed typewriter and peddled around Minneapolis by Captain Billy and his four sons. However, in Captain Billy's version, he stated that when he began publishing in October 1919, he ordered a print run of 5,000 copies because of the discount on a large order compared with rates for only several hundred copies. Distributing free copies of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang to wounded veterans and his Minnesota friends, he then circulated
637-560: A common law trademark using the domain name, FawcettBooks.com, which directs to the Penguin corporate webpage. In 1987, Fawcett senior executive Peter G. Diamandis and a management team negotiated a $ 650 million leveraged buy out, then sold six titles to raise $ 250 million. Diamandis Communications, Inc. was then sold the next year to Hachette Publications for $ 712 million. An annual four-day festival held in Robbinsdale, Minnesota ,
728-512: A federal designation, such as granting qualifications and tax incentives. In addition, the property can become protected under specific state laws. The laws can be similar or different from the federal guidelines that govern the National Register. A state listing of a historic district on a "State Register of Historic Places", usually by the State Historic Preservation Office , can be an "honorary status", much like
819-400: A group of buildings, archaeological resources, or other properties as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects, and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts vary greatly in size and composition: a historic district could comprise an entire neighborhood with hundreds of buildings, or
910-625: A guy got fired! In 1952, when their contract with NAL expired, Fawcett immediately began doing reprints through several imprints. Red Seal started April 1952 and published 22 titles before it folded a year later. Launched September 1955, Premier Books offered non-fiction titles, such as The Art of Thinking by Ernest Dimnet . Crest Books, which also premiered in September 1955, spanned all genres with an emphasis on Westerns and humor, including Best Cartoons from True and Lester Grady's Best from Captain Billy's Whiz Bang , and one successful Crest title
1001-596: A historic district per U.S. federal law , last revised in 2004. According to the Register definition, a historic district is: a geographically definable area, urban or rural, possessing a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united by past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development. A district may also comprise individual elements separated geographically but linked by association or history. Districts established under U.S. federal guidelines generally begin
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#17327976269221092-502: A long pulp novelette. My agent, Joe Shaw , asked me to expand it. I resisted, but complied. I hate puffing things. Cutting is fine. Everything can use cutting. But puffing creates fat. Gold Medal took it for their new line of originals. It was titled The Brass Cupcake ." Numbered as Gold Medal 124, The Brass Cupcake was John D. MacDonald's first novel. Gold Medal 129 was an unusual graphic novel experiment, John Millard's Mansion of Evil , an original color comic book story packaged as
1183-402: A mass market paperback list with such authors as William Bernhardt , Amanda Cross , Stephen Frey , P. D. James , William X. Kienzle , Anne Perry , Daniel Silva , Peter Straub and Margaret Truman . Fawcett also became the official home of Ballantine's mass market mystery program. The imprint stopped being used on new books at the beginning of the 21st century. The Fawcett imprint is still
1274-544: A mesh of structures, streets, open space, and landscaping to define a historic district's character. As early as 1981, the National Trust for Historic Preservation identified 882 American cities and towns that had some form of "historic district zoning " in place--local laws meant specifically to protect historic districts. Before 1966, historic preservation in the United States was in its infancy. That year
1365-581: A month for three months. That launched the series." After his retirement in 1972, Daigh recalled, "From our entrance into the paperback business, we paid authors at a more generous rate than had been the custom. In 1955, when we started the Crest line to reprint hardcover books, we extended this practice to what we offered for softcover rights. It caused quite a sensation in the trade when we paid $ 101,505 for James Gould Cozzens ' By Love Possessed and later $ 700,000 for James A. Michener 's The Source . Giving
1456-487: A nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime novel hidden in the corncrib? Is he starting to memorize jokes from Captain Billy's Whiz Bang ?" The publication, delivered in a 64-page, saddle-stitched, digest-sized format, soon saw a dramatic increase in sales. By 1923, the magazine had a circulation of 425,000 with $ 500,000 annual profits. With the rising readership of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang , Fawcett racked up more sales with Whiz Bang annuals, and in 1926, he launched
1547-578: A paperback. Other 1950 Gold Medal originals included the Western Stretch Dawson by William R. Burnett and three mystery-adventure novels – Nude in Mink by Sax Rohmer , I'll Find You by Richard Himmel. After Donald E. Keyhoe 's article "Flying Saucers Are Real" in True (January 1950) created a sold-out sensation, with True going back to press for another print run, Keyhoe expanded
1638-514: A price per square foot basis increased in value significantly more than non-designated properties. The original concept of an American historic district was a protective area surrounding more important, individual historic sites. As the field of historic preservation progressed, those involved came to realize that the structures acting as "buffer zones" were key elements of the historical integrity of larger landmark sites. Preservationists believed that districts should be more encompassing, blending
1729-409: A quarter million. So they bring out a quarter of a million at the wrong time, cause books sell great at Christmas time, but my book came out between Christmas and New Year, which is death, and it went straight to the top, because it was word of mouth, and it's sold out, and Fawcett says get the rest of them out, and the guy says there aren't any more and Roscoe says whaddaya mean, I ordered a million, and
1820-456: A separate process unrelated to zoning. Local historic districts are identified by surveying historic resources and delineating appropriate boundaries that comply with all aspects of due process . Depending on local ordinances or state law, property owners' permission may be required; however, all owners are to be notified and allowed to share their opinions. Most local historic districts are constricted by design guidelines that control changes to
1911-699: A similar publication, Smokehouse Monthly . The popularity of Whiz Bang peaked during the 1920s. It continued into the 1930s, but circulation slowed as readers graduated to the more sophisticated humor of Esquire , founded in 1933. It had an influence on many other digest-sized cartoon humor publications, including Charley Jones Laugh Book , which was still being published during the 1950s. In some issues of Whiz Bang , Captain Billy wrote about his vacations in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Paris, along with items about his celebrity friends, including Jack Dempsey , Sinclair Lewis , and Ring Lardner . During
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#17327976269222002-530: A smaller area with just one or a few resources. Historic districts can be created by federal, state, or local governments . At the federal level, they are designated by the National Park Service and listed on the National Register of Historic Places ; this is a largely honorary designation that does not restrict what property owners may do with a property. State -level historic districts usually do not include restrictions, though this depends on
2093-423: A specific definition in relation to the National Register. All but the eponymous district category are also applied to historic districts listed on the National Register. A listing on the National Register of Historic Places is a governmental acknowledgment of a historic district. However, the Register is "an honorary status with some federal financial incentives." The National Register of Historic Places defines
2184-433: A violation of the contract. In order to test a loophole in the contract, Fawcett published two anthologies – The Best of True Magazine and What Today's Woman Should Know About Marriage and Sex – reprinting material from Fawcett magazines not previously published in books. When these books successfully sailed through the contract loophole, Fawcett announced Gold Medal Books , their line of paperback originals. It
2275-512: A win-win thing for them, but they have to get it published in hardback, so they go to Dutton and say if you print this, we'll do the paperback. So now it's win-win-win, and they offer me $ 250, and I say no, I need a thousand dollars to build a house in Newburgh , so I get a $ 1,000 advance, which was unheard of. So Roscoe ordered a million copies, and that was unheard of! So somebody in his outfit says, oh, that wasn't what he meant, he must've meant
2366-482: A writing career. Her best-selling 1958 novel, The Best of Everything , obviously drawn from her experiences at Fawcett and Gold Medal, was adapted for a 1959 film and a 1970 TV series. At the time of Jaffe's departure from Fawcett in 1955, the new associate editor who stepped in was Leona Nevler, formerly with Little, Brown but best known in 1950s publishing circles as the person who saw the potential of Grace Metalious ' best-selling Peyton Place after picking it from
2457-590: A year, he was replaced by William Charles Lengel (1888–1965), a veteran magazine editor, agent, short story author and novelist ( Forever and Ever , Candles in the Wind ). In February 1951, former Hollywood story editor Richard Carroll signed on as an editor with Gold Medal. Carroll was once described as "the Maxwell Perkins of Gold Medal." Another early Gold Medal editor was former literary agent Knox Burger , who recalled, "Through its Gold Medal series, Fawcett
2548-405: Is artificially restricted and the supply of new housing permanently capped in area so designated as 'historic'. Critics of historic districts argue that while these districts may offer an aesthetic or visually pleasing benefit, they increase inequality by restricting access to new and affordable housing for lower and middle class tenants and potential home owners. Housing advocates have argued that
2639-407: Is credited with beginning the modern-day historic districts movement. In 1931, Charleston enacted an ordinance which designated an "Old and Historic District" administered by a Board of Architectural Review. Charleston's early ordinance reflected the strong protection that local historic districts often enjoy under local law. It asserted that no alteration could be made to any architectural features
2730-471: Is little more than recognition by the government that the resource is worthy of preservation. Generally, the criteria for acceptance to the National Register are applied consistently, but there are considerations for exceptions to the criteria, and historic districts influence some of those exceptions. Usually, the National Register does not list religious structures, moved structures, reconstructed structures, or properties that have achieved significance within
2821-488: Is not involved, then the listing on the National Register provides the site , property or district no protections. For example, if company A wants to tear down the hypothetical Smith House and company A is under contract with the state government of Illinois, then the federal designation would offer no protections. If, however, company A was under federal contract, the Smith House would be protected. A federal designation
Greenwich Avenue Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-584: The Civil War on previously vacant farmland. Around the area of public buildings, intensive development of commercial as well as residential areas was also taking place. The rapid development of public buildings in the borough was aided by the development of railroad and steamboat service, allowing people to work in New York City while living in Greenwich. Several wealth New York capitalists spurred
3003-560: The U.S. Conference of Mayors penned an influential report which concluded, in part, that Americans suffered from a sense of "rootlessness." They recommended historic preservation to help give Americans a sense of orientation. The creation of the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, on the heels of the report, helped instill that sense of orientation the mayors sought. The mayors also recommended that any historic preservation program not focus solely on individual properties but also on "areas and districts which contain special meaning for
3094-696: The 1930s, Fawcett and his sons established a line of magazines which eventually reached a combined circulation of ten million a month in newsstand sales. True Confessions alone had a circulation of two million a month. However, during the World War II paper shortages Fawcett folded 49 magazines and kept only 14. Magazines published by Fawcett over the decades included Battle Stories , Cavalier , Daring Detective , Dynamic Detective , Family Circle , Hollywood , Motion Picture , Movie Story , Rudder (later merged with Sea ), Screen Secrets , Secrets , Triple-X Western and True . Woman's Day , added to
3185-516: The 1950s, along with a major lawsuit ( National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications ), resulted in Fawcett folding its line of comic books. Lash Larue , Nyoka , Strange Suspense Stories and other titles were sold to Charlton Comics . In 1972, DC Comics (by then a subsidiary of Warner Brothers as it is today) licensed Captain Marvel, featuring him in new stories. In 1991, DC purchased
3276-682: The Jungle Girl and Spy Smasher (who became Crime Smasher after World War II). The circulation of Captain Marvel Adventures continued to soar until it outsold Superman during the mid-1940s. Captain Marvel Jr. had such an impact on Elvis Presley that he borrowed the character's poses, hairstyle and lightning flash chest insignia, as described in Elaine Dundy 's biography, Elvis and Gladys . A declining comics market in
3367-488: The Jury and turned it in to E. P. Dutton . It had been rejected by four different publishers, saying no, no, this is too violent, too dirty ... and it was picked up by Roscoe Fawcett, Fawcett Publications. He was a distributor, doing comic books, but he saw the potential, and he went to New American Library , which was Signet Books, and he said "If you print this book, I'll distribute it." Now they can't get distribution, so it's
3458-470: The National Register of Historic Places. If such an objection occurred, then the nomination would become a determination of National Register eligibility only. This provision is controversial because of the presumption that owners who do not file a formal objection support the designation, placing the burden on opponents. Most U.S. state governments have a listing similar to the National Register of Historic Places. State listings can have similar benefits to
3549-669: The National Register. For example, in Nevada , listing in the State Register places no limits on property owners. In contrast, state law in Tennessee requires that property owners within historic districts follow a strict set of guidelines from the U.S. Department of Interior when altering their properties. Though, according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, all states must have
3640-424: The United States is primarily based on arguments that such laws creating such districts restrict the supply of affordable housing, and thus the result of such districts is that of enforcing caste structures and class divisions by region and segments of urban areas. Several historic districts have been proposed not for a true preservation purpose but to prevent development. The issue of local historic districts and
3731-425: The United States. Local historic districts can be administered at the county or the municipal level; both entities are involved in land use decisions. The specific legal mechanism by which historic districts are enacted and regulated varies from one state to the next. In some areas, they are a component of zoning (where they are sometimes referred to as "overlay districts." In other places, they are created under
Greenwich Avenue Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-668: The Vieux Carré Commission and authorizing it to act to maintain the historic character of the city's French Quarter . Other localities picked up on the concept, with the city of Philadelphia enacting its historic preservation ordinance in 1955. The regulatory authority of local commissions and historic districts has been consistently upheld as a legitimate use of government police power, most notably in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York (1978). The Supreme Court case validated
3913-619: The age of 86 in Brainerd, Minnesota . One of his sons, Roscoe Fawcett Jr., became the publisher of American Fitness magazine. Born in Minneapolis in 1912, Gordon Fawcett graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1934. He married Vivian Peterson in 1935 and moved to Los Angeles where he was Fawcett Publications' office manager. He held the title of secretary-treasurer when the company moved to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1940, and he
4004-429: The article into a top-selling paperback, The Flying Saucers Are Real , published by Fawcett that same year. Sales soared, prompting Ralph Daigh to comment, "In the past six months we have produced 9,020,645 books, and people seem to like them very well." However, hardcover publishers resented Roscoe Fawcett's innovation, as evidenced by Doubleday 's LeBaron R. Barker, who claimed that paperback originals could "undermine
4095-454: The author a bigger share of the pie paid off handsomely. However, I gather that the practice has been overdone in recent years and has led to some of the book industry's current troubles." Captain Billy and Claire Fawcett had four sons and a daughter: Roger (died 1979), Wilford (died 1970), Marion Claire, Gordon Wesley and the youngest, Roscoe. As a boy, Roscoe Kent Fawcett (February 7, 1913 – December 23, 1999) attended Minneapolis schools and
4186-542: The community." Local, state, and federal historic districts now account for thousands of historical property listings at all levels of government. Fawcett Publications It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine Captain Billy's Whiz Bang and expanded into a magazine empire with the first issue of Mechanix Illustrated in the 1920s, followed by numerous titles including True Confessions , Family Circle , Woman's Day , and True . Fawcett Comics , which began operating in 1939, led to
4277-603: The decline of morality and the flaunting of sexual immodesty; to others it signified an increase in openness. For much of the 1920s, Captain Billy’s was the most prominent comic magazine in America with its mix of racy poetry and naughty jokes and puns, aimed at a small-town audience with pretensions of "sophistication". Captain Billy's Whiz Bang has been immortalized in the lyrics to the song "Ya Got Trouble" from Meredith Willson 's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man : "Is there
4368-421: The designation process through a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the official recognition by the U.S. government of cultural resources worthy of preservation. While designation through the National Register does offer a district or property some protections, it is only in cases where the threatening action involves the federal government . If the federal government
4459-518: The early 1960s, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series got underway after Knox Burger contacted MacDonald: "At the request of Knox Burger, then at Fawcett, I attempted a series character. I took three shots at it to get one book with a character I could stay with. That was in 1964. Once I had the first McGee book, The Deep Blue Good-by , they held it up until I had finished two more, Nightmare in Pink and A Purple Place for Dying , then released one
4550-459: The end of 1972. After the huge growth during the early 1930s, Fawcett Publications relocated its offices to both New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut in 1940. Corporate headquarters was in Greenwich, and the book publishing division, known as Fawcett World Library, operated out of New York City, at 67 West 44th Street. Wilford Fawcett's sons continued the expansion of the company after their father's death on February 7, 1940. That same month
4641-462: The entire Marvel Family and related characters outright. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1945, the company negotiated a contract with New American Library to distribute their Mentor and Signet titles. This contract prohibited Fawcett from becoming a competitor by publishing their own paperback reprints. In 1949, Roscoe Fawcett wanted to establish a line of Fawcett paperbacks, and he felt original paperbacks would not be
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#17327976269224732-423: The entire royalty instead of a 50-50 split with a hardback publisher. Gold Medal paid a $ 2000 advance on an initial print run was for 200,000 copies. When a print run increased to 300,000, the advance was $ 3000. Mickey Spillane 's I, the Jury paperback bestseller got a huge boost from Fawcett, as Spillane explained to interviewer Michael Carlson: Now at that time you had to go through hardback. So I wrote I,
4823-461: The growing residential community around the intersection of Greenwich Avenue and Putnam Avenue, including what is now the Fourth Ward . Sidewalks, kerosene street lighting, and sewer and water lines were in place by 1882. In the early 20th-century, Greenwich Avenue was paved and a streetcar line was established. Many houses that were already on Greenwich Avenue were moved to residential areas on
4914-413: The historic and architectural significance of the area. The district is bounded to include historic commercial and civic buildings that are associated to the rapid development of the borough of Greenwich in the period 1860 to 1940, and to exclude primarily residential areas as well as modern commercial construction. The Greenwich Avenue Historic District is representative of the architectural diversity that
5005-528: The historic designation process has in many places been hijacked by NIMBY homeowners to block housing. The first U.S. historic district was established in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931, predating the U.S. federal government designation by more than three decades. Charleston city government designated an "Old and Historic District" by local ordinance and created a board of architectural review to oversee it. New Orleans followed in 1937, establishing
5096-627: The impact on property values concerns many homeowners. The effects have been extensively studied using multiple methodologies, including before-and-after analysis and evaluating comparable neighborhoods with and without local designation status. Independent researchers have conducted factual analysis in several states, including New Jersey, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Colorado, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and elsewhere. As stated by economist Donovan Rypkema, "the results of these studies are remarkably consistent: property values in local historic districts appreciate significantly faster than
5187-532: The introduction of Captain Marvel . The company became a publisher of paperbacks in 1950 with the opening of Gold Medal Books . In 1953, the company abandoned its roster of superhero comic characters in the wake of declining sales and a lawsuit for infringement by the Captain Marvel character on the copyright of the Action Comics character Superman , and ended its publication of comic books. It
5278-406: The last 50 years. However, if a property falls into one of those categories and are " integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria", then an exception allowing their listing will be made. Historic district listings, like all National Register nominations, can be rejected based on owner disapproval. In the case of historic districts, a majority of owners must object to nullify a nomination to
5369-480: The line-up in 1948, had a circulation of 6,500,000 by 1965. The flagship of Fawcett magazines was Mechanix Illustrated . It began in the 1920s as Modern Mechanics and Inventions , was retitled Modern Mechanix and Inventions , shortened to Modern Mechanix and then altered to Mechanix Illustrated before it became Home Mechanix in 1984. Acquired by Time Inc., it was retitled yet again to become Today's Homeowner in 1993. The illustrator Norman Saunders became
5460-479: The main thoroughfare of Downtown Greenwich, between U.S. Route 1 and the New Haven Line railroad tracks. The town of Greenwich was first settled in 1640, but settlement was scattered among several villages. It was not until 1665 that Greenwich was formally incorporated as a town of Connecticut. In 1672, a group of settlers bought a tract of land known as Miossehasseky. The area occupied by Havemeyer Fields
5551-482: The market as a whole in the vast majority of cases and appreciate at rates equivalent to the market in the worst case. Simply put – historic districts enhance property values." In a 2011 study Connecticut Local Historic Districts and Property Values , it was found that "property values in every local historic district saw average increases in value ranging from 4% to over 19% per year." Similarly, in New York City between 1980 and 2000, local historic district properties on
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#17327976269225642-567: The mid-19th century, transforming from a farming village to a wealth suburban community of New York City , mainly as a result of the establishment by the New Haven Railroad of a station at the lower part of Greenwich Avenue. This rapid growth prompted the incorporation of Horseneck as the Borough of Greenwich in 1854. The establishment of borough government ultimately allowed for the rapid construction of new public buildings after
5733-409: The national "do-it-yourself" movement as the editor-in-chief of Fawcett's How-To book series and special interest magazines. He created Fawcett's Mechanix Illustrated Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia and The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia , which had combined sales of almost 20 million copies. In 1959 Electronics Illustrated was created for the hobbyist. It was merged into Mechanix Illustrated at
5824-737: The north residential area is included in the Fourth Ward Historic District . In the south are the railroad tracks of the New Haven Line, the Connecticut Turnpike , and Greenwich Harbor . The historic district covers a total area of 86 acres. Of this area, 21.6 acres are part of the Municipal Center district, with 16.8 acres of that occupied by Havemeyer Field. There are 152 buildings in the district, of which 124 are listed as contributing to
5915-459: The north side of Putnam Avenue, the north side of Lewis Street, the south side of Bruce Park, and the north side of Railroad Avenue. There are two specific exclusions along Greenwich Avenue that contain modern buildings. The first is half a block on the east side just south of Putnam Avenue. The second is the east side of the intersection with Fawcett Place. The north, east, and west sides of the district are flanked by residential neighborhoods. Part of
6006-502: The north to the New Haven Line tracks in the south. The district has an east–west bulge near its center where the Greenwich Municipal Center district is located. The bulge extends east along both sides of Havemeyer Place up to Millbank Street, and west across Havemeyer Field to Field Point Road, where the current Town Hall is located. The district is also drawn to include commercial blocks off Greenwich Avenue along
6097-443: The notion to get into publishing. His bawdy cartoon and joke magazine , Captain Billy's Whiz Bang , became the launchpad for a vast publishing empire embracing magazines, comic books , and paperback books . The title Captain Billy's Whiz Bang combined Fawcett's military moniker with the nickname of a destructive World War I artillery shell. According to one account, the earliest issues were mimeographed pamphlets, typed on
6188-524: The parallel side streets to make way for commercial blocks. Commercial development continued to boom in the 1920s, helped in part by the electrification and four-tracking of the New Haven Railroad line. The borough had dominated the civic life of the entire town of Greenwich by this time and the borough and town governments were eventually consolidated in 1932 resulting in the modern town government of Greenwich. The last open lot on Greenwich Avenue
6279-467: The properties included in the district. Many local commissions adopt specific guidelines for each neighborhood's " tout ensemble " although some smaller commissions rely on the Secretary of Interior Standards. For most minor changes, homeowners can consult with local preservation staff at the municipal office and receive guidance and permission. Significant changes, however, require homeowners to apply for
6370-435: The property owner's consent or compensation for the historic overlay. Historic districts are generally two types of properties, contributing and non-contributing. Broadly defined, a contributing property is any property, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make a historic district, listed locally or federally, significant. Different entities, usually governmental, at both
6461-516: The protection of historic resources as "an entirely permissible governmental goal." In 1966, the federal government created the National Register of Historic Places, soon after a report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors had stated Americans suffered from "rootlessness." By the 1980s, there were thousands of federally designated historic districts. Some states, such as Arizona, have passed referendums defending property rights that have stopped private property from being designated as historic without
6552-713: The public could view from the street. Local historic districts, as in New Orleans and Savannah, Georgia , predate the Register by ten years or more as well. Local historic districts are most likely to generate resistance because of the restrictions they tend to place on property owners. Local laws can cause residents "to comply with (local historic district) ordinances." For example, homeowners may be prevented from upgrading poorly insulated windows unless they spend tens of thousands of dollars on identical styles. Criticism of historic districts in Chicago and elsewhere in
6643-664: The pulps when, in 1950, it introduced its Gold Medal line. What Gold Medal specialized in was original novels. Some were merely sleazy, but others were in a tough, hard-boiled style that seemed somehow more knowing and more contemporary than that of the surviving pulps. Early Gold Medal authors included John D. MacDonald, Charles Williams and Richard S. Prather ." Others were Benjamin Appel , Bruno Fischer, David Goodis , Day Keene, Dan J. Marlowe , Wade Miller , Jim Thompson , Lionel White and Harry Whittington . Interviewed by Ed Gorman in 1984, MacDonald recalled, "In late 1949, I wrote
6734-596: The rapid development with their own funds. Henry O. Havemeyer was the first of these benefactors. He donated the money to construct the Havemeyer Building, which was originally a school, in 1892. Another philanthropist, Robert M. Bruce , and his sister Sarah E. Bruce, donated to the town the Old Town Hall (now the Senior Center ) after it was constructed in 1905. The core of Downtown Greenwich
6825-562: The remaining copies to newsstands in hotels. With gags like, "AWOL means After Women Or Liquor", the joke book caught on, and in 1921, Captain Billy made the highly inflated claim that sales of Whiz Bang were "soaring to the million mark." The book Humor Magazines and Comic Periodicals notes: Few periodicals reflect the post-WW I cultural change in American life as well as Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang . To some people [it] represented
6916-566: The slush pile at publisher Julian Messner. During her 26 years at Fawcett, Nevler became the editorial director in 1972. Beginning their numbering system at 101, Gold Medal got underway with Alan Hynd's We Are the Public Enemies , the anthology Man Story (102) and John Flagg's The Persian Cat (103). Writing about the demise of pulp magazines in The Dime Detectives , Ron Goulart observed, "Fawcett dealt another blow to
7007-525: The state and national level in the United States, have differing definitions of contributing property, but they all retain the same basic characteristics. In general, contributing properties are integral parts of a historic district's historical context and character. In addition to the two types of classification within historic districts, properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are classified into five broad categories. They are: building, structure, site, district, and object; each one has
7098-442: The state. Historic districts created by local municipalities, however, almost always protect historic properties by regulating alterations, demolition, or new construction within the district. Much criticism has arisen of historic districts and the effect protective zoning and historic designation status laws have on the housing supply. When an area of a city is designated as part of a 'historic district', new housing development
7189-601: The whole structure of publishing." With an increase from 35 titles in 1950 to 66 titles in 1951, Gold Medal's obvious success in issuing paperback originals revolutionized the industry. While Fischer, MacKinlay Kantor , Louis L'Amour , John D. MacDonald, Richard Matheson and Richard Prather were joining Gold Medal's roster of writers, other paperback publishers were soon asking agents for original manuscripts. Literary agent Donald MacCampbell stated that one publisher "threatened to boycott my agency if it continued to negotiate contracts with original 25-cent firms." Prather had
7280-431: The year before for the classical revival style municipal buildings in the core of Downtown. Most of the commercial buildings in the district fall into three broad styles, reflecting the period in which they were built: Italianate (late 19th century), Georgian Revival (early 20th century), and Commercial style (after World War I ). The district is linear and runs north–south along the entire length of Greenwich Avenue,
7371-493: Was 81 when he died in West Palm Beach, Florida , on January 16, 1993. Gordon Fawcett had four children. In 1970, Fawcett acquired Popular Library from Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation . Fawcett Publications was bought by CBS Publications in 1977 for $ 50 million. Ballantine Books (a division of Random House ) acquired most of Fawcett Books in 1982 (Popular was sold to Warner Communications ) it inherited
7462-485: Was a revolutionary turning point in paperback publishing. Fawcett's editor-in-chief was Ralph Daigh, who had been hired by Captain Billy in 1928, and the art director for Gold Medal was Al Allard, who also had been with Fawcett since 1928. Gold Medal's first editor was Jim Bishop , a former Collier's editor later known for his series of best-selling non-fiction titles: The Day Lincoln Was Shot , The Day Christ Died and The Day Kennedy Was Shot . When Bishop left after
7553-481: Was able to give many now well-known authors a chance at book publication early in their careers – among them John D. MacDonald and Kurt Vonnegut . It also gave established writers like William Goldman and MacKinlay Kantor a chance to flex their creative muscles under pseudonyms." Radcliffe graduate Rona Jaffe , who joined the company in the early 1950s as a file clerk, was promoted to an associate editor position. After four years at Fawcett, she left to pursue
7644-489: Was assigned tasks such as dusting furniture and beach cleaning at his father's Breezy Point Resort before he became a vice president and circulation manager for the family publishing company. Roscoe Fawcett was a veteran of World War II , serving in the anti-aircraft division of the U.S. Army, and later was in charge of entertainment for Camp Haan in Riverside, California . He was married twice, had four sons and died at
7735-462: Was built on in 1947 with the construction of an office building now occupied by Fawcett Publications . While upscale retail businesses replaced the earlier stores and office space in existing buildings upgraded, the streetscape of the area is largely intact and continues to function as the commercial and civic center of the town. The district is primarily linear including properties on both sides of Greenwich Avenue from Putnam Avenue ( U.S. Route 1 ) in
7826-565: Was completed when the Havemeyer family donated the parcel of land south of the intersection of Arch Street and Greenwich Avenue for construction of a public park and a post office. The post office building was constructed in 1916. In the 19th century, most commercial development took place along the northern end of Greenwich Avenue, where the Boston Post Road was located. This area of Greenwich Avenue provided goods and services to
7917-470: Was found in the 19th and early 20th century commercial streetscapes of small cities in Connecticut. Greenwich Avenue is distinguished in that so much of the historic streetscape remains intact today. Some of the more significant buildings and blocks are described below. Historic district (United States) Historic districts in the United States are designated historic districts recognizing
8008-726: Was purchased by CBS Publications in 1977 and subsequently was dismantled and absorbed by other companies. At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish–American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a police reporter for the Minneapolis Journal . While a World War I Army captain, Fawcett's experience with the Army publication Stars and Stripes gave him
8099-830: Was the cover date of the first comic book released under the aegis of Fawcett Comics . Fawcett writer William Parker and Fawcett staff artist Charles Clarence Beck devised Captain Marvel , who was introduced in Whiz Comics #2 (released in December 1939 with a February 1940 cover date ). The character caught on quickly, moving from Whiz Comics into his own title, Captain Marvel Adventures , early in 1941. The success prompted spin-off characters, beginning with Captain Marvel Jr. in 1941 and Mary Marvel in 1942. Fawcett's line of comics expanded with such colorful characters as Captain Midnight , Bulletman and Bulletgirl , Nyoka
8190-512: Was their movie tie-in edition of Robert Bloch 's Psycho . Fawcett Crest was perhaps best known for their many abridged collections issued during the 1960s and 1970s of the Peanuts comic strip titles originally published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston . The managing editor of Fawcett Crest and Premier was Leona Nevler. Between 1960 and 1993, Gold Medal was the exclusive American publisher of Donald Hamilton 's Matt Helm spy novel series. In
8281-432: Was used by these settlers as a pasture for horses and the entire village soon acquired the name Horseneck . In 1703, the town voted to have town meetings split between Sound Beach (the oldest settlement) and Horseneck, which was centrally located in the town. In 1760, a “Town House” for conducting town meetings was constructed at what is now the intersection of Putnam and Maple Avenue. The population of Horseneck boomed in
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