Activists of the initiative “1000 Doors of Odessa†restored the entrance door of P. Balashev's apartment building, built in 1899 in Lutheransky Lane 3 by the architect Konstantin Mikhailovic Popov.
On 2020, the original carved door sagged and decayed, the wood under the layers of paint fell into dust, some of the carved wooden elements and the left-side forged grille were lost, the transom and sash glass disappeared. In that state, few could see the beauty of the door and the overall picture of the facade.
Residents of the house and patrons of the arts from other houses raised funds and turned to Archodessa, the association created to preserve the architectural heritage of Odessa, with the task of restoring the historic door to its original beauty, as it was conceived by the architect Popov.
Of the 8 entrances, only 2 retained the front doors, and both were in poor condition. Fortunately, thanks to the remaining doors, they were able to simulate all the lost elements and restore the door to its original form. In the future, this will allow the restoration of doors to other entrances.
The process of recreating the lost forged lattice was difficult. 3D models were created for all carved elements and now they delight the eyes of the door in its original form.
In the course of the work, it turned out that the window openings were opened to ventilate the entrance and the lost mechanisms were restored.
The door was completed within 5 months. The project manager Konstantin Emelyanov said that the restoration of one door costs, depending on the complexity, from 1 to 3 thousand dollars.
The ambition of this project is to inspire the citizens of Odessa and make them follow this example, in order to have the city's historic houses decorated with beautiful doors and not flat metal canvases.
This activity of restoration does not receive public funds and it is possible thanks to private donations to the project "The 1000 Doors of Odessa": secure.wayforpay.com/payment/1000doorsFREEDonate
