Three years after a devastating fire ripped through the Notre-Dame Cathedral, nearly a billion dollars has been dedicated to repairing the architectural gem — but the most dramatic parts of the project have yet to begin, according to reports.
On April 15, 2019, the world watched in horror as the blaze engulfed the Gothic landmark in Paris, causing the church’s central frame to collapse, destroying its famous clock and sending its spire crashing down.
Though the board overseeing the cathedral’s restoration has received more than $900 million in donations from 340,000 donors in 150 countries, the painstaking project is off to a tedious start, according to AFP.
Tons of rubble, burnt beams and deadly lead-based dust had to be removed during the first phase of the cathedral’s revival, according to Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, the charity overseeing fundraising for the restoration effort.
To finish the task, a mammoth scaffolding tower was built through a gaping hole in the building’s destroyed roof. It was completed last summer at a cost of $163 million, the outlet reported.
Notre Dame’s signature flying buttresses were also repaired and its colorful stained-glass windows have been sent to contractors for restoration, along with several statues and large 17th and 18th century paintings.
Meanwhile, the landmark’s beloved 18th century organ was dismantled in order to be cleaned after it was coated in dust and soot from the fire, which burned for 15 straight hours.
But the church’s towering 19th century spire has yet to be restored and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, according to friendsofnotredamedeparis.org.
The pointed structure will be built to the standards of the cathedral’s original designer, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, at 300 feet tall and be coated with lead.
During the next major phase of the project, the church’s wooden framework and roof will be also be restored along with its trusses.
Damage to the building’s original clock, however, has been called “irreparable,” though a Russian-based clock factory will help with some form of restoration, according to the Russian News Agency reported in 2020.
In past years, workers wearing respirators to protect against lead dust sorted through historically significant material inside the church’s vaults, according to National Geographic.
In total, it took two years to get debris and other materials from the landmark removed to a warehouse near the city’s main airport, where it takes up more than 25,000 square feet on 20-foot-high shelving, according to the outlet.
The goal is to finish the cathedral’s restoration before the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
