Historical shrines of world-wide interest, excellent transportation service, splendid modern hotels, and every facility available for successful meetings have made Richmond one of the outstanding convention centers of America. Delegates attending conventions here have a wide choice of selecting their entertainment programs. Some enjoy trips to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, historic Hampton Roads and Fort Monroe, the beautiful Skyline Drive, the battlefields surrounding the city and the many diversified industrial plants, while others participate in their favorite sport or seek diversions in the many forms of entertainment to be had. Proximity to the centers of the population, coupled with other numerous advantages, has resulted in record-breaking attendance at meetings here. In Richmond, Capital of the Old South, an industrial, commercial, educational and financial center of the new, nothing is left undone to make every convention meeting in this city successful and enjoyable. * * * * * * * RICHMOND TODAY! _POPULATION_ of approximately 360,000 in the metropolitan area with an average increase 7,000 per year since 1940. _INDUSTRIAL RANK_ of 5th in the nation in relative gain in net value of manufactured products from 1929 to 1947. _CIGARETTE CAPITAL_ of the Nation, with annual output of more than 110 billion cigarettes—enough to reach the moon and back 10 times, or encircle the earth 180 times. _PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES_ in order of employment rank: cigarettes and other tobacco products, chemical products including rayon and cellophane, food and kindred products, furniture and wood products, metals and metal products, apparel and textile products, paper and paper products, printing and publishing. _TRADE CENTER_ of the South Atlantic region, ranking 35th in retail sales, 29th in wholesale sales, among principal cities of the Nation. _FINANCIAL CENTER_ and headquarters of the 5th Federal Reserve District; 11 other banks and trust companies; home office of 32 insurance companies. _TRANSPORTATION GATEWAY_ with 6 trunk-line railroads, 5 air lines, 6 inter-city bus lines, 50 motor freight carriers, and water freight service on the James River. _BALANCED ECONOMY_ with employment widely diversified and strong consumer goods industries result in unusual economic stability and resistance to fluctuations in the national business cycle. _RECREATIONAL:_ 1 public and 5 private golf courses, 30 theatres, a stadium for athletics, municipal swimming pool, a Civic Center for opera, large conventions, etc., seating 5,000; 18 parks and 43 playgrounds. _CLIMATE:_ Equable climate with average temperature, 57.9 degrees F.; mean annual rainfall, 42.02 inches.