National Geographic: Treasures from the Past Page #3

---

And in the middle lay the

charred hulk of the palace.

The palace decorations were strewn

about the park in pieces.

Sculpture marms, head, torsos

lay all about.

The picture was so terrible

and depressing

that one's first impression was

that resurrecting it would be impossible.

On the other hand,

people could not reconcile themselves

to blotting out a page of history,

the glorious history

of these monuments.

And so we decided

to undertake the restoration.

Pieces of the ruined palaces were

scattered everywhere,

hastily hidden before the siege.

From fields, from secret vaults,

from the hands of retreating Nazis,

even from the Neva River,

the missing pieces were returned.

Restoration could now begin.

A painter and engineer,

Kedrinsky directed work

at the Catherine Palace.

We long to re-create these monuments,

he said at the time,

but do we have the guts to do it?

Under his direction,

scores of artists and craftsmen

began to rebuild the palace.

Today Alexander Kedrinsky works with

a new generation of artisans

who use original architectural drawings

and prewar photographs

that miraculously survived

the destruction.

From an old black-and-white

photograph,

a painted ceiling comes to life.

The design is rendered in color,

and figures are drawn to scale

by artists trained in period

styles and techniques.

Designs are modified and approved

before the painting begins.

For hours at a time they

reach overhead.

Standing so close to the ceiling,

these artists are unable

to see the entire painting at once.

Skill and planning guide them

where their eyes cannot.

After three years of work,

the ceiling is almost finished.

Parts of a statue were retrieved

from the palace grounds.

From these shattered limbs

a body is reformed.

A wood carver creates anew

what fire and shrapnel destroyed.

With clay, he models a missing twin

that he will later replicate in wood.

On the statue's chest,

a fracture is mended,

and a wound is healed.

Once again,

carvings are adorned with gold.

Though each leaf weighs

almost nothing,

nearly 20 pounds of gold were needed

to refurbish the Great Hall.

Guided into place by human breath

and held there by rabbit-skin glue,

the gold is burnished

with an amber rod.

Gilded faces blaze again.

The palaces are reborn.

The glory that was imperial Russia

radiates from every quarter once again

but today it shines

with new brilliance.

Reflected in the symmetry of

crystal mirrors is the labor of

modern craftsmen who have saved

the treasures of a nation.

In 1944, Peter's portrait was found

in shredded fragments,

scattered in the snow.

Today, the scars are almost invisible.

We rebuild these palaces to celebrate

those who built them long ago,

says Kedrinsky,

but we need another 20 years

before our work is finished.

Today, from atop his horse,

Peter the Great gazes on a miracle.

Through heroic endeavors

his vision lives on.

The farming country of eastern

Colorado is far from Leningrad,

but the passion to save a treasure

can be found here as well.

Compared to the Russian court,

life in Burlington, Colorado, is basic

but on the county fairground stands

a treasure that might well

have delighted the Russian nobility.

How you doing?

All right.

Local citizens brought this treasure

here some 60 years ago,

and today it is the pride of

Kit Carson County.

In the morning light,

fantastic animals awake on

what many herald as the

"Jewel of American Carousels."

Because it was the sixth machine built

by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company,

it is known as PTC #6.

Caring for this

unusual menagerie is

an art conservator named Will Morton.

In recent years,

he restored the animals

from decades of deterioration

and unveiled whimsical piece

of American history.

PTC #6 was built in 1905

when carousels spun their

magic the world over.

In 1928, it was bought second-hand

for $1,250 by Kit Carson County.

At the fair that year,

citizens paid five cents

for a five-minute ride,

but this frivolous purchase

would cost the county

commissioners their jobs.

Dust storms and the Depression

brought hard times

to Kit Carson County.

Homeless families lived

on the fairground.

The carousel building was used to

store feed

and became infested with rats and snakes.

There was talk of burning it down.

Somehow PTC #6 survived,

but it was never quite the same.

Its magic vanished,

and as each year passed,

neglect moved it ever closer

to the edge of ruin.

In 1979 a group of concerned citizens

brought Will Morton from Denver

to preserve and restore it.

A lot of carousels have been

refurbished,

but this is the first one

to my knowledge that was

conserved and restored as a work

of art might be;

that is, Where we have made

every possible effort to

preserve the original material

that we found here

and to protect it

as you would with a piece of fine art.

As he lifts the veil of time,

Morton finds traces of

Victorian artisans

whose pencil marks look as though

they were drawn only moments ago.

Surrounded by their creations,

will senses the spirit of

those craftsmen lurking nearby.

I spend days here alone

just working on the carousel.

Your mind is going a mile a minute

even though your hand

may not be or the project

doesn't seem to be going all that fast.

Nevertheless,

your mind is going.

And so you're picturing the people

who made this carousel,

what they were thinking.

I think part of doing a good job

in restoration

is discovering the people

that made the thing

trying to put yourself in their place.

And that's why I insist on doing

things the way they did them.

Will Morton has preserved more than

Now he restores

what has been worn away.

The Wallitzer monster military band organ

is the heart and soul of the PTC #6

Over the year

Water damage, heat, humidity

and hungry rats all play habit

of this vital parts.

After 1200 hours of restoration

the monster gets to check up.

Good afternoon and welcome to our

third performance of the 1986

Kit Carson County Fair and Rodeo.

Every year in early August,

people come from all over

Kit Carson County

to ride PTC #6 once again.

Today a ride costs 25 cents,

but it lasts a full seven minutes.

I would like to look down from

some place beyond 50 years from now

and feel that I'm being complimented

by the restorer who's then at work,

saying that the man who did this

in the first place did a good job,

and I'm pleased with what he did.

On the plains of eastern Colorado

another year passes.

On a summer night,

the carousel spins dream

that will not be forgotten in years to come

The Age of Sail reached

its height in the 19th century

when global voyages

were made in tall ships.

The forces of nature were

harnessed by experienced hands,

but when canvas was replaced by steam,

the tall ships and a maritime

tradition quietly vanished.

In the port of Athens

the rusted hull of a once tall ship

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes