European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Imposing notre Dame an important part of French history is getting a face lift. At right one of the Cathedral s pockmarked gargoyles shows the effects of time. A amps Peter Jaeger time and tourists wearing Down Gran notre Dame by Marilyn August the associated press. Old age pollution and the elements have caught up with notre Dame the Noble gothic Cathedral of Paris often called a the Parish of French  Quot the Monument s general condition is worrisome and if we Don t do something now Well end up with a very sick building Quot said Bernard Fonquernie chief architect in the culture ministry s historical monuments division. The ministry has allocated about $19 million for an ambitious 10-year face lift scheduled to begin this summer. Notre Dame was begun in 1.163 under King Louis Vii and not finished until nearly 200 years later. It is considered a supreme masterpiece of French Art. Critics describe it As Quot solid but not heavy Quot with an architectural perfection All its own. Not solid enough however according to Fonquernie. He said rain wind Sun Frost and dust have eaten away the porous Gray Stone Over the centuries. Chunks of Loose Stone regularly fall from the facade and Interior Walls some into nets and others near visitors. Fonquernie said no one had been Hurt so far. Quot last year freezing temperatures caused a lot of damage Quot he said. Quot in the Spring Many fragments broke  notre Dame s most dangerous enemy is pollution from the hundreds  and tourist buses that visit the Cathedral each Day on the lie de la cite in the Middle of the Seine. A a a. Fonquernie said Many buses Park for hours with motors running and exhaust spewing for the sole pure arse of maintaining heat in Winter and air conditioning in summer. City authorities banned parking around the Cathedral in 1989, but the Rule is widely ignored and few vehicles Are towed away. Eleven million visitors a year also have taken their toll. Sweaty hands soil the Walls and fax Steps Wear the floors. Quot i have seen the stained Glass windows vaults and pillars dripping with condensation caused by the heat of human bodies Quot the architect said. One journalist wrote that in summer the Majestic Cathedral looks More like the lobby of a Railroad station than a Church. A visitor once Rode a bicycle around the Nave. Quot. This will be the first major restoration project since 1843, when architect Eugene Viollet Leduc tried to undo damage wrought by the French revolution when the Church h  used As a food warehouse. Unfortunately the Cement and mortar he used in the 23-year project have decayed even More quickly than the original stones. Viollet Leduc added Gival vaulting and Interior Walls unearthed traces of the gothic choir rebuilt a spire and a Quot adorned the three main doors with statues Inspirit d by the French cathedrals of reims and Amiens. Fonquernie  own restorations which will begin with the removal of All Lex it be stones will have to be restored in the next Century. Quot for me this is a real problem Quot he said. Quot flow authentic will notre Dame be when its stones have been replaced Quot a As if to respond Jean Perrin has written  Monde Quot those who built notre Dame did not expect it would last forever. Protecting monuments is a modern idea but who c an complain Quot March 21, 1991 stripes Magazine 7