After a three-year overhaul, the American Museum of Natural History welcomes the public to its newly restored Theodore Roosevelt Memorial and Hall of North American Mammals.
John Russell Pope won the competition to design the American Museum of Natural History’s Central Park West facade. Photo: AMNH
This past Saturday, the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its newly restored Theodore Roosevelt Memorial and Hall of North American Mammals. The $40 million project included the restoration of the museum’s main entrance and grand main hall, as well as of its world-famous dioramas of animals in their natural settings.
Unlike Presidents such as Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, whose monuments dot the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it was decided in 1924 that New York State would honor its most famous native son with a memorial at the American Museum of Natural History. The museum, which Roosevelt’s father helped found in 1920, has long had an association with the 26th President, an avid naturalist who was born and raised in New York City.
“Most Americans are familiar with Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy as President of the United States, but few fully appreciate his lifelong passion for conservation and the American wilderness,” says David Hurst Thomas, curator in the museum’s Division of Anthropology.
Roosevelt poses on a 1903 trip to Yosemite with naturalist John Muir.
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6 Pumpkin Festivals Not to Miss
Celebrate fall’s arrival at one of these fun, family-friendly events.
1. THE GREAT JACK O’ LANTERN BLAZE
Where: Croton-on-Hudson, NY
When: Through November 11
The Great Jack-o-Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, NY
Van Cortland Manor is a historic 18th-century riverside estate in the bucolic Hudson River Valley. On select evenings through November 11, visitors are welcome for the Great Jack o’ Lantern Blaze, a breathtaking display of more than 5,000 hand-carved, illuminated jack o’ lanterns. During the event, the Manor’s sloping brick paths and heritage gardens are transformed into a Halloween wonderland, complete with synchronized lighting and suitably creepy sound effects. There’s the Tunnel O’ Pumpkin Love, plus flying ghosts, slithering snakes, a giant spider web, and super-sized dinosaurs, all made of fiery carved gourds. Advance tickets required. For details, visit Historic Hudson Valley.
Historic buildings eerily lit are highlights of The Great Jack 'o Lantern Blaze.
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- Painting >
- “Green” Paint: Sherwin-Williams Emerald
“Green” Paint: Sherwin-Williams Emerald
With its new eco-minded Emerald paints and ColorCast Eco Toners, Sherwin-Williams gives homeowners more high-performing, zero-VOC options.
This summer, Sherwin-Williams broadened its eco-friendly offerings with the introduction of its high-end Emerald interior and exterior paints.
The company, which received the EPA’s prestigious Presidential Green Chemistry Award in 2011, plays up the “beauty, washability, and sustainability” of the new zero-VOC line. The finishes emit few odors during or after application and have built-in antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of mold and mildew on the paint.
The interior paints also received Indoor Air Quality Certification from GreenGuard, a third-party nonprofit certifying products that meet strict chemical emission limits, and which contribute to healthier indoor air.
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- Seattle Bans Plastic Bags at the Checkout Counter
Seattle Bans Plastic Bags at the Checkout Counter
In a bid to reduce waste and keep plastics out of the nation’s waterways and oceans, Seattle joins a growing number of cities pushing to eliminate plastic grocery bags for good.
Photo: Flickr mtsofan
On July 1st, the ban on plastic bags adopted by Seattle’s City Council in December of last year officially kicks into gear. Seattle—which passed the legislation at the urging of environmental groups working to protect marine life in Puget Sound—joins a growing number of progressive cities that prohibit retail stores from offering single-use plastic bags at the checkout counter.
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- DuPont’s Drive to Zero
In a major push to green its global operations, DuPont Building Innovations, the makers of Corian and Tyvek building materials, eliminated 81 million pounds of manufacturing waste a year—and made trips to the landfill obsolete.
DuPont Building Innovations' Drive-to-Zero
Some companies don’t fool around. Back in 2009, DuPont Building Innovations— manufacturer of Corian and Zodiaq solid surfaces and Tyvek building products—decided to alter its eco-footprint in a very big way.
The company announced its Drive to Zero landfill initiative and set as its goal the elimination of all 81 million pounds of waste it sent to landfills each year. No small order, considering that the company’s 15 production facilities span the globe from Buffalo, New York, to South Korea to Guangzhou, China.
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- Learning to Love Recycling
Learning to Love Recycling
Thanks to a new crop of thoughtfully designed Rubbermaid recycling products, corralling kitchen recyclables has never been easier.
Fact: According to the EPA, Americans are recycling more than ever. In 2010 alone, homeowners helped keep 85.1 million tons of glass, plastic, paper, and yard waste out of the country’s bulging landfills.
Confession: I’d like to say that I get great joy from recycling, but the reality is I hate all the clutter. Don’t get me wrong: I’m happy to do my small part. It’s just that I’ve never had a very good system for keeping everything organized. In my hometown of New York City, recycling has been mandatory since 1989. Like my neighbors, I dutifully stockpile soup cans, aluminum foil, wire hangers, soda pop bottles, and towering stacks of newspapers and catalogs, then haul everything to my building’s basement recycling bins every day or so.
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- Fighting Hunger—Can by Can
Fighting Hunger—Can by Can
At the 19th Annual Canstruction Design/Build Competition—an art show and food drive benefiting City Harvest—some of New York City’s finest architects, designers, and engineers create whimsical sculptures made entirely from canned goods!
"Loaded Dice" by Gensler and WSP-Flack+Kurtz. Photo: Annabel Willis
Last Thursday night, 25 teams of volunteer architects, designers, and engineers gathered at the World Financial Center to kick off Canstruction, an annual building competition and food drive sponsored by the Society of Design Administration and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Instead of bricks and mortar, the design wizards worked into the wee hours of the night creating giant, self-supporting structures using canned goods ranging from green beans and Spam to pineapple rings and black olives.
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