According to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is lookin' pretty good right about now. They write: "Right now the Native Flora Garden is at the apex of its autumnal display. The maples are just starting to turn in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, and at the start of Cherry Walk, the air is perfumed with the delicious caramel scent of Cercidiphyllum japonicum, or katsura tree. Even the Garden’s deciduous bonsai are showing their colors—in miniature." Get there before we settle into a winter of bare branches... and if you spot any colorful leaves in any of the five boroughs, send us your photos or tag them "Gothamist" on Flickr! more ›

The Eastman Kodak Company was founded in New York in 1892, and in 1922 they began to test out color film. Below is a sample of some of the earliest color motion picture film you will see, and more information about it is posted at Kodak's blog. more ›

While visiting the NYC Transit Sign shop in Brooklyn recently, Off the Rails blog caught a glimpse of the secret names of subway colors. Since the current design for the subway map was adopted in 1979, each shade for each line was given its own moniker; only a "handful of transit workers who oversee the system’s maps and signs" had seen it before. But now the colorful cat's out of the bag! more ›

The color of the Guggenheim's facade has been discussed over and over again, but did you know that Frank Lloyd Wright designed it to be red? More specifically, "Exterior: Red-marble and long-slim pottery red bricks." more ›

When the Hindu celebration of Phagwah (also known as Holi) rolls around, it's a rite of spring—and Richmond Hill, Queens. According to NY1, the parade is a "Hindu cultural celebration where participants walk around with their face colored with special dye to represent the colors of spring. The celebration also commemorates the triumph of good over evil, and recognizes unity among different races." The Parade's Grand Marshall Chunelall Larine further explained, "The inner meaning is the integration of people with various backgrounds different races, we can all live together in harmony and we can be as beautiful as we look with all this colors splashed on us." more ›

There are some disturbing photos over at Curbed, somewhat reminiscent of that horrific image from E.T. where the alien's seemingly lifeless, pale body is found in the gutter. Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi is losing its color! It seems like just yesterday it was generating rainbows, but now the site reports, "Its skin is peeling and it looks like there are some deep gashes over its eyes. It's also screaming out in pain, but in a high-pitched frequency only our ears are attuned to. Permits just posted on the Department of Buildings website mention the scaffold erection and sidewalk shed, but the extent of Chupi's care is unclear." more ›