The Cathedral of Notre-Dame Meets The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

If you’re looking for a unique experience, either as a tourist or a New York City resident, an easy journey uptown to Morningside Heights will bring you to the majesty of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine. On its own, the cathedral is a magnificent example of what human faith and determination can devise, but from November 15, 2024 to January 31, 2025, it will host an innovative exhibition that traces the history of Notre-Dame Cathedral from its construction, partial destruction in 2019 from fire, and remarkable and pain-staking reconstruction. 

Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Visitors to the exhibition will embark on a vivid journey through 850 years of Notre-Dame’s iconic history, brought to life through cutting-edge augmented reality produced by Histovery, a French educational technology startup, in collaboration with the Public Institution in charge of the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. L’Oréal Groupe is the sponsor of the exhibit.

Upon entering the exhibit, visitors are presented a Histopad™, an interactive touch screen tablet that they use to guide them through their historical journey, a modern spin on time travel. Each numbered scanning podium opens up a new year in the history of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The reality of the podium scanning element transfers to the virtual experience as the years recede in a spinning optical back in time to medieval Paris where guests will meet stonemasons, craftsmen, and builders.

One of the displays where visitors can scan their Histopad.

From there they move forward through time where they will see the construction of the Gothic Choir in 1180, the arrival of the Holy Crown carried by Saint Louis in 1241, the coronation of Emperor Napoleon I in 1804, and the addition of the iconic Viollet-le-Duc spire in 1859. Visitors will then witness Notre-Dame’s miraculous survival from the 2019 fire that shocked the world as the exhibit shows history unfold in real-time. Throughout the exhibition, visitors can scroll through a timeline of Notre-Dame’s construction history and select options on each screen for more detail. Current restoration is a major focus of the exhibition, and using the HistoPad, visitors will see modern-day experts and master craftspeople in action to rebuild and restore Notre-Dame.

A recreation of a gargoyle atop The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, referred to by Quasimodo: "If only I were made out of stone like these.”

Asia Laird, Managing Director of Histovery U.S. proudly stated that her company is looking to share this educational technology with communities that don’t normally have access to this unique perspective. For instance, plans are in place for using this technology to explore the history of the American Revolution, and though Philadelphia would seem a great place to launch that initiative, perhaps other communities could also benefit from experiencing the deeper dive that Histovery could provide.