Historic rooms, churches and monuments from crumbling to dust. But now, some of this most treasured and endangered landmarks are being saved not by a government but by a more respected institution the fashion business. What is possible for us to do for the country, we need to do now. When Pope Benedict xvi came to the familia he consecrated the church as a basilica. Not since 1883 when it was first envisioned by antoni gaudi had it been seen in all of its glory. He wanted to write the whole of the history in the catholic faith in one building. I mean, how crazy and how that idea is . Cbs money watch pup date brought to you by glor good evening. Apple and f. B. I. Take their encryption battle to congress on tuesday. A new push today for f. A. A. To set limits on how Cramped Airline Seats can be. And Warren Buffett said this weekend berkshirehathaway added 15. 4 billion to its net worth im jeff glor, cbs news. There is a dangerousinstinct that lives within you. You like chaos. And in these times, we need that. We need you to rush in, when everyone else is running away. Introducing the jeep renegade, pelley good evening, and welcome to 60 minutes presents. Im scott pelley. Well explore three memorable buildings, where architecture is honored and history is kept alive. Were going to begin in washington with a museum that has yet to open its doors. 400 years have passed since americas original sin, and still, riots are ignited in the friction between race and justice. As this debate continues, the smithsonian is completing a monumental project, the 500 Million National museum of African American history and culture. The idea was authorized by an act of congress, which called it a tribute to the negros contribution to the achievements of america. The words are jarring because the act was written in 1929. As we first told you last spring, building this museum has been a long struggle, just like beside the monument to washington, a slaveholding president , the museum is breaking free of the ground on the malls last five acres. Eight decades after congress framed a museum on paper, and then failed to fund it, the dream is being written, this time in steel and stone ten floors five above ground, five below; its complexion, rendered in shades of bronze, a building of color against historys white marble. Now. Its a big job. Lonnie bunch well, as i tell people, at 8 00 in the morning, i have the best job in america, and at 2 00 in the morning, its the dumbest thing ive ever done in my life. This is a Romare Bearden from the 1950s. Pelley sleepless nights are all in a days work for the lonnie bunch, a scholar of the 19th century. Bunch clearly, this is. Ought to be one of those moments where people are going to sort of reflect, pause. What does it mean in terms of Development Opportunities . Pelley in 2003, president bush signed the law creating the museum. Congress put up 250 million, and bunch has raised most of another 270 million. Bunch i knew that this is where this museum would have to be, that this is americas front lawn, and this is the place where people come to learn what it means to be an american, and this museum needs to be there. Pelley so, were on the ground floor. This is where the visitors will come in. This will be their First Experience in the museum. So, whats going to be here . Bunch they will walk in either from the mall or from constitution ave, and they will run into amazing pieces of africanamerican art. Pelley when all of this is finally complete, what will america have . Bunch america will have a place that allows them to remember to remember how much we as a country have been american experience. Theyll have a place that they can call home, but theyll also have a place that will make them change. Pelley but even this place is only space until you fill it. Oh, my goodness. Now, did somebody already look at some of these things for you . No. No . pelley seven years ago, the smithsonian began rummaging the attics and basements of america. This may have marked a milestone in his life. And what we dont know is what that was. But at least it gives me something i can investigate. Pelley 3,000 people brought their Family History to 16 smithsonian events across the country. Mary elliott and this is the early free black family based out of baltimore . Yes. Pelley it sounds like antiques roadshow. Nancy bercaw it is like antiques roadshow. Pelley mary elliott and nancy bercaw are curators. Elliott we have experts from across the museum field. Experts in conservation. Experts who understand about paper, about metals, about you name it fabrics, textiles. Objects for the public. The coating on this is in pretty good condition. Some of that looks like its dried out a little bit. And dont put it near the air conditioning unit because that will dry it out too much. Pelley how do you convince someone to give up a priceless family heirloom . Bercaw do you know what . Our museum pitches itself. All we have to do is tell the absolute honest truth. People have been waiting for us. People in america have been waiting for this moment. And so, literally, they just hand us things. Elliot and were very excited like you are. Pelley thousands of relics were examined, but only 25 will be in the collection. This is one of them. Renee anderson this was actually a connection we made with the family. Mr. Jesse burke was an enslaved man, and he was charged with playing this violin and entertaining the slave holder and his guest. Pelley this is the smithsonians warehouse in being written. And these are a few of the lines. Received by grigsby e. Thomas, the sum of 350 in full payment for a negro boy by the name of jim, about ten years old, this 31st day of december, 1835. Jim would have been familiar with these shackles dating before 1860, bondage that might have been broken if the keeper of this bible had succeeded in his bloody rebellion. Nat turner had said that god commanded him to break the chains. His bible was taken away before his execution. Paul gardullo is a leader of the curating team. Paul gardullo i think many of us who know the story of slavery know about nat turner; know about nat turner from the perspective of perhaps a freedom fighter, perhaps a murderer. Well, we know this is a we know this is a person who can read, and when you begin with that, and those ideas, suddenly, the person of nat turner and your understandings of nat turner take on a whole new light. And i look to do that again and again, ways that we can see wellworn stories, stories we think we know, in a new light. Pelley you may think you know the story of a boy murdered for whistling at a white woman, until you are confronted with his casket. Bunch the story of emmett till is a crucially important story in terms of what it tells us, both about sort of reinvigorating the civil rights movement, but also its a story of his mother, mamie mobley, who was really one of the most powerful people, who said that her sons murder should not be in vain, that it should help to transform america. Pelley no one was punished his body was exhumed in a later investigation, and the original casket was neglected. Bunch but then the question was would we ever display it . Should we ever display it . And i wrestled a lot with it, but then i realized i kept hearing mamie mobley in my head. And she said, i opened this casket to change the world, to make the world confront the dangers, the power, the ugliness of race in america. Pelley a lot of the things that you intend to put on display are going to be hard to look at. Bunch what im trying to do is find the right tension between moments of sadness and moments of resiliency. Pelley one resilient moment came out of the blue. Air force captain matt quy and his wife tina rebuilt an old crop duster, and in curiosity, they sent the serial number to an air force historian. Matt quy and he said, are you sitting down . You. Pelley turned out, in 1944, the stearman trained americas first black squadrons, the tuskegee airmen, who flew to fame in world war ii. Tina quy i had never really known much about the tuskegee airmen. Id seen a p51 plane, but id never really, truly understood what it meant. Matt quy take your time. Pelley before donating the plane, known as a pt13, the quys carried the last of the airmen back to the air. Matt quy and it was just great to sit back in the back seat and look at this real tuskegee airman in a real tuskegee airplane. Just magical. Leo gray the greatest thrill in my life was sitting in the seat where you are and watching the ground drop out from underneath me. The pt13 was the baby that we used to learn how to fly. Pelley the smithsonian collected the thoughts of Lieutenant Colonel leo gray in 2010. Gray they said we couldnt but we had the best record of any Fighter Group in the 15th air force, and probably in the air force itself. We stayed with our bombers, we brought them home as best we could. And we proved that we could fly. Pelley time is the enemy of history, so smithsonian conservationists have been working for years restoring americas heritage from textiles to trains. This 1920 railcar had two sections white and colored. The same number of seats, but colored was compressed in half the space physical, touchable, jim crow confinement just like the guard tower from the prison in angola, louisiana, notorious for cruelty. Carlos bustamante its about 21 feet tall. And this is cast concrete, so its an enormous object. Miniscule, Carlos Bustamante is the project manager building a place for 33,000 moments in time. Bustamante so when you had the railcar, the railcar pieces, the guard tower, and all the support equipment, we had a convoy of about 12 semitrucks traveling down the road across six states to get here. And it took them about three days. Pelley how do you get those things into this building . Bustamante so we set up two very, very large cranes. And these cranes are. Are rare, theres not a lot of them this size. And we picked up these two objects, and basically brought them over the site and lowered them down about 60 feet below grade. Pelley the answer is, you dont move these objects into the building, you put these objects in place and you build the building around them . Bustamante exactly. Theres no other way. Gardullo oftentimes, what smaller things shards of glass that were picked up after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in birmingham, alabama. And its finding the balance between the big and the small, scott, that makes this work a challenge and so wonderful. Pelley what is something that you desperately want and have not been able to find . Gardullo i want willie mays mitt. laughs pelley which would be quite a catch to display along with Louis Armstrongs horn, and chuck berrys horn behind the chrome of his 73 cadillac. Theres the welcome of mintons playhouse, which resonated to miles, monk and dizzy. Alis headgear, pristine condition. And this firemens head gear, a revolutionary invention in 1914 by mechanical genius garrett morgan. Do you think the countrys ready bunch i dont think america is ever ready to have the conversation around race, based on what we see around the landscape, whether its ferguson or other places, that people are really ready to shine the light on all the dark corners of the american experience. But i hope this museum will help, in a small way, to do that. Pelley this is not the American Museum of slavery . Bunch this is not the museum of tragedy. It is not the museum of difficult moments. It is the museum that says, here is a balanced history of america that allows us to cry and smile. Pelley on september 24th, americas first black president will cut the ribbon to the smithsonians first National Museum of African American history and culture in announcer see what maryanne wore at the Lincoln Memorial and a copy of the emancipation declaration at 60minutesovertime. Com. Look, the wolf was huffing and puffing. Like you do sometimes, grandpa . Well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. You should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. Watch out, piggies children giggle breathe better starting within 5 minutes. Call or go online to learn more about a free trial offer. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Every someday needs a plan. In life there are things you wanna touch and some you just dont. The Kohler Touchless toilet. Pelley its estimated that the worlds cultural treasures. Trouble is, the countrys too broke to keep its historic ruins, churches and monuments from crumbling to dust. Italy is up to its neck in debt, taxes go unpaid, corruption in an overstuffed bureaucracy is rife. But now, some of its most treasured and endangered landmarks are being saved not by the government, but by a more respected italian institution, the fashion business. As morley safer reported in 2014, its stepped in to rescue some of italys most iconic sites among them, the very symbol of its rich, violent and inventive history, the colosseum in rome. Morley safer with its stunning, timeless sights, its justifiably called the eternal city a holy place to billions; a vast landscape of the sacred and profane; an sunset. And smack in the middle is the colosseum, the greatest surviving wonder of the ancient world, a memorial to the rise, decline and fall of imperial rome, a place truly colossal. Kimberly bowes we think it seats about 50,000 people. But this number depends on how wide you think the roman behind was. If you think that they had big behinds, then you calculate less; small behinds, you calculate more. Safer backsides aside, professor Kimberly Bowes is the director of the American Academy in rome and an expert on ancient mediterranean history who knows every inch of the colosseum. Shes taking us to the very top level, far above where tourists tread, for a sight that, over the centuries, very few people have seen firsthand. Bowes the view is terrifying and the view is extraordinary. Poor people sat. You really get the scale of this building here, though. Look how big this is. Look how big this is people are ants safer the place was built by the hands of slaves in just ten years, finished a mere half century after the crucifixion. The performers here were gladiators, wild animals, even comedians. I gather that this place was the entertainment center, the broadway of its day, yes . Bowes in a way. The whole point is to produce marvels, to produce a spectacle that would have amazed the audience. The people with the most power, the senators, are down at the bottom. And the people with the least power, the slaves and the women, are up at the top. Safer women . Bowes women. Like, you dont want women to get too close to gladiators. You have to keep them separate. Because your greatest fear. Youve two fears if youre a roman man. To kill you one day in your bed. And your second fear is that your wife is going to run off with a slave, like a gladiator. This is what everyones afraid of, so youve got to put the women up on the top. Safer so, even though the gladiators were slaves, they were kind of the movie stars of their day. Bowes they were. Safer and we turn to hollywood for an idea of how it all might have looked. cheers and applause bowes theres a moment in gladiator where Russell Crowe walks out to right where we are. Safer professor bowes gives the filmmakers high marks for the historical accuracy of their computer recreation of the colosseum. Bowes the whole drama is really the reenactment of roman conquest, the continual expansion of the empire. Safer backstage was actually underground the basement. Bowes until recently, this was just filled with dirt. Safer a labyrinth of corridors dungeons for slaves, cages for animals, all brought from the far reaches of the and wooden elevators, raised by ropes and pulleys, leading to trap doors in the stage. Bowes theres a wonderful scene in gladiator where the tiger pops out of the floor. This is exactly the kind of thing that would have been used to wow the audience. Safer since the 18th century, the Roman Catholic church has venerated the colosseum as a symbol of the early christian martyrs who were put to death for their beliefs. Professor bowes tells visitors there were indeed early christians quietly executed elsewhere in rome. But as for the colosseum. Bowes we have not one piece of evidence that any christians were ever killed in this building, not one. There are, i think, really interesting reasons for this. If you take a group of people who, by all accounts, are extraordinarily brave in the face of certain death, and you put them in this space and put them on display, whos everyone going to cheer for . Christians, right . Because they show such extraordinary bravery. This is not a smart thing to do politically. So, im in the famous colosseum. Safer six million tourists a year visit here, snapping selfies and posing with renta gladiators who pass the time with cigarettes and cell phones. The place has survived fires and earthquakes over the centuries. Now, theres a new crisis finding the money to manage the crowds and keep up with basic maintenance. The director of the colosseum is rossella rea. Rossella rea translated the money isnt there. Theres very little, totally inadequate funding. Only 5 of what we need. Safer too little money, and from the italian parliament, too much red tape. A lot of people say the bureaucracy is so top heavy that thats the reason why things dont get done. Rea bureaucracy is not just and we are the first victi