England's Giant Death Ray
· 11.03.2024 · 20:48:21 ··· ··· Monday ·· 1 (1)
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The City of London -a one-square-mile enclave on the north bank of the River Thames, is the oldest borough in the UK capital -and one of the strangest. Though surrounded by and part of the sprawling metropolis known as Greater London, the City of London is in fact its own, semi-independent ceremonial county, with its own police force and governing body -the City of London Corporation. This city-within-a-city even has its own separate leader, the Lord Mayor of London, who holds traditional powers and privileges more than a thousand years old and is, unlike the regular Mayor of London, answerable only to the Sovereign. As the cultural and financial centre of London and the UK, the City is home to many of the capital’s most iconic buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Old Bailey courthouse as well as the headquarters of major financial institutions such as the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, and insurer Lloyd’s of London. In more recent years, however, the City has become famous -and sometimes infamous -for its collection of uniquely-designed skyscrapers, many of which have acquired suitably whimsical nicknames. These include 52 Lime Street -AKA “The Scalpel”; 122 Leadenhall Street -AKA “The Cheese Grater”; and 30 St. Mary Axe -AKA “The Gherkin.” While some have praised these structures for their architectural innovation, others have condemned them for spoiling the skyline of the ancient city. But whatever your opinion on the aesthetic merits of contemporary architecture, I think we can all agree that when a building starts inflicting property damage on the surrounding neighbourhood, something has gone horribly wrong. Such was the case with20 Fenchurch Street AKA the “Walkie-Talkie”, which midway through its construction transformed,supervillain-lair-style into a giant car-melting death ray. This is the story of London’s most controversial skyscraper.
Author: Gilles Messier
Host: Simon Whistler
Editor: Daven Hiskey
Producer: Samuel Avila
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