High above downtown Covington, the terra-cotta figures that have watched over the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption for more than a century are new again. All 32 gargoyles and 26 chimeras perched on the Gothic landmark, a 125-year-old building, have been swapped out for exact replicas, the final piece of a restoration that took years and reached deep into the building's crumbling bones.
The scope of the damage first came into focus when Brandi Ash, vice president and director of architecture for SHP, was asked by the Archdiocese of Covington's buildings director to evaluate a single deteriorating chimera atop the cathedral, according to Cincinnati Magazine. What she found climbing the cathedral's spiral staircase was far more extensive than one bad figure — open joints, spalling stone, and pieces that were missing or deteriorated throughout the structure. Since SHP's original architectural plans for the building no longer existed, the firm had to draft new ones from scratch before any repair work could begin.
The investigation that followed was methodical and, at times, literally suspended in midair. SHP used a 3D scan of the cathedral and then inspected the exterior up close from a crane basket over several days, according to the Diocese of Covington. A separate building condition survey, carried out by the restoration team, lasted a full week and turned up severe cracks in the gargoyles and chimera along with damaged terra-cotta capitals and deteriorating limestone, the diocese says.
Scanning a Century-Old Facade to Save It
Rather than guess at repairs, the team leaned on technology to preserve exactness. True Scan laser-scanned the entire building, and Boston Valley Terra Cotta scanned all 26 chimeras while they were still in place on the parapet, per Cincinnati Magazine's reporting. Once the figures came down, Trisco Systems scanned them again to capture a full 360-degree record before Boston Valley Terra Cotta's artists in New York built molds from that data, per the Diocese of Covington.
From those molds, Boston Valley's artists hand-carved the detailing to create exact replicas, matching figures that were added to the cathedral in 1910. Ash estimated the team produced eight or ten mockups before landing on the right color match, a detail meant to ensure the new terra cotta wouldn't stand out against the old. The restoration team also cleaned the entire exterior so that new and old stone would blend seamlessly — work Ash described as making the two virtually impossible to tell apart.
A $6 Million Project That Grew
The project's price tag depends on who's counting. The Diocese of Covington says the restoration began as a $6 million project and ended up around $8 million, while WCPO reported a $7.8 million figure. Funding came through a diocesan-wide public campaign, a separate Cathedral Parish campaign that raised about $1.3 million, and historic tax credits through the Kentucky Heritage Council, according to the diocese. The broader campaign drew gifts from nearly 2,000 donors — a figure WCPO's report rounded up to more than 2,000 contributors.
Trisco Systems performed the masonry restoration while Imbus Roofing handled the copper work, flashing and detailed copper repairs, the diocese notes. Trisco also handled the rest of the project's facets beyond the terra-cotta replacements, per Cincinnati Magazine. The diocese marked the project's official close with a celebration on Aug. 15, 2026 — the Feast of the Assumption.
America's Notre Dame, Restored
Designed by architect Leon Coquard, the cathedral's exterior was modeled after Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a resemblance that has earned it the nickname “America's Notre Dame,” as National Catholic Register and WCPO's report both note. The Covington cathedral is just under half the size of its Parisian namesake and was built without twin towers, according to WCPO. And while Notre Dame's gargoyles double as functional rainspouts, the Covington figures are purely decorative — a distinction LINK nky also traces to the chimeras, which are modeled after the anthropomorphized figures atop Notre Dame.
Built with brick, terra-cotta and Indiana limestone, the cathedral was dedicated for use on Jan. 27, 1901, according to its own history page. Its 82 stained-glass windows, crafted by Mayer and Company of Munich, Germany, remain one of its defining features; the Munich Pictorial Style used to create them began fading in popularity not long after the cathedral's last window went in, according to the NKyTribune.
The chimeras were reinstalled atop the cathedral on April 9, 2026, LINK nky reported at the time, ahead of the project's eventual completion. Ash said the team approached the entire effort as a 100-year solution — a timeline that puts the next generation of caretakers roughly in line with the cathedral's own bicentennial. For now, the gargoyles and chimeras have resumed their perch above Covington, watching over the city as they have since their addition in 1910.
