Avoid The Tourist Herds.
What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades?
This Twisted Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don't want to talk about anymore...the same places people once couldn't stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery.
Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true.
The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you're seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tourist Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different.
Historic and Frequently Flawed Personalities:
Andy Warhol, George Washington, Mayors Joseph Barker and Charles Kline, Composer Stephen Foster, Biddle Brothers and Mrs. Soffel, Harry Thaw, Evelyn Nesbit, Mary Schenley, Henry Clay Frick, H. J. and Howard Heinz, Actress Eleonora Duse, Prohibition Reformer William King, Joe The Ghost Pangallo, President Calvin Coolidge, Aviator Rose Collins, Father James Cox, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, Dr. Jonas Salk, Mister Fred Rogers, Robert Duggan and the Mysterious Hat Bandit
Architecture With A Distinctive Past:
Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh Bridges, Union Railroad Station, Kaufman's Department Store and Famed Clock, Lyndhurst Mansion, Pitt University's Log Cabin, Union Trust Building, Heinz Lofts, Schenley Park Hotel, Hendel Building, Syria Mosque, Saint John's Hospital, William Penn Hotel, Heinz Field, Crawford Grill, Stock Exchange, Langley Hall Explosion, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Bellefield Tower and Iron City Brewery
Hospitality and Hauntings
Monongahela House Hotel, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Carnegie Library, Chatham College's Woodland Hall and the Frick Mansion
Legacies and Notorious Events
Tarleton Bates' Fatal Duel, Great Fire of 1845, Market Square Riot, Founding of the AFL Labor Organization, Fifth Avenue Fire, Cyclone of 1889, Armstrong-McKelvy Building Collapse, Lion Mauling at Luna Park, Spontaneous Human Combustion, Aetna Dynamite Explosion, Document Establishing Czechoslovakia, Donnelly Building Elevator Fall, Carnegie Ku Klux Klan Invasion, Sunday Blue Laws, Equitable Gas Company Explosion, Pittsburgh Jazz Heritage, Little Sisters of the Poor Fire, Winter Flooding of Point Park, Communist Scare, Commuter Bandit, Kennywood Pavilion Fire, Lottery Scandal, Purolator Heist, Todd Becker's Dormitory Fall, Braun Baking Company and Town Talk Bread, Homeless Memorial and Operation Pork Chop
Historical Scandals:
Whiskey Rebellion, Labor Strikes and Accompanying Violence, Thaw-Seymour Marriage and Financiers Michael Carlow and Earl Belle
Infamous Killings and Murder
Architect Stanford White, Frontier Public Hangings, Dead Man's Hollow, Suffocation By Folding Bed, Prohibition Gangster Leader Deaths of Luigi Lamendola, Stefano and Sam Monastero, Morris Curran, Giuseppe Siragusa and Jack Palmere, Rum Runner William Gregory, Lobianco Brothers Grocery Massacre, Volpe Brothers Contract Killing, Michael Chervenak, George Lee, Jimmy Goodnight, Spree Shooters Richard Baumhammers and George Sodini, Ricardo Tobia, Serial Killer Sidney Brinkley, Tree of Life Synagogue, Jim Rogers and Uber Driver Christina Spicuzza
Transportation Calamities
Mt. Washington Christmas Eve trolley crash, Graham Ferry Sinking, Bettis Airfield Balloon Disaster, Railroad Derailments, Island Queen Ship Detonation, Ghost Bomber and Air Disasters
Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions.
He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86.
Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com.
Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography.
His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, fiction, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism.
He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.
