Blue Ridge Realty & Investments. LLC

09/02/2026

09/02/2026

In 1893, millions of people came to Chicago to see a vision of the future. Rising among the enormous palaces of the World's Columbian Exposition was something that quietly challenged the world outside its doors: a building created to prove what women could do.

The Woman's Building was planned, designed, managed, and decorated largely by women at a time when architecture, professional art, and public life remained overwhelmingly controlled by men.

Its architect, Sophia Hayden, was just 21 when she won the competition to design it. She had been the first woman to complete MIT's four-year architecture program, yet struggled to find professional work because firms were reluctant to hire a woman.

Now her building would stand at one of the largest international spectacles on earth.

Inside, women displayed paintings, sculpture, inventions, books, scientific work, handicrafts, industrial products, and achievements gathered from around the world. Mary Cassatt painted a massive mural celebrating the "Modern Woman." Sculptor Enid Yandell created monumental work for the building. Women from numerous nations contributed exhibits documenting lives and accomplishments routinely overlooked elsewhere.

But even this showcase of female achievement exposed the limits women faced.

Hayden was reportedly paid $1,000 for her design, while male architects responsible for major fair buildings received considerably more. When disagreements and relentless demands surrounding the project overwhelmed her, newspapers seized upon her distress as supposed evidence that women were emotionally unsuited to architecture.

The building itself suggested the opposite.

For six months, visitors walked through physical proof that women could design buildings, create monumental art, invent, organize, publish, manufacture, and participate in intellectual life.

Then the fair closed.

Like most of the exposition, the Woman's Building was demolished.

Its architecture disappeared, but the argument made inside it did not.

In 1893, women were given a building in which to demonstrate what they could accomplish.

They filled every room.

09/02/2026

Soak

09/01/2026

In the early 1990s, Dolly Parton wanted to tackle the high school dropout rate in her hometown.

Her Dollywood Foundation created the Buddy Program, pairing seventh and eighth grade students and promising each $500 if both graduated from high school.

According to the foundation, the dropout rate for those classes fell from 35 percent to just 6 percent.

It was one of Dolly’s earliest efforts to expand educational opportunities for children in her community.

09/01/2026

Paul McCartney pays tribute to Dolly Parton: "Her songwriting, her singing and her philanthropy were unrivaled in the world of country music and it is hard to imagine living in a world without Dolly."

09/01/2026

🌠 LOOK UP TONIGHT! It’s your last chance to catch this magical meteor shower of 2026. The Aurigids are reaching their peak, giving you a chance to see beautiful shooting stars and possibly even a brilliant fireballs streak across the night sky.
If the skies are clear, step outside, find a dark spot, look up, and make a wish. You never know what might appear above you.
✨ Best viewing: After midnight until dawn.

09/01/2026

Get ready to witness some breathtaking night skies over the next few months! 🌕✨ From the vibrant Harvest Moon in September to the cozy Beaver Moon in November, mark your calendars for these three incredible full moons. 🌾🏹🪵
Which one are you most excited to look up at?✨

📸 Photo: Representative Purpose Only / AI Generated

11/20/2025

11/20/2025