The Monument

To commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, this column was erected.  It's certainly not a world-known structure, but it is very important to the history of London.  Possibly 70,000 out of the 80,000 homes inside the city walls were destroyed over those four days.

That percentage of loss reminds me in some ways of the numerous small towns that have been impacted just as heavily by tornadoes over the years here in the states (Manchester, SD in 2003; Greensburg, KS in 2007; Picher, OK in 2008; Hackleburg, AL in 2011).  Some have chosen to rebuild (Greensburg, Hackleburg), some have not (Manchester, Picher).