The cathedral remained without a spire for several decades until a restoration effort was begun by Jean-Baptiste Antoine Lassus.
After Lassus's death in 1857, the project was taken over by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
The new spire's design was inspired by that of the Orléans Cathedral (which was in turn modeled on the spire of the Amiens Cathedral).
The wooden base of the structure was made by the carpenter Auguste Bellu (Who had also worked on the Orléans Cathedral), and the lead covering was made by the Ateliers Monduit.

The spire was unveiled 18 August 1859.
Its lead covering weighed some 250 tons.
Its wooden structure was carved from oak from Champagne.
The new spire reached a height of 96 metres (315 ft), which was 18 metres (59 ft) more than the original.

Statues of the Twelve Apostles, made in the style of the 13th century, surrounded the spire at its base.
Each of the four sections of the roof had a row of three Apostles, standing one behind the other and staggered by height.
In front of each group was another statue of a sign of the Tetramorph symbolizing the Four Evangelists: the bull for St. Luke, the lion for St. Mark, the eagle for St. John and the angel for St. Matthew.
Each grouping faced one of the four cardinal directions.
All of the statues look out over Paris except for St. Thomas, the patron saint of architects.
He was looking towards the spire as if contemplating it.
Viollet-le-Duc was the model for the statue of St. Thomas.

At the base of the central support beam of the spire, an iron plaque dedicated to the achievement of the workers was inscribed with the image of a compass and a try square.
These were the symbols of the mason's guild and a subtle reference to God's role as Great Architect of the Universe in Catholic tradition.
Because both Viollet-le-Duc and Bellu are both mentioned by name on the plaque, it has been theorized that they were Freemasons.

The rooster at the top of the spire weighed around 30 kilograms (66 lb).
It contained three relics: a small piece of the crown of thorns, a relic of St. Denis, and a relic of St. Geneviève.
The piece of the crown of thorns was put into the rooster by Viollet-le-Duc himself in 1860.
The cathedral remained without a spire for several decades until a restoration effort was begun by Jean-Baptiste Antoine Lassus. After Lassus's death in 1857, the project was taken over by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The new spire's design was inspired by that of the Orléans Cathedral (which was in turn modeled on the spire of the Amiens Cathedral). The wooden base of the structure was made by the carpenter Auguste Bellu (Who had also worked on the Orléans Cathedral), and the lead covering was made by the Ateliers Monduit.
The spire was unveiled 18 August 1859. Its lead covering weighed some 250 tons. Its wooden structure was carved from oak from Champagne. The new spire reached a height of 96 metres (315 ft), which was 18 metres (59 ft) more than the original.
Statues of the Twelve Apostles, made in the style of the 13th century, surrounded the spire at its base. Each of the four sections of the roof had a row of three Apostles, standing one behind the other and staggered by height. In front of each group was another statue of a sign of the Tetramorph symbolizing the Four Evangelists: the bull for St. Luke, the lion for St. Mark, the eagle for St. John and the angel for St. Matthew. Each grouping faced one of the four cardinal directions. All of the statues look out over Paris except for St. Thomas, the patron saint of architects. He was looking towards the spire as if contemplating it. Viollet-le-Duc was the model for the statue of St. Thomas.
At the base of the central support beam of the spire, an iron plaque dedicated to the achievement of the workers was inscribed with the image of a compass and a try square. These were the symbols of the mason's guild and a subtle reference to God's role as Great Architect of the Universe in Catholic tradition. Because both Viollet-le-Duc and Bellu are both mentioned by name on the plaque, it has been theorized that they were Freemasons.
The rooster at the top of the spire weighed around 30 kilograms (66 lb). It contained three relics: a small piece of the crown of thorns, a relic of St. Denis, and a relic of St. Geneviève. The piece of the crown of thorns was put into the rooster by Viollet-le-Duc himself in 1860.
Spire of Notre-Dame de Paris