Notre Dame Cathedral destroyed by fire

[SfanGoch]

Absolutely tragic.......

Spire of Paris's 850-year-old Notre Dame cathedral COLLAPSES as fire ravages historic building

 

[1930fordpickup]

This is very sad. 

[Joe Handley]

We've been monitoring this at work between calls, the lead CSR in my office is hoping some of the statues were already off the roof and someplace save since there was work going on up there.

[misterNNL]

It will be interesting to see what happens after this disastrous event. I seriously doubt it will ever be rebuilt. The site will be memorialized somehow as a historical location but no rebuilding.I wonder what the insurance loss will total.

Edited April 15, 2019 by misterNNL
Adding a compliment

[unclescott58]

NO! An important part of history is gone! Any word on how this started? I hope it was not a terrorist attack! I can't believe this has happened! ?  

[unclescott58]

I just watched a little bit about it over on CNBC. I actually cried a little. 

[Tom Geiger]

This is tragic.  It will be rebuilt.  This isn't the first time Notre Dame has had calamity.  In fact it was severely damaged during the French Revolution and then was used as a warehouse. Napoleon returned it to the Catholic Church in 1801, and it wasn't restored until 1835.  Much of the artifacts from before 1800 were already lost.  

I can see how this happened.  During the current renovations, there was a safety failure regarding hot work. Once work is done for the day, a fire watch is supposed to occur.  The fact that the fire was noticed after 5:30 pm tells me that the fire was smoldering for some time.  Either they didn't do a proper fire watch, or the fire was undetected until the watcher left.  Somebody and their insurance company is in a lot of trouble!

 

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Tom Geiger

[gtx6970]

Shame, history destroyed .

Be interesting what comes to light once its all the facts are in ( if that ever happens  )

[Ace-Garageguy]

One of the most important cultural icons of Western Civilization that stood for 800 years and was lighted by candles for most of its history, burns in 2019.

Odd timing, all things considered.

Edited April 15, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[ewetwo]

So sad.

[Deano]

And my daughter has  class trip to France in about 6 weeks.   Scratch that from the tour . 

[Rob Hall]

Very sad..took a tour of it in 2006 when I was in Paris on vacation.  Was beautiful inside.

[iamsuperdan]

If you look at the history of Notre Dame, or any just about every other significant European church or cathedral, you'll see a history of fires, damage, reconstruction, deconstruction, etc. 

As someone mentioned above, Notre Dame has had its share of history, and has always been rebuilt. This time will be no exception.

 

Still, sad to watch. And I hear that most of the art and artifacts were able to be saved. I wonder about some of the stained glass though. That dates back to around 1250.

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

If you look at the history of Notre Dame, or any just about every other significant European church or cathedral, you'll see a history of fires, damage, reconstruction, deconstruction, etc. 

As someone mentioned above, Notre Dame has had its share of history, and has always been rebuilt. This time will be no exception.

 

Still, sad to watch. And I hear that most of the art and artifacts were able to be saved. I wonder about some of the stained glass though. That dates back to around 1250.

There's been a history recently of intentional vandalism to European churches (reported by NEWSWEEK, March 21). And whether this was intentional or "accidental" it's still inexcusable and a Western cultural tragedy.

Apparently at this point, the organ is intact, as are the Rose windows, but all the wonderfully carved woodwork within the building is gone, as is the roof structure.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/nortre-dame-fire-oak-wood-trnd/index.html

This cathedral has never burned before, "restoring" it to its former state is impossible, and to get it even close will be astronomically expensive.

 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[iamsuperdan]

I still maintain that it will be rebuilt. Restoration would be impossible though.

 

As a lifelong metal fan, every time I hear about a church burning down, I'm reminded of the Norwegian black metal scene of the early 90s. Murder, suicide, and dozens of church burnings in the Scandinavian countries. There's an excellent documentry about it called Until The Light Takes Us.

 

 

[Zoom Zoom]

French billionaires have reportedly already pledged nearly 400 billion euros to rebuild/restore after the fire. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

12 minutes ago, Zoom Zoom said:

French billionaires have reportedly already pledged nearly 400 billion euros to rebuild/restore after the fire. 

That's million, with an M.

Today a Euro is $1.13 US.

[Oldcarfan27]

I hope the hunchback is OK.

[Joe Handley]

2 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

I still maintain that it will be rebuilt. Restoration would be impossible though.

 

As a lifelong metal fan, every time I hear about a church burning down, I'm reminded of the Norwegian black metal scene of the early 90s. Murder, suicide, and dozens of church burnings in the Scandinavian countries. There's an excellent documentry about it called Until The Light Takes Us.

 

 

Did you hear about that cop's kid in Louisianna that burned a bunch of churches?  He used similar language in his reasoning for doing so.

[Joe Handley]

2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

There's been a history recently of intentional vandalism to European churches (reported by NEWSWEEK, March 21). And whether this was intentional or "accidental" it's still inexcusable and a Western cultural tragedy.

Apparently at this point, the organ is intact, as are the Rose windows, but all the wonderfully carved woodwork within the building is gone, as is the roof structure.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/nortre-dame-fire-oak-wood-trnd/index.html

This cathedral has never burned before, "restoring" it to its former state is impossible, and to get it even close will be astronomically expensive.

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it was construction related, there had been a number of historic Chicago churches that burned up over the last 20 years while roof repairs were being done and apparently Notre Dame had a leaded roof. Very well could have happened when the lead work was being done, in some ways, I can't imagine that kind of lead work being that much different than lead filler on a car body.

[Lunajammer]

It was built over centuries by craftsmen who committed their lives to it as an act of spiritual devotion. Could it ever be rebuilt to the same artisanship when you can hardly find anyone to spit on the sidewalk without money, bureaucracy, shortcuts, politics and union demands?

Edited April 16, 2019 by Lunajammer

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I hope the hunchback is OK.

OMG !!! What about the football team? OMG !!! OMG !!!

[SfanGoch]

4 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Restoration would be impossible though.

Not so. The entire city of Dresden was essentially rebuilt to pre-WWII bombing state. Same with Nurnberg, Munich Bremen, Hannover and The Old Town in Warsaw.  Monte Cassino was reconstructed after being turned into rubble. There are numerous other examples.

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

...I can't imagine that kind of lead work being that much different than lead filler on a car body.

Lead is applied to a car body with an open flame, required to melt, flow, and adhere it to the steel substrate. I've been doing it for decades.

Lead roofing is applied cold, in sheets, plates, or "shingle" form, much like copper or tin or aluminum flashing, or other more conventional roofing materials.

Because lead is very malleable at room temperature, it's not necessary to heat it to get it to conform to its substrate when used as roofing, and it's attached with cold fasteners, overlapping much like shingles or tile roofing.

A hot tar or pitch may be used to seal some junctions, but is completely unnecessary in today's world of engineered chemical sealants.

[SfanGoch]

Better than expected update from AP:

Some will call it a miracle. According to Notre Dame’s heritage director, only one piece of architecture inside the sacred building has been damaged.

Laurent Prades told The Associated Press that the high altar, which was installed in 1989, was hit and harmed by the cathedral’s spire when it came crashing down in the flames. “We have been able to salvage all the rest,” said Prades, who witnessed the recovery first hand overnight.

“All the 18th-century steles, the pietas, frescoes, chapels and the big organ are fine,” he said. Among the most famous elements inside the cathedral, Prades added that the three large stained-glass rose windows have not been destroyed, though they may have been damaged by the heat and will be assessed by an expert.