Notre-Dame, Paris, France, 2009 and 2019
The ten-year difference in these photos reflects one of the most devastating blows to the historical community, the Notre Dame fire of 2019. The building survived Huguenot attacks, the French Revolution, World War II, but was severely damaged during a project meant to protect it. The fire severely damaged the roof and destroyed the spire. The spire, however, was not original to the building, it was a mid-1800s replacement. Amazingly, the copper rooster, a symbol of the French people, that sat at the peak of the spire was found and preserved. The “forest,” the beams that made up the attic level, was also destroyed when the juncture of the transept and north transept collapsed. The beams survived eight centuries but are now only a memory. But the main structure, its historic windows, and many of its sacred artifacts were saved from the flames.