RIP Notre Dame Cathedral

[Mel]

It was heartbreaking to watch that fire. SO much History going up in flames.

[mugofbeer]

News report just now said the organ is OK.

That's great news! I am also heartened to hear of all the corporations and wealthy individuals pledging significant amounts towards rebuilding the Cathedral. This is really where the 1% can step forward and really do the world some good.

[jn1780]

I think they said it wasn't completely destroyed. A lot of the items that weren't immediately evacuated will have some smoke and water damage. It will take years to restore and clean everything. Probably years before any kind of reconstruction on the building starts. Archaeologist will spend a lot of time just shifting through the debris just to make sure nothing important is thrown in a landfill.

[TheTravellers]

https://thechive.com/2019/04/16/how-...dame-8-photos/

[mugofbeer]

The good news is the Cathedral suffered much less damage than you would have expected. The news said some $300 million pledged from the public and corporations for repairs. Beyond the repairs, I'm sure the cost to restore the recovered artwork will be astronomical.

[Plutonic Panda]

Don’t forget the Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest entities in the world, so I don’t think finding the money to restore this is of any issue at all.

[TheTravellers]

The good news is the Cathedral suffered much less damage than you would have expected. The news said some $300 million pledged from the public and corporations for repairs. Beyond the repairs, I'm sure the cost to restore the recovered artwork will be astronomical.

Total is up to $700 million now.

[jn1780]

Not to downplay the firefighting efforts, but it looks like the fire went out when it ran out of 900 year old wood to burn. If it wasn't for the spire crashing through the stone ceiling, this wouldn't have been bad at all. Repairing the stone ceiling will be the most difficult aspect of the restoration. I imagine they first need to set up interior support to hold up what's left of the stone ceiling while they clean up the debris laying on top of that ceiling. Then they have to match up the stone the best they can or just use all the stone laying on the floor.

[mkjeeves]

A juxtaposition I found interesting for temporal and cultural context. Have been to both places and many of the old cathedrals around the world. I don't think I'll be around for the end of the restoration on Notre Dame.

[catcherinthewry]

Not to downplay the firefighting efforts, but it looks like the fire went out when it ran out of 900 year old wood to burn. If it wasn't for the spire crashing through the stone ceiling, this wouldn't have been bad at all. Repairing the stone ceiling will be the most difficult aspect of the restoration. I imagine they first need to set up interior support to hold up what's left of the stone ceiling while they clean up the debris laying on top of that ceiling. Then they have to match up the stone the best they can or just use all the stone laying on the floor.

I certainly hope the French read this post before taking any action.

[jn1780]

I certainly hope the French read this post before taking any action.

Well it wasn't really meant for them to read, it was meant for you. Glad you read it.

Meant to add this CNN link that provided context to my thoughts. I'm glad the towers had a stone fire break between them and the main roof structure that burned.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/world...ntl/index.html

[catcherinthewry]

Well it wasn't really meant for them to read, it was meant for you. Glad you read it.

Meant to add this CNN link that provided context to my thoughts. I'm glad the towers had a stone fire break between them and the main roof structure that burned.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/world...ntl/index.html

Sorry, but your post just sounded a little bit too much like Trump's Water Tanker/Must Act Quickly tweet.

[Jeepnokc]

Did not realize that Notre Dame is actually owned by the French government as is all churches in France built before 1905.

[mugofbeer]

I wondered that from earlier when Macron vowed to rebuild and the Vatican pledged financial support. It made me stop because l assumed the Catholic church owned it.

I'm curious what people think because it is apparently up in the air...... replace it all as before or redesign the roof and tower?

[mugofbeer]

Sorry, but your post just sounded a little bit too much like Trump's Water Tanker/Must Act Quickly tweet.

But didn't they have a firefighting 747 on standby at the airport? I thought l saw one over on the west side of Will Rogers once.

[Rover]

I wondered that from earlier when Macron vowed to rebuild and the Vatican pledged financial support. It made me stop because l assumed the Catholic church owned it.

I'm curious what people think because it is apparently up in the air...... replace it all as before or redesign the roof and tower?

It is owned by the Catholic Church, but it is a French historical and cultural treasure and a part of its identity. About 1 million tourists a month visit it.

[mkjeeves]

It is owned by the Catholic Church, but it is a French historical and cultural treasure and a part of its identity. About 1 million tourists a month visit it.

It's owned by the French government, who has an agreement with the Catholic Church that that they can use it. The Catholic Church has been paying for some upkeep and some previous restoration.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...wns-notre-dame

https://heavy.com/news/2019/04/notre...fwOSUOGianY94w

[jn1780]

I wondered that from earlier when Macron vowed to rebuild and the Vatican pledged financial support. It made me stop because l assumed the Catholic church owned it.

I'm curious what people think because it is apparently up in the air...... replace it all as before or redesign the roof and tower?

I'm sure it will look exactly what it did before but maybe with a little bit more modern roof trusses and fire protection(obviously).

[amocore]

in France, Cathedral are owned by the government, Churches are owned by the cities. That was the archbishop of Paris was saying on Tuesday.

[mugofbeer]

Donation commitments exceed $1 billion.

[Jersey Boss]

Not to downplay the firefighting efforts, but it looks like the fire went out when it ran out of 900 year old wood to burn. If it wasn't for the spire crashing through the stone ceiling, this wouldn't have been bad at all. Repairing the stone ceiling will be the most difficult aspect of the restoration. I imagine they first need to set up interior support to hold up what's left of the stone ceiling while they clean up the debris laying on top of that ceiling. Then they have to match up the stone the best they can or just use all the stone laying on the floor.

While the stone held up it was compromised in the heat of the fire. Testing will need to be done as to how compromised the stone was.
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/n...d2bc9cb1d.html
In addition to the destroyed wood and fire damage, high temperatures may have compromised the stability of the stone and marble, which experts said tend to calcify and crumble

[mugofbeer]

Thus the $1 billion and higher cost. Macron needs to take back his pledge of repair within 5 years and replace it with a pledge to do it right.

[Plutonic Panda]

Sadly, this beautiful structure isn’t out of the woods yet:

Notre Dame de Paris is not yet saved, the military general overseeing the restoration of the landmark after April's devastating fire warned on Sunday.

There is still a risk that the cathedral's vaulted ceilings might collapse.


General Jean-Louis Georgelin said Notre Dame is "still in a state of peril" after the fire that destroyed its roof and its spire on April 15.

"Notre Dame is not saved", he said on French television. "There is an extremely important step ahead, which is to remove the scaffolding that had been built around the spire", he said.

The scaffolding had been in place before the fire, as the cathedral was undergoing renovations.

Georgelin is not the only one to worry. Notre Dame's rector, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, told the Associated Press last month that the landmark building is still so fragile there's "a 50% chance" that the scaffolding may fall on the vaulted ceilings, which would threaten the structure.

- https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/05/...toration-chief

Another article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ved-180973878/

Some information on the restoration project and possible timeline:

A former chief of staff of France's armed forces, Mr Georgelin was named by French president Emmanuel Macron to lead the cathedral’s reconstruction.

The scaffolding should be removed by mid-2020 and the restoration work should start next year, he said.

Mr Macron has said he wants the 12th-century cathedral rebuilt by 2024, when Paris hosts the Summer Olympics but experts say that time frame is not realistic.

- https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.lbc...f-peril-after/