Category: 21st Century

EXPLORE THE U. S. CAPITOL ART — Roger Sherman Statue, by Chauncey B. Ives

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"We enter, directly beneath the great Rotunda, the so-called Crypt, a circular chamber with a coronade of forty Doric columns, modeled after the Temple at Paestum. These columns are surmounted by groined arches supporting the floor above. The exact center of the Capitol building is indicated by a star in the pavement... The sub-basement, below this crypt, was originally planned to contain the tomb of George Washington. Since 1865 it has been the receptacle of the bier used to sustain the coffin of Abraham Lincoln and other notable Americans who have lain in state in the Capitol."

A Model State Capitol (1885), by Frank Opel

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"Time and tempest felled it at last; but it blooms here in marble still, its name is preserved throughout the city as the distinguishing mark of divers stores, shops, and companies; and a pretty marble slab, like a grave stone, in Charter Oak Place inadequately marks where the original flourished until 1856. In Bushnell Park (named after that eminent theologian, the late Dr. Horace Bushnell, who was the chief promoter of this public pleasure ground) there is a couple of Charter Oaks junior, sprung from its fruit; and 'certified' acorns, possibly taken from these younger trees, but supposed to have grown upon the parent, have been worth their weight in gold at charity fairs. Across the Connecticut, leading to East Hartford, stretches a covered bridge one thousand feet long, and taking up in its construction a corresponding quantity of timber. Mark Twain, showing some friends about, told them that bridge also was built of wood from the Charter Oak."

The only handwritten draft of the Bill of Rights, by Roger Sherman

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"A handwritten working draft of the Bill of Rights — the only such document known to exist — has been found and identified in the most likely of places: the Library of Congress. This early draft was written by Representative Roger Sherman of Connecticut on an unknown date in July 1789 while the first Congress was meeting in New York. Sherman, a longtime judge of the Connecticut Superior Court who became a Senator in 1791, served with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He was the only framer to sign all three original founding documents — the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution."

Eateries help support health care workers, by Stephen Fries

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"Restaurants in Connecticut and across the country have come together to feed the front line. In New Haven, 1,100 meals a day are prepared, with 18 restaurants participating, and deliveries made to Yale New Haven Hospital, the Veterans Affairs medical center in West Haven and various testing sites."

Ascent of Agiocochook — Home of the Great Spirit.

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"The first ascent of Mount Washington by a European settler, was by Darby Field, an Irish immigrant, who accomplished this difficult feat in 1642 from a southerly approach. Partly guided by Indians and with only primitive equipment at his disposal, he is thus alleged to be the originator of all Mount Washington ascensions."

The Southernmost Holding of New Haven Colony

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"MOST New Yorkers have doubtless forgotten it, but until a little more than three centuries ago the town of Southold, L.I., was the southernmost holding of New Haven Colony. It was bitter loss to New Haven when Southold was written out of the Royal Charter. The people of New Haven stewed for three years before they finally accepted the charter in 1665, without the property on Long Island. The people of Southold resisted the change for many years longer, petitioning the King to be left as part of Connecticut, and refusing to pay New York taxes."

Night Rainbow New Haven, by Yvette Mattern

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"A light sculpture of monumental scale, Yvette Mattern’s Night Rainbow, Global Rainbow New Haven utilized high-specification lasers in each of the colors of the visual light spectrum (ROYGBIV) to create a rainbow emanating from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at the summit of East Rock Park, and over the City of New Haven. During the four-night projection from April 24 to April 27, 2013, New Haven residents were drawn from one neighborhood to the next, investigating the changes in the cityscape below, as well as in the form itself. The Rainbow was visible from many locations in and around the City, its form dynamic, changing shape depending on the viewer’s position to the origin point of the lasers."

Cruising the Mediterranean with Jacques Pépin, by Jane Sigal

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"On a sailing of the luxurious M/S Regatta, the star chef croons in a karaoke contest, plucks wild bay laurel from a roadside bush, eats flaky Greek pastry and teaches spectacular recipes inspired by his Italian shore excursions."

Stir the Pots, July 2005: Jeremy Shapiro’s conversation with Jean-Michel Gammariello, General Manager and Sommelier of the Union League Café

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"Jeremy talks with his first Chef Jean Michel Gammariello, who built a career working in three Michelin-starred restaurants in France, he is both manager and sommelier of the Union League Cafe in New Haven, CT. For this conversation, Gammariello talks about cooking (and hanging out) with his good friend Jacques Pepin, moving from the kitchen into the world of wine, and reflects on the larger world of chefs and food."

Professional photographer finds iPhone a fun way to capture a moment, by Pamela McLoughlin

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"In the exhibit, 'Iphoneography,' local photographer Mike Ross captured an image of the perfectly waving American flag against a blue sky when he ran to Home Depot. One of the pictures in his show is of an interesting parking booth key hanging board that he spotted while doing a job at Union League Cafe. Another is the cool shadow of his grandmother coming back from church in New Haven, along with the shadow of a cat she feeds. There is a picture of an ice cream truck driver on his cellphone that Ross took while walking his dog in East Rock Park. Also featured in the display are a person walking with balloons, an old car covered in overgrown weeds, the shins and feet of a sitting young child wearing Crocs, a person dancing, birds flying over Atlantic City, a shopping cart sign he spotted while at Walmart. 'The iPhone is awesome,' Ross said."