30 St Mary Axe, a.k.a. The Gherkin, constructed between 2001 and 2003, opened in 2004. The place was previously occupied by the Baltic Exchange building (a global marketplace for shipping freight contracts) and the Chamber of Shipping. The Baltic Exchange building was destroyed during, you guessed it, an IRA bombing, on 10 April 1992. Initially, a 92-storey Millennium Building was planned, but after the plans were dropped, the Gherkin was constucted, based on the Norman Foster's project. It is indeed one of the modern symbols of not only the City of London, but the whole Greater London. (previous | next | back to album | 2020:02:11 15:53:34 | 19% of an album)