Crossword Puzzle No. 1 in Black and White

Flavor Text

You've been sneaking around the restricted area of the museum for a while now, and you're getting tired of solving a puzzle every time you need to open a door. Time to snoop around for a master keycard.

Your search brings you to the Restoration Room, where it appears an employee has been hard at work restoring this… strange-looking painting with a damaged plaque. You decide to give it a closer look.

As you begin to drift off, you see a keycard just sitting out on a desk - perfect! Now, instead of solving puzzles to open doors, you can simply…

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Crossword Puzzle No. 1 in Black and White, 1899
Plaque, Near-Mint on Steel, 1944
ACROSS DOWN
1 . Rock involved in fracking 1.
6. Furry red monster 2. A large group, perhaps of goblins or zombies
10. Competent 3. Model and singer Appiah
14. Homeless people 4.
15. Knight's drink of choice, perhaps 5. Time zone for DC and NYC
16. Belmont Stakes 2022 winning jockey 6. Actress Stone
18. 7. Shakespeare's tragic king
17. Construct 8. Shopping centers frequented by teens
19. What the event mentioned in 16-Across was 9. May be written to joy or to Billie Joe
20. Cape-hating designer Mode 10.
21. English nobleman 11. Janet's bumbling fiancé in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
22. With "Ring", 2022 video game 12. Tie (one's shoes)
23. Less messy 13. Paradise
25. Indian dress 21. A long time ago, poetically
27. Salt named for an English town 22. An age or epoch
30. Exactly correct 24. Fencing weapon
34. Animal's winter coat 26. Assassinated Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
37. Gas used to make fuel 28. Electrical resistance units
39. Money in Spain or Germany (but not England) 29.
40. Furious 31. Blast of wind
42. Fear of Flying singer 32. Cookie with a name great for crossword making
43. A useful quality 33. Might be musical or post-it
44. Exchange fee 34. Italian luxury car brand
45. Completely emptied 35. Insist
47. Can be big or pinky 36.
48. Type of bowling 38. Nothing, en español
50. Even more uncommon 41. The best of the best
52. A beginner, slangily 43. Copied
54. An extremely handsome man 45. One more than 38-down
58. 46. Russia's ____ Mountains
61. Payment for Charon, perhaps 49. Charged particle
64. A wooden box designed for holding sake 51. One-piece outfit
65. A terrified and hasty retreat 53. Space Oddity singer David
66. Used butterfly or breaststroke 55. Nigerian currency
67. Beelike 56.
68. Guitarist Clapton 57. Omori protagonist
69. They can be found underground or clogging your pores 58. Two more than 45-down
70. Played again (especially on TV) 59. Of olden days
71. Comedian Meyers 60. A club, diamond, heart, or spade
72. Department store chain founded in 1888 62.
73. Singer Chapman 63. Russian city
66. Cry forcefully
67. What this crossword puzzle is themed around
Restoration Notes, 2024

Identified artist as Victor Romeo. Apparently, he used to be a NATO officer.

We're supposed to restore these things, but I can only find half of each....

A sitcom actor (? 5)
A food company (? 5)
A boxer (? 5)
Something a bat might do (? 6)
A label (? 4)
A Guns N' Roses song (? 4)
A transportation company (? 8)
A piece of sports equipment (? 4)
A "Star Wars" actor (? 5)