Selling stuff

There is always eBay. “eBay is the world’s online Marketplace,” the website states. “A place for buyers and sellers to come together and trade almost anything.”

Here’s how it works: A seller lists an item on eBay; it could be anything. Any member can bid on it and the highest bidder wins. Items for sale are very eclectic; they can be anything from bellybutton lint to used Hummers. Those pressed for cash can utilize this marketplace to sell old junk which could be the next man’s treasure.

“My job pays for necessities, food, gas and stuff like that. So if I want to do entertaining things I get the money by selling some of my vast amounts of video games…”

Others in need of cash may sell used movies and games to GameStop or Hastings. GameStop is a store in Prescott Gateway Mall and Hasting is located off of Willow Creek Rd. They both buy and sell used games and DVDs.

Trade-ins

“If we don’t have good deals on trade-ins, people want cash; it’s all kinds of people [who trade], young kids, college students, moms,” says a GameStop employee. Sometimes temptation is too much though. “I don’t even sell my games. My friends and I just get credit cards and max them out,” he says.

Jacob Harrison, 22, carries a grocery bag full of video games when walking into Gamestop. “I don’t play them anymore, so I figured I would either get new ones, or get something else recreational.”

Harrison uses this extra cash to line his pockets. “My job pays for necessities, food, gas and stuff like that. So if I want to do entertaining things I get the money by selling some of my vast amounts of video games, either by trading them in here, or selling them on eBay,” he says.

Harrison has also used pawn shops in the past. “I traded my Nintendo to get a Super Nintendo when I was younger, at the Pawn Shop on Sheldon Street,” he says.

Consignments

Libby Cedar, 27, sells clothes. “They aren’t worth much but I have so many. I know I should donate them, but sometimes I need gas for my car,” says Cedar. Her clothes are on consignment, which means she puts the clothes in the store owned by someone else and then is paid a portion of the sale price when the clothing sells. According to Cedar, she doesn’t get paid until the clothes sell.

Blood and body parts

So what about people that don’t have extra video games or clothes? Some people sell blood plasma. Steve Darb from Prescott say, “I feel a little run down afterwards but it’s like forty bucks cash every four or six weeks. And I need the money since my hours got cut at work.”
According to Darb, he received a physical in the first session which took about an hour. “It was worth it because next time, I left with cash in hand. I wish I could sell more often. It seems like I am always strapped for cash.”

If you’re in the business of selling parts of your body for money, selling hair can pay up to $10 an ounce according to AOL Health. The hair cannot be chemically treated and smokers cannot sell hair. But if you qualify, hair can be sold online at thehairtrader.com.

Son of Cash for Clunkers

Recently, there was the government “Cash For Clunkers” program. This program states that American’s old trucks or other vehicles were eligible for a government rebate which can go towards a new vehicle.

This bill was passed to help get low MPG cars off the road according to whatiscashforclunkers.com.

The program would voucher up to $4,500 towards the purchase of a more fuel efficient vehicle. The program started processing claims July 24 and the program ended August 24.
Programs such as “Son of Cash for Clunkers” and other government generated stimulus are offering relief daily. For those without access to clunkers, there are always these other methods.

MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are just three examples of the booming business of “social networking.” This buzzphrase has become more than just that, it’s an undeniably growing entity.According to Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang, it is the fourth most popular online activity, in front of checking personal email. In fact, nearly 150 million people use Facebook daily, and 76 million are Myspace members. And these numbers are growing rapidly.So it’s here and probably to stay, but what does that mean for us as a generation and community?

On the negative side, “they devalue the meaning of ‘friend,’” says Judith Donath, associate professor at the MIT Media Lab. “On social network sites, a ‘friend’ may simply be someone on whose link you have clicked.”

It may begin to effect how people communicate. “We are losing a lot of our intimidations,” says Mark Woolsey, Yavapai College Communications Division faculty. According to Woolsey, there is a trend of aggressive and hostile communication patterns in a “cyber world” that is often civil discourse in person.

Privacy and security are often sacrificed when creating a social networking profile as well. “Hot companies use social networking for screening,” says Woolsey. However, on a public forum privacy is a rarity.

Despite these growing concerns, there are undeniable benefits to social networking. “I keep in touch with friends I’d otherwise lose touch with,” says Nikki Turner, a 27 year old Yavapai student. “I talk to my sister in Tempe every day.”

Turner takes full advantage of social networking, with a MySpace, Twitter and Facebook account.  Turner checks the triumvirate of social sites several times daily, not only on her computer, but from her phone.  

“We’ve gone from Fireside chats to Wireside chats.”

Keeping in touch with “long lost” friends can be like an “everyday Christmas letter,” says Woolsey. Such sites allow people to update their daily lives to people who they may usually only contact with a Christmas card. 

In the changing world of communication, social networking sites are becoming a mainstay. Woolsey admits that   without his own Facebook he often feels ostracized. 

The truth stands that social networking is effective and relatively new, giving people possibilities to connect in ways that were before impossible.  

Even political figures are jumping on the bandwagon, with President Obama reaching new generations with his personal Twitter. “We’ve gone from Fireside chats to Wireside chats,” says Woolsey. 

And the sensation is spreading, with a demographic no longer limited to high school and college students. “Forty-five percent of Facebook’s U.S. audience is now 26 years old or older,” says Owyang. Beyond keeping touch with old and new friends, people are now able to bridge the generation communication gap and connect with family. 

Is it worth it?

“Social technologies never have predictable and absolute positive or negative effects, which is why social scientists dread questions like these,” says Nicole Ellison, assistant professor of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University. 

William Reader, professor of psychology at Sheffield Hallam University and social networking site researcher says, “My view is neither utopian nor dystopian…But like anything  – apart from motherhood and apple pie  – whether this is good or bad depends upon what kind of society you value.”

The strong fragrance of kitchen cleaner pervades the air and stings your nose for a couple minutes until you get used to it.

Patty Rummage, a 67 year old retired school teacher bustles up to you and pulls you into a warm, plump embrace. You hear someone yell, “Patty!” at the top of his lungs and she’s off again- not to be seen for the next hour.

“The soup kitchen was prayed into existence…and the next twenty some years is history,” Rummage said Monday afternoon during the weekly outreach to the homeless.

The Prescott First Baptist church has taken on the responsibility of feeding the homeless every Monday at 5 p.m. Being one of the only soup kitchens in town (besides the Salvation Army) there has been many ups and downs over the past twenty odd years. 

“Once in a while we run short on money. Sometimes a volunteer will be a little too bossy in the kitchen,” Rummage said. But added that, “We don’t have many problems.” 

“We have felt a price crunch with the price of groceries. We do have more people than before. We rarely dip below 100 people.”

She has attended the First Baptist Church her entire life and says she does the soup kitchen because, “I feel called in scripture to feed the poor as Jesus did with the loaves and fishes.” 

Rummage exudes hospitality. “I like to cook for people and entertain them. I love seeing people come together and work to help others.” 

The soup kitchen is only in existence because of the hard work of volunteers such as Lisa Brownlie, 30, a youth worker for the First Baptist Church who has been serving at the soup kitchen “on and off for ten years.” Brownlie says the soup kitchen is “the place I feel the most at home.” 

After pulling on a apron and putting on gloves, the work begins. Cutting bagels, bagging bread and making over 200 cupcakes is a normal occurrence here. 

Randy Goodsell, 42, a volunteer who also works at the Prescott Public Library and Target, affectionately says he works at the soup kitchen “because Patty’s the best.” 

The economy has effected the soup kitchen, “We have felt a price crunch with the of price of groceries. We do have more people than before. We rarely dip below 100 people,” said Rummage. 

Although they have had their share of problems Rummage said, “It is my joy to have been involved since the beginning.” And adds that, “Anyone able and interested is welcome to help.”

Photos by Frances Karl

Sitting in his chair, he could be just about anyone.  A man of average build in his early 50’s, he dresses casually and keeps his hair relatively short.

Russell is a private investigator and to protect himself and his business he has chosen only to give his first name.  Yes, PI’s do exist outside of Hollywood and no, they don’t constantly carry a magnifying glass.

Tools of the trade

Russell does, however, have the benefit of several tools: “a video camera, informational databases, digital tape recording and a button camera…The button camera literally looks like a button and I can wear it right on my shirt,” says Russell.

Russell has been an investigator for 13 years and it’s rare that he is ever noticed.

“I’ve had over 26,880 hours of observation in my career and I’ve only been burned three times,” Russell said.  By being “burned,” he means being discovered.  “You don’t have to worry though, if I’m following you, you won’t know.  That’s the job, to extract information without the person knowing it’s being extracted.”

“It’s interesting what a little manipulation can accomplish.  I once had someone tell me their driver’s license number, their social security number, their date of birth….I think I even got their mother’s maiden name and home address.”

Hostile clients and nosey neighbors

“You have to be careful in this profession, everything from hostile clients to nosey neighbors can get in the way,” he says.

Russell has had a few run-ins with nosey neighbors, sometimes having to talk himself out of situations, other times having to be rude and other times having to be a little more creative. “A few times I’ve had to pretend to be a dog to get neighbors to leave my car alone…”  He’s not joking either. Depending on the tint of his vehicle, Russell has barked loud and shaken the car pretending to be a vicious dog to get nosey neighbors away from the car window.  He laughs.

“You have to be careful in this profession, everything from hostile clients to nosey neighbors can get in the way.”

“I’m a puzzle kind of guy and I love to use my problem solving skills.  It’s a lot like the medical field, you get presented with a problem and you have to gather information to correct it.”

Background

Russell’s analogy didn’t come without explanation.  Years ago, he was six months away from graduating from medical school.  “I was displeased with the training and decided it wasn’t worth the money.”  On a whim, however, Russell hired a private investigator to find out whether the president of the school was embezzling money.  Together, they discovered that the president had embezzled $250,000 of the school’s money.  “He [the private investigator] said I should try this line of work, so I did.”

Russell spends hour after hour on surveillance, working in conjunction with civil, criminal and domestic issues.  Civil usually involves locating and taking statements for attorneys, while criminal can involve locating witnesses and missing persons.  Domestic cases involve insurance and workman’s compensation fraud, as well as requests from private citizens.

And if you’re wondering whether or not he’ll find your cheating  spouse and teach him/her a lesson, he will, for a price, but the lesson teaching is entirely up to you.

Hours of observation

Russell has spent up to 16 hours in a car on observations, sometimes focusing on a door for eight hours straight.  “I can’t read or talk on the phone, and it’s rare that I listen to music; a ten second distraction can cost me an observation,”  said Russell.  “It can be frustrating, especially when certain bodily functions get in the way, but I’ve got a tool for that.  They call it a Gatorade bottle.”

He also has done some high profile, celebrity stalker cases.  “I am basically hired to stalk the stalker.”

Russell owns his own agency and is licensed in both the states of Arizona and California.  For more information or to hire a private investigator, his website is: www.accuratedetectivegroup.com.

Inside, on a Friday or Saturday night, it is coursing with life: with the locals of Prescott, AZ, with tourists and with staff.

This is the Prescott Brewing Company (PBC) and after fifteen years it is very much alive and growing stronger every day.

The Beginning

When John Nielsen set out to give Prescott a taste of the “real beer” that he learned to love while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, instead of America’s “fizzy water” beer, he could hardly have known that he and his wife Roxane Nielsen were giving birth to their own piece of “Everybody’s Hometown.”

It all became reality on the way home from an A’s game, at a place called Buffalo Bill’s Brewhouse. “You know I don’t drink [American] beer,” said Nielsen to his friends, who pushed him into trying one of Bill’s hand-crafted beers. That moment was one of many revelations that led to the creation of PBC, or as locals call it, simply “The Pub.”

After a close call in his career of disarming explosives for Lockheed Martin, a global security company, he realized he needed a change.

After a close call in his career of disarming explosives for Lockheed Martin, a global security company, he realized he needed a change.

This and the taste of Buffalo Bill’s beer was all he needed to push his already awarded home brewing from hobby to career.

From hobby to career

“I’m going to open one of these,” thought Nielsen, looking around the small brewery and restaurant. Not that any of it came as easily as these realizations; there were many lessons along the way. Even home brewing had its bumps in the road. In 1988 Nielsen finished his first batch of home-brewed Amber and “it was terrible,” but then he learned the lesson of maturation of home brew.  He experienced a “huge boil-over” all over Roxane’s kitchen and ended up spending more time cleaning than brewing, but then he built his own three vessel aluminium home brew system.

Before long, brewing as a career and opening The Pub were all but inevitable.

“Roxane and I sat down having coffee and named the beers.” They used a tree theme, such as Willow Wheat and Ponderosa IPA. Roxane bought a book with trees which Nielsen still keeps in his office. “What started as a sheet of paper…” remembers Nielsen with a smile, grew into fifty-two types of beers and still counting.

This year, the brewery celebrated its fifteenth anniversary.  Although Nielsen is the owner, he is there nearly every day, helping his bartenders, servers, cooks and brewers.

A brewer

His business has grown to be so successful that people like John Luca Ahern, 30, are willing to move across the country to join the PBC team. Ahern, the assistant brewer for PBC, moved from upstate New York for his chance to brew at this award winning brewery.

“It’s hard to get experience [as a brewer],” says Ahern, who has a BA in English, but found his
passion at culinary school.

Ahern explains the process of becoming a brewer as similar to an apprenticeship. “I worked at a brew pub for six months without getting paid…I lived with my parents at that time,” says Ahern with a laugh.

“It’s really great to make a tangible product that you can see people enjoy.”

Ahern also spent time in Germany, where he developed his love for good beer and the “community around it.” His move from upstate New York was the result of a job posting he found on a brewer’s job search website, where he received the job at Prescott Brewing Company despite stiff competition.

Ahern is proud to tell people he is a brewer and see their reaction of, “Really? Cool.”

Part chemist, part maid

A good brewer is part chemist and mostly maid, says Ahern, who describes the brewing process as “85 percent cleaning.” Starting at 7:45 a.m. Ahern brews for six and a half to seven hours and in that time just some of the cleaning he does includes cleaning spent grain, cleaning brewing equipment such as the mesh tun, sanitizing the hoses at least three times in the process and “cleaning anything else that’s dirty.”

Despite the dirty side of his job, Ahern loves it. “It’s really great to make a tangible product that you can see people enjoy.”

Ahern gets to “quality control” the fruits of his labor after the 14-15 days it takes to brew a batch of beer.  Ahern and his fellow brewer, Jan Brown, create an end product of about seven barrels a day, at 31 gallons a piece.

Ahern has nothing but good things to say about his workplace and his job.  “It’s organized, structured and dynamic…I love it.”

Ahern is just one of the workers who breathes life into Nielsen’s thriving business. “We’re extremely lucky,” says  Nielsen. “We had the idea and the dream, but it’s taken everyone to bring it to fruition.”

“We’re keeping our thumb on the pulse, we want to know how to do it better…we’re always growing.”

Photos by Frances Karl

This number keeps increasing.  According to Ame Callahan, Volunteer Services and Public Affairs Manager of the Prescott Veteran’s Hospital, they provide aid to more than 20,000 veterans in the northern Arizona area alone. 

“We’re doing okay, particularly in rural Arizona,” says Callahan.

“We have about 23 thousand veterans enrolled at our facilities with a total of 222,545 appointments.”

Callahan, herself a retired member of the Air Force and a current patient at the Veterans Hospital (VA) says that although times are tough, they’re getting by just fine.

Returning home wounded

“We have more surviving wounded returning,” says Callahan. “Because we have better technology, better protective equipment, it saves lives but they have more loss of limbs.”

According to the Iraqindex on brookings.edu, a compilation of statistical reports regarding the Iraq war, some 30,000 service members have returned from duty injured.  

Although the number of returning vets to the United States is of great consequence, a more pressing issue faces the homebound service men and women as well as the VA hospital.

“Because we have better technology, better protective equipment, it saves lives but they have more loss of limbs.”

The failing economy has not been particularly helpful to anybody regardless of their station in life.  

Unemployed Veterans

According to USA Today the unemployment rate for returning veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts is 11.2 percent and rising while the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the average overall unemployment rate for returned veterans is 4.6 percent.   Arizona’s 2009 average is 7 percent.

Despite all of this, Callahan says the VA hospital will make do the best they can while still providing the utmost necessary care for their veterans.  

“We are managing like everyone else; we’ve just tightened our belts and gone on,” Callahan says. “We would never cut any corners on our Veterans.”

Sgt. Kyle Audis

Carla Audis, mother of Sgt. Kyle Audis, currently stationed at Fort Jackson South Carolina, says she’s proud of her son and all of his sacrifices.  

“I’m just so proud of him. I don’t like war but I do think we have to have the military and what they do is beyond brave; they spend years of their life dedicated to it.  It’s sad a lot of people don’t feel the same way,” she says.

Sgt. Audis, now 24, was badly wounded in Sept. 2006 when a vehicle rigged with explosives collided with his unit’s station during patrol.

Requiring several surgeries for incurred wounds, Sgt. Audis has yet to receive his final one.  

Requiring several surgeries for incurred wounds, Sgt. Audis has yet to receive his final one.

“He has an aneurism in his arm…and needs some bone work,” says Audis. “I just keep nagging him to try and push to get it done because it’ll be harder if he gets out and he’ll have to get a civilian job and recovery time would cut into that.” 

Over the years some members of the military and civilian communities have speculated as to whether or not a veteran can receive care at a VA hospital in a timely fashion.

Eligibility

“First you must be eligible to enroll at the VA, must be connected with OEF [Operation Enduring Freedom] or OIF [Operation Iraqi Freedom]  or other service connected and we can get you in, in 30 days;  that’s our standard…,” says Callahan. “We don’t have big problems like other places.”

“To be eligible [for VA services] you must be service connected or be a confirmed injury by the VA or meet a low income threshold,” says Callahan.

For more information about the Prescott VA, eligibility, or programs for veterans go to http://www.prescott.va.gov/ or http://www.oefoit.va.gov/.

Soleri also has a similar site outside of Scottsdale, called Cosanti and he resided for a time at the famous Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West in Arizona. 

Soleri’s idea was to build an urban habitat where architecture and ecology could work together as one integral process; where people could live, work and have access to all their needs within one convenient location. 

The unique design of the buildings offers a level of privacy as well as community. The common places throughout the site create a space for culture and activity rather than for TVs and video games. 

Almost all of the materials used are recycled. Residents compost all their food, including their waste water. 

Live and Learn

Arcosanti is a place where students can come to live and learn how to build while becoming proficient at the craft of bell making. Since 1970 they have housed over 6,000 students from all over the world. Handmade ceramic and bronze wind bells are made at Arcosanti, along with other crafts, as a way to fund their educational and construction projects. 

“As we learn more we continue to change the designs of the newer buildings.”

Arcosanti is an urban laboratory of sorts. “As we learn more we continue to change the designs of the newer buildings,” says Erin Jefferies from Arcosanti’s public relations department. “Of the total design we are only three to five percent complete.” Plans for the future are to create green houses for not only food for the winter but heat as well, which will be sent up through building ducts creating less need for electricity and propane.    

Concrete arches, used for heat from above are designed like a honey comb. 

Plans include growth to 5,000 residents

When complete, Arcosanti will have the capability to house 5,000 people though, currently, there are approximately 60 to 100 people living on the site at any one time.    

Over-night guest rooms are available for those who come from all over the world to visit. A five week workshop is set up for those who are interested in an immersive hands-on program in a desert landscape.   

Environmental design

Within the site they have an open-air dining area/multiple use space for performances, a game room, art shows and many different activities. 

Meals are served three times a day; a typical lunch consists of a choice between basic salad bar greens, meats and cheeses, or hot entrees like rice and other main dishes. There is also a bakery and cafe directly above the dining area, where they make organic pastries and breads. The third floor is where they have the famous Arcosanti Bells gallery. 

The main building is spectacular. In the winter, a very large fabric tub, driven by a fan that runs from the top floor down to the bottom floor, draws heat from the top of the three stories to the main floor.  

Throughout the summer the huge main doors of the central building open up to allow a cool breeze to move through, reducing the need for any kind of outside energy. 

The huge Amphitheater is centrally located on the grounds. Here they have concerts, plays and lectures.   

To visit Arcosanti from Prescott, travel about 35 miles on Highway 69 until it deadends at Cordes Junction, then follow the dirt road three miles north and east from the junction stop sign.

Photos by:  Ted Hosey and Frances Karl

Behind the scenes at Yavapai College there are many people and man hours that go into keeping campus computers usable. The Prescott campus alone is home to 1,047 computers, according to Bob Lynch the chief financial officer for Yavapai College

Ike Whisenand, the help desk and desktop services manager at YC says, “There are many groups working behind the scenes to insure that when a student sits down at a Yavapai College computer they have a good experience…everyone works more hours a week than required by their contract.” 

How YC stacks up

To help students get their work done, Yavapai College has a 5-1 ratio of students to computers, according to Whisenand. This is a higher ratio than the average of 9-1 for other schools Yavapai’s size.

The usage of computers by students is monitored. “One of Yavapai College’s commitments to county tax payers is to be good stewards of the tax payers’ dollars and if 20 to 25 computers sit idle for 14 weeks out of a 16 week semester, that’s not being a good steward,” says Whisenand.

Technology budget

Plus, according to Lynch, “The technology budget, not including equipment, is $3.6 million a year for the whole district.” The district includes all of the campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County. 

The $3.6 million goes toward administrative systems, all analysts, the help desk, presentation technology services, network services, systems administration, web services and Technology Enhanced Learning Services (TELS).

“The technology budget, not including equipment, is $3.6 million a year…”

The upkeep of so many computers can be expensive and time consuming. “There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration: the cost of purchasing new computers every five years, the cost of power to run the computers, the cost of air conditioning, the cost of the building in which the computers reside and the quality of education Yavapai College wants to provide,”  Whisenand says.   

“We weigh all of these factors and do our best to give the student value for their education dollar.”

No plans to lower the ratio

With looming budget cuts ahead Whisenand says, “There are no plans to remove computers to lower the student to computer ratio at this time.”

The college has cut back on how often they upgrade computers, mostly due to the cost of upgrades. “In the past years we have tried to upgrade the computers in the labs and classrooms on a three year cycle.  Two years ago the college implemented a five year replacement cycle due to budgetary restraints.”

Not only are computers essential to students but faculty must have them to orchestrate their side of the learning process. “Twice a year the TELS group provides training for faculty in their summer and winter institutes.  Any changes to the current teaching environments are discussed in these sessions,” says Whinsenand.

Computers have changed the way higher education works. “It used to be that the best excuse you could come up with not to turn in your homework was that the dog ate it.  Now, it is my computer crashed,” says Whisenand.

Shrinking the world

“Computers have brought the world closer together and expanded our horizons in ways we never could have imagined 30 years ago,” says Whisenand.  

“Vast amounts of information are available…with just a click of the mouse.  We see places and events in real time,” he says.  “We play games and communicate with friends around the world, enabling our minds to be more open to the global community and the local community.”

Photo montage by Frances Karl

New advances in how movies are shown continue to be made, while the prices of marketing, production, tickets and every other measurable cost constantly fluctuate. 

Theaters seem to keep advancing but home entertainment seems to be moving at an even faster rate. The cost of creating a “home theater” gets cheaper every day while the quality and especially quantity of what can be accomplished keeps expanding.

Yet traditional movie theaters have still managed to survive — even thrive. “The movie industry is doing pretty well,” says Chris Baker, a six-year manager at the independently owned Frontier Village Cinema 10 in Prescott. “Our market share has actually increased 5 percent this year,” he says.

Industry is in good shape

The numbers for the overall industry tell a similar story. The total domestic box office gross in the United States and Canada continued to rise from previous years, reaching $9.8 billion in 2008, according to the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).  

That’s more than double the $4.5 billion made 20 years ago. The total number of admissions rose from the past few years as well, although it’s still a lower number than it was a few years ago. However, at 1.4 billion in 2007 alone it’s still an astounding number. That means that for every citizen in the United States and Canada about four tickets were purchased in just one year.

“You come into a theater, it’s an experience,” Baker says, which he believes is the main reason people keep going to the movies. “I’d like to see you cram a 25-foot screen in your house,” he adds.

Attracting customers

Theaters are doing plenty of other things to attract customers. They’re “using every avenue they can” to make money and to make the most of their huge lobbies, says Baker, admitting that his theater is no exception.

I’d like to see you cram a 25-foot screen in your house,” he adds.

Frontier Village Cinema will be adding a pizzeria in the lobby, with sporting events shown on a big screen, as well as tables in the lobby before the movie. They’ve also started serving beer and wine in half of the auditoriums. Baker explains that the “Platinum 21 Auditoriums” are “to cater to an older audience.”

Any theater can pack people in,” says Baker. “We’re trying to give people an actual experience.”

Whether it’s just the unique experience or all the perks theaters are adding, Baker says “There’s a lot of drive to [go to the theater] still.”

Ticket prices

This is even as ticket prices continue to rise around the country. According to NATO the average price for a single ticket in 2008 in the United States was $7.18, more than ten times the mere 68 cents it would have cost 50 years ago.

The only number that seems to have decreased is the number of cinema sites. As of 2007 in the United States there were 5,545 indoor sites, according to NATO, down from just over 7,000 in 1995. However, the actual number of screens has nearly doubled in the last 20 years. As of 2007 there were 38,159 indoor movie screens in the United States, compared to 20,595 in 1987.

While the numbers paint a pretty encouraging picture for the industry as a whole and Baker agrees that it’s in good shape right now, his view of the not-too-distant future isn’t a bright one. 

“Movie theaters will eventually be done, there’s no question,” he says, since “[people] don’t want to cram in with a million sweaty people, when they can see the same thing a month later… [or] a week earlier if you download.”

As for when, he wonders out loud if it will be in the next ten years, but answers confidently: “no.”
“I’ll give ‘em 20.”

After experiencing gourmet dishes in the country’s finest restaurants, collections of the oldest artifacts in the nation and statues of the greatest leaders and thinkers in our history, it occurred to me that I had only scratched the surface.
I began each day of my tour around sunrise and always ended up walking well through sundown. Due to the streets being consistently cluttered with traffic, most traveling was quicker done on foot, along with the very efficient subway system. Fighting through aching feet was well worth it to see the city’s diverse landmarks.

Breathtaking in person

It is breathtaking to actually see things like the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial in person. And though these are beautiful to see during the day, braving the fall chill to see them glow at night was well worth it.

The landmarks the city has to offer are definitely eye catching and will fill plenty of time, but there is even more to see in the city’s vast array of museums.

Save time for museums

From wars, to medicine and dinosaurs, to the holocaust, the collection of historical artifacts the city has is unprecedented. With only limited time in the city, I would recommend the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American History Museum. Though other museums offer pieces of Abraham Lincoln’s skull and retired war planes, these two museums provoke deep thoughts into human history.

The Holocaust Museum, as graphic and factual as it is, would inspire anyone to prevent world genocide and shed some tears. The American History Museum, on the other hand, is an abundant pinnacle of collected items and works ranging from our revolution to modern day. With both of these museums requiring at least a full day each, I was not able to visit all of the museums in the city, but I definitely believe I saw the best ones.

So, to anyone planning to stay in the U.S. capital, I recommend you stay for at least twelve days, and wear some very comfortable walking shoes. Packed with history from all over the world, Washington D.C. has plenty to see and do to fill your time. It is definitely a must see city for everyone.

Gallery photos by: David Kreie