The Monument

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In September 1666 a devastating inferno ravaged London for an entire three days, leaving thousands of buildings in ruins. A lasting tribute to the disaster was erected one block from the location of this year's 3D print show, precisely 348 years after the blaze was finally extinguished. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the show this year, but if you do make it, you'll have the opportunity to climb the 311 steps inside the tower on a cantilevered staircase all the way up to the viewing platform. Alternatively, you could simply create one using a 3D printer and admire it from afar. As part of the rebuilding efforts, it was decided to construct a permanent memorial to commemorate the Great Fire near its point of origin. Sir Christopher Wren, the Surveyor General to King Charles II and renowned architect of St. Paul's Cathedral, along with his friend and colleague Dr Robert Hooke, designed a colossal Doric column in the antique tradition as a lasting tribute. Their plans called for a 61-metre-tall (202 feet) column featuring a cantilevered stone staircase with 311 steps leading up to a viewing platform. The structure was topped off with a drum and a copper urn from which flames would emerge, symbolizing the Great Fire.