To be precise, Big Ben has never been fully "destroyed," though the tower and the bell have faced several significant close calls throughout history. The original Palace of Westminster was destroyed by a massive fire in 1834, which cleared the way for the current "Elizabeth Tower" to be built. During the 1941 Blitz of World War II, a German bomb struck the top of the tower, damaging the ornate roof and shattering the glass on two of the clock faces, but the clockwork mechanism and the Great Bell (Big Ben itself) remarkably continued to chime. In popular culture, the tower is "destroyed" almost every year; in the 2017 film Sharknado 5 and various disaster movies like Independence Day, it is a favorite target for special effects. In reality, the most "damage" it has seen recently was during the Great Restoration (2017–2022), where the tower was encased in scaffolding for five years to repair structural decay. By 2026, the tower stands fully restored and remains one of the most resilient symbols of London’s architectural heritage.