The German bombings of September 19, 1914, were devastating for Reims Cathedral. The monument's oak frame burnt down, and the heat damaged the stones and destroyed many of its 2,303 statues. The fire penetrated inside the cathedral through the large rose and broke the stained-glass windows. The north tower's bells also melted due to the heat. It took the Allies more than twenty years to restore the building, which is still undergoing renovations today. Henri Deneux rebuilt the cathedral's frame between 1924 and 1926 thanks to an assembly of 18,000 reinforced concrete pieces.