European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Face lift begins on Gran notre Dame by Marlise Simons the new York times now a cherished Monument the Cathedral of notre Dame has not always been Well treated by the citizens of Paris. They have tried to blow it up they have smashed its statues they have scrubbed it clean and they have cycled through the aisles. A less violent but perhaps More insidious form of attack Tio Wever has left the 800-year-old notre Dame with its outer Walls damaged its turrets and buttresses eroded and its famous gargoyles without beaks and ears. And Here the culprit is the modern  medieval buildings polluted air. Now for the first time in 140 years France s most visited Cathedral is about to undergo a major restoration. Its keepers say that Many of the outer stones Are Quot fragile and sick Quot and too Many chunks of the decorations have fallen off. They estimate that the work will take 10 years and Cost at least $20 million. This month a Small contingent of stonemasons set to work on the Southern Tower which is already wrapped in scaffolding. They will pry Loose Brittle stones insert new ones and restore Many of the thousands of statues and carvings that have been eaten away by Fulfur from car fumes heating Oil and factory smoke. A Bernard Fonquernie the architect in charge of the restoration Points at Early gothic casualties As though surveying a Battlefield splintered balustrades worn pillars cracks in flying buttresses. Flagstones have thinned and gutters Are leaking. He is not worried about the Basic Structure which he pronounces solid. The Cathedral Walls Are 6 to 9 feet thick and firmly founded on an earlier Cathedral and roman ramparts. But almost every external part exposed to acid rain Sun wind and Frost has suffered corrosion he said. Most remarkable in his View is that additions like statues and a Sacristy built Only in the 1850s Are As damaged As the rest of the Cathedral. Quot this shows the Monument has suffered most in the past Hundred years or so Quot Fonquernie said. Quot it shows that in our harsh civilization Stone has become very  notre Dame of Paris May not be the most elegant of France s gothic cathedrals and it misses the soaring presence of those say at Rheims or Chartres because its main Spires were never built. But it has Long been at the Stormy heart of the nation s history As the site where Kings were married crowned and buried and revolutionaries vented their rage. Every year 10 million people visit. Fonquernie who has pored Over the Monument for the last three years is a great admirer of the 12th and 1 us Century builders. Quot it looks so balanced so symmetric Quot he said. Yet in reality he continued Quot much of the building is  Quot horizontal and vertical lines were not necessarily respected. The Wall faces Are not straight. We can see the designers were masters but the execution was sometimes  it is this Assembly of the uneven and imprecise the architect says that gives aged structures the character and feeling not found in the cold lines of modern buildings. And in the great european debate about How far 10 stripes Magazine april 23, 1992 pm. Abrams notre Dame has suffered a lot of physical deterioration during its 800 years with much of it coming from pollution during the past Century. Restoration should be permitted to go the restorers of the notre Dame say they have come Down on the Side of Quot soft Quot and Quot respectful Quot interventions. Their most important task Fonquernie said is to protect the Monument s authenticity. It Means that All stones and carvings will be Cut by hand. Quot this Cathedral was made by Many pairs of hands and each pair was different Quot he said. Quot we cannot put in stones or lines that Are too perfectly Cut. It would be harsh create too much  in their workshop behind the apse the stonecutters measure and Mold each piece which will be custom made for a precise spot in this giant Puzzle. Eric Salmon who is responsible for dressing the stones was examining slabs of Limestone judging them closely for texture and color the Way another Cutter might look at a Diamond. One big problem he said is to find Stone that is thick enough and that matches that used by the medieval builders and by Eugene Viollet Leduc who did the 19th-Century restoration. Quot we know what quarries they used Quot he said. Quot but Paris is now built Over them and we cannot get that  finding stonecutters it appears is becoming just As difficult because their ancient Craft is vanishing. Carvers and dressers of stones restorers concede Are underrated and underpaid yet they Are professionals who must know the historical techniques and have an artist s Eye. They must be willing to live a Nomad s life going from Monument to Monument. For the notre Dame restorers would like More than 30 stonecutters but so far they have found Only 15. On the scaffolding 250 feet above Paris Fonquernie and Salmon raised their voice above the Roar of unrelenting traffic on the Banks along both sides of the lie de la cite. At this height damage is greater. The men poked at stones so worn they were rounded and flaking. Here up close was a wounded gallery of broken gargoyles monsters without snouts Flowers without their petals. A lot of the work will involve correcting the efforts of the 19th-Century restorers who used Cement even Lead to Seal Many joints. All of this will have to be removed Salmon said. Medieval builders used a porous mixture permitting water to pass through the stones he said but Cement is less porous. The water stagnates and ruins the stones. Probing a fractured monster the architect says he finds the question of authenticity troubling. Quot however careful we Are Quot he said Quot ours will be repairs and stones made in 1992. We Are changing the Monument. Our civilization pushes us to conserve and preserve to make something lasting that is not made for  in his years of restoring monuments around France though he said he has Learned a few lessons about old buildings. One of them is to look out for falling stones. Quot i never Park my car at the foot of a Cathedral Quot he said and laughed