The rustic Dene Shelter, sitting high on a rocky outcrop, is a great place to enjoy a splendid view and think about how many, many things could go wrong in…
About the Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is housed in a huge complex whose core was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici from Giorgio Vasari. Vasari (who is today…
Who most influenced the shape of Central Park in its early years? There was Egbert Ludovicus Viele, whose detailed topographical study of the site helped make the park’s design a…
Republished Webster novels The Sky-Man. Available from Amazon (Kindle ASIN B07D2GXLWK, print ISBN 1987476697); other stores via Ingram (9781088271353 print, 9781088271384 ebook). A King in Khaki. Available from Amazon (Kindle ASIN…
This essay is adapted from Chapter 20 of Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide. I’ve kept cross-references to other chapters in the book, all of which will eventually be updated and…
Robert Burns Dedicated 1880 Sculptor: Sir John Steell Medium & size: Bronze, over lifesize. Location: Central Park, on the Mall. If the city's street grid continued in the Park, it…
Did you know that in Union Square, the words of the Declaration of Independence are inscribed on a ten-foot-high bronze tablet? The Independence Flagpole in Union Square commemorates the 150th…
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…