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Communities

Smoke and flames rise from Notre-Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019.

Last Night, I Watched Notre-Dame Burn

Our own travel writer, in Paris yesterday, recounts her experience witnessing the devastating fire at the cathedral

A Human Chain Helped a U.K. Bookshop Move to Its New Location

Some 250 volunteers transported more than 2,000 books

Over the course of the 2018 Folklife Festival, experienced artisans worked hand in hand with crochet novices to decorate a humble tree of life.

Armenia

Armenia’s “Tree of Life” Tradition Took Root Thousands of Years Ago, and Has Only Grown Since

The tree adorned in this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival will continue to blossom overseas

Tenant associations lead a march up Columbia Road N.W. in protest against threats of eviction at a time when land speculation and residential displacement were growing more common in the Adams Morgan neighborhood and across Washington, D.C.

A New Show About Neighborhoods Facing Gentrification Offers a Cautionary Tale

As cities face multi-billion-dollar developments, the question remains “Who Owns the City?”

The King and Queen of Hearts wave from their parade float to crowds gathered for D.C. Capital Pride 2014. The next year, the Academy of Washington waved farewell after 54 years of service to the D.C. community.

These Newly Donated Artifacts Capture the Spirit of Washington, D.C. Drag

Mementos from the Academy of Washington drag organization add a valuable thread to the tapestry of American LGBTQ history

A beach in Naples.

For the Third Year in a Row, This City Was Tapped as America’s Happiest

The area’s success may be due, in part, to the fact that it is home to a large number of older Americans

The main branch of the NYPL, located on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

The Wondrous Complexity of the New York Public Library

A new documentary captures the sweeping human impact of one of the country’s largest library systems

On a summer Friday, people gather at O'Connor Brewing Co. in Norfolk, Virginia.

Are Craft Breweries the Next Coffeehouses?

Taprooms springing up across the country are cultivating communities and helping to revitalize entire neighborhoods

Giethoorn is often called the "Venice of the Netherlands."

Get Lost in a Maze of Storybook Canals in this Dutch ‘Venice’

The picturesque village of Giethoorn is best navigated by boat (or ice skate)

Smart Startup

Forget Substitute Teachers. “Parachute Teachers” May Be the Future.

When the teacher is out, why not have a local chef or engineer lead a lesson?

Cars are a liability and expensive to maintain for most Americans. The Future Cycles team builds human-powered vehicles that combine the efficiency of a bicycle or moped with the weather protection and carrying capacity of a car.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These Locally Grown Design Ideas Were Created by the People for the People

A Cooper Hewitt exhibition spotlights the innovative and sustainable designs generated by those in search of solutions

The Birmingham Central Mosque in the United Kingdom.

New Research

How Astronomy Cameras Are Helping British Muslims Schedule Morning Prayers

The cameras would help track exactly when the sun rises

A Hindu temple painted yellow.

Cool Finds

This Group Celebrates Kenya’s Religious Diversity by Painting Religious Centers Yellow

Painting for pluralism

Pew Research Shows Public Libraries Remain Vital to Communities

The latest poll shows that the majority of Americans think libraries have the resources they need

The Jones-Hall-Sims House, stripped down from 140 years of additions and siding, was acquired in 2009 by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and has been rebuilt as part of an exhibition called “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation.”

Breaking Ground

For Nearly 150 Years, This One House Told a Novel Story About the African-American Experience

On view in the new museum, the woodframe dwelling evokes the aspirations and limitations of the era following enslavement

The Browns in Topeka, Kansas

The Children of Civil Rights Leaders Are Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize

The next generation is following in the footsteps of its forebears

Cool Finds

Anyone Can Contribute to This Giant Poem…if You Can Find This Typewriter

A roving typewriter tries to capture New York’s subconscious

Trending Today

UN Report Shows Refugee Numbers Have Hit a Historic High

More than 65 million people are now displaced from their homes due to extended wars and a lack of new solutions

Charlie Morrow and dozens of others will stream video and audio of science, art and shamanism connected to their cultures as the sun passes at 5 p.m. in each of the Earth's 24 time zones.

It’s a Global Solstice Party and You’re Invited

Sound artist Charlie Morrow organized artists and scientists from around the Earth to celebrate the solstice

Cool Finds

This New York Project Wants You to Write on the Walls

Writing On It All gives voice—and a pen—to one and all

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