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Renovation and Restoration

Built in 1855 in the Gothic Revival style, the Smithsonian Castle is undergoing its first major renovation since the late 1960s.

Bricks From a Historic Atlantic City Church Are Getting a Second Life at the Smithsonian Castle

The First Presbyterian Church’s rare sandstone bricks will be transported to Washington, D.C., where they’ll be used to restore a 170-year-old Smithsonian building on the National Mall

The garden features a reconstructed shaded alcove for dining.

The 2,000-Year-Old ‘Perfume Garden’ in the Ancient City of Pompeii Has Been Restored to Its Former Glory

The small garden now features thousands of roses, violets, cherry trees and vines. Experts think a perfumer may have once used the plants to experiment with new scents

Experts are concerned about the dome's structural integrity.

Coastal Cities of Europe

Experts Think the Hagia Sophia Is in Danger. They’ve Got a Plan to Protect It From Earthquakes

Turkey is located near two fault lines, leaving the 1,500-year-old structure vulnerable to damage. Architects and engineers will be investigating how to best preserve it

Castle Howard's restored tapestry drawing room 

See the Newly Renovated Castle Howard, Made Famous by ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Brideshead Revisited’

After the house suffered extensive fire damage in 1940, generations of the Howard family have faithfully restored parts of the mansion to its 18th-century glory

Portrait of a Gentleman, His Daughter and a Servant at the Musée de la Chartreuse in Douai, France

Cool Finds

Expert Rediscovers Painting by Renaissance Master Lavinia Fontana, One of the First Professional Female Artists

The artwork had been hiding in plain sight in the archives of a provincial museum in France, where it will eventually go on permanent display

The aqueduct was found on the grounds of the Rusovce Mansion.

Cool Finds

The First Roman Aqueduct Ever Found in Slovakia Sports an Ancient Manufacturer’s Stamp and a Paw Print

Researchers found the channel on historic grounds near the country’s capital, Bratislava

Advocates are pushing for expedited foreclosure proceedings to speed up the search for a new owner.

Historic Frank Lloyd Wright Home Added to List of Endangered Architecture in Chicago

The J.J. Walser Jr. House, one of five Wright-designed homes in the city, has fallen into disrepair, prompting calls for preservation

The rolled-up message contained a list of people who had worked on the theater's construction.

Cool Finds

Man Discovers Message in a Bottle Hidden Above a Historic Scottish Theater’s Stage, Untouched for Nearly 120 Years

A theater patron found the glass bottle behind a decorative crown positioned 40 feet above the stage. The note was dated 1906, the year the King’s Theater opened in Edinburgh

An artist's illustration of the London Tunnels, a planned tourist attraction in a World War II-era labyrinth beneath central London

Plans Are Taking Shape for an Extravagant New Tourist Attraction Inside London’s World War II-Era Tunnels

The 86,000-square-foot labyrinth was built in the 1940s during the London Blitz. Now, workers are transforming it into a museum, memorial, art gallery and bar

The left wall features a painting of men and women dancing around a flute player.

Cool Finds

Vivid Wall Paintings Unearthed at a 2,500-Year-Old Etruscan Necropolis in Italy

Found beneath an older tomb near Tarquinia, the painted chamber depicts several intricate scenes, including a metallurgical workshop

In the film, Lincoln agonizes over signing an execution warrant for a deserter.

Cool Finds

Intern Finds Only Known Surviving Copy of ‘The Heart of Lincoln,’ a Silent Film Thought to Be Lost to History

Released in 1915, the film was directed by Francis Ford, the brother of famed filmmaker John Ford. It had been listed in a record of 7,200 silent films classified as “lost”

Washington at Princeton, Charles Willson Peale, 1779

This Historic Portrait of George Washington Is Being Restored to Its Former Glory

The 18th-century painting by Charles Willson Peale had previously been the subject of mismanaged restoration attempts. Now, experts in Versailles are bringing it back in line with the artist’s original intent

The Struggle Against Terrorism, a 1,000-square-foot mural by Philip Gluston and Reuben Kadish, before the restoration

See a Controversial Anti-Fascist Mural From the 1930s Returned to Its Former Glory

Titled “The Struggle Against Terrorism,” the 1,000-square-foot artwork suffered from neglect for 90 years. Now, conservators have unveiled the newly restored mural in Mexico

 French President Emmanuel Macron announced the move this week.

The ‘Mona Lisa’ Is Moving to a Room of Her Own at the Louvre

As part of a massive renovation, the Leonardo da Vinci portrait will get its own gallery space accessible from a separate entrance

For several months, archaeologists carried fragments of the shipwreck to the surface.

Divers Recover Ancient Shipwreck That Sank 2,600 Years Ago Off the Coast of Spain

Piece by piece, experts carefully transported the Phoenician vessel to dry land, where it will be studied and preserved

Painted around 1730, the angels were covered up in 1912.

Conservators Are Uncovering Elaborate Angel Murals Hidden Behind Seven Layers of White Paint at a Colonial-Era Church

The colorful wall paintings adorn Boston’s Old North Church, which played a crucial role during Paul Revere’s famed 1775 midnight ride

Corfe Castle as seen from the main bridge

Visitors Can See the View From Henry I’s Tower at Corfe Castle for the First Time in Nearly Four Centuries

Located in southern England, the king’s quarters haven’t been open to the public since the castle’s destruction during the English Civil War in the 1640s

Top: Rubble inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019. Bottom: The cathedral's renovated interior (including the tabernacle designed by French artist Guillaume Bardet) in 2024

Trending Today

See Inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in These Breathtaking Images of Its Newly Unveiled Interior

The historic church was devastated by a fire in 2019. After five years of painstaking work, it’s finally scheduled to reopen to the public this weekend

After the varnish is removed, the painting appears matte and gray.

The Public Is Watching as Conservators Carefully Restore a Rembrandt Masterpiece to Its Former Glory

Experts are removing layers of old varnish from “The Night Watch,” which have yellowed with time, as museumgoers look on through a glass barrier

The letter inside the glass bottle was dated September 4, 1892.

Cool Finds

Read the 132-Year-Old Message in a Bottle Found Hidden Inside the Walls of a Scottish Lighthouse

Engineers discovered the mysterious missive while working on repairs at Corsewall Lighthouse last month. Now, they plan to write their own note for future generations to find

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