Themed Store Makes Toy Shopping Child’s Play

Embracing Barefoot Elegance: Ritz-Carlton Captures the Spirit of Palm Beach
Like many Ritz-Carlton hotels across the country, the elegant Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach has for years exuded the air of understated luxury with its graceful architecture, furniture, and décor in classic taupes and grays. Outside, its distinguished façade overlooked the sea, yet inside, guests sometimes wandered about searching for the pool, unable to easily access the sparkling ocean beyond. Still, over the years the turquoise ocean beckoned—and now the resort has answered its call, thanks to RTKL Associates’ Tampa office.

Monocacy National Battlefield Visitor Center Provides a Museum Experience
New Civil War battlefield visitor center combines artifacts with modern design
The new $5 million Monocacy National Battlefield Visitor Center offers a museum experience for Civil War buffs and the general public alike. Opened this summer, the state-of-the-art Monocacy Visitor Center in Frederick, Md., sits on open farmland at the site of the Battle of Monocacy, an overlooked but pivotal historical Civil War battle fought on July 9, 1864. The simple cinderblock, green gambrel-roofed facility is a replica of the barn style of the surrounding farm landscape. Inside the 7,500-square-foot visitor center, modern technology combines with artifacts in 3,500 square feet of state-of-the-art exhibit space, giving it more of an intimate museum atmosphere. The building was designed by Baltimore-based GWWO, its interior design concept by New York-based contractors Exhibit A, and its exhibit displays by Manassas, Va.-based Capital Exhibits.