After the Fire: Why Remembering Notre-Dame's Past Disasters & Rebirths is Crucial

Like most people, I felt a lump rising in my throat when I saw images of Notre-Dame Cathedral lapped with flames and choked by smoke on April 15th. The fire, ostensibly an accidental consequence of renovations gone wrong, felt surreal. But the reality of its destructive potential posed some devastating questions.

What would become of its more than 850 ye…