La Guardia airport in New York in the USA was built because of La Guardia, the mayor after whom it is named.
He got the money to build it from Roosevelt's New Deal. I recounted this story to a friend, and I said, 'So LaGuardia didn't pay for the airport'.
My friend replied, "No, but when you get funding for your city's project, you have to make the donors give the money to your city and not some other city. Then you have to ensure that the money is spent on the project you choose. Finally you have to ensure the money is well spent and the project is completed within budget, meeting the requirements, and finished on time.'
La Guardia (left) with Franklin D Roosevelt (right).
- Historic American Engineering Record; Library of Congress
He also arrested mafia personnel, notably 'Lucky' Luciano. I didn't think of any connection between these facts, because I associate the Mafia with the museum about their involvement in Las Vegas. But when I told a friend this story, he commented, 'That figures. He had a reason. The mafia were probably involved with the building site and the unions and trying to take control of the project.'
His name Fiorella is Italian for little flower. His father was Italian but also from Arizona and Fiorello wore a cowboy hat. His mother was orthodox Jewish and Fiorello spoke Italian, Yiddish, German and French as well as English - five languages.
A fascinating account of his life is on Wikipedia. Read about the courtroom case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorello_H._La_Guardia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaGuardia_Airport
Another good account of his impact on New York is from this website - which explains that he was nicknamed little flower because of his height of only five foot. His bust is in both the airport and a children's garden/park near where he lived in Little Italy in New York. http://www.newyorktalksandwalks.com/nm/publish/news_58.html
Think of the man behind the airport as you fly in and fly out. Next time I do so, I shall wave goodbye to his statue and murmur, 'Thank you, for everything, LaGuardia'.
His dates are (December 11, 1882 – September 20, 1947). i researched his life on December 11th and clicked on 'new post' on December 12th but had no time to finish it. Apologies to the five people who clicked on an empty post.
He was a Republican but he said there's not a Republican or Democratic way to clean streets. I'm using that quotation in my next book on quotations. Great man.
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer, author, speaker. Books on Lulu.com
He got the money to build it from Roosevelt's New Deal. I recounted this story to a friend, and I said, 'So LaGuardia didn't pay for the airport'.
My friend replied, "No, but when you get funding for your city's project, you have to make the donors give the money to your city and not some other city. Then you have to ensure that the money is spent on the project you choose. Finally you have to ensure the money is well spent and the project is completed within budget, meeting the requirements, and finished on time.'
La Guardia (left) with Franklin D Roosevelt (right).
- Historic American Engineering Record; Library of Congress
His name Fiorella is Italian for little flower. His father was Italian but also from Arizona and Fiorello wore a cowboy hat. His mother was orthodox Jewish and Fiorello spoke Italian, Yiddish, German and French as well as English - five languages.
A fascinating account of his life is on Wikipedia. Read about the courtroom case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorello_H._La_Guardia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaGuardia_Airport
Another good account of his impact on New York is from this website - which explains that he was nicknamed little flower because of his height of only five foot. His bust is in both the airport and a children's garden/park near where he lived in Little Italy in New York. http://www.newyorktalksandwalks.com/nm/publish/news_58.html
Think of the man behind the airport as you fly in and fly out. Next time I do so, I shall wave goodbye to his statue and murmur, 'Thank you, for everything, LaGuardia'.
His dates are (December 11, 1882 – September 20, 1947). i researched his life on December 11th and clicked on 'new post' on December 12th but had no time to finish it. Apologies to the five people who clicked on an empty post.
He was a Republican but he said there's not a Republican or Democratic way to clean streets. I'm using that quotation in my next book on quotations. Great man.
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer, author, speaker. Books on Lulu.com
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