Statue of Liberty crown, closed since 9/11, to reopen July 4; lottery may decide who goesNEW YORK — The Statue of Liberty’s crown, with its exhilarating view of New York’s skyscrapers, bridges and seaport, is reopening on Independence Day for the first time since terrorists leveled the World Trade Center just across the harbor. New exhibition shows the Louvre Museum during WWII, its paintings boxed up, galleries emptyPARIS — On the eve of World War II, curators at the Louvre swathed the museum’s most priceless painting — the “Mona Lisa” — in layers of waterproof paper, boxed it up and spirited it to the French countryside for safekeeping. Leonardo da Vinci’s smiling maiden moved another five times during the war before she was brought, safe and sound, back to the Louvre. NYC’s Guggenheim celebrates 50th anniversary with exhibition on architect Frank Lloyd WrightNEW YORK — For Frank Lloyd Wright, the slow rise of the spiral ramp at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum allowed paintings to be displayed as if on an artist’s easel. Norman Rockwell’s reinstalled studio opens to the publicSTOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Norman Rockwell Museum has taken the artist’s studio back in time to 1960. NY, VT mark Samuel de Champlain’s 1609 explorations; lakeside communities hosting eventsCROWN POINT, N.Y. — The sculpture of Samuel de Champlain gazes up the lake he explored 400 years ago this summer, opening the way for Europeans who made extensive use of the waterway during their 200-year struggle for control of North America. Buddhist calm, bustling markets: Explore Seoul’s ancient sites, modern amenities on a budgetSEOUL — With the South Korean currency, called the won, down against the dollar, now’s the time to wander the grounds of 600-year-old palaces, meditate in Buddhist temples and trawl cafes and markets in the labyrinthine capital city, Seoul. |