Photo: nbcnews
This month marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London that lasted for 5 days, causing immeasurable amounts of damage to the city and its inhabitants. Luckily, according to reports, there were very few casualties from the fires, but the toll it took on the city was devastating, leaving as many as 500,000 people homeless.
What better way to commemorate the destruction of the fire than to create a 360 foot wooden model of the London Skyline and set it ablaze on a barge floating on the Thames River. That’s exactly what took place earlier this month and it was broadcast live for all to see. The wooden model was built, and very well I might add, by artist David Best with help from Artichoke, a London-based company known for creating large artistic events. David Best is a sculptor that has made a name for himself with massive creations for the Burning Man Festivals that get burnt down at the closing of the event, so watching his work destroyed is nothing new for him. But considering the size of this London skyline, we have to assume it was a little painful because that thing had to take weeks to build.
Photo: theukbulletin
Photo: amusingplanet
Here’s a short video of the enormous structure fully engulfed, but if you’d like to watch the full 50 minutes of coverage that goes into more detail we will include that below as well. If you’d like to learn more about the Great Fire of London you can go here.
For size comparison, workers hauling one of the many different pieces.
Photo: mashable