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If you’re in the Ramble, you’re probably wandering aimlessly – and Frederick Law Olmsted would be pleased about that. This wooded area with its convoluted paths harks back to the…
In the early days, Central Park had sheep, but no cows. It did, however, have a Dairy, because of a scandal that broke in the summer of 1858. The Swill…
During the Mexican-American War, Lieutenant Egbert Ludovicus Viele watched helplessly as his men died of cholera. No one knew how to prevent or cure the disease, but it clearly spread…
Manhattan has always been a target, first for its harbor and rivers, then as a commercial center. The British sailed in to grab it from the Dutch. The Dutch briefly…
The Arsenal has a motley past. Despite its forbidding battlements, it wasn’t designed to withstand a siege - only to store gunpowder and cannonballs so that they could be hauled…
The Art Institute of Chicago was established in 1879, as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Since 1893, its home has been a Beaux Arts building facing Michigan Drive that…
Second in a series: the first, with the introduction and the years 1801-1806, is here. 1807 Major events: Peninsular War (1807-1814) began as the French invaded Portugal, which offended Napoleon…
Prowling through my database of art recommendations past, present, and future, I noticed that quite a few of the artworks come from the first 15 years of the nineteenth century.…
I posted on the Tappan Zee in April 2016 and June 2016. I am so jealous of my friend Al M., who gets to see the progress from a train…
From February 2017 until the end of the year, I sent 157 items to my Sunday Recommendations list. For recurring supporters, I recommended 31 more. The items in this post…
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