Conde Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers Choice Awards just awarded the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY the #1 hotel in the United States (and #6 worldwide). Pentagram is obviously excited about the announcement because they helped design the identity, graphics, and signage for the hotel which no doubt goes very well with the contemporary look of the hotel.
I’ve never heard of the 21c Museum Hotel until just now but it certainly sounds like a place I’d love to stay in the future. With only 90 rooms available and an incredibly posh interior with luxurious amenities, it already sounds like I’ll have to save up quite a bit just to stay for one night.
California resident Anthony Toth has built an impressive replica of a first-class cabin from a Pan Am World Airways 747 in the garage of his two-bedroom condo. The first-class cabin includes all of the amenities that such a flight would have had in the 1970’s or 1980’s, including red carpted floors, authentic Pan Am seats, overhead bins with working lights and buttons, and even Pan Am napkins and accessories (all of this and more totaling about $50,000 for Anthony Toth). [via]
So why does Anthony Toth do this? According to the WSJ:
Mr. Toth’s obsession with Pan Am began in the 1970s when he was growing up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, about 45 minutes from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Every summer, he and his family traveled to see relatives in Rome and Budapest, where his parents were from, usually flying in Pan Am’s coach class. “There was no other aircraft I could walk on board that intrigued me more than the Pan Am cabin,” he says. “Everything symbolized something. That meant something to me as a youngster.”
As a child, Mr. Toth would save items that most passengers considered to be trash, such as cardboard coasters and paper tray linings from coach meal services. On every flight, he would carry a camera and shoot three or four rolls of film documenting the aircraft’s interior. He lugged a boxy tape recorder to capture in-flight audio by cranking the dial on his armrest up to level 12 and placing the microphone to the earphones so he could listen to the airline’s music selection back home.
To say the least, Toth’s replica is outstanding and you really should have a look at the photos of it below. Photos by Brian L. Frank
When Michael Lebowitz’s grandfather passed away last year, his family discovered that the man had kept a wonderful collection of hotel door hangers from around the world. Each one was supposedly taken during a stay at the various hotels the grandfather stayed in during his time in the foreign service. This is definitely my visual inspiration for the day!
The Yike Bike, a new electric two-wheeled transportation unit was introduced to European audiences recently in hopes that it might spark some interest in a larger worldwide market. The bike is completely electric and runs for about 10km on a 30-minute charge. The bike features anti-skid brakes, built-in light indicators, and a top speed of 20kph.
I personally think riding an actual bicycle is better for your health and looks a lot cooler, but I won’t knock the Yike Bike because it does look like it has some fun bundled into its ultra-compact design. Check out the demonstration video below and the images after the video.
This was bound to happen. Two individuals, Dustin Curtis and Alaska Miller, have purchased the JetBlue unlimited flight pass and are intending to fly to JetBlue’s 43 JetBlue-served cities in 30 days (between September 8 and October 8).
They have researched the trip and believe that they will need about 83 flights to successfully reach all 43 cities. They have started a website called 30 Day Flight that will follow them on their journey. You can tune in beginning September 8 to see if they make it.
Caleb informs me that JetBlue is selling an All-You-Can-Jet pass for $599 that allows you to book as many flights as you want on JetBlue between September 8 and October 8. All you have to do is make sure you book the flight at least 3 days in advance and you’re entitled to arrive in over 57 cities on one of JetBlue’s 600 daily flights.
