Our project is not nearly so grand.  You will notice that the spire of the 1894 building is much taller and more graceful than the 1862 version.  But that is part of the charm of the 1862 effort--it was built by amateurs.  These folks were barely off the boat, the USA Civil War was raging, the new land had a harsh climate with a short growing season and farming required new methods, few of the settlers spoke English, etc.  Ole Rolvaag wrote a book about these settlers called Giants in the Earth.

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

However, the only one that was taller was Lincoln-and that did fall down.  There's something rather heroic about the way these builders pushed their craft to the limits, as evidenced by some of the corrections they had to make later.

Another example, though not of a spire, is the West Front of Peterborough Cathedral.

If you think the porch looks like an afterthought, you'd be right.  From the right angle, you can see quite clearly that it's propping the whole thing up.