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New York City

The updated hotel will offer 375 hotel rooms and 372 residences ranging from studios to four-bedrooms.

Eight Historic Moments That Took Place at the Waldorf Astoria New York

The famous hotel reopens this spring after an extensive renovation that began in 2017

Robert Caro, seen here in 1990, worked on a novel based on his time as a newspaperman.

We Rediscovered Robert Caro’s Abandoned Novel About an Intrepid Journalist Buried in His Archives

A deep dive into the legendary biographer’s papers leads to the surprising revelation of a work he has all but forgotten

“As the first national women’s reform organization, [the American Female Moral Reform Society] showed that there was power in women organizing to address societal problems,” says rhetorician Lisa J. Shaver.

The Daring 19th-Century Reformers Who Sought to End Prostitution by Offering Financial and Emotional Support to Urban Sex Workers

Led entirely by women, the American Female Moral Reform Society gave material aid to those in need and pushed for men to be held accountable for frequenting brothels

The statue Brooklyn by Daniel Chester French being hoisted at the Brooklyn Museum in 1964

Over the Last 200 Years, a Small Library Became One of New York City’s Biggest Museums. A New Showcase Tells the Story of Its Unique Legacy

To mark its bicentennial, the Brooklyn Museum highlights the pieces that have shaped its collection—and the foundational art made in the borough

The reel-to-reel tape features four original Dylan compositions, including "Song to Woody."

You Can Buy a Reel-to-Reel Tape of a Young Bob Dylan Performing Six Songs at the Gaslight Cafe

Billed as “Bob Dylan’s first demo tape,” the recordings from September 1961 played an outsize role in launching the 20-year-old aspiring songwriter’s career

An iconic landmark and symbol of New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge has been featured in so many films and TV shows, it should be eligible for an Oscar and an Emmy.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Photos Capture What Makes America’s National Historic Landmarks So Iconic

See images of special attractions across the country from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

A 1910 watercolor portrait of Belle da Costa Greene by Laura Coombs Hills

Women Who Shaped History

The Trailblazing Black Librarian Who Rewrote the Rules of Power, Gender and Racial Passing

Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of the Morgan Library, was a Black woman who passed as white in the early 20th century

Central emergency numbers have been around since London adopted 999 in 1937. But the U.S. relied on a convoluted system with various regional protocols until 1968.

On This Day in History

Dial Up the Story of the First 911 Call, Which Was Placed on This Day in 1968

Before the birth of the central emergency number, some rural Americans resorted to fireworks and loud noises to attract assistance

Photograph of Jack Carter (Macbeth), Kenneth Renwick (Second Murderer) and George Nixon (First Murderer) in the Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth at the Lafayette Theatre, Harlem.

Orson Welles’ All-Black Version of ‘Macbeth’ Excited Theatergoers Nationwide

The bold staging of Shakespeare’s classic helped make Harlem a home for “serious” theater

Frank Sinatra clutches a bouquet of flowers handed to him by an admirer following his show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, 1990

How the Theme Song From a Maligned Martin Scorsese Movie Became New York City’s Unofficial Anthem

Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Theme From New York, New York” still raises spirits through challenging times and marks joyous occasions 45 years after its release

Herbert O. Yardley claimed that the Black Chamber deciphered more than 45,000 diplomatic code and cipher telegrams of foreign governments between 1917 and 1929.

Untold Stories of American History

The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

An Amorphophallus gigas plant bloomed at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York on January 24, with hundreds of flowers producing a putrid stench.

Rare and Stinky ‘Corpse Flower’ Blooms Draw Thousands of Visitors to Gardens in New York and Sydney

People lined up to see—and smell—the blossoms of two pungent plant species, which only bloom for a short time every few years

An 1889 photograph of author Horatio Alger (right)

On This Day in History

This Author, Famous for His Rags-to-Riches Stories, Forever Shaped How We Talk About the American Dream

Horatio Alger’s repetitive stories reached their true popularity and became synonymous with social mobility largely thanks to retellings after the writer’s death

The R46 trains started running in the subway system during the 1970s.

New York City Is Getting Rid of Its Iconic Orange and Yellow Subway Cars

Many New Yorkers feel attached to the instantly recognizable R46s, which debuted in the summer of 1975. Officials say their replacements will arrive by 2027

By the time this crowd gathered on New Year's Eve, 1938, the Times Square ball drop had been an annual rite for decades

On This Day in History

The First Ever Times Square Ball Drop Was Held Atop the New York Times Headquarters in 1907, Starting a Cherished Tradition

Time balls date back to the early 19th century, when they signaled the time to passing sailors. Now they’re part of the pomp and circumstance of the new year

This gold wreath thought to be from Corinth, Greece, dates to the third to second century B.C.E.

Why Has Gold Dazzled So Many Cultures Throughout History?

An exhibition in Brooklyn examines gold’s ubiquitous appeal across thousands of years through art, artifacts, paintings, sculptures and fashion

Visitors gather at the foot of Monkey Mountain, an attraction at Frank Buck's Jungle Camp in Massapequa, New York, around 1939.

History of Now

When 170 Wild Monkeys Escaped From a ‘Jungle Camp’ and Terrorized New York

In 1935, dozens of rhesus macaques absconded from Frank Buck’s Long Island menagerie. Nearly a century later, 43 members of the same species broke out of a South Carolina research facility

The Met's employee art show features more than 600 works.

Every Two Years, Staffers at the Met Get to See Their Own Art on the Prestigious Museum’s Walls

The museum has been staging exhibitions featuring employee art since 1935. This year’s show is only the second in history that’s been open to the public

Sotheby's recent Keith Haring exhibition, "Art in Transit," displayed the 31 artworks in an immersive recreation of the New York subway.

Keith Haring Created These Striking Subway Drawings While Waiting for Trains on His Way to Work

The artist used white chalk to draw on blank advertising panels inside subway stations. Now, 31 surviving examples of these works have sold at auction for more than $9 million

Broadway, New York City at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Union soldiers can be seen walking outside a recruiting station in the image's bottom right corner. 

On This Day in History

The Shocking Moment When a Group of Confederate Spies Plotted—and Failed—to Burn Down New York City

Southern operatives tried to light New York businesses on fire and bring the Northern city to its knees on this date in 1864

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