Americans were biggest foreign donors to Notre Dame restoration after fire
Two foundations donated $10 million each in wake of devastating 2019 fire
The cathedral will reopen next month for the first time since the 2019 fire
Loic Salan / Shutterstock
Americans contributed $62 million to restoration funds for the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, making them the largest donors after French people, say charity organisers.
Of this, $57 million was received directly by The Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris group with another $5 million believed to have been raised through other avenues following the devastating 2019 fire that destroyed much of the building.
Two donations of $10 million each were contributed by the Starr Foundation and Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis Foundation.
Other significant donations included $2 million from the Estée Lauder family via the French Heritage Society in New York.
American tourists and residents in France are expected to be among the first to visit the cathedral when it officially reopens next month.
Read more: Paris Notre-Dame cathedral to open on December 8 with first Mass
Beloved monument in America
The iconic cathedral has a central place in the American idea of Paris – and France – and has been visited by numerous high-profile figures including several former US presidents.
Barack Obama called it “one of the world's great treasures” during a 2009 visit.
“For Americans, Notre-Dame de Paris is a physical symbol of pre-modern European history that does not exist on American soil,” said Meredith Cohen, a specialist in medieval art and architecture at UCLA to AFP.
“It is a powerful place of memory, evoking an imagined nostalgia for a rich and complex culture of the past,” she added.
The site is intimately linked to Paris through the media Americans consume about the city, including the works of Victor Hugo (and the adaptations of his work on screen and stage), and various films including An American in Paris and Midnight in Paris.
“If there's one Gothic cathedral that millions of (American) visitors have seen in Paris and France, it's probably Notre-Dame, and the fire… undoubtedly rekindled that memory and strengthened their connection to the cathedral,” said historian of French gothic Michael Davis, quoted in FranceInfo.
“Americans generally have a great affinity for Paris and French culture, which is perhaps linked to their positive rediscovery of Paris before and after the Second World War, at the Liberation, their admiration in the 1950s for philosophers, artists and haute couture houses, as well as for the culinary and wine culture popularised in America by Julia Child... all of which is attached to Notre-Dame,” Miss Cohen added.
Read more: Minister wants €5 entrance fee for Notre-Dame visitors
