History, Art, Architecture and Paris in an Online Tour

The nave of the Grand Palais after restoration, 2012. Photo © 2015, Rmn-GP-Grand Palais201
It’s not like most of us have the opportunity to visit all the great museums even without COVID-19. But it is possible these days to get a “next best thing” tour of world culture thanks to the internet.
Let me be clear at this point that I’m not a great art connoisseur and have not been to most of the world’s great museums (yet). But I would like to learn more, and as the new year begins I feel a bit of an urge to learn and see new things; while the online museum experience has a lot of flaws, it also is better than sitting around the house watching cat videos on YouTube.
Let’s begin by saying frankly that most museum virtual tours are disappointing, for many reasons. Generally the art works are all presented as being the same size, so that a wall-size painting such as Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” (at the Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu) looks the same size online as “Maternal Caress” by Mary Cassatt, which is about 10.5 by 4.5 inches.
Many museums offer virtual “walking tours” and Google street view visits to museum galleries, but they’re usually poorly lit, distorted and nausea-inducing if the camera pans around too quickly.
You are also unable to access many virtual tours unless you download Adobe Flash, which I have had some bad experiences with and won’t allow on my computer.
Google tries very hard to put its fingerprint on most of the world’s museums and cultural heritage sites through its Google Arts and Culture website. There you can find links to many museums and lots of activities, most of which are geared to young people. There are games and puzzles, and there are short videos of indie pop culture icons such as Grimes and Fiest talking about famous works of art, modern and ancient.
Most of it I found uninteresting or overwhelming but there are some glimmers of excellence. The one I liked best and that I’ll recommend to you here is a tour of the Grand Palais in Paris. If you go to the actual museum website, you just get the usual short teasers about their current shows.
But if you go to the Google Arts and Culture page on the Grand Palais, you get interesting history and photos of the creation of the building —which combines sculpture and classical architecture and a glass dome and an outdoor colonnade — for the Universal Exposition of 1900.
The photos and the history (in English) are clear and easy to absorb. For World War history buffs, there is an entire text and photo section on the conversion of the space (which is huge, on the scale of Grand Central Station) into a hospital for wounded soldiers.
There are four “views”of the exterior of the building, including a view of Paris from the roof. Unlike the dizzying videos in which a camera pans around a site, here you click on arrows that bring your progressively closer to whatever details you’d like to focus on.
And of course there are photos and short explanations of the photos and paintings in the museum’s collection.
No doubt there are many other excellent tours of art and architecture on the internet.
But in a three-hour search of the internet this morning, the website for the Grand Palais was the one I felt most like recommending. It was a nice mix of architecture and art; and it was a virtual journey to Paris, which is a city I’d like to visit if I had the time and money and there wasn’t a worldwide pandemic.
To visit the Google Arts and Culture tour of RMN-Grand Palais online, go to https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/rmn-grand-palais.
In case you’re wondering, RMN stands for Réunion des musées nationaux.
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
Demitasse owner Hayden McIntosh Geer said she is excited by the shift to online sales.
MILLERTON — Some might have argued that launching an in-person retail business during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t advisable. But against all odds, Demitasse in Millerton managed not only to build a thriving, mission-based brand in a small storefront on Main Street, it developed a loyal customer base and provided a welcoming space for visitors. Last week, Demitasse announced it is closing-up shop and moving fully online.
“We are excited,” said owner Hayden McIntosh Geer, who opened Demitasse with her husband, Richard, in 2020. “Though we will miss our customers and the camaraderie on Main Street, it feels right and there was no second guessing.”
The building that houses Demitasse and neighboring Candy-O’s is on the market, leaving the future uncertain. Geer said she and Richard will continue supporting their favorite Millerton spots, now with more time to enjoy local businesses and neighbors.
Known for its carefully selected gifts and home goods, Demitasse has received frequent praise for its curation. Yet Geer is quick to deflect. “I didn’t know I was creative until I opened the store,” she joked. “When anyone talks about the curation I just point to the makers. They are the ones who create the beautiful items that hold purpose and intention. That’s what made our place special.”
The decision to open a gift shop was never part of a master plan, Geer said. “We found our way as we went along and it happened very organically.” But from day one, she knew she wanted to support marginalized artists and makers.
Demitasse owner Hayden McIntosh Geer, right, and her husband, Richard, sitting on the bench in front of the Main Street storefront. Photo by Jessica Yurko
For example, Sidai Designs, which makes beaded jewelry in Africa, provides work for 120 Maasai women and helps support their communities. Maison d’Haiti, which produces handcrafted goods in Haiti, employs nearly 100 women at fair-trade wages, giving them a reliable income through sales in the U.S. and Haiti.
One of the highlights of having a storefront — and a true testament to what she and her husband had created — came when the editor of a major culture and lifestyle magazine told Geer how much she loved shopping at Demitasse for its quality and mission-driven products.
“I could have quit right there,” Geer joked, reflecting on the highs and lows of the last five years.
Just as thoughtfully as the products were curated, every element of the store reflected care and craftsmanship. Hayden and Richard incorporated their tastes and skills into every nook and cranny, including shelving made from reclaimed wood from their home. Some of those shelves now have a new life at The Beehive, a boutique in Mount Kisco, New York.
Today, their digital shelves continue to highlight a diverse range of makers, with biographical details available on each product listing. The website carries the same aesthetic found in-store, maintaining the mission to support LGBTQ+ makers, environmentally friendly products, and Black- and women-owned businesses.
Looking ahead, Geer says, “We want people to know that if they enjoyed shopping in our store, they’ll love our website.” Shoppers can still expect beautiful gift wrapping and flexible exchange policies, and Geer is offering personal deliveries within driving distance on a limited basis.
Above all, Geer says her heart is full of gratitude for her customers. “They came in, shared life stories and became friends. We love Millerton, and I hope people will remain in touch.”
Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.
MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.
The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”
Olenik worked with The Cruiser’s Division in Mamaroneck, New York, to design the vehicles.
“We really want to thank the Pine Plains Police Department for their tremendous support,” Olenik said. After the fire, “they were the first ones to come forward and offer help.”
The new police cruisers are outfitted with lights with automatically adjusting brightness to best perform in ambient conditions.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Since February, Millerton officers have been borrowing a patrol car from Pine Plains. With the new vehicles now in service, Olenik said he plans to thank Pine Plains officers by treating them to dinner at Four Brothers in Amenia and having their car detailed
The main entrance to Kent Hollow Mine at 341 South Amenia Road in Amenia.
AMENIA — Amenia residents and a Wassaic business have filed suit against the Town Board and Kent Hollow Inc., alleging a settlement between the town and the mine amounts to illegal contract zoning that allows the circumvention of environmental review.
Petitioners Laurence Levin, Theodore Schiffman and Clark Hill LLC filed the suit on Aug. 22. Town officials were served with documents for the case last week and took first steps in organizing a response to the suit at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The lawsuit is the latest in a multi-year long legal battle surrounding the mine on South Amenia Road. After Kent Hollow Inc. — a subsidiary of Bethel, Connecticut, based homebuilder Steiner Inc. — applied for a state mining permit in 2017, the Amenia code enforcement officer issued the business a notice of violation.
At the time, Kent Hollow Inc. did not possess a special permit to conduct mining operations as required by Amenia zoning code, and the property did not reside in the Special Mining Overlay district established as part of rezoning efforts coinciding with the 2007 adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan.
Kent Hollow Inc. appealed the violation, claiming the use of the property as a mine predates amendments to town and state regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals denied the appeal citing insufficient evidence in 2019. That spurred Kent Hollow to file two lawsuits — one in the New York State Supreme Court and a federal civil rights lawsuit — challenging the town’s order.
In July 2025, those lawsuits were brought to a close when the Town Board voted at a special meeting to accept a settlement agreement allowing Kent Hollow to continue mining operations under limited hours and quantities.
The most recent suit alleges the 2025 settlement amounts to contract zoning that allows Kent Hollow Inc. to skirt environmental review and the scrutiny of the permitting and rezoning process. Court documents allege Kent Hollow did not adequately prove a continuous, legal nonconforming use.
Supporting the argument, petitioners have submitted the court documents and decision from the 2019 New York Supreme Court case against the town Zoning Board of Appeals, and the documents from the preceding ZBA appeals process including receipts and tax returns from Kent Hollow Inc. purporting to establish the nonconforming use.
Kent Hollow Inc. formed as a subsidiary of housing developer Steiner Inc. and purchased the property in 1971, according to state and county real estate records.
Millerton News reporting from 1971 Amenia planning board meetings detail Kent Hollow’s pursuit of a four-section, 40-unit apartment complex on the property.
The News reported Kent Hollow was granted tentative approval on July 6, 1971, to build eight units on the site with the expectation that more would be built later.
The additional units never came to fruition and Kent Hollow apparently abandoned the housing project, opting to use the property as a gravel mine.
Attorneys for the Town of Amenia or Kent Hollow Inc. have not filed responses to the lawsuit as of press time.