Tragic

[JL Sargent]

Concerning the cause of the fire:

 

Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.

[Islander]

Half the roof is gone, but that seems to be most of the damage.  The walls, towers, and columns look fine, as do most of the big stained-glass windows.  The spire was tall, but a fairly basic design, so it shouldn't be too hard to replace.  Since the design of the cathedral may have evolved during the two centuries it took to build it, why not use this opportunity to update it, by rebuilding the roof with steel instead of oak and lead, for example, or even titanium?  No corrosion worries with that stuff.  Five hundred years from now, today's building tech will seem ancient to people in the 26th century, so it won't look too far out of place.  And the new spire could be taller than the old one, as a triumphant way of declaring that it came back even stronger after being tested by fire.

[oldtimer]

The spire was a late add-on from the 1800's renovation.  There is talk of not replacing it at all, going back to the original architecture.  There is also talk of a contest for the next spire, or none at all.

[Mallette]

Those Paris firefighters! The fire totally outclassed the weapons they had to fight it, but their human spirit totally outclassed the fire. I am reminded of Winston Churchill's famous statement as he emerged from a bunker towards the end of the Battle of Britain: "Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few."

Dave

[Mallette]

Got some "on the scene" from a French friend, Domique Anglares, who is an international known expert in early rock and general music lover. He confirms that his sources say the Grand Orgue has substantially survived but will require dismantling, cleaning, and restoration. While it could have been replaced it could not have been duplicated so I am thrilled to hear this. It's hard to believe when one looks at the aerial images of the North Transept and I hope to see some photos of that area soon. 

 

Dave

[oldtimer]

9 hours ago, Mallette said:

Those Paris firefighters! The fire totally outclassed the weapons they had to fight it, but their human spirit totally outclassed the fire. I am reminded of Winston Churchill's famous statement as he emerged from a bunker towards the end of the Battle of Britain: "Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few."

Dave

Churchill had nothing to do with this either so please keep that Brit crap out of here.

[Mallette]

I am, at least tentatively, overjoyed! 

Notre Dame cathedral's 8,000-pipe organ has escaped undamaged from the flames that engulfed the building last week.

Pascal Quoirin, a specialist who restored the Notre Dame organ in 2017, has checked the instrument and says it did not suffer any damage in the blaze that destroyed most of the roof.

Quoirin said "after two hours spent examining the instrumental part, I did not notice any damage that could have been caused by the fire."
According to Quoirin, the thermometer inside the organ showed that the temperature did not rise above 17 degrees Celsius (63 Fahrenheit) on the day of the fire, ensuring no damage to the electronic components or pipes.

Quoirin recommends protecting the instrument with a waterproof case, to dusting it and playing it regularly during the restoration work.

While I am certainly no expert, I have considerable experience with these machines and the conditions required to keep them working properly. Having watched the fire I had zero belief that the organ would be reparable, much less survive in a playable condition. While it was clear that the main entrance towers escaped the flames it is pretty hard to believe that the temperature at the organ did not exceed 63 degrees F. That is, in fact, less than the 70 degrees recommended to keep them in tune at A440. Photo is post-fire from the organ loft. 

Fact is, assuming there was adequate oxygen and a supply of power, the organist might well have played something appropriate through the entire fire.