People line up in front of the application office for passports.

More than two years after the Berlin Wall was constructed by East Germany to prevent its citizens from fleeing its communist regime,
nearly 4,000 West Berliners were allowed to cross into East Berlin
to visit relatives. Under an agreement reached between East and
West Berlin, over 170,000 passes were eventually issued to West
Berlin citizens, each pass allowing a one-day visit to communist
East Berlin.

Citizens of West Berlin lining up for Christmas passes into
East Berlin.

President John Kennedy on an observation platform (left)
as he looks into East Berlin across the Communist Berlin
Wall that divided the German city. (AP Photo)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – The Lloyd Center appears to escape redevelopment
as a new owner attempts to “revitalize” the long-standing Portland mall.

Urban Renaissance Group, a real estate company with offices in
Portland announced a partnership Monday with lending company
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust to take ownership of the 61-year-
old mall with the intention of maintaining retail and works paces
as well as ice skating (below).

Cover art for the ‘Superman’ comic book, 1930s.

NEW YORK (AP) — A rare copy of a Superman #1 comic book
that sold on newsstands for a dime in 1939 was purchased for
$2.6 million in an auction.

The comic showing Superman leaping over tall buildings on
the cover was sold Thursday night to a buyer who wishes to
maintain a secret identity, according to ComicConnect.com,
an online auction and consignment company.

The seller, Mark Michaelson, bought the comic in 1979 from its original
owner and kept it in a temperature-controlled safe.

Michaelson, now semi-retired and living in Houston, paid his way
through college by buying and selling comics.