Notre Dame fire: Remembrances from Tallahassee

As the world watched the cathedral at Notre Dame burn, Tallahassee locals — and some of our journalists — shared their emotions and their photos with us.

Jeff Schweers, Tallahassee Democrat

These are some of the photos taken inside the Cathedral de Notre Dame de Paris during a vespers concert I saw in October 2016. We were wandering around like a couple of goofballs when we came upon Notre Dame. I gasped, "That's beautiful."

My friend saw people in line at the door, and we assumed it was for a tour. But when we got to the entrance, we learned there was a symphonic concert starting in moments and we were fortunate they still had tickets available. So we got to hear a concert inside the cathedral, and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

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Douglas Fisher

Took these pics just two years ago. Hard to believe it is destroyed.There is one I particularly like, of four statues rising up the spire that collapsed earlier today. I think that these statues were removed by cranes prior to the renovation work, so they may not have been destroyed.

Kate Wasson 

I traveled to Paris at 15 on a school trip. At the Louvre, I kept following signs for the “Galerie Sortie”. With so many signs, I was sure it must be very popular. I later discovered “sortie” means “exit.” The next day a friend and I set out with a map to explore the city but quickly found ourselves with no idea where we were or how to get back. (I really should have learned some basic French.) We happened upon the gorgeous Sainte-Chapelle just as the sun broke through the overcast sky to shine through its many stained glass windows. I’ve never been so beautifully lost in my life.

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Brenda Gibbs

We watched the artist paint this beautiful picture of the back of Notre Dame in 1997. It's always been one of my favorite pieces of art. Now it is even more treasured. Amazingly, the name is actually legible: Maurice T.
He was a young French street artist. I remember watching him and really liking his technique. I didn't have enough French francs to pay for what he was asking but I had some pounds and also American money that he accepted to meet his price!

Claire Thomas Timm 

I’m not French.
I’m not Catholic.
I’ve never even been to France to see the Notre Dame Cathedral.
But I still have shed tears this afternoon watching it burn.
A masterpiece of architecture & history is dying in front of our eyes.

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Kelsey Klopfenstein

I went on a trip to Notre Dame with my grandma in September 2018. The trip was a college graduation present from her to me, as I had minored in French and just graduated that August. It was an honor to tour the Notre Dame with her, and I'm saddened to know that if I ever return to Paris, this sacred piece of the city's rich history will never be the same. 

Ange Belanger Casey 

I remember trying to walk around the exterior of Notre Dame and being in awe of the architecture. It wasn’t just the immensity of this Gothic cathedral that impressed me, but also the buttresses, the gargoyles, the statues, the stone and the bell towers. The plaza at the entrance was usually crowded with visitors and residents alike. I found a seat near the plaza once and just sat and enjoyed watching people congregating there. Although I did walk through the very crowded nave once, the image imprinted on my memory is the sight of Notre Dame at sunrise as my taxi took me to the airport to catch a flight back to Florida. Paris, to me, has a pearly light. But that morning, the sky around Our Lady was streaked with pink contrasting with the blue of the Seine River. I sighed with sadness that I had to leave. But I was determined to keep that iconic image of Paris in my mind, Notre Dame with the snaking Seine River at dawn. I will be back, I thought. I will see this again. If I ever go back now, a great part of that image will be gone.

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Brian Welch

I have been to Paris many times over the past 10 years, mostly with student groups. As a history teacher, it is unfortunate to see such an icon destroyed. Notre Dame is the literal center of Paris and the site of so much human significance. It is a sad day indeed.

Cheryl Sattler 

I got engaged in Paris, in April 1995. We had very little money, since we were both in grad school. We followed Rick Steves' guide faithfully (we called it a forced march) through Paris — and of course we visited Notre Dame — a "must see" marvel. I'm so sad not to have returned in the 24 years since.

Ruth Wharton

Bill Wharton had two albums released in France in the 1990s. The first was called "Miami Blues and Liquid Summer" (which was originally released in the U.S. as "Sauce Boss"). The second was released in France on Virgin Records "South of the Blues." He and his band toured in France about a dozen times, and regularly performed in Paris. We are crushed to see the Notre Dame in flames. He and I climbed to the top of one of the towers on our first trip to France in 1992. Sauce Boss and his band The Ingredients had just played the night before at New Morning, not far from the cathedral. This is a photo we took toward the back showing the spire that fell.

Joan E. Denman 

I visited in 1988, and was astounded with the beauty of all the stained glass especially the dome. Absolutely breathtaking! I’m visiting Paris next month and was planning on seeing the cathedral again. My heart goes out to the French. Heartbreaking.

Alicea Acevedo 

In 1995 I was in 10th grade and I took a trip to Spain and France with about 100 kids from my school. The trip was a blur of no sleep, exchanging money, homesickness, feeling like I couldn’t find anything I wanted to eat and more freedom than I had ever come close to tasting before that. I remember the day we visited Notre Dame, and feeling in awe of it. For some reason the gargoyles are always what have stuck out most in my memory. I’m sad I won’t ever get to go back and experience it as an adult, when I know I would have appreciated it even more. I couldn’t wait to get home from that trip and see my boyfriend (who kissed someone else while I was gone by the way).

Screven Watson 

I have visited Notre Dame three times in my life (1982, 1997, 2017). The people who began to build Notre Dame, by hand in 1163, knew they would never worship in the Cathedral. Yet they continued building this treasure for future generations. It took several centuries to complete. It is so much more than a active church and historic landmark. It is awe inspiring architecture. It is History Personified. It is Faith It is Paris. It is Us.

Christine Reilly

Notre Dame, 2008: We went up into the bell tower. Lots of steps to climb and I don't think I could do it now, not without resting often — which ticks off the people behind you! I wanted to see the gargoyles and the bells. I am so sad about the fire. That was the last time I was there. 

Heidi Otway

Notre Dame is a breathtaking edifice. I went there in 2017 and was mesmerized by the details in the architecture. One could spend an entire day just exploring the site. I’m most heartbroken by the treasures that were destroyed inside the cathedral. They can’t be replaced.

Jennings Lawton DePriest 

I left the church many years before the first time I stepped inside Notre Dame. Today’s event is a sad metaphor for Western Civilization — while trying to renovate for the future, we are burning the beauty of our history to the ground.

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Bow, No Arrow

I never paid to climb you cause

I thought you were a tourist trap,

but now I know why

the gargoyles always looked tortured;

they would weep today

if they could keep their eyes

open.

You were there 300,000 yesterdays;

I admit I expected a few more tomorrows.

But now you are mostly

dead.

The red and black and smoke and

yellow spitfire

leap toward God

off of Paris’ heart,

beating too fast now.

The arrow is burnt,

and the bow lay empty

in our trembling hands

on the day the Notre Dame came down.

R.E.J.