Posted: 4/15/19 at 2:01pm
No words for the devastating fire now raging at Notre Dame in Paris. The ceiling has caved in and the spire will collapse any minute. We mourn for all of Paris.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 2:45pm
Seriously tragic. Getting to tour this building in 2016 was one of the highlights of my life.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 3:11pm
We were just there in February of this year, and staying on Ile St. Louis, the island right behind Notre Dame where all the cinders are falling. Unspeakable.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 5:11pm
Last time I was in Paris was 2011. During this visit, I finally took an outside tour of Norte Dame where you are up close to the spires and gargoyles. There are views that I will never forget. What I didn't know, in reading some of the reports, was the terrible condition the cathedral was in for several years. They described rocks falling off the building, tape holding structures together and taking down many of the gargoyles and replacing them with plastic pipes for drainage. I certainly didn't notice any of this during my last visit.
Updated On: 4/16/19 at 05:11 PM
Posted: 4/15/19 at 5:11pm
Posted: 4/15/19 at 7:01pm
MSNBC reports that the architects restored the cathedral in the early-mid 19th century following years of disuse after the French revolution. They decided to rebuild the roof in lumber and stone to match historical materials, rather than steel and iron that had just come into common use. That unfortunate decision allowed the fire today to burn the roof entirely, collapsing the spire into the nave.
At least reports now say that the structure has been saved from total destruction, and will be restored.
Posted: 4/15/19 at 11:00pm
Just remember,it took 200 yrs of craftsmen working to build the original. Even allowing for the stone structure's survival and advances in construction materials and techniques, it will be decades before the cathedral will approach it's former glory.
The lose of the stained glass windows just breaks my heart. I' dug up my albums from my trip and wandered over my photos of all the shots and postcards I had. collected. ( tho Saint Chapelle was my personal fav- thank the stars that at least was spared)
Posted: 4/16/19 at 5:53am
How sad. I have only dim memories of visiting Notre Dame many years ago; I wish I could recall more.
An indirect theatre connection, probably one among many: Victor Hugo wrote his classic novel specifically to increase appreciation for the cathedral among his contemporaries. Without the inspiring nature of the building, we wouldn't now have the theatre works based on the novel.
https://qz.com/quartzy/1596085/notre-dame-fire-victor-hugo-wrote-hunchback-to-save-the-cathedral/
Posted: 4/16/19 at 1:57pm
This was more emotional to hear than I thought, because I usually have to mull before something hits me emotionally. This was one of them. However, reports from just this morning are saying that amazingly enough, much of what was destroyed can be fixed and yes it will take YEARS. That roof for one...the stained glass windows I have heard/read are gone but can be reconstructed. The rose windows are intact and the organ escaped with minimal damage which made me smile this morning! Females are indeed strong as hell, and Our Lady is still structurally ok so BOOM.
Posted: 4/16/19 at 5:34pm
sabrelady wrote: "Just remember,it took 200 yrs of craftsmen working to build the original."
That is my big take away, especially as someone who grew up up in what future anthropologists will likely label the Age of Ephemera. I've spent 30 years working in an industry that has become synonymous with terms like destructive innovation, short-lived, next interaction, bug fixes, close enough for government work, agile methodology, and virtual everything. It's somewhat disheartening to realize that there's very little likelihood of my ever working on any physical item that could last for 800 years or take more more than 4 months to build.
Posted: 4/16/19 at 7:23pm
Awww Javey . {{{{{{ HUGS}}}}}}
It's not you- it's the situation. Things can get better,
On the original topic- The Rose window survived tho many of the smaller windows in the nave are lost.
Maron wants to rebuild within 5 yrs. Quel drole ideé! Toronto's Union station was supposed to be rebuilt in 5 yrs- it's now 4 yrs past and 22.8 million over budget Notre Dame is so far above that level and needs billions and at least 10+ years
Posted: 4/16/19 at 8:28pm
Yesterday, I found myself frequently in tears watching that terrible event. My first visit to Paris was in April, 1969. I was a 22-year-old sailor stationed onboard a U.S. Navy ship in Scotland, enjoying an extended holiday in England and France. I vividly remember one evening walking along the Seine, admiring Notre Dame. In the years since, I have returned many times, always with the same sense of awe that such a beautiful edifice exists.
My next planned trip to Paris is for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games, five years from now. Half a century will have gone by since I first saw Notre Dame. I imagine that President Macron has in mind the Olympic Games when he pledges that France will rebuild the cathedral within five years. What a grand celebration that will be!
Posted: 4/16/19 at 10:18pm
"I imagine that President Macron has in mind the Olympic Games when he pledges that France will rebuild the cathedral within five years. "
As a bitter and cynical woman, I figure he sees the political benefit of being the man who restored Notre Dame and can parlay that into reelection. ( or at least getting his chosen successor elected)
Posted: 4/24/19 at 2:42am
My response to this tragedy is not to replicate that which is gone. This generation has either seen the Dame itself or in movies etc so I would like something to be built like the most hated, at the time, architecture addition to the Louvre. This new Notre Dame would represent today with yesterday, a marriage of two styles to constantly remind everyone that differences can live together even though not the same.
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