Cities

Big Ears by artist Joe Halko

This Man Says He's the Mysterious 'Googly-Eye Bandit' in Bend, Oregon

Jeff Keith, a longtime resident and nonprofit founder, says he used duct tape to affix googly eyes to two public sculptures last month

The Knickerbocker Theater's roof collapsed under the weight of snowfall, resulting in 98 deaths.

Nearly 100 Washingtonians Died When a Theater Collapsed in One of the Largest Snowfalls Ever to Hit D.C.

The Knickerbocker Theater disaster, which took place on this day in 1922, killed 98 moviegoers and injured another 133

The systems have been especially successful in Latin America, where massive cities and dramatic landscapes make building roads, rail lines and subway tunnels difficult. Mi Teléferico, shown here, connects more than two million people across the La Paz metro in Bolivia.

Seven Cities in the World Where You Can Ride an Aerial Cable Car

Urban planners from Mexico City to Toulouse are adopting the high-flying mode of transit. Will it catch on elsewhere?

A pink man looking into a bar at the Vermillion Club in Boston

These Massive Inflatable Pink Men Are Waving From Rooftops and Peering Into Windows in Boston

Created by French artist Phillippe Katerine, the figures are part of an artistic movement known as Mignonisme, which promotes the aesthetics of cuteness

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

The Iroquois Theater in 1903

A 1903 Fire at a Chicago Theater Killed 602 People, Prompting Enduring Safety Reforms

Officials thought the brand-new Iroquois Theater was fireproof and designed for maximum safety. The scope of the tragedy and the ensuing panic quickly proved them wrong

The former Motor City masterpiece-turned-American-ruin was on the brink of demolition until 2018, when Ford committed to a billion-dollar restoration project returning it to its Gilded Age grandeur.

Detroiters Have a Newly Restored Michigan Central Station to Be Thankful for This Holiday Season

With funding from Ford Motor Company, the long-dilapidated building is being transformed into a technology and innovation hub

Crows congregate in Delano, California, in 2014. The birds tend to gether in urban areas, prompting some city officials—spanning New York, Illinois and Oregon—to try to disperse them.

Officials Ward Off 20,000 Crows With Flares and Lasers in Upstate New York, an Annual Battle Waged in Cities Nationwide

Massive roosts of crows in Rochester leave streets covered in feces, but some "corvid fanatics" aren't pleased about certain methods for dealing with the birds

Joe Rosenthal holding a print of his famous photograph in 2000

San Francisco Names a Street For the Photographer Who Captured Marines Raising an American Flag at Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal is famous for his Pulitzer Prize-winning image. But he spent most of his career photographing San Francisco, where he lived for many years

Someone has been sticking googly eyes onto public art installations, such as artist Brandon Zebold's Orb I, in Bend, Oregon.

Someone Is Sticking Googly Eyes on Public Sculptures in Oregon—and City Officials Are Not Amused

Many residents of Bend love the illicit adornments, which they say are sparking joy and driving engagement with public art

A policeman uses flares to guide traffic during the Great Smog of 1952.

How an Extreme Combination of Fog and Air Pollution Brought London to a Standstill and Resulted in Thousands of Fatalities

On this day in 1952, buses stood still, cars were abandoned in the street, and residents couldn't see even a few feet in front of themselves as the lethal Great Smog descended on the city

Thessaloniki's Venizelou subway station contains the ruins of a Roman-era thoroughfare.

A New Subway System in Greece Is Decorated With the Artifacts Unearthed During Its Construction

An ancient marble thoroughfare and shards of classical pottery are on display in the city of Thessaloniki's new underground "archaeo-stations"

Over the last few decades, wild turkeys have moved into cities, where they thrive thanks to few predators, abundant food and plenty of space to roam and roost.

Why Are Urban Turkeys Thriving?

As many wild populations decline, some city dwellers flourish—and may become a source for reintroductions to rural areas

A view of the soft-bottomed Los Angeles River below the 400-foot-long Taylor Yard Bridge in Elysian Valley. The newest Taylor Yard parcel, currently fenced off as it undergoes toxic remediation, can be seen on the far right.

How the Arrival of an Endangered Bird Indicates What’s Possible for the L.A. River

Could the waterway that the city was built around make a comeback?

“Cité Mémoire” is a digital multimedia installation illustrating the moments that have shaped Montreal’s last 400 years.

Cities Are Projecting Their History Onto Streets and Buildings After Dark

Pedestrians in Montreal, Grand Rapids and other locations can time-travel thanks to installations that map historical scenes directly onto the cityscapes

The core of the Valeriana site contained a ballcourt and an architectural arrangement that indicated a construction date before 150 C.E.

'Found' Dataset Reveals Lost Maya City Full of Pyramids and Plazas, Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath a Mexican Forest

By analyzing an old lidar survey, researchers found evidence of more than 6,500 ancient structures in a previously unexplored area of Campeche

Officials unveiled the portal installation in Philadelphia's LOVE Park on October 22.

New 'Portal' Opens in Philadelphia, Connecting Residents to Cities Around the World With Identical Installations

The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland

The Hotel Chelsea's neon sign was installed in 1949.

The Hotel Chelsea's Iconic Neon Sign Will Be Divided Into Pieces and Sold One Letter at a Time

The vertical sign stretched across three stories of the Manhattan hotel, which once welcomed the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin

East River From the 30th Story of the Shelton Hotel, Georgia O’Keeffe, 1928

Georgia O'Keeffe's Breathtaking New York City Paintings Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

The artist's cityscapes, once dismissed as too masculine, would later influence the floral artworks that became central to her iconic style

Electric taxis known as Electrobats drive through Manhattan in 1898. A similar vehicle fatally struck Henry Hale Bliss on September 13, 1899.

On This Day in 1899, a Car Fatally Struck a Pedestrian for the First Time in American History

Henry Hale Bliss' death presaged the battle between the 20th-century automobile lobby and walkers in U.S. cities

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