All posts tagged "Culturalheritage"

PHILADELPHIA — Mütter Museum curator Anna N. Dhody opened a package Tuesday morning that arrived at the museum by mail. Inside was a glass jar containing two preserved fetuses, and a letter from someone claiming to be a retired physician who wanted to make a donation. “I saw the letter and was like, ‘Oh no, no no, I have to make a few calls,’” said Dhody, who promptly called the police. “This is not normal procedure.” The package was addressed to Dhody, but did not have a return address. The letter was scant and included no other details about the sender or the fetuses, Dhody said. Police are ......

Snaking hundreds of miles across mountains and plains, the Great Wall of China is an iconic and unparalleled historic site. Construction on the vast network of walls, fortresses and other fortifications began in the seventh century B.C. and continued until the 17th century A.D. The monumental structure has stood the test of time — in part because of a “living skin,” scientists recently found. Researchers wanted to figure out the best way to help protect the Great Wall of China from wind and erosion, according to a study published Dec. 8 in the journal Science Advances. They noticed that the st......

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State Capitol Commission will begin soliciting bids for metal detectors at each of the Capitol's entrances as it prepares to implement a blanket firearm ban for the building for the first time in its 145-year history. The commission, tasked with overseeing management of the statehouse, authorized its executive director Friday to put out a request for purchasing weapons detection towers at five of the Capitol's main entrances. The commission is expected to issue a ban on all firearms at the Capitol — including concealed pistols lawmakers sometimes carry — to take e......

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia has its first local historic district designated to recognize its Black history. The Philadelphia Historical Commission voted unanimously Friday to create the Christian Street/Black Doctors Row Historic District, capping a yearslong effort to preserve the area referred to as a “main street” for upper-middle-class Black Philadelphians in the 20th century. City Council’s one-year demolition moratorium for the six-block stretch of the Graduate Hospital neighborhood expired July 1. The new designation protects the area against demolitions and adds a layer of review for ......

NEW YORK — Chuck Close, the artist whose giant photorealist paintings entranced viewers, died Thursday. He was 81. Close died at a hospital in Oceanside, his lawyer John Silberman confirmed. His cause of death was not announced. In 2017 and 2018, multiple women who had worked with Close said he harassed them while on the job, and at least one of his exhibitions was canceled as a result. Close apologized, saying, “If I embarrassed anyone or made them feel uncomfortable, I am truly sorry.” Close’s work appeared throughout the five boroughs, from subway stations to tony art installations. “It’s r......