A Kentucky cathedral called ‘America’s Notre Dame’ gets a rehab, gargoyles and all

3 weeks ago 1

By PETER SMITH

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Gargoyles have watched over this small Kentucky city for more than a century from their lofty perches on a cathedral known as “America’s Notre Dame.” A new renovation will ensure they keep their posts for years to come on the meticulously restored facade of the towering stone sanctuary.

Workers in recent weeks have been installing new terra cotta gargoyles as one of the final steps of a major, two-year restoration of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. The Catholic cathedral’s nickname stems from how its exterior was modeled on the larger Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris — from the pointed arches and flying buttresses to the gargoyles and chimeras with their reptilian grins and piercing, canine eyes.

Unlike the Paris landmark, which recently underwent a massive renovation because of a sudden and devastating fire, the Covington cathedral needed a rehab due to the slow deterioration of old stone, metal and terra cotta after 125 years of exposure to the elements in its Ohio River city across from Cincinnati.

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