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 Ghoulish Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different.
Historic, Heroic and Flawed Personalities:
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Kennedy, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Controversial Supreme Court Justices, Dolley Madison, Daniel Sickles, John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, James Garfield, Mary Ann Hall, Frederick Douglass, Wild Rose O'Neal, Clara Barton, Anna Etheridge Hooks, Cleveland Abbe, Clover Adams, Buffalo Bill, Charles Lindbergh, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, General Douglas MacArthur, Richard Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, Ezra Pound, Donald Trump, Malcolm X, George Lincoln Rockwell, Fanne Foxe, Robert Emmet, John and Rita Jenrette, Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley, Ted Kennedy, Oliver North, Gary Hart, Marion Barry, Vincent Foster, Aldrich Ames, Dick Morris, Elizabeth Ray, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Warren Harding, Grover Cleveland, Newt Gingrich, Don Sherwood, Mark Foley, Anthony Weiner and Edward Snowden,
Architecture and Locations With A Distinctive Past:
White House, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Building, St. John's Episcopal Church, Marine Commandant's Residence, Tayloe House, Dolley Madison House, Original D.C. City Hall, National Postal Museum, Washington Monument, Willard Hotel, Ford's Theatre, William Peterson House, Mary Surratt Boarding House, Terrace Houses, Ebenezer United Methodist Church, Thaddeus Stevens School, Supreme Court Building, Lafayette Square, Hay-Adams Hotel, Union Station, LeDroit Park, Congressional and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pools, Swampoodle, National Mall, Meridian Hill Park, Spanish Steps, Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store, Knickerbocker Theatre, Potomac and Anacostia Flats, Mayflower Hotel, Watergate Steps, Holodomor Memorial, Martin's Tavern, Congressional Cemetery, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Blair House, Uline Arena, Watergate Complex, Deep Throat Parking Garage, Washington Post, Tidal Basin, Sheridan Circle, Bassin's, Washington Hilton, Vietnam War Memorial, Old Ebbitt Grill, La Brasserie, Rayburn House, Georgetown's Old Stone House & Halcyon House, Floating Potomac Brothels, Exorcist Stairs, St. Elizabeth Hospital, Dupont Circle, 9/11 Pentagon Memorial and Senator Barrack Obama's Apartment.
Historical Scandals:
Petticoat Scandal, General Fighting Joe Hooker's Division, Credit Mobilier Scandal, Lincoln Park Monument, Ohio Gang, Teapot Dome, Bonus Act, Watergate, Abscam, Contras and Drug Cartel Bust.
Infamous Killings and Deaths:
Presidents Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield, Frances Scott Key, William Taulbee, Arthur Brown, Leslie Coffelt, Alma Preinkert, Mary Pinchot Meyer, Gail Cobb, Orlando Letelier, Michael Halberstam, Raymond Nelson, Tran Van Chuong and Than Thj Nam, Serial Killer James Swann, Joyce Chiang, Chandra Levy, Beltway Sniper, Wanda Alston, David Rosenbaum, Alan Senitt, Robert Wone, Stephen Johns, Viola Herms and Mohammad Anwar.
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.
