After decades of neglect and ruin, the legendary Northern River Terminal, which, like many of our architectural monuments, was only a couple of years ago under threat of collapse, now looks like this: restoration work is in full swing…

After decades of neglect and ruin, the legendary Northern River Terminal, which, like many of our architectural monuments, was only a couple of years ago under threat of collapse, now looks like this: restoration work is in full swing, and they are preparing to open the building in time for City Day. My feelings are mixed. On the one hand, it is gratifying that an object of cultural heritage will be returned to Moscow and Muscovites; on the other, the hackneyed grey tiling does not inspire confidence. But let us see how the terminal looks in the end; at any rate, I would gladly take a river tram from it. As far as I understood, they will not, after all, raise the star on the spire: it is too heavy, and the windage area is too large. Still, on the whole it is a worthy undertaking, and restoring what is solid and old is far better than building what is wretched and new.