(23 Aug 2021) A decade after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook part of the eastern United States, crews repairing damage to the Washington National Cathedral say the massive restoration project is about halfway complete.
On August 23, 2011 the earthquake rattled the Nation's Capitol, causing significant damage to notable landmarks around the city including Union Station, the Washington Monument, and the Washington National Cathedral.
The iconic Episcopal cathedral in northwest Washington D.C. sustained some of the worst damage from the temblor, causing parts of the stonework to crack and rotate and some features to shake loose and fall on to the roof and the ground below.
Head Stonemason Joe Alonso, who has been working at the cathedral for more than 36 years, said the earthquake lasted just under a minute and firmly believes that if the shaking lasted any longer the damage would've been a lot worse.
"The cathedral, actually, the main structure of the building remains sound. The walls, the structure of the building did," Alonso said. "So all that energy kept going, going, going, and boom, it just popped, you know, like the cracking of a whip. And that's why you see the damage is most extreme up high, especially at the very top of the central tower, which is three hundred feet up in the air, highest point in D.C.. That suffered the worst."
Officials say the total cost of repairs is estimated at $34 million, and at this time crews have completed approximately $15 million worth of the massive restoration project.
"We're 10 years into the earthquake now and we're about halfway done with the repairs," said Alonso who described the stonework as time-consuming and complex.
"One of our guiding principles here with the preservation and the restoration work we do is we're trying to save as much of the original material as possible. So if the piece is salvageable, we will repair it and put it back," Alonso added.
It will still take years to fully restore the Cathedral. One of the most expensive projects left is repairing the heights of the Central Tower.
Right now the National Cathedral has reopened for in-person worship services every Sunday, but requires face masks inside due to the coronavirus pandemic. General touring has not returned to the historic site, but staff hope to offer limited touring in the Fall of 2021.
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