Smag31

1630: Boston Founded Under the leadership of John Winthrop, English Puritans moved from overcrowded Charlestown and colonized the Shawmut Peninsula. Permission was granted from its sole English inhabitant, Anglican cleric William Blaxton. Their city on the hill was named Boston in honor of the native English town of their leaders. 1636: Harvard Created Boston’s Puritan … Read more

Gagosian Expect big names and equivalent price tags at this blue-ribbon gallery with three locations, one uptown and two Chelsea addresses with the lofty spaces necessary for exhibiting large-scale art. Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer, Richard Serra, and Cy Twombly are among the contemporary artists represented. 980 Madison Ave (& Chelsea: 555 West 24th St & … Read more

Metropolitan Museum of Art It would take weeks to take in all the treasures of this mammoth, ever-changing museum that includes a collection of more than 3,000 European paintings. The Greek, Roman, Cypriot, and Asian halls attract many of the museum’s visitors, and the Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography is also well … Read more

Musée d’Orsay Musée d’Orsay Musée Picasso A favourite of Parisians and visitors alike. The beautifully restored Hôtel Salé in the Marais is a splendid setting for this extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and other works by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), including works from his Cubist period. Large sculptures also adorn the garden and courtyard. The … Read more

Musée du Louvre French and Italian sculpture, Greek and Roman antiquities and paintings from the 12th to the 19th centuries are just some of the highlights of the world’s largest museum . Mona Lisa, Musée du Louvre Musée Carnavalet Housed in a grand Marais mansion, this museum presents the history of Paris. The collection includes … Read more

Tower Prisoners Sites of imprisonment Bishop of Durham The first political prisoner to be held in the White Tower was Ralph de Flambard, Bishop of Durham. Locked up by Henry l in 1100, he was seen as responsible for the unpopular policies of Henry’s predecessor, William ll. Henry Vl During the Wars of the Roses, … Read more

London’s great riverside fortress is usually remembered as a place of imprisonment, but it also has a more glorious past. Originally a moated fort, the White Tower was built for William I (the Conqueror) and begun around 1078. Enlarged by later monarchs – including Henry VIII, who famously sent two of his wives to their … Read more

The spiritual and political heart of the city, the Palace of Westminster was built here a thousand years ago as a royal household, seat of government and abbey. The square was planned as part of the rebuilding programme following a fire that destroyed the Palace in 1834. Usually known as the Houses of Parliament, the … Read more

Berliner Dom Berlin Cathedral, the largest and most lavish church in town, was reopened in 1993, after almost 40 years of restoration. Designed by Julius Raschdorf in 1894–1905, the building reflects the empire’s aspirations to power. In particular, the imperial stairs, made from black marble, are a manifestation of the proximity of the Hohenzollern town … Read more

At Checkpoint Charlie 1685: Edict of Potsdam Berlin’s history as a cultural capital began in 1685, when the far-sighted Great Elector announced in the Edict of Potsdam that around 20,000 Huguenots would be taken in by Berlin. Many were excellent craftsmen and scientists, who, having fled Catholic France because of their Protestant beliefs, brought a … Read more

Fraenkel Gallery One of the gallery’s first exhibitions was of NASA’s lunar photographs, and this set a tone for what followed. Soon came exhibitions by Eugene Atget, Edward Weston and Diane Arbus, and later, the Bechers, Adam Fuss, and Sol LeWitt. Projects have brought together work across all media, juxtaposing photography with painting, drawing, and … Read more

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The city’s stylish home for 20th-century European and American art and contemporary multimedia works is a sparkling cultural hub in the South of Market area. Its collections span the whole modern spectrum, from proto-Impressionists to cutting-edge digital installations . California Academy of Sciences This newly transformed science museum re-opened … Read more

George Washington The United States’ first president George Washington (1789–97) was never greater than when he refused to interpret the position of president as equivalent to “king.” George Washington John Adams Adams (1797–1801) was among the young nation’s most experienced diplomats, having managed affairs in Europe. He was the first US vice president, under Washington. … Read more

Foundation of the Federal City The US Constitution, ratified in 1788, provided for “a District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States…, become the Seat of the Government of the United States.” Layout and Design In 1790 George Washington selected Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French engineer, to lay out the … Read more

Nowhere else in Rome can give such a clear idea of the city’s layering and millennia of cultural riches than this wonderful church. The very lowest level remains largely unexplored, dating back to Republican Rome, probably the 2nd century BC. At the deepest excavated level there are 1st-century AD buildings, including an early house of … Read more

In 1991, a group of civic planners from New York City, Boston, and Washington DC came together with a concept for a hard-surface trail system connecting their three cities. The trail they envisioned would be open to all muscle-powered travel and offer a traffic-free experience, connecting users to a natural environment along the populous Eastern … Read more

Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world and this representative of a grower’s cooperative knows his business. Like wines, you can distinguish different varieties by their colour, flavour and smell, and tastings here are part of the fun . Seseña This firm near Sol has been making traditional … Read more

Palacio Real The Royal Palace marks a decisive break with the austere tastes of Spain’s Habsburg rulers. Felipe V had been brought up at Versailles where the International Baroque style was in vogue. Architect Filippo Juvara died two years into the project, but his successor, Gian Battista Sacchetti retained the Baroque spirit . Palacio Real … Read more

National Olympic Stadium (Bird’s Nest) Of all the buildings under construction in preparation for the Olympics, the most striking is the new headquarters of China Central Television. Designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, it is a gravity-defying loop of horizontal and vertical sections. When completed it’s likely to become one of the world’s most recognizable … Read more

Beijing Opera cast Colors The colors of the performers’ painted faces symbolize the individual characters’ qualities. Red, for example, represents loyalty and courage. Purple stands for solemnity and a sense of justice, green for bravery and irascibility. Painted face Acrobatics Beijing Opera is a form of “total theater” with singing, speech, mime, and acrobatics that … Read more