PBS Nova: Rebuilding Notre Dame (Dec 14)

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Thanks eddie!!

We watched it. It was fascinating and if you can stream PBS, I highly recommend you watch it.

Our grandson was living in Paris for Studies abroad and we got an unexpected text from him one day. The first text showed smoke in the distance. He was running to investigate. The next text had him crying and revealing the source of the smoke.

A year earlier, we stood in front of Notre Dame. The line was relatively short and we thought about going in. However, we were already running late and were to meet friends for dinner. We opted to keep going, which has turned out to be one of my all-time regrets.

I watched it and the other past updates. The professionals, artisans and laborers are amazing. The reopening date of summer 2024 sounds very optimistic, given the exact reproduction strategy and the amount of work remaining.

I was lucky enough to attend a crown of thorns veneration in 2018. I got an aisle seat and the procession passed right by me. Amazing experience!

I hope to see her in all her restored glory some day.

The amount of scientific expertise and scholarship involved in this reconstruction project is absolutely amazing. While a horrible tragedy that we all wish had never occurred, we are learning a lot from the reconstruction about what went into the building of this treasure so long ago. Hopefully in their race to finish on schedule, no corners are cut that would affect the future of the structure and they get it right. I look forward to seeing her fully restored and am grateful that I got to visit this marvel twice over the years.

"I was lucky enough to attend a crown of thorns veneration in 2018. I got an aisle seat and the procession passed right by me. Amazing experience!"

@lakertone, I got to see that in 2019 just days before the fire. SO interesting whether or not it's not the "real" Crown of Thorns! So glad it was saved!

I've already seen several of these, apparently there is a cottage industry devoted to documentaries about ND.

I've already seen several of these, apparently there is a cottage industry devoted to documentaries about ND.

My understanding is that it is one production company doing several documentaries periodically, showing the progress. I know the three I've seen were all somewhat different. Although they often showed some of the same filming from earlier ones they added lots of new information in the subsequent ones.

Just hearing how many months it took to get to a point where they can begin restoration (decontamination, shoring up the structure externally, building the scaffold skeleton inside, etc.) makes me doubt they can hit their goal. Less than 18 months seems like an impossible goal, but hopefully it can motivate everyone involved to move heaven and earth to make it happen.

there is also a dramatized version of the fire, because too much is never enough

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_on_Fire

Having watched this closely, what I expect may happen is for the Olympics something will be open. It may be a walk-through of a very limited part of the cathedral, but something will be open. Will the cathedral be ready for tourists in its full glory? highly unlikely

Lead panels were chosen to cover the wooden roof when the building was first built because lead's very strong, durable and malleable. The huge fire resulted in a few hundred tonnes of lead particles coating the neighborhood. Macron sides with the government-appointed body's decision to rebuild the roof like it's before; i.e. timber roof again covers with lead panels. This is a decision made purely based on esthetics, and pitted against environmental concern of the risk of lead poisoning for Paris residents.

Edit:
After watching this documentary I couldn't help but admiring the ingenuity of the architects and builders in the medieval time who built this magnificent cathedral; and the dedication of the current teams who're restoring Notre Dame to its former grandeur.
Slowly but surely, Notre Dames is like the phoenix slowly rising from the ashes. I'm hopeful that it will be ready for the 2024 Paris Olympics.