Michael Kimmelman

That the horror of it was that our moment would be the moment when this building across this great arc of history would disappear. What did that say about how we had cared for it? And even the fact that it was on fire. was clearly an indication that we'd been derelict. It was a fire that never needed to happen. And it wasn't a great world war that had destroyed other cathedrals.

That the horror of it was that our moment would be the moment when this building across this great arc of history would disappear. What did that say about how we had cared for it? And even the fact that it was on fire. was clearly an indication that we'd been derelict. It was a fire that never needed to happen. And it wasn't a great world war that had destroyed other cathedrals.

It was a guy who probably left a cigarette butt lighted in the rafters. And then somebody else who went to the wrong place to check out why there was an alarm. It seemed so banal. And it seemed like it said something about us in this moment.

It was a guy who probably left a cigarette butt lighted in the rafters. And then somebody else who went to the wrong place to check out why there was an alarm. It seemed so banal. And it seemed like it said something about us in this moment.

It was really severe. It started in the rafters, and the rafters are made out of oak, wood, and spread to the spire, which is made out of wood, too, and lead.

It was really severe. It started in the rafters, and the rafters are made out of oak, wood, and spread to the spire, which is made out of wood, too, and lead.

I was extremely wrong. And it wasn't just the roof was on fire and the spire was collapsing. It was a very dangerous and complex thing for the firemen to try to put this fire out. They couldn't dump water from above. The cathedral might collapse. It was a building they didn't want to use powerful hoses in. They had to go inside and try to put it out.

I was extremely wrong. And it wasn't just the roof was on fire and the spire was collapsing. It was a very dangerous and complex thing for the firemen to try to put this fire out. They couldn't dump water from above. The cathedral might collapse. It was a building they didn't want to use powerful hoses in. They had to go inside and try to put it out.

There was a point at which they went into the Bell's Towers to prevent them from collapsing. If they had, the whole building would have gone down. So what started as a fire start by a cigarette butt was really a kind of existential crisis for Notre Dame and for the world.

There was a point at which they went into the Bell's Towers to prevent them from collapsing. If they had, the whole building would have gone down. So what started as a fire start by a cigarette butt was really a kind of existential crisis for Notre Dame and for the world.

So there were different answers to that question. And at first, it wasn't clear what would happen. There were a lot of proposals to do something really crazy on the roof, to use essentially this calamity as an opportunity. Huh. Crazy like what? Well, the French prime minister hastily proposed that there be an architectural competition to reimagine the roof.

So there were different answers to that question. And at first, it wasn't clear what would happen. There were a lot of proposals to do something really crazy on the roof, to use essentially this calamity as an opportunity. Huh. Crazy like what? Well, the French prime minister hastily proposed that there be an architectural competition to reimagine the roof.

That's an invitation for every wackadoodle proposal you can imagine. Architects salivate at the prospect of... Such a proposal. So circulating online pretty quickly were all sorts of things. Swimming pool, garden. Someone came up with the idea of like a giant carbon fiber gold leaf flame to replace the spire.

That's an invitation for every wackadoodle proposal you can imagine. Architects salivate at the prospect of... Such a proposal. So circulating online pretty quickly were all sorts of things. Swimming pool, garden. Someone came up with the idea of like a giant carbon fiber gold leaf flame to replace the spire.

Yeah. It actually bore uncanny resemblance to the logo for Chicken Wings franchise in Colorado. And there were a lot of those things. But relatively soon, Coolerheads, including some prominent French architects, persuaded the French government to do the right thing, which was to restore the cathedral as it had been. And that became the mission.

Yeah. It actually bore uncanny resemblance to the logo for Chicken Wings franchise in Colorado. And there were a lot of those things. But relatively soon, Coolerheads, including some prominent French architects, persuaded the French government to do the right thing, which was to restore the cathedral as it had been. And that became the mission.

And Macron, the president, even while the building was still smoldering, promised that it would be restored in five years. which back then seemed not just a Hail Mary, it seemed completely crazy, impossible. To you too? Everybody. Yes, I thought it was nuts. I even told my editors there was absolutely no way this would happen in five years.

And Macron, the president, even while the building was still smoldering, promised that it would be restored in five years. which back then seemed not just a Hail Mary, it seemed completely crazy, impossible. To you too? Everybody. Yes, I thought it was nuts. I even told my editors there was absolutely no way this would happen in five years.

20 years, we'll check in in 10 years, don't worry about this. Nothing really to see here. And it turns out I was wrong again. And here we are, five years later. The building has been reopened. It's on time, on budget. And it's incredible. It's a kind of a miracle.

20 years, we'll check in in 10 years, don't worry about this. Nothing really to see here. And it turns out I was wrong again. And here we are, five years later. The building has been reopened. It's on time, on budget. And it's incredible. It's a kind of a miracle.