Random Famous Buildings That Were Rebuilt (13 items)

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  (#1) Dresden Frauenkirche

  The first Frauenkirche - translation: "(Our) Lady's Church" - in Dresden, Germany, was a Gothic structure built in the 11th century. Reconstructed several times to accommodate a growing population, it fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1726 as the Baroque version (pictured here in the earlier photo during the mid- or late 19th century). Architect George Bähr wanted it to be "like a single stone from the ground to its highest point."

  The bombing of Dresden by England during WWII led to the church's collapse, and it wasn't rebuilt until 60 years later, reopening in 2005. The reconstructed church was designed to be as authentic to the original as possible, and to include pieces of ruins from the previous building.    
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  (#2) Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

  The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow was built to commemorate the country's victory over Napoleon in 1812. Construction took more than 40 years, starting in 1839. Appropriately, Tchaivosky's "1812 Overture" premiered in 1882 outside the unfinished building.

  Stalin's forces brought down the church in 1931 (pictured) to make way for a grandiose Palace of Soviets. That building project didn't happen, however, and the site became an open-air swimming pool. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the church was rebuilt from 1995 to 2000, based on the original design but with more modern materials and other features such as underground parking. 
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  (#3) St Paul's Cathedral

  • English Baroque

  St. Paul's Cathedral in London, perched atop the city's highest point, is in its fourth iteration. The original wooden church, built in 604, was rebuilt three times after fires, Viking raids, and lightning strikes either brought down or severely damaged the structure. The current version, designed by Christopher Wren, went up after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and took 35 years to build. Although the cathedral was bombed during WWII, it withstood the damage.

  For more than 250 years, the cathedral was London's tallest building; the dome is 365 feet high.
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  (#4) Notre Dame de Paris

  • French Gothic architecture

  The original Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took more than 180 years to build starting in 1163. The famed Gothic church has survived mostly intact despite suffering from neglect, questionable restoration (including replacement of stained-glass windows with more trendy clear glass in the 1770s), looting, bombings, and arson attempts over the years. In 2019, however, a fire that broke out in the attic (caused by a cigarette or faulty electrical wiring) toppled Notre Dame's spire and part of its wooden roof, which were under restoration at the time and already surrounded by scaffolding.

  Now even more scaffolding surrounds the cathedral as rebuilding and restoration of the roof and stained-glass windows continues. Officials hope the repairs will be done by 2024 in time for the Olympics in Paris. 
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  (#5) Windsor Castle

  • Gothic architecture

  Windsor Castle in England, described by the UK's Royal Collection trust as the "oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world," has been home to 39 royal folks, including Queen Elizabeth II, who still spends most of her weekends there. William the Conqueror built the fortress in the 11th century. The palace was rebuilt many times to accommodate the whims and design tastes of various monarchs, but the complex survived WWII and other potentially damaging military conflicts. The earlier version of the grounds in the drawing here is from around the 17th century.

  In 1992 a fire broke out in the private chapel that wiped out 115 rooms. Restoration took five years, with some rooms getting a makeover using such modern materials as sustainable wood.    
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  (#6) St. Mark's Campanile In Venice, Italy

  The bell tower at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, about 323 feet tall, is separate from rather than attached to the church. Rebuilt several times from the 12th to 14th centuries as a watchtower, it took its current form as a bell tower in 1514, when the belfry, spire, and a weather vane in the form of the archangel Gabriel were added. 

  The tower collapsed in 1902 due to a crack in a wall; no one lost their life when it fell. Ten years later the rebuilt tower reopened to mirror the original on the exterior, but with a more stable structure. Gabriel was re-created using fragments from the fallen weathervane. The five bells, shattered in 1902, were recast. 
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  (#7) Hurva Synagogue

  "Hurva," the name of this synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem, means "ruin," referring to its destruction several times since the 17th century, most recently during the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict (it's pictured here in 1948 before it was wiped out).

  Israel recaptured the Old City during the 1967 Six-Day War, but because of debate about how to re-create the Hurva Synagogue, didn't start construction on a modern-replica replacement until the 2000s.  
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  (#8) Royal Exchange, London

  • Building

  Merchant Sir Thomas Gresham created London's Royal Exchange in 1566 as a stock trading center. It burned down in 1666 during the Great Fire of London, was rebuilt, then burned down again in 1838. (The earlier image shown here was painted in 1810.)  

  The third version of The Royal Exchange opened in 1844, similar in design to the original building but with an eight-column entrance added. The building sustained damage, and traders stopped trading, during WWII, but they returned for a brief period in the 1980s. After an extensive renovation, including the addition of two floors, the building reopened in 2001 as a shopping and dining center. 
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  (#9) Yellow Crane Tower In Wuhan, China

  The original version of China's Yellow Crane Tower, which overlooks the Yangtze River from atop a hill, was built in 223 as a watchtower, then became a scenic location. It was rebuilt more than seven times, and after a fire wiped out the tower in the late 1800s, it wasn't reconstructed until nearly 100 years later in 1981.

  The eaves, covered in yellow glazed tiles, were designed to look like a crane unfurling its wings. 
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  (#10) United States Capitol

  Construction on the U.S. Capitol began in 1793, with President George Washington laying the cornerstone. The design featured a central dome area flanked on the north and south by separate rectangular chambers for the Senate and House of Representatives. The building was occupied but unfinished when the British set fire to it in 1814 during the War of 1812. George Munger's drawing shows the damaged structure, with most of the exterior singed but still standing, although the domed rotunda did not fare so well. After the fire the Capitol was rebuilt.

  Over the years, the building - with portions burned again during fires in 1851 and 1898 - has been renovated, expanded, modernized, and fireproofed.
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  (#11) White House

  • Neoclassical architecture

  Built in the 1790s and first occupied by John Adams and his wife Abigail, the country's presidential abode was known as the "President's House" or "Executive Mansion" before Teddy Roosevelt officially dubbed it the "White House" (to distinguish it from governors' executive mansions) in 1901. After the British set the building on fire in 1814 during the War of 1812, the scorched structure (represented in the painting here by George Munger) was rebuilt.

  Over the years, it's been renovated and expanded several times, most notably during the administrations of Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman. During Roosevelt's tenure, the West Wing was added. During Truman's presidency, the interior was gutted and completely redone. The White House now has 132 rooms; the only part of the original structure still standing is the exterior stone walls. 
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  (#12) Royal Castle, Warsaw

  Built in stages starting in the Middle Ages, the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, was originally a nearly all wooden structure. It previously served as a residence for Polish monarchs and site for Parliament, among other uses. During WWII, under German occupation the castle was bombed, plundered, then wiped out during the Warsaw Uprising.  

  Reconstruction using donated funds didn't begin until 1971 and continued through the 1980s, when the structure reopened its interior to the public. Restoration of other parts of the complex continued through 2019. Some salvaged pieces of debris have been incorporated into the rebuilt palace. 
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  (#13) World Trade Center

  • Building complex

  New York City lost part of its population, soul, and skyline on September 11, 2001, when the twin towers, the two tallest buildings at the World Trade Center, were brought down in a terrorist attack that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. Designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki and built starting in 1966, the dual structures were 110 stories tall. 

  After the towers fell and workers cleared the detritus, the place where the buildings stood was turned into a memorial with two reflecting pools. A new single tower, symbolically 1,776 feet tall, replaced the previous two. One World Trade Center opened in 2014.

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