With 41 floors , the tower is 180 metres ( 591 ft ) tall and stands on a street called St. Mary Axe , on the former site of the Baltic Exchange , which was extensively damaged in 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA .
It is on the site of the former Baltic Exchange , which was badly damaged in 1992 by the explosion of a bomb by the Provisional IRA .