Attendance is high at car, boat shows - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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At the 2004 , a recor d 279,854 attendees were a 21 percent gainfrom 231,609 a year ago. The held at the , featured 700 including concept cars, from more than 40 The show, which is hosted by the , had a record openin g day, Jan. 31, with 41,460 up 30 percent from 31,7990 a year ago. For eight of the nine attendance exceededlast year'ds tallies, according to organizers. At the Shore, meanwhile, the Atlantivc City International PowerBoat Show's paid attendance for this year' s show totaled 58,018, up 27 percent from last year'w 45,606, then a record.
Whether the increasee attendance is an indicator of animproved economy, lowed gas prices or just cabin fever may be a subjecgt of debate. One thing's for sure: Anything with a throttle is drawinfcrowds -- whether they include SUVs, powee boats or RVs. Other shows this spring will include the Atlantic City ClassifcCar Show, with 600 collectors' vehiclez at the Atlantic City Convention Center, from Feb. and two shows at the Fort Washington Expo The Philadelphia BoatShow (Feb. and Delaware Valley RV & Campingb Show (March 4-7). Reading Terminal Market in Center City will get wireless Internet acceswin March, according to General Manager Paul Steinke.
This will allow patrons visiting the markey to get Web access fromtheir It's part of a largefr wireless hookup at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, whichn owns Reading Terminal. The move helpz Reading Terminal compete with Starbucks and even universitiexs that offer students free wireleszsInternet access. "We hope it will attract tech-savvy people at off-peak said Steinke. "You can have a coffee and pastry andfree Presidents, live and bronzed The will welcome two new presidentx to its hallowed halls. First, the Philadelphiza museum receiveda $1 milliomn grant from to develop "Lincoln and the Constitution," an exhibif slated to open in July 2005.
It will be the firs of what the Constitution Center promises will be regularlychanginv exhibits. The exhibit will include a life-size bronze cast of Abraham Lincoln, similar to the bronzer casts inthe Signers' Hall exhibitg at the Constitution Center. Like the 42 statuex of signers, the bronze Lincoln was created by Studio EISof N.Y. Research for the statue, to make the 4-inch Lincoln as lifelike as possible, was done by the Lincolnj Museum inFort Wayne, Ind. Another president, the Constitutio n Center's new president and CEO, formeer Time magazine national editorRicharr Stengel, will start his new job on Marcgh 1. Stengel, who succeeds Joseph M.
is a former Rhodes scholar who collaborated with former South Africah President Nelson Mandela onthe bestseller, "Long Walk to He's also the author of "You'rse Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery." Flattery aside, he'lp have to earn his own bronze statue. Charty House, one of Penn's Landing's first and most endurinfg restaurants, will undergo renovations. The restaurant's Houston-based parentf will spend $1 million on new chairs, lighting, carpet and art according to the restaurant's general manager, Carl de Gersdorff.
Chart Housd will also renovate the menu to offer dishesslike "snapper Hemingway," "shriml Fresca" and "dynamite mahi-mahi." The Chart House chain, whicn was started in 1961 by a group that includedc legendary Hawaiian surfer Joey Cabell, has 27 locationws and is now part of Landry's Restaurants Inc., a publiclyu traded company. Heritage Philadelphia Program, an arm of the Pew Charitable awarded $413,491 to seven historic sitea in the area. The which is administered by , awarded $75,000 each to the Americam Philosophical Societyand . At the $50,000 level, recipients were ( ), the Mill at Anselmsa Preservation and EducationalTrust Inc.
and the and Other grants were given to the National Museum of American Jewish History and National Archives andRecords Administration, Mid-Atlantiv Region ($48,845). Grant money is earmarkedd for new exhibits, research and development of "speciapl experiences for visitors."