Alexander Palace Restoration

[Holly]

Thank you, Rob and Bob for the updates. Very exciting to learn of the restorations on the second floor, left wing.

[lilianna]

   Videos in March 2011.

  Very interesting!
 The chief architect of Tsarskoe Selo Kudryavtseva tells and shows the albums on the restoration of the palace. In the video you can see the Hall with a slide, the Church of the palace (the original, without restoration) and staterooms (the restoration).

[lilianna]

http://www.pushkin-town.net/.pushkin/rus/videonws.htm?Roll=12&Start=0&Rubrik=0

[EmmyLee]

Wow, thanks, Lilianna! Could any Russian speakers give the rest of us the gist of what is being said in this video? I made some screen captures, but the photo of the Maple Room intrigues me. Is it already finished? It doesn't look like a watercolor to me.

[GrandDuchessAndrea]

So are they going to turn OTMA and Alexei's bedrooms into an art center?  I was hoping they'd restore them to their former appearance... Or am I missing something here...?
That would be neat if they restored the slide! 

[Douglas]

Wow, thanks, Lilianna! Could any Russian speakers give the rest of us the gist of what is being said in this video? I made some screen captures, but the photo of the Maple Room intrigues me. Is it already finished? It doesn't look like a watercolor to me.

I believe most of these green rooms and the cluttered ones are in the right wing of the AP.  She seems to be talking about their plans for these rooms which may include opening up some plastered over doors, etc.

[lilianna]

EmmyLee,
Thank you for your work.
 Architect of the video shows the albums with the views of the restoration. So the room will look like after restoration. The basement will be a wardrobe, where you can give coats, toilets, cafe. A baby will be half the child care center for city residents, and other rooms on the second floor will be for exhibitions.

[Joanna]

The first photo is of #25 Chapel. What amazes me is the door with oval window above that appears to lead to the White Hall #19. I had missed this in a photo c1933 which has the same view of the portico enclosure and you can see the same oval with the door that was obscured by a panelled folding screen. In the plans of Yakovlev c1927, there is no door to #19 but one to #20 Crimson room. Since we can see the door and then mirror facing the Chapel, there was a little enclosed anteroom from #25 to #20 which is easy to miss on the plan.

Joanna

[Laura Mabee]

There is a wonderful article with some great photos in Royal Russia News:
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/news/320news.html

[Michael HR]

Hi Laura,

Looked at the photos they are simply superb! I must arrange a visit to go and see for myself, but so much to see dont know where to start...

[Rodney_G.]

Are those photos incredible or are they incredible? Wow! And that's not mentioning the content of those photos. I know far from all of the AP or the objects in it are in such excellent condition , but they do give great hope for what a major restoration can achieve.

[Robert_Hall]

I will be in St.P. in June, but have not decided to see the AP this time. I might  wait until the next visit, when more work has been done. It has not been that long since I last saw the place.

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Same here, Robert.  I hope to be visiting friends in September/October (at least those are my thoughts now), and have asked them to strike Pushkin/Tsarskoe sites from arrangements, as I think it would be personally a waste of time to visit at this stage. I wish to concentrate more on Saint Petersburg proper and Yaroslavl Oblast areas.  Best regards for a good trip.   AP.

[lilianna]

Robert, you have to be June at the Alexander Palace, because there on June 1 opened the exhibition "A visit to the Children's Rooms".

[Robert_Hall]

Thankyou Illiana. However, I have been told this exhibition is not in their rooms but elsewhere in the palace. I do not know how true  this is though. Anyway,  the children are the least of my interest in the Romanovs.