Notre-Dame Cathedral sat in the pre-dawn chill like a spaceship docked in the heart of Paris, its exoskeleton of scaffolding lit by bright lights. Pink clouds appeared to the east as machinery hummed to life and workers started clambering around. A crane hoisted them onto the nave of the cathedral, which was devastated by fire in 2019. Mr. Silver — a 41-year-old American-Canadian carpenter — is something of an unlikely candidate to work on the restoration of an 860-year-old Gothic monument and Catholic landmark in France. It also has given them a way to show the world that their manual tools and techniques have stood the test of time.

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Persons: Dame Cathedral, Hank Silver, Silver, — Organizations: Dame, Mr Locations: Paris, France, New York City, New England