- Just like France plans to do with Notre-Dame, people have been rebuilding famous buildings and monuments after devastating events for centuries.
- In the US, the White House was rebuilt after the British burned the original down, and One World Trade Center in New York was built to replace the Twin Towers after 9/11.
- After World War II, London had to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral.
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After the devastating fire that ravaged Notre-Dame this week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to rebuild the centuries-old cathedral in just five years.
This isn't the first famous monument to be destroyed by fire, nor will it be the first time that a beloved building or landmark will be rebuilt after devastating events. Whether destroyed by a fire or a deadly terror attack, cities all over the world have been rebuilding their landmarks for decades.
Here are some of the most impressive buildings that have been rebuilt throughout history.
The White House we know today is not the first iteration. The original White House was called the President's House, and it burned down in 1814.
The first three presidents of the United States — George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson — never lived in the White House. Instead, they lived in the President's House, which was the largest home in the nation at the time. When James Madison took office, the country entered into the War of 1812 with the United Kingdom. During the war, British troops were able to invade Washington, D.C. and burn down several buildings, including the President's House, in 1814.
For three years, architect James Hoban worked to rebuild it. In 1817, President James Monroe moved into the new White House, but it would be years before the building was officially finished. It has been remodeled several times since.
The Royal Exchange in London was destroyed and rebuilt twice.
The first Royal Exchange opened in 1571, and it acted as a commercial trading post in London. It was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, but rebuilt just a few years later. That second Exchange was again destroyed by a fire in 1838. In 1844, Queen Victoria opened the third Royal Exchange, inspired by the same 16-century design, which includes a courtyard, Roman architecture, and Italian Renaissance art.
Today, the Royal Exchange has over 30 luxury retail stores.
San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel was ravaged by fires after the famous 1906 earthquake, but rebuilt only a year later.
In 1906, San Francisco experienced one of the worst earthquakes on record, which killed 3,000 people and destroyed 28,000 buildings. The Fairmont Hotel, which sits atop Nob Hill, surprisingly still stood in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, but was badly damaged from fires that the earthquake caused. However, it took just one year to rebuild and remodel the famous hotel. On opening night in 1907, there was a giant party to celebrate, which included hundreds of pounds of turtle, 13,000 oysters, fireworks, lots of local wine.
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