A Question Regarding The Alexander Park

[pastpalacelife]

I'm wondering, is the fence still up around the semi-circle balcony?  How close is one actually able to get to the balcony?  I would like to see some recent photos of the balcony and all along the back wall to the corner where Alexandra's balcony once stood and up the side there too.  Does anybody have any?  I assume it is not possible to go down that side of the palace, is that correct?  Thanks

[Cathy]

I'm wondering, is the fence still up around the semi-circle balcony?  How close is one actually able to get to the balcony?  I would like to see some recent photos of the balcony and all along the back wall to the corner where Alexandra's balcony once stood and up the side there too.  Does anybody have any?  I assume it is not possible to go down that side of the palace, is that correct?  Thanks

The green wooden fence is gone; now there is a chain-link fence but it is only a matter of feet away from the back of the AP - you are quite close to the semicircular hall.

It is more difficult to walk up the side where A. had her balcony but you can get very decent pictures of that corner and up the side from the back park.

[Robert_Hall]

[pastpalacelife]

Thanks for that Robert.  I guess you can't get very close at all to the balcony side.  Tracy

[pastpalacelife]

I was hoping that area was more accessible so that maybe you could tell where the balcony posts used to be.  By the way, where was the door leading onto Alexandra's balcony?  I know it is there is no longer; I assume a window was made into a door and now is back to being a window.

[Cathy]

I wish that I could post my pictures but unfortunately they are not digital and I do not have a scanner.
One can get much closer than Robert's picture indicates. The green wooden fence in his picture is covering a 'garbage area' of used rusty metal pieces etc. behind and between the kitchen and AP.
I have never seen any indication of balcony posts.
As many times as I have looked and looked I have never been able to figure out where the door to the balcony was and so I assume that a window was used as replacement.

[Cathy]

Please note that BobG has already said that the door to the balcony was in the Maple Room.

[pastpalacelife]

Thanks to Cathy.  Another question:  can you still make out the paths that ran the outside of the palace (in the area around Alexandra's balcony and towards the balcony from the semi-circle hall).  I've wondered if they were paved or just dirt paths.  I have also been trying to figure out the spot where there used to be a huge vase in the garden outside the back of the palace.  There is a picture of the tutor and other people around the vase and I can tell the AP is behind it, but I can't figure out which part of the palace I'm viewing.  Anybody know?

[Mary Breheny]

When I was at the Alexander Palace in October I attempted to walk around the side of the building where Alexandra's balcony had been located.  I got inside the fenced-in area but a woman came running over to me and indicated that I wasn't to go in there.  I can't say that she was rude, and I didn't feel intimidated -- although I certainly didn't argue with her!  No one else questioned me while I rambled all over the Alexander Park.  It was interesting to see mothers (and one grandfather) pushing baby carriages in the park.

[Robert_Hall]

 Cathy and Mary are correct, you can get closer, but at your peril. We had to stay at a distance to get the pictures we wanted. And, we were on a search for the former kitchens.
 As for the paths, I think they were gravel originally.  They are just dirt now, as I recall. A lot of work  must be done to restore the park, let alone the palace itself. But, this takes money, which we all know is in short supply at this time. As for the urns in the park, I did not notice any at all, but then, we did not go far into it. I imagine they were carried off for other uses in other places.

[Cathy]

I heard there was a race couse and a golf course near the palaces. Does anyone know where they were and have any photos of same.

There was the Hippodrome in Tsarskoe Selo - see Race Track thread under TS Town for details.

[pastpalacelife]

The golf course is near the ruins of the Bablov Palace.  I've tried to look on Google Earth to see the course, but I can't make it out.  I read an article at some point, discussing the number of old trees that were cut down in order to build the course.  I can't remember where the article was, it was on my old computer that caught a virus, so now I'm on a new computer, without all my favorite links.  Which leads me to ask if anyone can direct me to a site that translates Russian to English;  I like to cut and paste words to be translated.  Sorry I've disgressed FA...

[Robert_Hall]

I did not know there was a golf course in the park or if I did, I had long forgotten about it. But, if the tennis courts are any indication, I would bet it is unrecognisable now.

[pastpalacelife]

I found the article about the golf course, I hope its okay to post it?   
Babolovsky park оздоравливают "a surgical" method St.-Petersburg, on April, 30th. There is a mass cutting down of century trees in Pushkin's Babolovsky park. On it to the correspondent of news agency "Rosbalt-Peterburg" was informed the chairman of regional department of a society of protection of monuments of the Pushkin city district by Galina Gruzdev. As she said (and to photos) the considerable quantity of trees is cut already down. After cutting down trunks burn. And on Monday the technics on destruction of stubs worked. For today all century trees along Taitsky water water are cut down, left only "thin" trees.« Instead of park the glade with rare trees »was formed, — Galina Gruzdev makes comments. She has noticed that under the official version, cutting down is a result of that Management of a landscape gardening economy (УСПХ) spends sanitary-preventive work. On it to it was informed by workers who conduct cutting down. And also one of the officials which name the chairman of regional department of a society did not begin to disclose. But, under its version,« roots grow »from the project of Tsarskoselsky golf club. They have already redeemed a dispensary of Izhora factory which costs on park border. And years five cannot already obtain the permit to work in park. We will remind that the Babolovsky park is located on Pushkin's suburb from outside Red Village.

[pastpalacelife]

In some of the newer pictures of the bridges just down from the semi circle balcony, it looks like some repairs have been done to the mortar between the blocks.  Has anyone got a picture they could post?