Black Mesa Research Facility
For other uses, see . |
| Black Mesa Research Facility | |
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The Black Mesa Research Facility , [1] B.M.R.F. , [2] or Black Mesa for short, is the headquarters of the Black Mesa corporation, and the primary setting for Half-Life and its expansions . It is located in the New Mexico desert, USA . [1]
- 2 Personnel
- 3 The Black Mesa Incident
- 5.1.1 Sector A
- 5.1.2 Sector B
- 5.1.3 Sector C
- 5.1.4 Sector D
- 5.1.5 Sector E
- 5.1.6 Sector F
- 5.1.7 Sector G
- 5.2.1 Advanced Biological Research Lab
- 5.2.2 Alien Quarantine Labs
- 5.2.3 Area 7 Recreational Facilities
- 5.2.4 Area 8 Topside Dormitories
- 5.2.5.1 Area 9 Central Transit Hub
- 5.2.5.2 Area 9 Security Checkpoint
- 5.2.6 Biological Waste Processing Plant
- 5.2.7 Black Mesa Air Control
- 5.2.8 Black Mesa desert
- 5.2.9 Black Mesa South Access
- 5.2.10 Black Mesa Transit System
- 5.2.11 Blast furnaces
- 5.2.12 East Personnel Entrance
- 5.2.13 Freight Yard
- 5.2.14 Gamma Labs
- 5.2.15 Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory
- 5.2.16 Level 1 Main Facility Entrance
- 5.2.17.1 Level 3 Dormitories
- 5.2.18 Level 4 Storage Unit
- 5.2.19 Medical Lab
- 5.2.20 Ordinance Storage Facility
- 5.2.21 Parking Garage
- 5.2.22 Satellite Communications Center
- 5.2.23 Section A-17 Prototype Labs
- 5.2.24 Storage Areas 2 and 3
- 5.2.25 Topside Motorpool
- 5.2.26 Unnamed Decay location
- 5.2.27 Unnamed industrial area
- 5.2.28 Waste Processing Area 3
- 6.1.1 Gallery
- 7 Behind the scenes
- 8.1 Concept art
- 9.1 Main games
- 10 References
- 11 External links
Overview [ edit ]
The Black Mesa facility was apparently built over several decommissioned ICBM launching and testing silo complexes constructed during the 1950s , [3] [4] [5] which was converted into a vast civilian institute for the research of almost every conceivable scientific discipline , loosely spread along seven main Sectors . Some areas are also described by characters such as Rosenberg as "old" or "abandoned"; several areas of the complex are badly run-down despite the obvious fact that they are still in use. However, the surface areas of Black Mesa feature more modern construction. [1] [2] [6] [7]
Black Mesa's Science Team undertakes the company's various scientific researches in the facility, which is a very high-security complex, as each employee is required to undergo a series of rigorous security checks to access most areas. Security guards , carrying firearms and trained for emergencies, are present everywhere. The complex is also equipped with retinal scanners and alarms, as well as heavy blast doors that may shut down in case of fire, explosion, or other events. Black Mesa can be completely sealed from the outside. [1] [2] [6] [7] In the event of an emergency (such as leaks of dangerous materials, escape of specimens, or even government cleanups), the "military" (the HECU ) and in worse cases "trained assassins" (the Black Ops ), referred to as "a dangerous and very efficient clean-up crew", are to enter the facility. [8] An intervention from the HECU and the Black Ops seems to be a known fact among the personnel, although some employees consider it a rumor. [1] Black Mesa also contains many automated Automatic Turrets , which, when activated, will emerge from armored cupolas and fire upon any moving object in their line of sight. [1] [2]
As employees are required to live in the complex itself, Black Mesa contains many personnel facilities, including laundromats, [7] recreation and sports areas such as lounges, [1] [2] [7] at least one basketball court, [7] at least one swimming pool, [2] a library, [2] fast food outlets, [7] food courts, [1] cafeterias, [1] [2] and numerous vending machines . The facility is well-populated by rest areas and dormitories for the employees of the facility. [1] [2] [7] As Eli Vance reveals at Black Mesa East that his wife and daughter lived in Black Mesa with him, it can be inferred that employees' families reside in the dormitory complexes as well. [9] Despite being located in the middle of a desert, the underground and indoor sectors of Black Mesa are maintained at a "pleasant 68°" Fahrenheit (20° Celsius ) at all times, [1] enabled by Black Mesa's sprawling network of ventilation ducts.
The facility is apparently self-sufficient, housing its own ventilation, plumbing, sewage, and power generation systems including a Hydro-Electric Dam [1] [6] and multiple types of electrical generators and reactors, some using nuclear technology. Black Mesa is also apparently kept supplied by a conventional freight rail linked to the outside, managed in the Freight Yard . [7]
The complex is dominated by a bewildering number of underground laboratories, test areas (including a powerful Anti-Mass Spectrometer [1] ), and administration offices, most of which contain very high-tech equipment, and even a rocket launch site . [1] The complex also features multi-story car parks (where only Black Mesa SUVs can be found), arsenals of nuclear and conventional weapons, and a local electric rail materials transport network, the Sector E Materials Transport . [1] [2] [6] [7]
In the underground laboratories, administration offices and dormitories, the main sections are always indicated in important intersections areas, and follow color codes consisting of lines running along the corridors to the related location, stopping at each reached location. This is seen for instance in the Anomalous Materials Labs [2] and the Level 3 Dormitories . [2]
All main Sectors are linked together by the Black Mesa Transit System , the monorail network going through the whole facility. [1] [2] [6] [7]
Black Mesa is equipped with a public address system, the Black Mesa Announcement System , relaying audible messages and announcements across the facility with a male voice. [1] [2] [6] [7] The complex also has its own newspaper, The Mesa Times , although it is unknown if it is an outside publication or exclusively made by the company for its personnel. [7]
Personnel [ edit ]
Black Mesa employs in its facility two main groups of civilian employees: a science personnel and a security personnel , along with various other inhabitants including administrative personnel, service personnel and occasionally the employees' families.
The Black Mesa Incident [ edit ]
Occurring on May 16, 200- , [10] the Black Mesa Incident is caused directly by a failed experiment in Sector C, triggering a Resonance Cascade . This leads to the invasion of the facility by Xen creatures, and finally its complete destruction by a thermonuclear bomb .
Hazards [ edit ]
The Black Mesa Research Facility, being a science research facility, presents numerous hazards to both health and safety. These can include:
- Electrical hazards, from electrical apparatus and power systems
- Burning/heat hazards, from steam pipes, furnaces or any other hot apparatus
- Freezing hazards, from freezers and super coolants
- Acid / corrosive hazards, from countless acid and alkali chemicals in all different applications
- Radioactive hazards, from nuclear reactors and waste
- Biohazards, from biological waste and residue
- A risk of drowning in extremely deep water basins
- Being harmed/killed by underwater machinery
- A risk of fractures from falling, and/or machinery
Due to so many possible hazards being present in various applications all throughout Black Mesa, precautions must be taken. Certain areas call for the use of safety equipment, others will only allow entry when wearing an HEV Suit , a cleansuit or an armor vest and helmet. This point is backed up by security guards stationed at 'secure access' doors being instructed to only permit access if the entrant is wearing proper equipment.
Black Mesa also features an enormous supply of medical facilities and equipment. There are wall-mounted first aid stations, supplies of portable first aid satchels, infirmary areas. Many scientists are also trained in first aid.
Facilities [ edit ]
The various Black Mesa facilities are loosely grouped into seven Sectors lettered from A to G, as well as various Areas and Levels, all linked together by the Black Mesa Transit System or Sector E Materials Transport . Many areas visited during the games have no known Sector; it is actually unclear if every single area always belongs to one.
The details about all the Black Mesa area names are given in signs found within the maps, character dialogs, Black Mesa Announcement System announcements and the games' instruction manuals. However many announcements are never heard in-game, only to be found in the file " sentences.txt " located in each game's sound folder, showing that many more messages were originally to be heard during the games. Each sentence has a map name before it, allowing clear identification of the related area.
As many names and details appear in the Gearbox expansions, it is unknown exactly what the Gearbox team came up with, and what was handed to them by Valve . Regardless, the facility was created more to serve gameplay than to be a consistent facility with all sectors and areas fitting perfectly together; this is far from being the case.
Main Sectors [ edit ]
Sector a [ edit ].
Encountered in all four of the Half-Life games, Sector A contains the separate Hazard Courses used for training scientists [1] (predominantly in the use of the HEV Suit ) and security guards. [7]
Sector B [ edit ]
The Coolant Reserve located in Sector B apparently stores the industrial coolant used to maintain Black Mesa's thousands of computers and machines. It is first seen by Gordon Freeman when he escapes from Sector C.
Sector C [ edit ]
Sector C is notable primarily for housing the Anomalous Materials Laboratories, Gordon Freeman's workplace. This area contains the Anti-Mass Spectrometer (in Test Lab C-33/a), the initial source of the Black Mesa Incident, the starting point of the Half-Life series.
Sector D [ edit ]
Seen early in Half-Life , Sector D is mainly a large underground complex of Administration Offices where the bureaucratic aspects of Black Mesa's upkeep take place, along with some limited research. It also contains some limited cafeteria facilities, as well as a very large walk-in freezer.
Sector E [ edit ]
This sector features the Biodome Complex, a relatively recent area of the facility, containing a series of Specimen Observation Areas, where captured Xen aliens and flora are kept and observed in artificial recreations of their natural habitats. Sector E also features the large Materials Transport , Black Mesa's freight monorail, the High Altitude Launch Center , where rockets are launched, as well as a large Ordinance Storage Facility where the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device is set up and the Gene Worm teleports in.
Sector F [ edit ]
The heavily fortified Lambda Reactor Complex featured in Sector F is the site of Black Mesa's top secret teleportation labs. It features a huge reactor consisting of the Lambda Reactor Coolant System, and the cylindrical Lambda Reactor Core, as well as a large teleport.
Sector G [ edit ]
Sector G features the Topside Hydro Plant and its iconic Hydro-Electric Dam providing the power for the facility, and the Drainage Canals.
Other areas [ edit ]
The following areas are either not linked to a specific sector, or their specific sector is unknown.
Advanced Biological Research Lab [ edit ]
Located near Sector G 's Hydro-Electric Dam and partially above the Biological Waste Processing Plant , the Advanced Biological Research Lab cover the Half-Life chapter Questionable Ethics . This is where the Tau Cannon is found.
Alien Quarantine Labs [ edit ]
Located under the Gamma Labs, aliens brought with the Displacement Beacon are studied there. Cross and Green are sent there by Keller to turn on a beam matrix to power the Displacement Beacon on the surface. [2]
Area 7 Recreational Facilities [ edit ]
Whilst not seen in the game, a Black Mesa Transit System map featured in Blue Shift mentions Area 7. It is connected to the Green Line of the Black Mesa Transit System . [11]
Area 8 Topside Dormitories [ edit ]
This area consists of outdoor dormitories where Barney Calhoun is accommodated while working at Black Mesa. A stop on the Black Mesa Transit System leads to the East Personnel Entrance . [7]
Area 9 [ edit ]
Area 9 central transit hub [ edit ].
Area 9 Central Transit Hub is a hub mentioned in the tram ride at the beginning of Half-Life . It can be seen in the transit map later in Blue Shift . It is apparently the only Transit System station where high-security trains can be boarded. [7]
Area 9 Security Checkpoint [ edit ]
Likely located not far from Area 9 Central Transit Hub, Area 9 Security Checkpoint is first seen during Barney Calhoun's tram ride at the start of Blue Shift . There, Barney Calhoun transfers to the Sector C Line. Area 9 Security Checkpoint apparently acts as one of the many transit security checkpoints throughout the Transit System. Trams that pass through that checkpoint can be rerouted to the Sector B, C, and E Lines. [7]
Biological Waste Processing Plant [ edit ]
Visited during the Half-Life chapter Residue Processing , the Biological Waste Processing Plant disposes of and processes Black Mesa's wastes through large tanks and an endless conveyor belt network. [1]
Black Mesa Air Control [ edit ]
This building is adjacent to a large airstrip, and is used to monitor and direct activity in the airspace above Black Mesa. [2]
Black Mesa desert [ edit ]
This desert area includes several sandy areas with Land Mines , cacti and rocks, as well as several small HECU camps. There Freeman is chased by the AH-64 Apache that started attacking him at the dam, and finally defeats it when first finding the RPG along a steep cliff in front of a large mesa valley, at the climax of the chapter Surface Tension .
Black Mesa South Access [ edit ]
One of the several known entrances to Black Mesa, it is linked to the outside by a 5-mile tunnel. At its outside end Calhoun , Rosenberg , Bennet and Simmons reunite after teleporting. [7]
Black Mesa Transit System [ edit ]
This is the extensive monorail network linking the many different Black Mesa Sectors, provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa personnel.
Blast furnaces [ edit ]
This unnamed area contains several large fans, as well as several blast furnaces, all of them requiring good timing by the player to get through.
East Personnel Entrance [ edit ]
Connects Area 8 Topside Dormitories to the rest of the facility through the Transit System. An orange flag of Black Mesa flies above it. Its name suggests there are other such entrances. [7]
Freight Yard [ edit ]
A topside area of the Black Mesa Research Facility, it is connected to the New Mexico Railroad Line and used to ship freight in and out of the facility. [7]
Gamma Labs [ edit ]
This facility was originally used "as a sort of cross-dimensional netting ground", where organic alien samples and creatures were captured from Xen without the need of actually going there, with the Displacement Beacon located in the nearby canyon. [2]
Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory [ edit ]
The Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory contains a series of underwater laboratories where aquatic alien creatures are kept and observed, as well as teleporters.
Level 1 Main Facility Entrance [ edit ]
Never physically seen within any of the Half-Life games and only seen on a Black Mesa Transit System map featured in Blue Shift , the name of that area heavily implies that it is used as a central entrance checkpoint for all the facility personnel. [7] It is connected to the Green Line of the Black Mesa Transit System. [11]
Level 3 [ edit ]
As heard during Freeman's tram ride from Level 3 Dormitories on the day of the Black Mesa Incident, the Black Mesa Hazard Course Decathlon was to start on Level 3 around 19:00. This never happened due to the incident. [1]
Level 3 Dormitories [ edit ]
Located along the Sector C Line of the Black Mesa Transit System , this area is one of the only two personnel dormitories seen or mentioned during the games, the other being Area 8 Topside Dormitories . This is where Gordon Freeman lives while working at Black Mesa, and where Gina Cross and Colette Green search for a security guard who would have the clearance codes to lift the military air traffic lockdown.
Level 4 Storage Unit [ edit ]
This area is a large basement storage located under a parking garage.
Medical Lab [ edit ]
After his Osprey is taken down by Alien Crafts , Adrian Shephard wakes up in a damaged Black Mesa infirmary, in an area that appears to still be under the control of Black Mesa personnel , who are caring for wounded HECU soldiers and studying Headcrabs . [6]
Ordinance Storage Facility [ edit ]
The biggest of the three Ordinance Storage Facilities seen in the four games of the Half-Life story arc, it is separated from Sector G 's Hydro-Electric Dam by a small desert, and beneath the facility is a multi-story parking lot.
Parking Garage [ edit ]
This area is a large underground parking garage, and is connected to a series of train tunnels. The Black Ops assassins plant a bomb here to destroy the entire facility.
Satellite Communications Center [ edit ]
Located right outside Sector A's Training Facility, it houses a large satellite uplink dish and a semi-subterranean freight warehouse.
Section A-17 Prototype Labs [ edit ]
A very old sector of Black Mesa, these labs are located below the Freight Yard. There Black Mesa's first teleportation experiments took place. [7]
Storage Areas 2 and 3 [ edit ]
Found near a blast furnace area, these areas are used for storage as well as vehicle repair, as one of the signs shows.
Topside Motorpool [ edit ]
First seen in the Half-Life chapter Surface Tension , this area features the bulk of Black Mesa's still-functional military facilities, as well as maintenance and storage areas for the Black Mesa SUVs . [1]
Unnamed Decay location [ edit ]
This area is a medium-sized facility near the surface level containing the dampening locks.
Unnamed industrial area [ edit ]
This unnamed area connected to the Materials Transport includes partially flooded areas filled with Leeches and Ichthyosaur (this is where they are first introduced), a cryogenic storage facility, and a storage area where the Black Ops are first introduced.
Waste Processing Area 3 [ edit ]
In a surface section of Waste Processing Area 3 can be found a Tactical Map originally manned by Cooper , a now dead HECU soldier, and used by Gordon Freeman to defeat the chasing Gargantua and clear the way ahead, leading to the Sector F . [1] Another part of Waste Processing Area 3 connected to Sector E is seen in Opposing Force . This is where the Pit Worm is found. [6]
Other notable features [ edit ]
Posters and other artwork [ edit ]
Gallery [ edit ]What follows is every piece of artwork (mostly photos and posters) seen throughout Half-Life and its Expansions, as the original textures. Includes the images removed from the final game and the images present in the game files only.  F-14 with Phoenix missiles.  Two F-14s from Top Gun flying.  Thurgood Marshall.  Atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 ( Alpha version only).  A bald eagle.  Jimi Hendrix ( Alpha version only).  Albert Einstein ( Alpha version only).  Bettie Page pin-up calendar ( Alpha version only).  Earth ("The Blue Marble") calendar.  Coca-Cola Santa Claus calendar ( Alpha version only).  Computer generated image of a carcinogen bound in a DNA double helix calendar.  Mike and Monica Harrington.  Probably Jay Stelly and companion.  Probably children of a Valve employee ( Alpha version only).  Valve's Ted Backman and companion Vanessa Slough.  Probably a Valve employee ( Alpha version only).  The Half-Life team around 1998 (apparently on a baseball field, with Gabe Newell sitting in the middle).  The White House.  Marilyn Monroe (cropped from original) ( Alpha version only).  Valve into the head of the "Open your mind" Mr. Valve.  Probably J. Robert Oppenheimer .  Martin Luther King and Malcolm X shaking hands.  Isabel Teasley, daughter of Valve's Harry Teasley, presented in-universe as a relative of Gordon's.  Probably Gearbox employees.  Probably children of a Gearbox employee.  Image of Gearbox level designer Rob Heironimus, seen several times through the Gearbox expansions.  "Employee of the Month" picture of Gordon Freeman.  One of the two pictures from Barney Calhoun's locker.  Probably the child of a Gearbox employee. Pin-up posters  Bettie Page ( Alpha version only).  Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch ( Alpha version only).  Pamela Anderson ( Alpha version only).  Farrah Fawcett ( Alpha version only).  Marilyn Monroe ( Alpha version only).  Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman from the 1970s TV series of the same name ( Alpha version only).  Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. (originally with John Richardson on the left, but edited out in this version) ( Alpha version only).  Lucy Lawless as Xena from the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess .  Advertisements  Flip sign featuring the AH-64 Apache.  Flip sign featuring the Sector G dam.  Flip sign featuring the Loader.  Flip sign featuring an early version of the Black Mesa security guard.  Flip sign featuring the Black Mesa Transit System.  Flip sign featuring scientists "working as a team".  Flip sign featuring automated work made along the Sector C Line.  Flip sign featuring the Black Mesa desert.  Ad featuring the security guard training range at Area 3 Medium Security Facilities in Sector C.  Ad featuring scientists shaking hands.  Ad featuring the Ionization Chambers from the Anomalous Materials.  Ad featuring "Gus" working along the Sector C Line.  Ad featuring a scientist in cleansuit in one of the Sterilization Chambers at the Alien Research Labs.  Ad offering jobs. Behind the scenes [ edit ]
 Hall in unknown area. Concept art [ edit ] Fuel depot.  "Detectomatic 2000" security checkpoint.  The launch room.  The refurbished missile silo.  The cooling tank.  The cyrogenic room.  A train tunnel. List of appearances [ edit ]Main games [ edit ].
Other [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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 Black Mesa Research Facility Welcome to BMRF Group Biological Waste Processing Plant Hawkeye Community College  Aperture Science Enrichment Center Michigan , USA Alien Quarantine Labs We are driven to change lives for the better and we do that by creating places and spaces that positively impact the people who use them and the environment that surrounds them. View more projects → By the NumbersWe prioritize sustainable energy and ecological conservation in every project we take on. Lower energy consumption and costs than comparable buildings around the world. Reduction in the use of non-renewable resources. Use of recycled and recyclable materials.  “I have been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17.” Wallace Breen — Founder, Architect Recent NewsView all news →  The Art of Connection Beyond the Obstacle Growth Unlocked Collaboration MagicBlack mesa location. The Black Mesa Research Facility, or B.M.R.F. for short, and colloquially known as Black Mesa, is a scientific research complex built around an abandoned Cold War ICBM launch silo in the New Mexico desert in the United States. We have allocated some of our most important tasks to our Hawkeye Branch in an effort to plan for further expansion. Help aid us in our endeavor  Black Mesa Research Facility
 The Black Mesa Research Facility , colloquially known as Black Mesa , is a top-secret scientific research complex built in the New Mexico desert in the United States. The site was the focal point of the Black Mesa Incident .
Overview [ ]Black Mesa is a top-secret, highly classified research facility, with its existence always being denied by the government, comprised of various complexes within the New Mexico desert in the United States. Within the modification Black Ops , only an outside entrance and a parking garage area are seen. [1] Appearances [ ]Black ops [ ]. By 1997, black trucks operated by the Black Ops were seen coming in and out of Metro City , transporting weapons and operatives to the Black Mesa Research Facility in preparation for an experiment within the Anomalous Materials Lab. [1] In 1998, a failed experiment within the Anomalous Materials laboratory at the Black Mesa Research Facility triggered a rare quantum event known as a Resonance Cascade, which ruptured the space-time continuum and allowed for Xenian aliens to be dispersed onto Earth from the borderworld. [1] Eventually, Black Ops operative Declan Walker is given the assignment of destroying Black Mesa with a thermonuclear device. In the parking garage, Walker is shot by Adrian Shephard who disarms the nuke, however, the nuke is reactivated once again by the G-Man . The facility begins shaking and crumbling, presumably due to the emergence of the Gene Worm, causing Walker to flee the area. [1] Known personnel [ ]
References [ ]
Get the Reddit appWelcome. Welcome to r/HalfLife. You have chosen, or have been chosen to subscribe to our subreddit. It's safer here. You've come to the right place to discuss Half-Life. How big is the Black Mesa Research Facility?From what I've gathered, Black Mesa is pretty damn big, given that it's described as being as big as a city, and the fact that the entire staff live on site, as well as the facility having an entire range of recreational facilities and relaxation areas. But just how big in actual size is it? By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy . Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator appYou’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account. Enter a 6-digit backup codeCreate your username and password. Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it. Reset your passwordEnter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password Check your inboxAn email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account Choose a Reddit account to continue BLACK MESA RESEARCH FACILITY  THE BLACK MESA RESEARCH FACILITYOverview of Our Research About the Black Mesa Research Facility  ANOMALOUS MATERIALSMarch 15, 2003 We still have only a very limited understanding of most aspects about our planet. Answering questions about this is essential for understanding the mechanistic role it plays on other scientific processes, and for developing tools to further explore this research avenue with more sensitive measurements and improved data collection. Our end goal is localized teleportation. Think you can help? Contact us now to start the security clearance process.  BLACK MESA FACILITYMarch 10, 2003 Photo of the stunning grounds on which our facility is built. Here in the deserts of New Mexico our research goes on underground. 827 Black Mesa Road New Mexico, USA 123-456-7890 Thanks for submitting! Major gift accelerates transformation of old mall into UCLA research hub
The reincarnation of a shuttered Los Angeles retail mecca as a sprawling UCLA research center has received a major boost from billionaire philanthropist Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife, Alya, who will give $120 million to ramp up the project. Michelson, a spine surgeon and inventor, said the money will help launch the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, which aims to create breakthrough discoveries that prevent and cure diseases including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. The institute will be a tenant in UCLA Research Park, which is under construction in the former Westside Pavilion. The indoor mall two miles south of the university at Pico and Westwood boulevards was a 1980s icon popular with shoppers and filmmakers before falling out of favor. Most of its stores closed by 2019. The shopping center was being converted to offices when the UC Regents bought it for $700 million in January to create the research park. Along with the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, it will house the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, as well as other science and medicine programs. By purchasing the former shopping center, UCLA saved years of toil to build such a facility on its campus, which is the smallest of the nine UC undergraduate campuses and has very little room for growth.  “That building would have gone on the last available piece of property on the UCLA campus,” Michelson said, “and it would have been extraordinarily expensive to build there. As a real estate matter, this was just an extraordinary opportunity.” The immunology institute had been planned for years, while a full-scale research park was something “we’ve always dreamed of having ... but we always recognized we could never find a piece of property that big close to campus. We had sort of given up on the idea many years ago — and it came alive,” said former UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who was instrumental in the purchase of the former Westside Pavilion. An earlier plan to build the institute on the campus called for tearing down a parking garage, digging a hole deep enough to replace the parking and erecting a new building on top, Block said. The gift, through the Michelson Medical Research Foundation , designates $100 million to establish two research entities within the institute, each funded with $50 million; one will focus on rapid vaccine development and the other on harnessing the body’s microbiome to advance human health. The microbiome research will be conducted in collaboration with the new UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center , placing it among the largest microbiome research enterprises in the world, the foundation said. The foundation is also funding a $20-million endowment to provide research grants to young scientists using novel processes to advance immunotherapy research, human immunology and vaccine discovery. The institute will have labs of different sizes meant to serve biotech researchers who can start with small teams that can grow into larger labs if they find success. “We’re going to create an entire ecosystem of biotech startups and they’re going to stay right here” and attract other players to the neighborhood, Michelson said. “We’re going to build out an entire ecosystem of biotech all through Westwood.” He envisions 5,000 people, including 500 research scientists, working in the institute. Gov. Gavin Newsom estimated in January that it would take more than three years to fully transform the 700,000-square-foot complex, but Michelson hopes to have a large portion of the immunology institute operating in half that time, he said. At 360,000 square feet, the institute will be the research park’s primary tenant. The former mall’s 12-screen multiplex movie theater may be converted into lecture halls or performance spaces offering programming across the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences, the chancellor’s office said.  The gift is the Michelsons’ largest single donation in 30 years of philanthropy that includes $50 million to build Michelson Hall at the University of Southern California, which is home to the Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. The Michelson name will not be attached to the new UCLA complex, he said, because other philanthropists — perhaps one who donates more than he did — may want the recognition. “The gift will change countless lives here and across the globe,” UCLA interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt said. The institute will operate as a nonprofit medical research organization funded by a public-private partnership and governed by an independent board that includes UCLA representatives, according to a UC Regents document . The institute will pay UCLA 7.5% of the net revenues generated by the sale of new medicines and other inventions its scientists create, the document said. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the project “has the potential to fundamentally change health outcomes around the world and create good jobs in Los Angeles.” The purchase of the former Westside Pavilion marked the third major acquisition for the public university system in Los Angeles in less than two years. Seeking to expand its footprint, UCLA announced in June 2023 that it had acquired the Art Deco-style Trust Building in downtown Los Angeles and renamed it UCLA Downtown. Nine months prior, the school spent $80 million to buy two other major properties owned by Marymount California University, a small Catholic university that was shuttered last year. The purchase included Marymount’s 24.5-acre campus in Rancho Palos Verdes and an 11-acre residential site in nearby San Pedro. More to Read Column: A new era at California Endowment as longtime leader Robert K. Ross retiresAug. 29, 2024  L.A.’s new Intuit Dome just might be one of the best arena designs in America. But there’s one missing linkAug. 8, 2024  Historically Black medical school in South L.A. receives largest gift everAug. 7, 2024 Inside the business of entertainment The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.  Roger Vincent covers commercial real estate for the Los Angeles Times. More From the Los Angeles Times California is racing to combat deepfakes ahead of the election ‘My kids go to Costco now,’ and other reasons Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS are hurtingAug. 31, 2024  World & Nation Brazil blocks Musk’s X after company refuses to name local representative amid feud with judgeAug. 30, 2024  How high are the prices for a Shohei Ohtani, Decoy bobblehead? A seller wants it to fetch $69,420 Advanced Biological Research Lab
The Advanced Biological Research Lab is Black Mesa Research Facility area located near Sector G 's Hydro-Electric Dam and partially above the Biological Waste Processing Plant . Controlled by the HECU , it covers the Half-Life chapter Questionable Ethics .
Overview [ ] Headcrabs being disintegrated in one of the Sterilization Chambers. The Advanced Biological Research Lab ground floor features a large lobby that gives access, through a revolving door, to a road passing by the Hydro-Electric Dam and leading to freight hangars (this is the road partly taken by Gordon Freeman during his journey to the Lambda Complex ). As seen by Adrian Shephard later in the Black Mesa Incident , the road is obstructed by Race X moss , blocking the access to the dam. It can be reached from the Biological Waste Processing Plant through a drain located in a small room where Houndeyes are being kept in captivity. There Freeman mostly has to find a scientist to operate the retinal scanner located in the main lobby, allowing him to continue his journey. Spread on two levels, the ground floor features two Sterilization Chambers, rooms that disintegrate any biological form they contain with their Biological Sterilization System using electrical current, primarily used in case of alien containment system failure (they can be used either to kill Headcrabs or HECU soldiers easily, as they seal themselves from the outside when operated). The ground floor also features a surgical unit that can apparently perform surgical operations on two beds at a time, several Alien Grunts kept alive in large tanks, and Headcrabs contained in glass cases. Near the surgical unit, Freeman finds three scientists hiding from the grunts, and one of them explains that their colleague Peters turned it on, but was likely killed by it. Freeman has then to turn it off so that a scientist can follow him to the main lobby. The second floor is dedicated to testing a large high-powered laser. There HECU soldiers are fighting Bullsquids and Houndeyes . The Tau Cannon is also found in one room, after a security guard overcharges it and kills himself and a nearby scientist who were barricaded in a room. Behind the scenes [ ]
Gallery [ ]Pre-release [ ].  List of appearances [ ]
References [ ]
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YEKATERINBURG: FACTORIES, URAL SIGHTS, YELTSIN AND THE WHERE NICHOLAS II WAS KILLEDSverdlovsk oblast. Sverdlovsk Oblast is the largest region in the Urals; it lies in the foothills of mountains and contains a monument indicating the border between Europe and Asia. The region covers 194,800 square kilometers (75,200 square miles), is home to about 4.3 million people and has a population density of 22 people per square kilometer. About 83 percent of the population live in urban areas. Yekaterinburg is the capital and largest city, with 1.5 million people. For Russians, the Ural Mountains are closely associated with Pavel Bazhov's tales and known for folk crafts such as Kasli iron sculpture, Tagil painting, and copper embossing. Yekaterinburg is the birthplace of Russia’s iron and steel industry, taking advantage of the large iron deposits in the Ural mountains. The popular Silver Ring of the Urals tourist route starts here. In the summer you can follow in the tracks of Yermak, climb relatively low Ural mountain peaks and look for boulders seemingly with human faces on them. You can head to the Gemstone Belt of the Ural mountains, which used to house emerald, amethyst and topaz mines. In the winter you can go ice fishing, ski and cross-country ski. Sverdlovsk Oblast and Yekaterinburg are located near the center of Russia, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and also the southern and northern parts of Russia. Winters are longer and colder than in western section of European Russia. Snowfalls can be heavy. Winter temperatures occasionally drop as low as - 40 degrees C (-40 degrees F) and the first snow usually falls in October. A heavy winter coat, long underwear and good boots are essential. Snow and ice make the sidewalks very slippery, so footwear with a good grip is important. Since the climate is very dry during the winter months, skin moisturizer plus lip balm are recommended. Be alert for mud on street surfaces when snow cover is melting (April-May). Patches of mud create slippery road conditions. YekaterinburgYekaterinburg (kilometer 1818 on the Trans-Siberian Railway) is the fourth largest city in Russia, with of 1.5 million and growth rate of about 12 percent, high for Russia. Located in the southern Ural mountains, it was founded by Peter the Great and named after his wife Catherine, it was used by the tsars as a summer retreat and is where tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed and President Boris Yeltsin lived most of his life and began his political career. The city is near the border between Europe and Asia. Yekaterinburg (also spelled Ekaterinburg) is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains in the headwaters of the Iset and Pyshma Rivers. The Iset runs through the city center. Three ponds — Verkh-Isetsky, Gorodskoy and Nizhne-Isetsky — were created on it. Yekaterinburg has traditionally been a city of mining and was once the center of the mining industry of the Urals and Siberia. Yekaterinburg remains a major center of the Russian armaments industry and is sometimes called the "Pittsburgh of Russia.". A few ornate, pastel mansions and wide boulevards are reminders of the tsarist era. The city is large enough that it has its own Metro system but is characterized mostly by blocky Soviet-era apartment buildings. The city has advanced under President Vladimir Putin and is now one of the fastest growing places in Russia, a country otherwise characterized by population declines Yekaterinburg is technically an Asian city as it lies 32 kilometers east of the continental divide between Europe and Asia. The unofficial capital of the Urals, a key region in the Russian heartland, it is second only to Moscow in terms of industrial production and capital of Sverdlovsk oblast. Among the important industries are ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, machine building and metalworking, chemical and petrochemicals, construction materials and medical, light and food industries. On top of being home of numerous heavy industries and mining concerns, Yekaterinburg is also a major center for industrial research and development and power engineering as well as home to numerous institutes of higher education, technical training, and scientific research. In addition, Yekaterinburg is the largest railway junction in Russia: the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through it, the southern, northern, western and eastern routes merge in the city. Accommodation: There are two good and affordable hotels — the 3-star Emerald and Parus hotels — located close to the city's most popular landmarks and main transport interchanges in the center of Yekaterinburg. Room prices start at RUB 1,800 per night. History of YekaterinburgYekaterinburg was founded in 1723 by Peter the Great and named after his wife Catherine I. It was used by the tsars as a summer retreat but was mainly developed as metalworking and manufacturing center to take advantage of the large deposits of iron and other minerals in the Ural mountains. It is best known to Americans as the place where the last Tsar and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and near where American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Gary Powers, was shot down in 1960. Peter the Great recognized the importance of the iron and copper-rich Urals region for Imperial Russia's industrial and military development. In November 1723, he ordered the construction of a fortress factory and an ironworks in the Iset River Valley, which required a dam for its operation. In its early years Yekaterinburg grew rich from gold and other minerals and later coal. The Yekaterinburg gold rush of 1745 created such a huge amount of wealth that one rich baron of that time hosted a wedding party that lasted a year. By the mid-18th century, metallurgical plants had sprung up across the Urals to cast cannons, swords, guns and other weapons to arm Russia’s expansionist ambitions. The Yekaterinburg mint produced most of Russia's coins. Explorations of the Trans-Baikal and Altai regions began here in the 18th century. Iron, cast iron and copper were the main products. Even though Iron from the region went into the Eiffel Tower, the main plant in Yekaterinburg itself was shut down in 1808. The city still kept going through a mountain factory control system of the Urals. The first railway in the Urals was built here: in 1878, the Yekaterinburg-Perm railway branch connected the province's capital with the factories of the Middle Urals. In the Soviet era the city was called Sverdlovsk (named after Yakov Sverdlov, the man who organized Nicholas II's execution). During the first five-year plans the city became industrial — old plants were reconstructed, new ones were built. The center of Yekaterinburg was formed to conform to the historical general plan of 1829 but was the layout was adjusted around plants and factories. In the Stalin era the city was a major gulag transhipment center. In World War II, many defense-related industries were moved here. It and the surrounding area were a center of the Soviet Union's military industrial complex. Soviet tanks, missiles and aircraft engines were made in the Urals. During the Cold War era, Yekaterinburg was a center of weapons-grade uranium enrichment and processing, warhead assembly and dismantlement. In 1979, 64 people died when anthrax leaked from a biological weapons facility. Yekaterinburg was a “Closed City” for 40 years during the Cold Soviet era and was not open to foreigners until 1991 In the early post-Soviet era, much like Pittsburgh in the 1970s, Yekaterinburg had a hard struggle d to cope with dramatic economic changes that have made its heavy industries uncompetitive on the world market. Huge defense plants struggled to survive and the city was notorious as an organized crime center in the 1990s, when its hometown boy Boris Yeltsin was President of Russia. By the 2000s, Yekaterinburg’s retail and service was taking off, the defense industry was reviving and it was attracting tech industries and investments related to the Urals’ natural resources. By the 2010s it was vying to host a world exhibition in 2020 (it lost, Dubai won) and it had McDonald’s, Subway, sushi restaurants, and Gucci, Chanel and Armani. There were Bentley and Ferrari dealerships but they closed down Transportation in YekaterinburgGetting There: By Plane: Yekaterinburg is a three-hour flight from Moscow with prices starting at RUB 8,000, or a 3-hour flight from Saint Petersburg starting from RUB 9,422 (direct round-trip flight tickets for one adult passenger). There are also flights from Frankfurt, Istanbul, China and major cities in the former Soviet Union. By Train: Yekaterinburg is a major stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Daily train service is available to Moscow and many other Russian cities.Yekaterinburg is a 32-hour train ride from Moscow (tickets RUB 8,380 and above) or a 36-hour train ride from Saint Petersburg (RUB 10,300 and above). The ticket prices are round trip for a berth in a sleeper compartment for one adult passenger). By Car: a car trip from Moscow to Yekateringburg is 1,787 kilometers long and takes about 18 hours. The road from Saint Petersburg is 2,294 kilometers and takes about 28 hours. Regional Transport: The region's public transport includes buses and suburban electric trains. Regional trains provide transport to larger cities in the Ural region. Buses depart from Yekaterinburg’s two bus stations: the Southern Bus Station and the Northern Bus Station. Regional Transport: According the to Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT): “Public transportation is well developed. Overcrowding is common. Fares are low. Service is efficient. Buses are the main form of public transport. Tram network is extensive. Fares are reasonable; service is regular. Trams are heavily used by residents, overcrowding is common. Purchase ticket after boarding. Metro runs from city center to Uralmash, an industrial area south of the city. Metro ends near the main railway station. Fares are inexpensive. “Traffic is congested in city center. Getting around by car can be difficult. Route taxis (minivans) provide the fastest transport. They generally run on specific routes, but do not have specific stops. Drivers stop where passengers request. Route taxis can be hailed. Travel by bus or trolleybuses may be slow in rush hour. Trams are less affected by traffic jams. Trolley buses (electric buses) cannot run when temperatures drop below freezing.” Entertainment, Sports and Recreation in YekaterinburgThe performing arts in Yekaterinburg are first rate. The city has an excellent symphony orchestra, opera and ballet theater, and many other performing arts venues. Tickets are inexpensive. The Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater is lavishly designed and richly decorated building in the city center of Yekaterinburg. The theater was established in 1912 and building was designed by architect Vladimir Semyonov and inspired by the Vienna Opera House and the Theater of Opera and Ballet in Odessa. Vaynera Street is a pedestrian only shopping street in city center with restaurants, cafes and some bars. But otherwise Yekaterinburg's nightlife options are limited. There are a handful of expensive Western-style restaurants and bars, none of them that great. Nightclubs serve the city's nouveau riche clientele. Its casinos have closed down. Some of them had links with organized crime. New dance clubs have sprung up that are popular with Yekaterinburg's more affluent youth. Yekaterinburg's most popular spectator sports are hockey, basketball, and soccer. There are stadiums and arenas that host all three that have fairly cheap tickets. There is an indoor water park and lots of parks and green spaces. The Urals have many lakes, forests and mountains are great for hiking, boating, berry and mushroom hunting, swimming and fishing. Winter sports include cross-country skiing and ice skating. Winter lasts about six months and there’s usually plenty of snow. The nearby Ural Mountains however are not very high and the downhill skiing opportunities are limited.. Sights in YekaterinburgSights in Yekaterinburg include the Museum of City Architecture and Ural Industry, with an old water tower and mineral collection with emeralds. malachite, tourmaline, jasper and other precious stone; Geological Alley, a small park with labeled samples of minerals found in the Urals region; the Ural Geology Museum, which houses an extensive collection of stones, gold and gems from the Urals; a monument marking the border between Europe and Asia; a memorial for gulag victims; and a graveyard with outlandish memorials for slain mafia members. The Military History Museum houses the remains of the U-2 spy plane shot down in 1960 and locally made tanks and rocket launchers. The fine arts museum contains paintings by some of Russia's 19th-century masters. Also worth a look are the History an Local Studies Museum; the Political History and Youth Museum; and the University and Arboretum. Old wooden houses can be seen around Zatoutstovsya ulitsa and ulitsa Belinskogo. Around the city are wooded parks, lakes and quarries used to harvest a variety of minerals. Weiner Street is the main street of Yekaterinburg. Along it are lovely sculptures and 19th century architecture. Take a walk around the unique Literary Quarter Plotinka is a local meeting spot, where you will often find street musicians performing. Plotinka can be described as the center of the city's center. This is where Yekaterinburg holds its biggest events: festivals, seasonal fairs, regional holiday celebrations, carnivals and musical fountain shows. There are many museums and open-air exhibitions on Plotinka. Plotinka is named after an actual dam of the city pond located nearby (“plotinka” means “a small dam” in Russian).In November 1723, Peter the Great ordered the construction of an ironworks in the Iset River Valley, which required a dam for its operation. “Iset” can be translated from Finnish as “abundant with fish”. This name was given to the river by the Mansi — the Finno-Ugric people dwelling on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals. Vysotsky and Iset are skyscrapers that are 188.3 meters and 209 meters high, respectively. Fifty-story-high Iset has been described by locals as the world’s northernmost skyscraper. Before the construction of Iset, Vysotsky was the tallest building of Yekaterinburg and Russia (excluding Moscow). A popular vote has decided to name the skyscraper after the famous Soviet songwriter, singer and actor Vladimir Vysotsky. and the building was opened on November 25, 2011. There is a lookout at the top of the building, and the Vysotsky museum on its second floor. The annual “Vysotsky climb” (1137 steps) is held there, with a prize of RUB 100,000. While Vysotsky serves as an office building, Iset, owned by the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, houses 225 premium residential apartments ranging from 80 to 490 square meters in size. Boris Yeltsin Presidential CenterThe Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center (in the city center: ul. Yeltsina, 3) is a non-governmental organization named after the first president of the Russian Federation. The Museum of the First President of Russia as well as his archives are located in the Center. There is also a library, educational and children's centers, and exposition halls. Yeltsin lived most of his life and began his political career in Yekaterinburg. He was born in Butka about 200 kilometers east of Yekaterinburg. The core of the Center is the Museum. Modern multimedia technologies help animate the documents, photos from the archives, and artifacts. The Yeltsin Museum holds collections of: propaganda posters, leaflets, and photos of the first years of the Soviet regime; portraits and portrait sculptures of members of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of various years; U.S.S.R. government bonds and other items of the Soviet era; a copy of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, published in the “Novy Mir” magazine (#11, 1962); perestroika-era editions of books by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Vasily Grossman, and other authors; theater, concert, and cinema posters, programs, and tickets — in short, all of the artifacts of the perestroika era. The Yeltsin Center opened in 2012. Inside you will also find an art gallery, a bookstore, a gift shop, a food court, concert stages and a theater. There are regular screenings of unique films that you will not find anywhere else. Also operating inside the center, is a scientific exploritorium for children. The center was designed by Boris Bernaskoni. Almost from the its very opening, the Yeltsin Center has been accused by members of different political entities of various ideological crimes. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00am to 9:00pm. Where Nicholas II was ExecutedOn July, 17, 1918, during this reign of terror of the Russian Civil War, former-tsar Nicholas II, his wife, five children (the 13-year-old Alexis, 22-year-old Olga, 19-year-old Maria and 17-year-old Anastasia)the family physician, the cook, maid, and valet were shot to death by a Red Army firing squad in the cellar of the house they were staying at in Yekaterinburg. Ipatiev House (near Church on the Blood, Ulitsa Libknekhta) was a merchant's house where Nicholas II and his family were executed. The house was demolished in 1977, on the orders of an up and coming communist politician named Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin later said that the destruction of the house was an "act of barbarism" and he had no choice because he had been ordered to do it by the Politburo, The site is marked with s cross with the photos of the family members and cross bearing their names. A small wooden church was built at the site. It contains paintings of the family. For a while there were seven traditional wooden churches. Mass is given ay noon everyday in an open-air museum. The Church on the Blood — constructed to honor Nicholas II and his family — was built on the part of the site in 1991 and is now a major place of pilgrimage. Nicholas and his family where killed during the Russian civil war. It is thought the Bolsheviks figured that Nicholas and his family gave the Whites figureheads to rally around and they were better of dead. Even though the death orders were signed Yakov Sverdlov, the assassination was personally ordered by Lenin, who wanted to get them out of sight and out of mind. Trotsky suggested a trial. Lenin nixed the idea, deciding something had to be done about the Romanovs before White troops approached Yekaterinburg. Trotsky later wrote: "The decision was not only expedient but necessary. The severity of he punishment showed everyone that we would continue to fight on mercilessly, stopping at nothing." Ian Frazier wrote in The New Yorker: “Having read a lot about the end of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and servants, I wanted to see the place in Yekaterinburg where that event occurred. The gloomy quality of this quest depressed Sergei’s spirits, but he drove all over Yekaterinburg searching for the site nonetheless. Whenever he stopped and asked a pedestrian how to get to the house where Nicholas II was murdered, the reaction was a wince. Several people simply walked away. But eventually, after a lot of asking, Sergei found the location. It was on a low ridge near the edge of town, above railroad tracks and the Iset River. The house, known as the Ipatiev House, was no longer standing, and the basement where the actual killings happened had been filled in. I found the blankness of the place sinister and dizzying. It reminded me of an erasure done so determinedly that it had worn a hole through the page. [Source: Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, August 3, 2009, Frazier is author of “Travels in Siberia” (2010)] “The street next to the site is called Karl Liebknecht Street. A building near where the house used to be had a large green advertisement that said, in English, “LG—Digitally Yours.” On an adjoining lot, a small chapel kept the memory of the Tsar and his family; beneath a pedestal holding an Orthodox cross, peonies and pansies grew. The inscription on the pedestal read, “We go down on our knees, Russia, at the foot of the tsarist cross.” Books: The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie (Random House, 1995); The Fall of the Romanovs by Mark D. Steinberg and Vladimir Khrustalëv (Yale, 1995); See Separate Article END OF NICHOLAS II factsanddetails.com Execution of Nicholas IIAccording to Robert Massie K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra, Nicholas II and his family were awakened from their bedrooms around midnight and taken to the basement. They were told they were to going to take some photographs of them and were told to stand behind a row of chairs. Suddenly, a group of 11 Russians and Latvians, each with a revolver, burst into the room with orders to kill a specific person. Yakob Yurovsky, a member of the Soviet executive committee, reportedly shouted "your relatives are continuing to attack the Soviet Union.” After firing, bullets bouncing off gemstones hidden in the corsets of Alexandra and her daughters ricocheted around the room like "a shower of hail," the soldiers said. Those that were still breathing were killed with point black shots to the head. The three sisters and the maid survived the first round thanks to their gems. They were pressed up against a wall and killed with a second round of bullets. The maid was the only one that survived. She was pursued by the executioners who stabbed her more than 30 times with their bayonets. The still writhing body of Alexis was made still by a kick to the head and two bullets in the ear delivered by Yurovsky himself. Yurovsky wrote: "When the party entered I told the Romanovs that in view of the fact their relatives continued their offensive against Soviet Russia, the Executive Committee of the Urals Soviet had decided to shoot them. Nicholas turned his back to the detachment and faced his family. Then, as if collecting himself, he turned around, asking, 'What? What?'" "[I] ordered the detachment to prepare. Its members had been previously instructed whom to shoot and to am directly at the heart to avoid much blood and to end more quickly. Nicholas said no more. he turned again to his family. The others shouted some incoherent exclamations. All this lasted a few seconds. Then commenced the shooting, which went on for two or three minutes. [I] killed Nicholas on the spot." Nicholas II’s Initial Burial Site in YekaterinburgGanina Yama Monastery (near the village of Koptyaki, 15 kilometers northwest of Yekaterinburg) stands near the three-meter-deep pit where some the remains of Nicholas II and his family were initially buried. The second burial site — where most of the remains were — is in a field known as Porosyonkov (56.9113628°N 60.4954326°E), seven kilometers from Ganina Yama. On visiting Ganina Yama Monastery, one person posted in Trip Advisor: “We visited this set of churches in a pretty park with Konstantin from Ekaterinburg Guide Centre. He really brought it to life with his extensive knowledge of the history of the events surrounding their terrible end. The story is so moving so unless you speak Russian, it is best to come here with a guide or else you will have no idea of what is what.” In 1991, the acid-burned remains of Nicholas II and his family were exhumed from a shallow roadside mass grave in a swampy area 12 miles northwest of Yekaterinburg. The remains had been found in 1979 by geologist and amateur archeologist Alexander Avdonin, who kept the location secret out of fear that they would be destroyed by Soviet authorities. The location was disclosed to a magazine by one his fellow discovers. The original plan was to throw the Romanovs down a mine shaft and disposes of their remains with acid. They were thrown in a mine with some grenades but the mine didn't collapse. They were then carried by horse cart. The vats of acid fell off and broke. When the carriage carrying the bodies broke down it was decided the bury the bodies then and there. The remaining acid was poured on the bones, but most of it was soaked up the ground and the bones largely survived. After this their pulses were then checked, their faces were crushed to make them unrecognizable and the bodies were wrapped in bed sheets loaded onto a truck. The "whole procedure," Yurovsky said took 20 minutes. One soldiers later bragged than he could "die in peace because he had squeezed the Empress's -------." The bodies were taken to a forest and stripped, burned with acid and gasoline, and thrown into abandoned mine shafts and buried under railroad ties near a country road near the village of Koptyaki. "The bodies were put in the hole," Yurovsky wrote, "and the faces and all the bodies, generally doused with sulfuric acid, both so they couldn't be recognized and prevent a stink from them rotting...We scattered it with branches and lime, put boards on top and drove over it several times—no traces of the hole remained. Shortly afterwards, the government in Moscow announced that Nicholas II had been shot because of "a counterrevolutionary conspiracy." There was no immediate word on the other members of the family which gave rise to rumors that other members of the family had escaped. Yekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlov in honor of the man who signed the death orders. For seven years the remains of Nicholas II, Alexandra, three of their daughters and four servants were stored in polyethylene bags on shelves in the old criminal morgue in Yekaterunburg. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas II and his family and servants who were murdered with him were buried Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg along with the other Romanov tsars, who have been buried there starting with Peter the Great. Nicholas II had a side chapel built for himself at the fortress in 1913 but was buried in a new crypt. Near YekaterinburgFactory-Museum of Iron and Steel Metallurgy (in Niznhy Tagil 80 kilometers north of Yekaterinburg) a museum with old mining equipment made at the site of huge abandoned iron and steel factory. Officially known as the Factory-Museum of the History of the Development of Iron and Steel Metallurgy, it covers an area of 30 hectares and contains a factory founded by the Demidov family in 1725 that specialized mainly in the production of high-quality cast iron and steel. Later, the foundry was renamed after Valerian Kuybyshev, a prominent figure of the Communist Party. The first Russian factory museum, the unusual museum demonstrates all stages of metallurgy and metal working. There is even a blast furnace and an open-hearth furnace. The display of factory equipment includes bridge crane from 1892) and rolling stock equipment from the 19th-20th centuries. In Niznhy Tagil contains some huge blocks of malachite and Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha (180 kilometers east-northeast of Yekaterinburg) has an open air architecture museum with log buildings, a stone church and other pre-revolutionary architecture. The village is the creation of Ivan Samoilov, a local activist who loved his village so much he dedicated 40 years of his life to recreating it as the open-air museum of wooden architecture. The stone Savior Church, a good example of Siberian baroque architecture. The interior and exterior of the church are exhibition spaces of design. The houses are very colorful. In tsarist times, rich villagers hired serfs to paint the walls of their wooden izbas (houses) bright colors. Old neglected buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries have been brought to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha from all over the Urals. You will see the interior design of the houses and hear stories about traditions and customs of the Ural farmers. Verkhoturye (330 kilometers road from Yekaterinburg) is the home a 400-year-old monastery that served as 16th century capital of the Urals. Verkhoturye is a small town on the Tura River knows as the Jerusalem of the Urals for its many holy places, churches and monasteries. The town's main landmark is its Kremlin — the smallest in Russia. Pilgrims visit the St. Nicholas Monastery to see the remains of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye, the patron saint of fishermen. Ural MountainsUral Mountains are the traditional dividing line between Europe and Asia and have been a crossroads of Russian history. Stretching from Kazakhstan to the fringes of the Arctic Kara Sea, the Urals lie almost exactly along the 60 degree meridian of longitude and extend for about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) from north to south and varies in width from about 50 kilometers (30 miles) in the north and 160 kilometers (100 miles) the south. At kilometers 1777 on the Trans-Siberian Railway there is white obelisk with "Europe" carved in Russian on one side and "Asia" carved on the other. The eastern side of the Urals contains a lot of granite and igneous rock. The western side is primarily sandstone and limestones. A number of precious stones can be found in the southern part of the Urals, including emeralds. malachite, tourmaline, jasper and aquamarines. The highest peaks are in the north. Mount Narodnaya is the highest of all but is only 1884 meters (6,184 feet) high. The northern Urals are covered in thick forests and home to relatively few people. Like the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, the Urals are very old mountains — with rocks and sediments that are hundreds of millions years old — that were one much taller than they are now and have been steadily eroded down over millions of years by weather and other natural processes to their current size. According to Encyclopedia Britannica: “The rock composition helps shape the topography: the high ranges and low, broad-topped ridges consist of quartzites, schists, and gabbro, all weather-resistant. Buttes are frequent, and there are north–south troughs of limestone, nearly all containing river valleys. Karst topography is highly developed on the western slopes of the Urals, with many caves, basins, and underground streams. The eastern slopes, on the other hand, have fewer karst formations; instead, rocky outliers rise above the flattened surfaces. Broad foothills, reduced to peneplain, adjoin the Central and Southern Urals on the east. “The Urals date from the structural upheavals of the Hercynian orogeny (about 250 million years ago). About 280 million years ago there arose a high mountainous region, which was eroded to a peneplain. Alpine folding resulted in new mountains, the most marked upheaval being that of the Nether-Polar Urals...The western slope of the Urals is composed of middle Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (sandstones and limestones) that are about 350 million years old. In many places it descends in terraces to the Cis-Ural depression (west of the Urals), to which much of the eroded matter was carried during the late Paleozoic (about 300 million years ago). Found there are widespread karst (a starkly eroded limestone region) and gypsum, with large caverns and subterranean streams. On the eastern slope, volcanic layers alternate with sedimentary strata, all dating from middle Paleozoic times.” Southern UralsThe southern Urals are characterized by grassy slopes and fertile valleys. The middle Urals are a rolling platform that barely rises above 300 meters (1,000 feet). This region is rich in minerals and has been heavily industrialized. This is where you can find Yekaterinburg (formally Sverdlovsk), the largest city in the Urals. Most of the Southern Urals are is covered with forests, with 50 percent of that pine-woods, 44 percent birch woods, and the rest are deciduous aspen and alder forests. In the north, typical taiga forests are the norm. There are patches of herbal-poaceous steppes, northem sphagnous marshes and bushy steppes, light birch forests and shady riparian forests, tall-grass mountainous meadows, lowland ling marshes and stony placers with lichen stains. In some places there are no large areas of homogeneous forests, rather they are forests with numerous glades and meadows of different size. In the Ilmensky Mountains Reserve in the Southern Urals, scientists counted 927 vascular plants (50 relicts, 23 endemic species), about 140 moss species, 483 algae species and 566 mushroom species. Among the species included into the Red Book of Russia are feather grass, downy-leaved feather grass, Zalessky feather grass, moccasin flower, ladies'-slipper, neottianthe cucullata, Baltic orchis, fen orchis, helmeted orchis, dark-winged orchis, Gelma sandwart, Krasheninnikov sandwart, Clare astragalus. The fauna of the vertebrate animals in the Reserve includes 19 fish, 5 amphibian and 5 reptile. Among the 48 mammal species are elks, roe deer, boars, foxes, wolves, lynxes, badgers, common weasels, least weasels, forest ferrets, Siberian striped weasel, common marten, American mink. Squirrels, beavers, muskrats, hares, dibblers, moles, hedgehogs, voles are quite common, as well as chiropterans: pond bat, water bat, Brandt's bat, whiskered bat, northern bat, long-eared bat, parti-coloured bat, Nathusius' pipistrelle. The 174 bird bird species include white-tailed eagles, honey hawks, boreal owls, gnome owls, hawk owls, tawny owls, common scoters, cuckoos, wookcocks, common grouses, wood grouses, hazel grouses, common partridges, shrikes, goldenmountain thrushes, black- throated loons and others. Activities and Places in the Ural MountainsThe Urals possess beautiful natural scenery that can be accessed from Yekaterinburg with a rent-a-car, hired taxi and tour. Travel agencies arrange rafting, kayaking and hiking trips. Hikes are available in the taiga forest and the Urals. Trips often include walks through the taiga to small lakes and hikes into the mountains and excursions to collect mushrooms and berries and climb in underground caves. Mellow rafting is offered in a relatively calm six kilometer section of the River Serga. In the winter visitor can enjoy cross-mountains skiing, downhill skiing, ice fishing, dog sledding, snow-shoeing and winter hiking through the forest to a cave covered with ice crystals. Lake Shartash (10 kilometers from Yekaterinburg) is where the first Ural gold was found, setting in motion the Yekaterinburg gold rush of 1745, which created so much wealth one rich baron of that time hosted a wedding party that lasted a year. The area around Shartash Lake is a favorite picnic and barbecue spot of the locals. Getting There: by bus route No. 50, 054 or 54, with a transfer to suburban commuter bus route No. 112, 120 or 121 (the whole trip takes about an hour), or by car (10 kilometers drive from the city center, 40 minutes). Revun Rapids (90 kilometers road from Yekaterinburg near Beklenishcheva village) is a popular white water rafting places On the nearby cliffs you can see the remains of a mysterious petroglyph from the Paleolithic period. Along the steep banks, you may notice the dark entrance of Smolinskaya Cave. There are legends of a sorceress who lived in there. The rocks at the riverside are suited for competitive rock climbers and beginners. Climbing hooks and rings are hammered into rocks. The most fun rafting is generally in May and June. Olenii Ruchii National Park (100 kilometers west of Yekaterinburg) is the most popular nature park in Sverdlovsk Oblast and popular weekend getaway for Yekaterinburg residents. Visitors are attracted by the beautiful forests, the crystal clear Serga River and picturesque rocks caves. There are some easy hiking routes: the six-kilometer Lesser Ring and the 15-kilometer Greater Ring. Another route extends for 18 km and passes by the Mitkinsky Mine, which operated in the 18th-19th centuries. It's a kind of an open-air museum — you can still view mining an enrichment equipment here. There is also a genuine beaver dam nearby. Among the other attractions at Olenii Ruchii are Druzhba (Friendship) Cave, with passages that extend for about 500 meters; Dyrovaty Kamen (Holed Stone), created over time by water of Serga River eroding rock; and Utoplennik (Drowned Man), where you can see “The Angel of Sole Hope”., created by the Swedish artist Lehna Edwall, who has placed seven angels figures in different parts of the world to “embrace the planet, protecting it from fear, despair, and disasters.” Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons Text Sources: Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation (official Russia tourism website russiatourism.ru ), Russian government websites, UNESCO, Wikipedia, Lonely Planet guides, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Yomiuri Shimbun and various books and other publications. Updated in September 2020
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Learn about the scientific complex in New Mexico where the Black Mesa Incident occurred in Half-Life. Explore its history, structure, personnel, hazards, and facilities in this comprehensive article.
Black Mesa is a fictional underground laboratory complex that serves as the setting for the video game Half-Life and its expansions. It conducts secret experiments into teleportation that cause a Resonance Cascade disaster and an alien invasion on Earth.
Learn about the headquarters of the Black Mesa corporation, the setting for Half-Life and its expansions. Explore its history, personnel, sectors, hazards, facilities, and more.
Black Mesa Research Facility. 1501 E Orange Rd, Waterloo, IA 50701. If you have any questions, let us know. Phone: (319)296-2320. [email protected]. Follow us. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Proudly powered by WordPress ...
Black Mesa is a research corporation that conducts various scientific projects, including secret ones involving Xen and portal technology. Learn about its history, personnel, competitors, and role in the Half-Life series.
Learn how to survive and escape from the Black Mesa Research Facility in the first episode of Opposing Force, a Half-Life expansion. Find weapons, solve puzzles, avoid zombies, and meet the G-Man in this walkthrough.
The Black Mesa Incident, also referred to as the Lambda Incident,[17] was a catastrophic event resulting from an experiment gone awry at the Black Mesa Research Facility. The insertion of an unusually pure Xen crystal into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer triggered a rare quantum event known as a Resonance Cascade, which ruptured the space-time continuum and allowed extradimensional beings from a ...
The Black Mesa Research Facility, colloquially known as Black Mesa, is a top-secret scientific research complex built in the New Mexico desert in the United States. The site was the focal point of the Black Mesa Incident. Black Mesa is a top-secret, highly classified research facility, with its existence always being denied by the government, comprised of various complexes within the New ...
Hello!, this is a map of the Black Mesa Facility found in Half-Life 1 and all of its spinoffs! (blue shift, etc.) After researching for about 2 hours, I just came to the conclusion that the B.M.R.F. was located in Black Mesa National Park in New Mexico, so yeah that's that. I hope you like it! Reply. [deleted]•.
Black Mesa is a highly acclaimed, award winning re-imagining of Gordon Freeman's landmark journey through the Black Mesa Research Facility. Relive Half-Life, Valve Software's revolutionary debut, with new soundtrack, voice acting, choreography and dialogue.
Yea I was imagining like maintenance hallways behind normally locked doors that tie parts of the facility together so it doesn't feel linear i could go crazy adding rooms to Black Mesa lol. There are some HL mods, like Field Intensity, that have some excellent map design and taking inspiration from some of the areas in that game would be a ...
Black Mesa is a 2020 first-person shooter game that recreates the original Half-Life (1998) in the Source engine. It features improved graphics, gameplay, and story, especially in the final chapter, Xen, which was criticized in the original game.
Each of these individual complexes is likely several square kilometers, and that's not counting the fact that Black Mesa is a very vertical facility. We really don't know the exact size of Black Mesa, but my guesstimation at the are it covers would be at least around 100km 2 (Including all of it's facilities). Reply. Share.
Sector F Lambda Complex is a sector of the Black Mesa Research Facility where the Lambda Reactor Complex and its teleport to Xen are located. Learn about its design, history, and game appearances in this article.
827 Black Mesa Road New Mexico, USA. [email protected]. 123-456-7890.
Black Mesa Research Facility, a fictional scientific research complex in New Mexico that forms the setting for the video game Half-Life and the game with the same name. Black Mesa East, a fictional resistance base in Eastern Europe, featured in Half-Life 2. Black Mesa (video game), a remake of the video game Half-Life.
The shopping center was being converted to offices when the UC Regents bought it for $700 million in January to create the research park. Along with the California Institute for Immunology and ...
Despite its provincial character, the town was a major cultural center. It had a mining school, a mining research society, and a mining museum. 1843 was the year of the establishment of the town's first theatre company, for which, four years later, the citizens constructed a theatre building on Glavny Prospect (Main Street).
The Black Mesa Research Facility (also simply called Black Mesa) is a fictional underground laboratory complex that serves as the primary setting for the video game Half-Life and its expansions, as well as its unofficial remake, Black Mesa.It also features in the wider Half-Life universe, including the Portal series. Located in the New Mexico desert in a decommissioned Cold War missile site ...
The Advanced Biological Research Lab is Black Mesa Research Facility area located near Sector G's Hydro-Electric Dam and partially above the Biological Waste Processing Plant. Controlled by the HECU, it covers the Half-Life chapter Questionable Ethics. The Advanced Biological Research Lab ground floor features a large lobby that gives access, through a revolving door, to a road passing by the ...
On top of being home of numerous heavy industries and mining concerns, Yekaterinburg is also a major center for industrial research and development and power engineering as well as home to numerous institutes of higher education, technical training, and scientific research. ... Those that were still breathing were killed with point black shots ...
Sverdlovsk anthrax leak. On 2 April 1979, spores of Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of anthrax) were accidentally released from a Soviet military research facility in the city of Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union (now Yekaterinburg, Russia ). The ensuing outbreak of the disease resulted in the deaths of at least 68 people, although the exact ...