As a nation you don't have longevity on your side. The Statue of Liberty is only 30-40 years older than my mother... BUT it has a place in a nation's heart (and is a global icon) which, yeah, I guess the people of France are mourning right now. Age doesn't make an icon but I think Notre Dame represents part of what it means to be French in the same way that the Statue of Liberty represents what it is to be American. And to see it done violence like that must hurt.
Cliff Palace? Of course, that was abandoned, but let me check the timeline. Roughly contemporary with Notre Dame, but holds far less import in the national psyche.
When I Googled St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC just now to find out how old it is, I found out they arrested some asshole wanna-be arsonist who had two gas cans and a lighter. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the only church-like building I can think of in the U.S. that's a national architectural treasure. But it doesn't come remotely close to the history of Notre Dame. St. Patrick's was built in 1878, then added to and re-dedicated in 1910, with more additions and remodeling done in 1927 and 1931.
