Collin,

The Taj Mahal was not always treated well.  For a time, it was a resort for the English; even the mosque was rented out to honeymooners, for crying out loud!  It was looted by both the Indian rebels and the British army during the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857.   During WWII, they erected scaffolding around the building and covered it with tarps to protect it from bombers.

Around the turn of the century, Lord Curzon, the British viceroy ordered a restoration project that was completed in 1908.  I honestly think that, if it hadn't been for that restoration, the Taj Mahal would not be standing today as we know it.