10 Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

10 Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed
NUMBER 10: THE WHITE HOUSE
From 1812 to 1815, the USA and the UK had anything but a special relationship, in fact,
they were engaged in a pretty vicious conflict.
What with the whole war situation, British troops launched a devastating attack against
Washington DC in August 1814.
The event has come to be known as the ‘Burning of Washington’, since, you know, the British
set fire to the White House and pretty much destroyed the interior of the building.
Although President James Madison was probably annoyed at being rendered temporarily homeless,
on the plus side no one was killed in the blaze.
But the White House wasn’t safe yet… just a day later, three colossal tornadoes hit
the city, ripping up trees and toppling chimneys.
An already fragile White House managed to withstand the furious storms, which actually
helped put out fires all over Washington and get rid of the British.
The damage was so extensive that it took 3 years for the White House to be rebuilt to
its former glory.
NUMBER 9: CHRIST THE REDEEMER
The Christ the Redeemer statue, which stands on the Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio
de Janeiro, is recognizable all around the world.
Yet, ever since its construction in 1931, the statue has been under regular threat from
one of mother nature’s most destructive forces: lightning.
Christ the Redeemer is a huge 30 meters in height, not including its 8 meter pedestal,
and stands on top of a 700-meter-high mountain.
So, it’s not really that surprising that it’s fairly prone to lightning strikes.
One of the most infamous strikes to hit the statue occurred in February 2007, when a violent
thunderstorm severely damaged its fingers, head and eyebrows.
To add insult to injury, vandals climbed the scaffolding erected for the restoration to
spray graffiti onto its head.
This was met with outrage, with the mayor of Rio de Janeiro calling it ‘a crime against
the nation’.
In January 2014, despite the new conductors installed in its arms, lightning struck again
and the statue’s outstretched fingers were once more blasted off.
NUMBER 8: THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA
Estimated to have been built over 4,000 years ago, the Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest
known monumental sculpture in Egypt.
At some unknown point in its history, the Sphinx was abandoned and slowly buried up
to its shoulders in sand.
It’s estimated that the now world famous statue would be completely submerged in sand
today, were it not for a series of careful excavations that spanned from 1817 to 1936
that finally uncovered the Sphinx’s chest and body.
However, centuries of neglect had taken its toll.
Part of its headdress had completely eroded off, and there were deep, worrying cuts in
its neck that had to be repaired.
And then there’s the mystery of the Sphinx’s missing nose, which was chiseled off.
The most widely-accepted explanation for this is that it was vandalized by Muhammad Sa’im
al-Dahr, a 15th century Sufi Muslim who was enraged by local peasants making offerings
to the Sphinx.
He was later executed for the crime.
NUMBER 7: THE COLOSSEUM
The Colosseum in Rome, which was built in AD80, is the largest amphitheater ever constructed.
It’s estimated that it could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used
to host public spectacles, such as gladiatorial contests.
Over the centuries, the Colosseum has fallen victim to a number of disasters, and it’s
actually quite a miracle that it’s still standing.
In the year 217, lightning struck the Colosseum, igniting the wooden floor of the arena and
destroying the upper levels of the interior, which had to be rebuilt.
More devastating still was the great earthquake of 1349, which caused the outer south side
to completely collapse - which is why the landmark has the half-eroded look it’s famous
for today.
But not all of the threats to the Colosseum were natural.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, people pillaged the Colosseum
for building materials.
This gradual man-made destruction continued late into the 18th century, until Pope Benedict
XIV consecrated it as a church.
NUMBER 6: BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Between September 1940 and May 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked London 71 times.
More than a million of the city’s houses were destroyed or damaged, and over 40,000
civilians were killed.
And London’s historic landmarks were, by no means, exempt from this destruction.
Buckingham Palace and its grounds were struck on sixteen separate occasions.
The North Wing of the Palace was particularly damaged, with windows completely blown out.
One palace worker even died when a bomb hit the Royal Chapel.
As a demonstration of resilience in the face of the enemy, the Royal Family publicly insisted
on staying put throughout the war, and King George VI was even in residence when most
of the bombs fell.
Similarly, the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral was a major target for German bombers.
It was hit by 10 significant blasts but still - somehow - managed to survive.
One of the bombs that landed on the Cathedral, a time-delayed bomb discovered in September
1940, would have been powerful enough to level the entire building had it not been diffused
by Royal Engineers.
NUMBER 5: THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT
Standing at 169 meters, the Washington Monument is the world’s tallest stone structure and
is one of the most recognizable landmarks in America.
However, its construction was marred with complications that led to it being built shoddily,
and with worryingly cheap materials.
The building of the tower began in 1848, almost 50 years after the death of George Washington
himself, who - as a side-note - believed the monument was a ‘grand waste of money’.
Between 1854 and 1877, construction had to stop because funds ran out, with questions
arising as to whether the project should be scrapped altogether.
When it did begin again, a different, cheaper and less durable kind of marble was used.
Because of this, you can see a visible difference in the shading of the marble.
In August 2011, the resulting weakness of the monument was highlighted, when a 5.8 magnitude
earthquake left numerous deep, dangerous cracks in the tower.
Thankfully, disaster was averted and nobody was hurt in this incident, but the landmark
had to be closed for almost three years in order to repair it.
NUMBER 4: THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
There’s a fairly obvious problem with the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
and the clue’s in the name.
The 13th century tower leans because it was built on soft ground that was unable to support
the weight of the building, meaning it has sunk at one side.
It currently leans at an angle of 4 degrees, which isn’t so bad.
Thirty years ago, however, the lean had reached 5.5 degrees, putting it at a very real risk
of collapsing.
Weights had to be installed on the other side to offset it.
And this isn’t the only way that the Tower has come close to destruction…
During World War Two, the US suspected that the Tower could be being used as a Nazi observation
post and prepared to destroy it entirely.
23-year-old Leon Weckstein was ordered to get as close as possible to the Tower, to
confirm the US army’s suspicions and give the order for the Allied forces to fire upon
it.
However Weckstein was transfixed by the beauty of the landmark and opted not to radio the
command to the waiting troops.
To this day, it’s never been established whether the Germans were actually inside.
NUMBER 3: MACHU PICCHU
In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors launched a ruthless campaign against the Inca
Empire, in order to establish their own colony in the Americas.
They burned Incan settlements to the ground, from Ecuador to Argentina, and decimated the
Inca population - largely through the intentional spread of deadly infectious diseases.
Remarkably, Machu Picchu, the most famous Inca citadel, escaped this trail of destruction.
First built as an estate for 15th century Inca emperor Pachacuti, today Machu Picchu
is the defining image of the Empire.
However, because of its location on top of Peru’s Huayna Picchu mountain, the settlement
isn’t visible from below.
As a result, the Spanish invaders never knew it was there, and it was able to survive completely
unscathed.
Bonus fact: Machu Picchu is amazingly earthquake proof, which is pretty handy seeing as Peru
is highly seismic.
The country is no stranger to major earthquakes, for example the 1746 event that flattened
the capital city of Lima.
Machu Picchu is specially protected against damage because Inca construction often included
mortar-free stone walls, that are able to move with the rhythm of the earthquake and
then resettle as if nothing had happened.
Sources: BBC, National Geographic, Peru Explorer.
NUMBER 2: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
Recognizable world-wide as a symbol of freedom and democracy, the Statue of Liberty was gifted
to the United States by France in 1886.
It stands 93 meters above the ground on Liberty Island, Manhattan.
When she was first created, Lady Liberty was a shiny copper orange color, but - within
just 20 years - she’d rusted to a blue-green color instead.
In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
A 1980 assessment - commissioned in preparation of the statue’s 100th anniversary - found
that it was totally rusted through in a number of places, particularly in her torch and crown.
This assessment also found that her arm had been incorrectly attached - a joint was off
by 50 centimeters and an extra beam had to be slotted in to crudely fill the gap.
During World War One, this entire arm almost came crashing to the ground.
In 1916, German agents destroyed an American munitions ship nearby.
This caused an explosion equivalent to a 5 magnitude earthquake, which loosened Lady
Liberty’s arm even more.
Since then, Liberty’s torch has been closed off to the public, as the risk of the arm
falling is just too high.
NUMBER 1: THE EIFFEL TOWER
The Eiffel Tower was initially constructed in the late 19th century to celebrate the
centenary of the 1789 French Revolution.
Today, it attracts over 7 million visitors a year - more than any other paid tourist
attraction in the world.
However, it was only initially intended as a temporary installation - the original plan
was to demolish it in 1909 and sell it off for scrap metal.
But what saved it in the end?
Its status as an iconic landmark and tourist attraction?
Nah... city officials realized it was valuable as a radiotelegraph station and decided to
keep it for that purpose.
During World War I, antennas installed on the tower intercepted enemy radio communications
and were used to send messages dispatching emergency troop reinforcements.
Recognizing its value to the Allied Forces in the Second World War, Hitler ordered the
demolition of the Tower.
German general Dietrich von Choltitz, secretly working against the Nazi dictator, ensured
that this order was not carried out.
So that was 10 Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed - I hope you found this video
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If you fancy something similar, check out 10 Places That Will Disappear In Your Lifetime.

10 Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

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