THE GHERKIN



                                                               THE GHERKIN

London a city that is 100 years old and one that is filled with history everywhere you look you see buildings that mark the passage of time.
London is a mixture of centuries as each new decade seeks to put its mark in the city and the contrast between the old and the new and the difference can be seen quite clearly in the City of London ,with the historic St Andrew Undesrhaft Church dominated by the Gherkin towering above it but still holding its own against its presence .
The present church building was constructed in 1532  but a church has existed on the site since the 12th century. Survived the Great Fire of London and the Blitz of 1940.
Another surviver is St Helens an Anglican church that William Shakespeare went to in the 1590s.
The church dates from the 12th century and has some alterations done in the intervening centuries .

The Gherkin sits in Londons financial district on the site of the Bltic Exchange destroyed by IRA bombing in 1992.
The Gherkin was was constructed in 2001 completed in 2003 and opened 2004 at the cost 138 million pounds it stands at the height 591 ft (180 metres )
41 floors with 516,100ft square foot  ( 47,950 metres )
745 glass panels
There is a restaurant on the 39th floor and a bar for the tenants and their guests on the 40th floor and in 2005 the building was sold for 630 million pounds making it one of the most expensive office building in London.
In 2014 the building was sold to a Brazilian billionaire for 700 million pounds
The Gherkin is  a nickname given to the building due to the unorthodox plans of the layout and the appearance of the building .
The original name of the Gherkin was the Swiss Re a global reinsurance company but the name disappeared and the Gherkin stuck.

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