View source for The Crystal Palace

{{other|Crystal Palace (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Glasshouse for the 1851 Great Exhibition}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = The Crystal Palace
| former_names     = 
| alternate_names  = 
| status           = Destroyed
| image            = Crystal Palace General view from Water Temple.jpg
| image_alt        = 
| caption          = The Crystal Palace at Sydenham (1854)
| address          = 
| location_town    = London
| location_country = United Kingdom
| coordinates      = {{coord|51.4226|-0.0756|display=inline,title}}
| start_date       = 
| completion_date  = {{Start date and age|1851}}
| inauguration_date = 
| demolition_date  = 
| destruction_date = {{End date and age|1936|11|30|df=yes}}
| architect        = [[Joseph Paxton]]
| cost             = £80,000
| altitude         = 
| building_type    = Exhibition palace
| architectural_style = [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]]
| structural_system = 
| ren_cost         = 
| renovation_date  = 
| antenna_spire    = 
| other_dimensions = 
| seating_type     = 
| seating_capacity = 
| elevator_count   = 
| architecture_firm = 
| services_engineer = 
| civil_engineer   = 
| other_designers  = 
| quantity_surveyor = 
| main_contractor  = 
| ren_architect    = 
| ren_firm         = 
| ren_str_engineer = 
| ren_serv_engineer = 
| ren_civ_engineer = 
| ren_oth_designers = 
| ren_qty_surveyor = 
| map_size         = 300
}}

'''The Crystal Palace''' was a [[cast iron]] and [[plate glass]] structure, originally built in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], London, to house the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its {{convert|990000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Designed by [[Joseph Paxton]], the Great Exhibition building was {{convert|1851|ft|m|0}} long, with an interior height of {{convert|128|ft|m|0}},<ref name="oregon">{{cite web |url=http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~struct/resources/case_studies/case_studies_simplebeams/paxton_palace/paxton_palace.html |title=The Crystal Palace of Hyde Park |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312125040/http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~struct/resources/case_studies/case_studies_simplebeams/paxton_palace/paxton_palace.html |archive-date=12 March 2012}}</ref> and was three times the size of [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite book |editor=James Harrison |title=Children's Encyclopedia of British History |year=1996 |publisher=Kingfisher Publications |location=London |isbn=0-7534-0299-8 |page=131 |chapter=Imperial Britain}}</ref>

The 293,000 panes of glass were manufactured by [[Chance Brothers]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chance |first1=Tom |title=The Crystal Palace's glass |url=http://tomchance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Glazing_the_Crystal_Palace.pdf |access-date=31 March 2023}}</ref> The 990,000-square-foot building with its 128-foot-high ceiling was completed in thirty-nine weeks. The Crystal Palace boasted the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building. It astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights.

It has been suggested that the name of the building resulted from a piece penned by the playwright [[Douglas William Jerrold|Douglas Jerrold]], who in July 1850 wrote in the satirical magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' about the forthcoming Great Exhibition, referring to a "palace of very crystal".<ref>The ''Punch'' issue of 13 July 1850 carried a contribution by Douglas Jerrold, writing as Mrs Amelia Mouser, which referred to a ''palace of very crystal''. {{cite book |title=Douglas Jerrold |author=Michael Slater |publisher=Duckworth |year=2002 |isbn=0-7156-2824-0 |page=243 |location=London}} In fact the term "Crystal Palace" itself is used seven times in the same issue of ''Punch'' (pages iii. iv, 154, 183 (twice), 214 (twice) and 224. It seems clear, however, that the term was already in use and did not need much explanation. Other sources refer to the 2 November 1850 ''Punch'' issue bestowing the "Crystal Palace" name on the design by {{cite book |title=Nineteenth-Century European Art: A Topical Dictionary |author=Terry Strieter |isbn=0-313-29898-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur0000stri/page/50 50] |year=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |url=https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur0000stri/page/50 }} (And {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2004/08/10/cp_dinosaur_feature.shtml |title=Crystal Palace |quote=The term 'Crystal Palace' was first applied to Paxton's building by Punch in its issue of 2 November 1850 |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 November 2007 }}.) ''Punch'' had originally sided with ''[[The Times]]'' against the exhibition committee's proposal of a fixed brick structure, but featured the Crystal Palace heavily throughout 1851 (for example in {{cite web |title=Punch Issue 502 |url=http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/luceneweb/hri3/display.jsp?mode=sciper&file=PU1-20.html&reveal=issue_PU1-20-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420155504/http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/luceneweb/hri3/display.jsp?mode=sciper&file=PU1-20.html&reveal=issue_PU1-20-17 |archive-date=20 April 2006 }} included the article "Travels into the Interior of the Crystal Palace" of February 1851). Any earlier name has been lost, according to {{cite web |year=2003 |title=Everything2 ''Crystal Palace'' Exhibition Building Design #251 |url=http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Crystal%20Palace }}. The use by Mrs Mouser was picked up by a reference in [[The Leader (English newspaper)|''The Leader'']], no. 17, 20 July 1850 (p. 1): "In more than one country we notice active preparations for sending inanimate representatives of trade and industry to take up their abode in the crystal palace which Mr. Paxton is to build for the Exposition of 1851." Source: [http://britishperiodicals.chadwyck.co.uk British Periodicals database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908055919/http://britishperiodicals.chadwyck.co.uk/ |date=8 September 2008 }} or [http://ncse-viewpoint.cch.kcl.ac.uk/ Nineteenth Century Serials Edition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417051842/http://ncse-viewpoint.cch.kcl.ac.uk/ |date=17 April 2009 }}</ref>

After the exhibition, the Palace was relocated to an open area of [[South London]] known as Penge Place which had been excised from [[Penge Common]]. It was rebuilt at the top of Penge Peak next to [[Sydenham Hill]], an affluent suburb of large villas. It stood there from June 1854 until its destruction by fire in November 1936. The nearby residential area was renamed [[Crystal Palace, London|Crystal Palace]] after the landmark. This included the [[Crystal Palace Park]] that surrounds the site, home of the [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre]], which was previously a football stadium that hosted the [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre#Football|FA Cup Final]] between 1895 and 1914. [[Crystal Palace F.C.]] were founded at the site and played at the Cup Final venue in their early years. The park still contains [[Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins]]'s [[Crystal Palace Dinosaurs]] which date back to 1854.

==Original Hyde Park building==

===Conception===
[[File:Crystal Palace.PNG|thumb|right|300px|The transept façade of the original Crystal Palace]]
[[File:The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for Grand International Exhibition of 1851.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for the Grand International Exhibition of 1851]]

The huge, modular, iron, wood and glass,<ref>{{cite book |isbn=0-485-11575-1 |year=2002 |author=Hermione Hobhouse |title=The Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations |pages=34, 36 |quote=It was essentially a [[Modular building|modular]] building of iron, wood and glass, built of components which were meant to be recyclable. |publisher=Athlone |location=London}} The [[prefabricated]] parts were constructed in the manufacture's ironworks and sawmills (p. 36).</ref> structure was originally erected in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in London to house the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851, which showcased the products of many countries throughout the world.<ref name="dukemag">{{cite web |url=http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/111206/depgal2.html |title=The Great Exhibition of 1851 |access-date=30 July 2007 |work=Duke Magazine |date=November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907021422/http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/111206/depgal2.html |archive-date=7 September 2007}}</ref> The commission in charge of mounting the Great Exhibition was established in January 1850, and it was decided at the outset that the entire project would be funded by public subscription. An executive building committee was quickly formed to oversee the design and construction of the exhibition building, comprising accomplished engineers [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] and [[Robert Stephenson]], renowned architects [[Charles Barry]] and [[Thomas Leverton Donaldson]], and chaired by [[William Cubitt]]. By 15 March 1850 they were ready to invite submissions which had to conform to several key specifications: the building had to be temporary, simple, as cheap as possible, and economical to build within the short time remaining before the exhibition opening, which had already been scheduled for 1 May 1851.<ref name="Kate Colquhoun 2004">Kate Colquhoun, ''A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton'' ([[HarperCollins]], 2004), Ch. 16</ref>

Within three weeks, the committee had received some 245 entries, including 38 international submissions from Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]], Switzerland, [[Duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]], Hamburg and [[French Second Republic|France]]. Two designs, both in iron and glass, were singled out for praise—one by [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]], co-designer of the [[Palm House, Kew Gardens]], and the other by French architect Hector Horeau<ref name="hrh">{{cite book |title=Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries |author=Henry-Russell Hitchcock |year=1977 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-056115-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/architecturenine00hitc/page/184 184] |url=https://archive.org/details/architecturenine00hitc/page/184 |author-link=Henry-Russell Hitchcock}}</ref> but despite the great number of submissions, the committee rejected them all. Turner was furious at the rejection and reportedly badgered the commissioners for months afterwards, seeking compensation, but at an estimated £300,000, his design (like Horeau's) was too expensive.<ref>Kate Colquhoun, ''A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton'' (HarperCollins, 2004)</ref>

As a last resort, the committee came up with a standby design of its own, for a brick building in the ''[[rundbogenstil]]'' (round-arch style) by Donaldson, featuring a sheet-iron dome designed by Tunnel,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victorianweb.org/history/1851/7.html |title=The Committee's design for a structure to house the Great Exhibition. |website=www.victorianweb.org}}</ref> but it was widely criticized and ridiculed when it was published in the newspapers.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/history-of-the-crystal-palace-part-1 |title=History of the Crystal Palace (part 1) |author=Jeremy Walker |publisher=Crystal Palace Foundation}}</ref> Adding to the committee's woes, the site for the exhibition was still not confirmed. The preferred site was in Hyde Park, adjacent to Princes Gate near Pennington Road, but other sites considered included [[Wormwood Scrubs]], [[Battersea Park]], the [[Isle of Dogs]], [[Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets|Victoria Park]], and [[Regent's Park]].<ref name="Kate Colquhoun 2004" />

Opponents of the scheme lobbied strenuously against the use of Hyde Park (and they were strongly supported by ''[[The Times]]''). The most outspoken critic was [[Charles Sibthorp]]; he denounced the exhibition as "one of the greatest humbugs, frauds and absurdities ever known,"<ref name="Kate Colquhoun 2004" /> and his trenchant opposition to both the exhibition and its building continued even after it had closed.

[[File:Gtexhib.jpg|thumb|Joseph Paxton's first sketch for the Great Exhibition Building, {{Circa|1850}}, using pen and ink on blotting paper; [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]]]

At this point, renowned gardener [[Joseph Paxton]] became interested in the project, and with the enthusiastic backing of commission member [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]], he decided to submit his own design. At this time, Paxton was chiefly known for his celebrated career as the head gardener for the [[William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire|Duke of Devonshire]] at [[Chatsworth House]]. By 1850, Paxton had become a preeminent figure in British horticulture and had also earned great renown as a freelance garden designer; his works included the pioneering public gardens at [[Birkenhead Park]] which directly influenced the [[Frederick Law Olmsted#New York City's Central Park|design of New York's Central Park]].<ref name="The Great Stove, Chatsworth">{{cite web |url=http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/iron/21b.html |title=The Great Stove, Chatsworth |website=www.victorianweb.org}}</ref>

At Chatsworth, he had experimented extensively with glasshouse construction, developing many novel techniques for modular construction, using combinations of standard-sized sheets of glass, [[Engineered wood|laminated wood]], and prefabricated cast iron. The "Great Stove" (or conservatory) at Chatsworth (built in 1836) was the first major application of his ridge-and-furrow roof design and was at the time the largest glass building in the world, covering around {{convert|28000|ft2}}.<ref name="The Great Stove, Chatsworth"/>

A decade later, taking advantage of the availability of the new cast [[plate glass]], Paxton further developed his techniques with the Chatsworth Lily House, which featured a flat-roof version of the ridge-and-furrow glazing, and a [[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain wall]] system that allowed the hanging of vertical bays of glass from cantilevered beams.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=725 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203626/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=725 |url-status=dead |title=Engineering Timelines – Chatsworth Conservatory and Lily House, site of |archive-date=4 March 2016 |website=www.engineering-timelines.com}}</ref> The Lily House was built specifically to house the ''[[Victoria amazonica]]'' waterlily which had recently been discovered by European botanists; the first specimen to reach England was originally kept at [[Kew Gardens]], but it did not do well.<ref name=virtualherbarium>{{Cite web |last=Davit |first=Jennifer |year=2007 |title=Victoria: The Reigning Queen of Waterlilies |website=Virtual Herbarium |publisher=Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden |url=http://www.virtualherbarium.org/gardenviews/victoriaamazonica.html}}</ref> Paxton's reputation as a gardener was so high by that time that he was invited to take the lily to Chatsworth. It thrived under his care, and in 1849 he caused a sensation in the horticultural world when he succeeded in producing the first ''amazonica'' flowers to be grown in England. His daughter Alice was drawn for the newspapers, standing on one of the leaves. The lily and its house led directly to Paxton's design for the Crystal Palace. He later cited the huge ribbed floating leaves as a key inspiration.<ref name=virtualherbarium/>

[[File:Perth, Scotland (8924353983).jpg|thumb|right|An 1864 [[statue of Albert, Prince Consort, North Inch|Statue of Albert, Prince Consort]], holding a plan of the Crystal Palace]]

Paxton left his meeting with Cole on 9 June 1850 fired with enthusiasm. He immediately went to Hyde Park, where he walked the site earmarked for the Exhibition. Two days later on 11 June, while attending a board meeting of the [[Midland Railway]], Paxton made his original concept drawing, which he doodled onto a sheet of pink [[blotting paper]]. This rough sketch (now in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]) incorporated all the basic features of the finished building, and it is a mark of Paxton's ingenuity and industriousness that detailed plans, calculations and costings were ready to submit in less than two weeks. (The [[Statue of Albert, Prince Consort, North Inch|statue of Albert, Prince Consort]], in [[Perth, Scotland]], was sculpted with the subject holding a plan of the Crystal Palace. The statue was unveiled by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1864.<ref name=hes>[https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB39336 Albert, Prince Consort, Statue To, North Inch] – [[Historic Environment Scotland]]</ref>)

The project was a major gamble for Paxton, but circumstances were in his favour: he enjoyed a stellar reputation as a garden designer and builder, he was confident that his design was perfectly suited to the brief, and the commission was under pressure to choose a design and get it built, with the exhibition opening less than a year away. In the event, Paxton's design fulfilled and surpassed all the requirements, and it proved to be vastly faster and cheaper to build than any other form of building of a comparable size. His submission was budgeted at a remarkably low £85,800. By comparison, this was about {{frac|2|1|2}} times more than the Great Stove at Chatsworth<ref>"Paxton and the Great Stove", ''Architectural History'', Vol. 4, (1961), pp. 77–92</ref> but it was only 28% of the estimated cost of Turner's design, and it promised a building which, with a footprint of over {{convert|770000|ft2|acre ha}}, would cover roughly 25 times the ground area of its progenitor.

Impressed by the low bid for the construction contract submitted by the civil engineering contractor [[Charles Fox (engineer, born 1810)|Fox, Henderson and Co]], the commission accepted the scheme and gave its public endorsement to Paxton's design in July 1850. He was exultant but now had less than eight months to finalize his plans, manufacture the parts and erect the building in time for the exhibition's opening, which was scheduled for 1 May 1851. Paxton was able to design and build the largest glass structure yet created, from scratch, in less than a year, and complete it on schedule and on budget.

He was even able to alter the design shortly before building began, adding a high, barrel-vaulted [[transept]] across the centre of the building, at 90 degrees to the main gallery, under which he was able to safely enclose several large elm trees that would otherwise have had to be felled—thereby also resolving a controversial issue that had been a major sticking point for the vocal anti-exhibition lobby.

=== Design ===
[[File:Crystal.Palace.Paxton.Plan.jpg|thumb|The partial front (left) and rear (right) elevations of the Crystal Palace]]

Paxton's modular, hierarchical design reflected his practical brilliance as a designer and problem-solver. It incorporated many breakthroughs, offered practical advantages that no conventional building of that era could match and, above all, it embodied the spirit of British innovation and industrial might that the Great Exhibition was intended to celebrate.

The geometry of the Crystal Palace was a classic example of the concept of form following manufacturer's limitations: the shape and size of the whole building was directly based around the size of the panes of glass made by the supplier, [[Chance Brothers]] of [[Smethwick]]. These were the largest available at the time, measuring {{convert|10|in|cm}} wide by {{convert|49|in|cm}} long.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archdaily.com/397949/ad-classic-the-crystal-palace-joseph-paxton|title=AD Classics: The Crystal Palace / Joseph Paxton|date=5 July 2013|website=ArchDaily}}</ref> Because the entire building was scaled around those dimensions, it meant that nearly the whole outer surface could be glazed using hundreds of thousands of identical panes, thereby drastically reducing both their production cost and the time needed to install them.

The original Hyde Park building was essentially a vast, flat-roofed rectangular hall. A huge open gallery ran along the main axis, with wings extending down either side. The main exhibition space was two stories high, with the upper floor stepped in from the boundary. Most of the building had a flat-profile roof, except for the central transept, which was covered by a {{convert|72|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} barrel-vaulted roof that stood {{convert|168|ft}} high at the top of the arch. Both the flat-profile sections and the arched transept roof were constructed using the key element of Paxton's design: his patented ridge-and-furrow roofing system, which had first seen use at Chatsworth. The basic roofing unit, in essence, took the form of a long triangular prism, which made it both extremely light and very strong, and meant it could be built with the minimum amount of materials.

Paxton set the dimensions of this prism by using the length of single pane of glass ({{convert|49|in|cm}}) as the [[hypotenuse]] of a right-angled triangle, thereby creating a triangle with a length-to-height ratio of 2.5:1, whose base (adjacent side) was {{convert|4|ft}} long. By mirroring this triangle he obtained the {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} gables that formed the vertical faces at either end of the prism, each of which was {{convert|24|ft}} long. With this arrangement, Paxton could glaze the entire roof surface with identical panes that did not need to be trimmed. Paxton placed three of these {{convert|8|ft}} by {{convert|24|ft}} roof units side-by-side, horizontally supported by a grid of cast iron beams, which was held up on slim cast iron pillars. The resulting cube, with a floor area of {{convert|24|ft}} by {{convert|24|ft}}, formed the basic structural module of the building.

By multiplying these modules into a grid, the structure could be extended virtually indefinitely. In its original form, the ground level of the Crystal Palace (in plan) measured {{convert|1848|ft}} by {{convert|456|ft}}, which equates to a grid 77 modules long by 19 modules wide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/london/model/geo.html |title=water |website=www2.iath.virginia.edu}}</ref> As each module was self-supporting, Paxton was able to leave out modules in some areas, creating larger square or rectangular spaces within the building to accommodate larger exhibits. On the lower level, these larger spaces were covered by the floor above, and on the upper level by longer spans of roofing, but the dimensions of these larger spaces were always multiples of the basic {{convert|24|ft}} by {{convert|24|ft}} grid unit.

The modules were also strong enough to be stacked vertically, enabling Paxton to add an upper floor that nearly doubled the amount of available exhibition space. The first floor galleries were double the height of the ground floor galleries below, and the Crystal Palace could theoretically have accommodated a full second-floor gallery, but this space was left open. Paxton also used longer trellis girders to create a clear span for the roof of the immense central gallery, which was {{convert|72|ft}} wide and {{convert|1800|ft}} long.

[[File:Crystal Palace - plan.jpg|thumb|380px|The plan of the Crystal Palace]]

Paxton's roofing system incorporated his elegant solution to the problem of draining the building's vast roof area. Like the Chatsworth Lily House (but different to its later incarnation at Sydenham Hill), most of the roof of the original Hyde Park structure had a horizontal profile, so heavy rain posed a potentially serious safety hazard. Because normal cast glass is brittle and has low tensile strength, there was a risk that the weight of any excess water build-up on the roof might have caused panes to shatter, showering shards of glass onto the patrons, ruining the valuable exhibits beneath, and weakening the structure.

Paxton's ridge-and-furrow roof was designed to shed water very effectively. Rain ran off the angled glass roof panes into U-shaped timber<ref>Bill Addis "The Crystal Palace and its place in Structural History" International Journal of Space Structures, March 2006, p. 7</ref> channels which ran the length of each roof section at the bottom of the 'furrow'. These channels were ingeniously multifunctional. During construction, they served as the rails that supported and guided the trolleys on which the glaziers sat as they installed the roofing. Once completed, the channels acted both as the joists that supported the roof sections, and as guttering—a patented design now widely known as a "[[Rain gutter|Paxton gutter]]".

These gutters conducted the rainwater to the ends of each furrow, where they emptied into the larger main gutters, which were set at right angles to the smaller gutters, along the top of the main horizontal roof beams. These main gutters drained at either end into the cast iron columns, which also had an ingenious dual function: each was cast with a hollow core, allowing it to double as a concealed down-pipe that carried the storm-water down into the drains beneath the building. One of the few issues Paxton could not completely solve was leaks—when completed, rain was found to be leaking into the huge building in over a thousand places. The leaks were sealed with putty, but the relatively poor quality of the sealant materials available at that time meant that the problem was never totally overcome.

[[File:The Royal Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851.jpg|thumb|380px|''[[The Royal Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851]]'' by [[Henry Wyndham Phillips]]]]
To maintain a comfortable temperature inside such a large glass building was another major challenge, because the Great Exhibition took place decades before the introduction of electricity and air-conditioning. Glasshouses rely on the fact that they accumulate and retain heat from the sun, but such heat buildup would have been a major problem for the exhibition. This would have been exacerbated by the heat produced by the thousands of people who would be in the building at any given time.<ref name="bl.uk" /> Paxton solved this with two clever strategies. One was to install external canvas shade-cloths that were stretched across the roof ridges. These served multiple functions: they reduced heat transmission, moderated and softened the light coming into the building, and acted as a primitive evaporative cooling system when water was sprayed onto them. The other part of the solution was Paxton's ingenious ventilation system. Each of the modules that formed the outer walls of the building was fitted with a prefabricated set of louvres that could be opened and closed using a gear mechanism, allowing hot stale air to escape. The flooring consisted of boards {{convert|22|cm|in}} wide which were spaced about {{convert|1|cm|in}} apart; together with the louvres, this formed an effective passive air-conditioning system. Because of the pressure differential, the hot air escaping from the louvres generated a constant airflow that drew cooler air up through the gaps in the floor.<ref name="bl.uk" />

The floor too had a dual function: the gaps between the boards acted as a grating that allowed dust and small pieces of refuse to fall or be swept through them onto the ground beneath, where it was collected daily by a team of cleaning boys. Paxton also designed machines to sweep the floors at the end of each day. But in practice, it was found that the trailing skirts of the female visitors did the job well.<ref name="bl.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item106135.html |title=Sketch for the Crystal Palace |website=www.bl.uk |access-date=31 October 2012 |archive-date=2 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102211759/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item106135.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Thanks to the considerable economies of scale Paxton was able to exploit, the manufacture and assembly of the building parts was exceedingly quick and cheap. Each module was identical, fully prefabricated, self-supporting, and fast and easy to erect. All of the parts could be mass-produced in large numbers, and many parts served multiple functions, further reducing both the number of parts needed and their overall cost. Because of its comparatively low weight, the Crystal Palace required no heavy masonry for supporting walls or foundations. The relatively light concrete footings on which it stood could be left in the ground once the building was removed (they remain in place today just beneath the surface of the site). The modules could be erected as quickly as the parts could reach the site—some sections were standing within eighteen hours of leaving the factory—and since each unit was self-supporting, workers were able to assemble much of the building section-by-section, without having to wait for other parts to be finished.

=== Construction ===
[[File:Crystal Palace - interior.jpg|thumb|The interior of the Crystal Palace]]
Fox, Henderson and Co took possession of the site in July 1850, and erected wooden hoardings which were constructed using the timber that later became the floorboards of the finished building. More than 5,000 [[Navvy|navvies]] worked on the building during its construction, with up to 2,000 on site at one time during the peak building phase.<ref>For the peak figure of 2,000 workers daily see: {{cite book |isbn=0-485-11575-1 |title=The Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition |page=34 |author=Hermione Hobhouse. |year=2002 |publisher=Athlone |location=London}} and the University of Virginia's {{cite web |url=http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/allcach2k/Programme/session1.html |title=Modeling the Crystal Palace |year=2001 |access-date=21 November 2007 |archive-date=22 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122082037/http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/allcach2k/Programme/session1.html |url-status=dead }} project: {{cite web |url=http://www.iath.virginia.edu/london/model/animation.html |title=''The Crystal Palace Animation'' Exterior and Interior |access-date=20 November 2007 |archive-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124172010/http://www.iath.virginia.edu/london/model/animation.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> More than 1,000 iron columns supported 2,224 trellis girders and 30 miles of guttering, comprising 4,000 tons of iron in all.<ref name="bl.uk" />

Firstly stakes were driven into the ground to roughly mark out the positions for the cast iron columns; these points were then set precisely by [[theodolite]] measurements. Then the concrete foundations were poured, and the base plates for the columns were set into them. Once the foundations were in place, the erection of the modules proceeded rapidly. Connector brackets were attached to the top of each column before erection, and these were then hoisted into position.

The project took place before the development of powered [[Crane (machine)|cranes]]; the raising of the columns was done manually using [[shear legs]] (or shears), a simple crane mechanism. These consisted of two strong poles which were set several meters apart at the base and then lashed together at the top to form a triangle; this was stabilized and kept vertical by guy ropes fixed to the apex, stretched taut and tied to stakes driven into the ground some distance away. Using pulleys and ropes hung from the apex of the shear, the navvies hoisted the columns, girders and other parts into place.

As soon as two adjacent columns had been erected, a girder was hoisted into place between them and bolted onto the connectors. The columns were erected in opposite pairs, then two more girders were connected to form a self-supporting square—this was the basic frame of each module. The shears would then be moved along and an adjoining bay constructed. When a reasonable number of bays had been completed, the columns for the upper floor were erected (longer shear-legs were used for this, but the operation was essentially the same as for the ground floor). Once the ground floor structure was complete, the final assembly of the upper floor followed rapidly.

For the glazing, Paxton used larger versions of machines he had originally devised for the Great Stove at Chatsworth, installing on-site [[production line]] systems, powered by steam engines, that dressed and finished the building parts. These included a machine that mechanically grooved the wooden window sash bars and a painting machine that automatically dipped the parts in paint and then passed them through a series of rotating brushes to remove the excess.
[[File:Crystal Palace Great Exhibition tree 1851.png|thumb|A tree enclosed within the Crystal Palace]]

The last major components to be put into place were the 16 semi-circular ribs of the vaulted transept, which were the only major structural parts that were made of wood. These were raised into position as eight pairs, and all were fixed into place within a week. Thanks to the simplicity of Paxton's design and the combined efficiency of the building contractor and their suppliers, the entire structure was assembled with extraordinary speed: a team of 80 men could fix more than 18,000 panes of sheet glass in a week,<ref name="bl.uk" /> and the building was completed and ready to receive exhibits in just five months.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

According to a study by John Gardner of [[Anglia Ruskin University]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/people/john-gardner | title=Professor John Gardner - ARU }}</ref> published in The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology,<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/17581206.2024.2391984 | title=Thread form at the Crystal Palace | date=2024 | last1=Gardner | first1=John | last2=Kiss | first2=Ken | journal=The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology | volume=95 | pages=43–58 | doi-access=free }}</ref>the speed of the erection work was thanks to the use, for the first time, of nuts and bolts made to what was later to be known as the [[British Standard Whitworth]] (BSW), when up to that time nuts and bolts were made individually, and could not be interchanged.

When completed, the Crystal Palace provided an unrivalled space for exhibits, since it was essentially a self-supporting shell standing on slim iron columns, with no internal structural walls whatsoever. Because it was covered almost entirely in glass, it also needed no artificial lighting during the day, thereby reducing the exhibition's running costs.

Full-size elm trees growing in the park were enclosed within the central exhibition hall near the {{convert|27|ft|m|0|adj=on}} tall Crystal Fountain. However this caused a problem with [[Old World sparrow|sparrows]] becoming a nuisance, and shooting was out of the question inside a glass building. [[Queen Victoria]] mentioned this problem to the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], who offered the solution, "[[Eurasian sparrowhawk|Sparrowhawks]], Ma'am".

[[File:The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851.jpg|thumb|''[[The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria]]'' by [[Henry Courtney Selous]], 1852]]
Paxton was acclaimed worldwide for his achievement and was knighted by Queen Victoria in recognition of his work. The project was engineered by [[William Cubitt]]; Paxton's construction partner was the ironwork contractor Fox and Henderson, whose director [[Charles Fox (engineer, born 1810)|Charles Fox]] was also knighted for his contribution. The 900,000 square feet (84,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>) of glass was provided by the [[Chance’s Glassworks|Chance Brothers glassworks]] in Smethwick. This was the only glassworks capable of fulfilling such a large order; it had to bring in labour from the [[Saint-Gobain]] glassworks in France to fulfil the order in time.<!--(The [[Hyde Park, London#Poem|Hyde Park]] article features a poem written about this construction.)--> The final dimensions were {{convert|1848|ft|m}} long by {{convert|456|ft|m}} wide. The building was {{convert|135|ft|m}} high, with {{convert|772784|sqft|m2}} on the ground floor alone.<ref>Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, and Barbara H. Rosenwein, ''The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures''. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. p. 685.</ref>

== Great Exhibition ==
[[File:Crystal Palace - Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition.jpg|thumb|[[Queen Victoria]] opens the Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851.]]
[[File:Crystal.Palace.1851.png|thumb|[[Anaglyph 3D|Anaglyphic image]] made from an 1851 [[stereoscopy|stereoscopic]] [[daguerreotype]] of the Crystal Palace]]The [[Great Exhibition]] was opened on 1 May 1851 by Queen Victoria. It was the first of the [[World's fair]] exhibitions of culture and industry. There were some 100,000 objects, displayed along more than ten miles, by over 15,000 contributors.<ref name="british library">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/exhibition/greatexhibition.html |title=The Great Exhibition |work=The British Library}}</ref> Britain occupied half the display space inside with exhibits from the home country and the empire. France was the largest foreign contributor. The exhibits were grouped into four main categories—Raw Materials, Machinery, Manufacturers and Fine Arts. The exhibits ranged from the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond, [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres porcelain]], and [[Organ (music)|music organs]] to a massive hydraulic press, and a fire engine. There was also a 27-foot tall Crystal Fountain.

In the first week, the prices were £1; they were then reduced to five shillings for the next three weeks, a price which still effectively limited entrance to middle-class and aristocratic visitors. The working classes finally came to the exhibition on 26 May, when weekday prices were reduced to one shilling (although the price was two shillings and sixpence on Fridays, and still five shillings on Saturdays).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJdDAAAAcAAJ&q=%22exhibition+of+1851%22&pg=PA85 |title=... Report of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 |last=Exhibition |first=Great |date=1 January 1852 |publisher=Spicer}}</ref> Over six million admissions were counted at the toll-gates, although the proportion which were repeat/returning visitors is not known. The event made a surplus of £186,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|186000|1851|r=-4}}}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}<ref name="british library"/> money which was used to found the Victoria and Albert Museum, the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]] and the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in [[South Kensington]].

The Crystal Palace had the first major installation of [[public toilet]]s,<ref name="bounce">{{cite book |title=Why does a ball bounce?: 101 questions you never thought of asking |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Hart-Davis |publisher=Firefly Books |date=3 October 2005 |isbn=978-1-55407-113-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whydoesballbounc0000hart/page/59 59] |chapter=25. Where does "spend a penny" come from? |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/whydoesballbounc0000hart/page/59}}</ref> the ''Retiring Rooms'', in which [[Sanitary engineering|sanitary engineer]] [[George Jennings]] installed his [[Flush toilet#Industrial_production|"Monkey Closet" flushing lavatory]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Now You Know Big Book of Answers |volume=2 |first=Doug |last=Lennox |publisher=Dundurn |date=2 September 2008 |isbn=978-1-55002-871-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/nowyouknowbigboo0000lenn/page/242 242] |chapter=Where is an Englishman going when he's going to "spend a penny"? |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/nowyouknowbigboo0000lenn/page/242}}</ref> (initially just for men but later catering for women also).<ref>{{cite book |title=Inclusive urban design: public toilets |first=Clara |last=Greed |publisher=[[University of British Columbia Press]] |date=August 2003 |isbn=978-0-7506-5385-5 |edition=first |page=42 |chapter=The emergence of modern public toilets |quote=Apparently, public provision was not initially provided for women, only men, and a meeting of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts), the [1851 Great Exhibition] organising body, was hurriedly convened to provide more}}</ref> During the exhibition, 827,280 visitors each paid one penny to use them. It is often suggested that the euphemism "[[Penny#Idioms|spending a penny]]" originated at the exhibition,<ref name="Thunder">{{cite book |oclc=37934946 |title=Thunder, flush, and Thomas Crapper: an encycloopedia |first=Adam |last=Hart-Davis |publisher=Trafalgar Square |date=28 February 2007 |isbn= 978-1-57076-081-5 |quote=public lavatories for men and women}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The culture of flushing: a social and legal history of sewage |first=Jamie |last=Benidickson |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |date=28 February 2007 |isbn=978-0-7748-1291-7 |page=90 |chapter=The Water Closet Revolution |quote=roughly 14 percent of the six million visitors to the exhibition demonstrated a willingness to 'spend a penny' for such amenities}}</ref> but the phrase is more likely to date from the 1890s when public lavatories, fitted with penny-coin-operated locks, were first established by British local authorities.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dirty old London: the Victorian fight against filth |last=Lee |first=Jackson |date=1 January 2014 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0300192056 |pages=164–165 |chapter=Chapter Seven: The Public Convenience |oclc=900610723}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Oxford dictionary of word origins |last=Cresswell |first=Julia |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780199547937 |pages=316–317 |oclc=823687465}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2014/10/07/dirty-old-london-30-days-filth-day-29/ |title=The Great Exhibition Toilet Myths |date=October 2014 |website=Yale University Press |access-date=5 May 2017}}</ref> The Great Exhibition closed on 15 October 1851.

<gallery heights="160" widths="160">
File:1851 Medal Crystal Palace World Expo London, obverse.jpg|1851 medal The Crystal Palace in London by Allen & Moore, obverse
File:1851 Medal Crystal Palace World Expo London, reverse.jpg|1851 medal The Crystal Palace in London by Allen & Moore, reverse
</gallery>

== Sydenham Hill ==
[[File:Kristallpalast Sydenham 1851 aussen.png|thumb|The Crystal Palace after its relocation to [[Sydenham Hill]] in 1854]]
[[File:Crystal Palace Park - 1857.jpg|right|thumb|A plan for the grounds of The Crystal Palace (1857)]]

=== Relocation and redesign ===
The life of the Great Exhibition was limited to six months, after which something had to be decided on the future of the Crystal Palace building. Against the wishes of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary]] opponents, a consortium of eight businessmen, including [[Samuel Laing (science writer)|Samuel Laing]] and [[Leo Schuster]], who were both board members of the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] (LB&SCR), formed a holding company and proposed that the edifice be taken down and relocated to a property named Penge Place, which had been excised from [[Penge Common]] at the top of [[Sydenham Hill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/default.asp?ID=10 |title=Crystal Palace history ''Leaving Hyde Park'' October 1851 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927144920/http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/default.asp?ID=10 |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref>

The reconstruction of the Crystal Palace began on Sydenham Hill in 1852. The new building, while incorporating most of the constructional parts of the original one at Hyde Park, was so completely different in form as to be properly considered a quite different structure – a '[[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-arts]]' form in glass and metal. The main gallery was redesigned and covered with a barrel-vaulted roof; the central transept was greatly enlarged and made even higher; the large arch of the main entrance was framed by a new facade and served by an imposing set of terraces and stairways. The building measured {{convert|1608|ft|m|0}} feet in length by {{convert|384|ft|m|0}} feet across the transepts.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Crystal Palace, The |volume=7 |page=591}}</ref>

The new building was elevated several metres above the surrounding grounds, and two large transepts were added at either end of the main gallery. It was modified and enlarged so much that it extended beyond the boundary of Penge Place, which was also the boundary between [[Surrey]] and [[Kent]]. The reconstruction was recorded for posterity by [[Philip Henry Delamotte]], and his photographs were widely disseminated in his published works. The Crystal Palace Company also commissioned [[Negretti and Zambra]] to produce [[Stereoscope|stereographs]] of the interior and grounds of the building.<ref>{{cite web |title=ULAN Full Record Display (Getty Research) |url=http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=%28%13%11negretti+%13%11and+%13%11zambra%29%7C%13%11negretti%11and%11zambra&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500033353 |website=www.getty.edu |access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> Within two years the rebuilt Crystal Palace was complete, and on 10 June 1854, Queen Victoria again performed an opening ceremony, in the presence of 40,000 guests.<ref name="Peter2015">{{cite book |author=Gurney, Peter |title=Wanting and Having: Popular politics and liberal consumerism in England, 1830–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT9uDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT222 |access-date=2 December 2017 |date=2015 |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5261-0181-5 |page=222}}</ref>

Several localities claim to be the area to which the building was moved. The street address of the Crystal Palace was Sydenham (SE26) after 1917, but the actual building and parklands were mostly in Penge with the eastern portion in Beckenham, Kent. When built, most of the buildings were in the County of Surrey, as were the majority of grounds, but in 1899 the county boundary was moved, transferring the entire site to [[Penge Urban District]] in Kent. The site is now within the [[Crystal Palace and Anerley (ward)|Crystal Palace & Anerley Ward]] of the [[London Borough of Bromley]].

Two railway stations were opened to serve the permanent exhibition:
*[[Crystal Palace (High Level) railway station|Crystal Palace High Level]]: developed by the [[London, Chatham and Dover Railway]], it was a building designed by [[Edward Middleton Barry]], from which a subway under the Parade led directly to the entrance.
*[[Crystal Palace railway station|Crystal Palace Low Level]]: developed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, it is located just off Anerley Road.

The Low Level station is still in use as {{stnlnk|Crystal Palace}}, while the only remains of the High Level station are the subway under the Parade with its Italian [[mosaic]] roofing, a Grade II* [[listed building]]. The South Gate is served by [[Penge West railway station]]. For some time this station was on an [[atmospheric railway]]. This is often confused with a 550-metre pneumatic passenger railway which was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1864, which was known as the [[Crystal Palace pneumatic railway]].

=== Exhibitions and events ===
[[File:Handel festival QE4 99.jpg|thumb|right|Händel Festival at the Crystal Palace, 1887–1889]]
Dozens of experts such as [[Matthew Digby Wyatt]] and [[Owen Jones (architect)|Owen Jones]] were hired to create a series of courts that provided a narrative of the history of fine art. Amongst these were [[Augustus Pugin]]'s Mediaeval Court from the Great Exhibition, as well as courts illustrating [[Art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian]], [[Alhambra]], [[Roman art|Roman]], [[Renaissance art|Renaissance]], [[Pompeii|Pompeian]], and [[Ancient Greek art|Grecian]] art and many others.<ref name="rebuilding"/>

During the year of re-opening, 18 handbooks were published in the Crystal Palace Library by [[Bradbury and Evans]] as guides to the new installations.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/open-again-1854-2 |title=Open Again, 1854 |publisher=The Crystal Palace Foundation}}</ref> Many of these were written by the specialists involved in creating and curating the new displays. So the 1854 guide to the Egyptian Court, destroyed in the 1866 fire,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walford |first1=Edward |title=Old and New London: Volume 6 Sydenham, Norwood and Streatham |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol6/pp303-319#p36 |website=British History Online |publisher=Sydenham, Norwood and Streatham |access-date=18 February 2023}}</ref> was entitled: 'The Egyptian Court in the Crystal Palace. Described by Owen Jones, architect, and [[Joseph Bonomi the Younger|Joseph Bonomi]], sculptor'. That which included a description of the dinosaurs was entitled: 'Geology and Inhabitants of the Ancient World. Described by [[Richard Owen]], FRS. The animals constructed by [[Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins|B.W. Hawkins]], FGS'.<ref name="auto"/>

In the central transept was the 4,000-piece Grand Orchestra built around the 4,500-pipe Great Organ. There was a concert room with over 4,000 seats that hosted successful [[Handel Festival 1857|Handel Festivals]] for many years and August Manns's [[Crystal Palace Concerts]] from 1855 until 1901.<ref name="auto"/> The performance spaces hosted concerts, exhibits, and public entertainment.<ref name="dukemag" /> Many famous people visited the Crystal Palace especially during its early years, including the likes of [[Emma Darwin]], the wife of [[Charles Darwin]] who noted in her diary on 10 June 1854, "Opening Crystal Pal".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=1&itemID=CUL-DAR242%5B.18%5D&viewtype=side |title=The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online}}</ref>

[[File:Festival of Empire 1911 Canadian Building.jpg|thumb|[[Festival of Empire]] 1911 with a replica of the [[Canadian Parliament Buildings|Canadian Parliament Building]] in the foreground]]
The centre transept once housed a circus and was the scene of daring feats by acts such as the tightrope walker [[Charles Blondin]]. Over the years, many world leaders visited and were accorded special festivals, with extended published programs. That for [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] was entitled "General Garibaldi's Italian Reception and Concert Saturday April 16, 1864"; and that for the [[Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar|Shah of Persia]]: "Crystal Palace. Grand Fête in honour of His Majesty The Shah of Persia KG. Saturday July 6th" (1889).

From the beginning general programmes were printed, at first for the summer season, and then on a daily basis. So, for instance, that for the summer of 1864 (''Programme of arrangements for the eleventh season, commencing on the 1st May, 1864'') included the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] Tercentenary Festival and a course by designer [[Christopher Dresser]]. The daily "Programme for Monday October 6th (1873)" included a harvest exhibition of fruit, and the Australasian Collection, formed by H E Pain, of materials from Tasmania, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand; and a grand military fete was also on offer.

Many of these publications were printed by Dickens and Evans—that, is [[Charles Dickens Jr.|Charles Dickens Jr]], [[Charles Dickens]]' son, working with his father-in-law Frederick Evans. Another feature of the early programming were Christmas pantomimes, with published librettos, for example Harry Lemon's 'Dick Whittington and His Wonderful Cat. Crystal Palace Christmas 1869–70' (London 1869).

In 1868, the world's first aeronautical exhibition was held in the Crystal Palace. In 1871, the world's first [[cat show]], organised by [[Harrison Weir]], was held there. Other shows, such as [[dog show]]s, pigeon shows, honey shows and flower shows, as well as the first national [[Auto show|motor show]] were also held at the Palace.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victorianstation.com/palace.html |title=The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace |work=The Victorian Station |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414235432/http://victorianstation.com/palace.html |archive-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> The match which later has been dubbed the world's first [[bandy]] match was held at the palace in 1875; at the time, the game was called "hockey on the ice".<ref name=SBF>{{cite web |url=http://iof1.idrottonline.se/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Bandy-Sverige/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Historikochstatistik/Historiskamilstolpar/Bandyhistoria1875-1919/ |title=Svenska Bandyförbundet, bandyhistoria 1875–1919 |publisher=Iof1.idrottonline.se |date=1 February 2013 |access-date=9 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019151140/http://iof1.idrottonline.se/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Bandy-Sverige/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Historikochstatistik/Historiskamilstolpar/Bandyhistoria1875-1919/ |archive-date=19 October 2013}}</ref> The site was the location of one of [[Charles Spurgeon]]'s sermons, without amplification, before a crowd of 23,654 people on 7 October 1857.<ref>[http://www.charlesspurgeon.net/page5.html "The Prince of Preachers" Live!] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305052005/http://www.charlesspurgeon.net/page5.html |date=5 March 2016 }} at charlesspurgeon.net (Dave Richards evangelical site)</ref>

The [[1895 African Exhibition]] at the Crystal Palace included African animals, birds and reptiles, and a group of eighty Somalis. In 1905, the [[Colonial and Indian Exhibition (1905)|Colonial and Indian Exhibition]] took place and is reported to have been larger and more popular than the African Exhibition and the most direct forerunner of the 1911 [[Festival of Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Auerbach |first=Jeffrey|url=https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/Empire%20under%20Glass_0.pdf |title=Exhibiting the Empire: Cultures of Display and the British Empire |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2015 |editor-last1=McAleer |editor-last2=MacKenzie |editor-first1=John |editor-first2=John|pages=129–130 |language=English |chapter=Empire Under Glass: The British Empire and the Crystal Palace, 1851–1911}}</ref>
[[File:RNVR Crystal Palace, 1917 by John Lavery.jpg|thumb|upright|RNVR at the Crystal Palace, 1917. Painting by John Lavery]]
A colourful description of a visit to the Crystal Palace appears in [[John Davidson (poet)|John Davidson]]'s poem "The Crystal Palace", published in 1909. In 1909, [[Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell|Robert Baden-Powell]] first noticed the interest of girls in [[Scouting]] while attending a [[1909 Crystal Palace Scout Rally|Boy Scout meeting at Crystal Palace]]. This observation later led to the formation of [[Girl Guide and Girl Scout|Girl Guides, then Girl Scouts]].<ref name="palacebp">{{cite web |year=1997 |url=http://pinetreeweb.com/bp-pix76.htm |title=Baden-Powell and the Crystal Palace Rally |work=Baden-Powell Photo Gallery |publisher=Pinetree web |access-date=22 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202171851/http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-pix76.htm |archive-date=2 February 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="palacegs">{{cite web |year=1997 |url=http://www.msc.edu.ph/gsp/histo1.html |title=History of the Girl Scouts Movement |publisher=Girl Scouts of the Philippines |access-date=22 January 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Imperial War Museum Galleries at the Crystal Palace, 1920-1924 Q20539.jpg|thumb|A [[BL 18-inch Mk I naval gun]] and its shells being prepared for display at the ''Imperial War Museum and Great Victory Exhibition'', 1920]]
In 1911, the Festival of Empire was held at the Palace to mark the [[Coronation of George V and Mary]]. Large pavilions were built for and by the [[Dominion]]s; that for Canada, for example, replicated the Parliament in Ottawa. A good record of the festival is provided by the [[photogravure]] plates in the sale catalogue published shortly afterwards by Knight, Frank and Rutley and Horne & Co "The Crystal Palace Sydenham To be sold at auction on Tuesday 28th November" (London, 1911)

=== Military Service ===
During the First World War, it was used as a naval training establishment, under the name of HMS ''Victory VI'', informally known as HMS ''Crystal Palace''. More than 125,000 men from the [[Royal Naval Division]], [[Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve]] and [[Royal Naval Air Service]] were trained for war at ''Victory VI''.<ref name="crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/crystal-palace-history/ |title=Crystal Palace History – The Crystal Palace Foundation |website=www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk}}</ref> The RNAS established [[HMS President (shore establishment)|HMS President II]] at Crystal Palace from late 1917 until 31 March 1918, after which from 1 April 1918 it transferred to the newly established [[Royal Air force]] which came into existence on that day; the site then being known as RAF Crystal Palace. On 14 January 1919, Crystal Palace opened both the RAF Dispersal Centre and British Army Dispersal Centre as part of the London Command Dispersal Area. In this role it handled the many serving troops and airmen returning from overseas and bases in the UK from WW1 military service, including administration, medical and de-kitting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/other-aspects-of-order-of-battle/dispersal-units-for-demobilisation-purposes-1918-1920/|title=Dispersal Units for demobilisation purposes 1918-1920|website=The Long, Long Trail}}</ref> This was still in operation in late 1919.

=== Museum ===
Towards the end of the First World War, the Crystal Palace re-opened as the site of the first [[Imperial War Museum]]; in 1920, this major initiative was fully launched with a program as the 'Imperial War Museum and Great Victory Exhibition Crystal Palace' (published by [[Photocrom]]). A few years later, the Imperial War Museum moved to South Kensington, and then in the 1930s to its present site [[Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park]], formerly [[Bethlem Royal Hospital]].<ref name="disused" /> Between 15 and 20 October 1934, the [[Pageant of Labour]] was held at the Palace.<ref>''Official Book and Programme of the Pageant of Labour'', 1934</ref>

=== Crystal Palace Park ===
{{main|Crystal Palace Park|Crystal Palace Dinosaurs}}

[[File:Iguanodon Crystal Palace.jpg|thumb|left|An 1853 model of an [[Iguanodon]], the most recognisable of the [[Crystal Palace Dinosaurs]]]]
The development of ground and gardens of the park cost considerably more than the rebuilt Crystal Palace. [[Edward Milner]] designed the Italian Garden and fountains, the Great Maze, and the English Landscape Garden. [[Raffaele Monti (artist)|Raffaele Monti]] was hired to design and build much of the external statuary around the fountain basins, and the urns, tazzas and vases.<ref name="rebuilding">{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/the-rebuilding-at-sydenham-1852-1854-2 |title=The Rebuilding at Sydenham, 1852–1854 |work=Crystal Palace Foundation}}</ref>

The sculptor [[Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins]] was commissioned to make 33 lifesized models of newly discovered dinosaurs and other extinct animals in the park. The Palace and its park became the location of many shows, concerts and exhibitions, as well as sporting events after the construction of various sports grounds on the site. The [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre#Football|FA Cup Final]] was held here between 1895 and 1914. On the new site were also various buildings that housed educational establishments such as the [[Crystal Palace School|Crystal Palace School of Art, Science, and Literature]] as well as engineering schools.

[[File:AnerleyHill2.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.6|The Crystal Palace with one of the water towers, as seen from [[Anerley]] {{circa}} 1910]]
Joseph Paxton was first and foremost a gardener, and his layout of gardens, fountains, [[Terrace garden|terraces]] and waterfalls left no doubt as to his ability. One thing he did have a problem with was water supply. Such was his enthusiasm that thousands of gallons of water were needed to feed the myriad fountains and cascades abounding in the Park: the two main jets were {{convert|250|ft|m|0}} high. [[Water tower]]s were duly constructed, but the weight of water in the raised tanks caused them to collapse.

[[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] was consulted and came up with plans for two mighty water towers, one at the north end of the building and one at the south. Each supported a tremendous load of water, which was gathered from three reservoirs, at either end of and in the middle of the park. The grand fountains and cascades were opened, again in the presence of the Queen, who got wet when a gust of wind swept mists of spray over the royal carriage.

=== Decline ===
[[File:Crystal Palace Company 1884.jpg|thumb|left|Share of the Crystal Palace Company, issued 5 July 1884]]
While the original Palace cost £150,000 (equivalent to £{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|150000|1851|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} the move to Sydenham cost £1,300,000—(£{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|1300000|1853|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} burdening the company with a debt it never repaid.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/default.asp?ID=11 |title=Crystal Palace history ''The Building'' 1852–1854 |access-date=21 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130233100/http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/History/default.asp?ID=11 |archive-date=30 November 2007}} These amounts are in successive years, and partly reflect the extension to five stories made at Sydenham. The £150,000 cost of the Hyde Park Crystal Palace includes the (re-usable) component material cost, so the extent to which the reconstructed Palace had an (unexpectedly) higher construction cost is even greater than the comparison of totals implies.</ref> This was partly because admission fees were depressed by the inability to cater for Sunday visitors in its early years: many people worked every day except Sunday,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/archives/m/memorial_from_the_national_sun.aspx |title=Memorial from the National Sunday League on the Sunday opening of the British Museum |quote=working men and their families [...] worked long hours and all day Saturday. Many could not afford a day's unpaid leave to come to the Museum. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019000504/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/archives/m/memorial_from_the_national_sun.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2015}}</ref> when the Palace was closed.<ref>The Great Exhibition was always closed on Sunday, see: {{cite web |title=Crystal Palace – On a hot summer's day ''Facts and Figures'' |url=http://www.crystal.dircon.co.uk/mrskpg.htm |quote=No Sunday opening was allowed, no alcohol, no smoking and no dogs}}. The Crystal Palace at Sydenham continued the observance, opening only to [[shareholder]]s on Sundays: {{cite web |url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/History/default.asp?ID=12 |title=Crystal Palace History ''Open again'' |quote=neither the building nor grounds were open on Sundays |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130233106/http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/History/default.asp?ID=12 |archive-date=30 November 2007}}</ref> The [[Lord's Day Observance Society]] held that people should not be encouraged to work at the Palace on Sunday and that if people wanted to visit, then their employers should give them time off during the working week. The Palace was eventually opened on Sundays by 1860, and it was recorded that 40,000 visitors came on a Sunday in May 1861.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1W49qPQKJEwC&pg=PA59 |title=Palace of the People: The Crystal Palace at Sydenham 1854–1936 |author=Piggott, Jan |pages=57–59 |publisher=Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |date=2004 |isbn=978-1850657279}}</ref>

By the 1890s, the Palace's popularity and state of repair had deteriorated; the appearance of stalls and booths had made it a much more downmarket attraction.<ref name="disused">{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/crystal_palace_high_level/index.shtml |title=Disused Stations: Crystal Palace High Level & Upper Norwood Station |publisher=disused-stations.org.uk |access-date=17 June 2010 |last=Catford |first=N.}}</ref>

[[File:ETH-BIB-Crystal Palace, London-Weitere-LBS MH02-42-0010.tif|thumb|Aerial view of The Crystal Palace in the mid-1930s. Note the missing north transept after it was destroyed in a fire in December 1866.]]
In the years after the Festival of Empire the building fell into disrepair, as the huge debt and maintenance costs became unsustainable, and in 1911, bankruptcy was declared.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2004/07/27/history_feature.shtml |title=Crystal Palace: A History |first=G. |last=Holland |date=24 July 2004 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> [[Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth]] bought it for £230,000 ({{Inflation|UK|230000|1911|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to save it from the developers with the understanding that a fund raised by the [[Lord Mayor of London]] would reimburse him. The mayor announced in 1913 that £90,000 was still required in addition to the money already raised by local authorities.<ref name=CDL13/> ''[[The Times]]'' held an appeal, and the amount was raised in 13 days; £30,000 was contributed by an unknown individual. [[Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell|Camberwell Borough Council]] refused to contribute and [[Penge Urban District]] Council reduced their contribution from £20,000 to £5,000. The Earl of Plymouth made up the resulting deficit of some £30,000.<ref name="CDL13">{{cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4426312/4426313/7/earl%20plymouth|title=Earl of Plymouth's Genrosity|date=17 April 1888|work=[[The Cambria Daily Leader]]|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref>

In the 1920s, a board of trustees was set up under the guidance of manager Sir Henry Buckland. He is said to have been a firm but fair man, who had a great love for the Crystal Palace,<ref name="norwoodsociety.co.uk">{{cite web |author=The Norwood Society |url=http://www.norwoodsociety.co.uk/review/afterthefire.shtml |title=The Norwood Review |publisher=The Norwood Society |date=26 February 2008 |access-date=17 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514145129/http://www.norwoodsociety.co.uk/review/afterthefire.shtml |archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> and soon set about restoring the deteriorating building. The restoration brought visitors back, and the Palace started to make a small profit once more.<ref name="crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk" /> Buckland and his staff also worked on improving the fountains and gardens,<ref>[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/THEMES/1381/112]{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> including the Thursday evening displays of fireworks by [[Brocks Fireworks|Brocks]].

== Destruction by fire ==
[[File:Crystal Palace fire 1936.jpg|thumb|The Crystal Palace on fire, 1936]]
{{redirect|Crystal Palace fire|the 1858 fire that destroyed New York City's Crystal Palace|New York Crystal Palace#Destruction}}
On the evening of 30 November 1936, Sir Henry Buckland was walking his dog near the Palace with his daughter Crystal, named after the building, when they noticed a red glow within it.<ref name="LifeFire">{{cite magazine|last=London|date=21 December 1936|title=London's Biggest Fire...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|page=34|quote=The Crystal Palace will never be rebuilt}}</ref> When Buckland went inside, he found two of his employees fighting a small office fire that had started after an explosion in the women's [[cloakroom]].<ref name="LifeFire" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Harrison|first=M.|year=2010|title=Disaster strikes|url=http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/History/default.asp?ID=6|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118032537/http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/History/default.asp?ID=6|archive-date=18 January 2012|publisher=The Crystal Palace Foundation|quote=The first fire brigade call was received by Penge fire station at 7:59&nbsp;pm, the first fire engine arriving at 8:03. By the morning of Tuesday 1 December the building was no more}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wardsbookofdays.com/1december.htm|title=Crystal Palace: Joseph Paxton|website=www.wardsbookofdays.com}}</ref> Realising that it was a serious fire, they called the Penge fire brigade. Although 89 [[fire engine]]s and over 400 firemen arrived, they were unable to extinguish it.<ref>{{cite web | title=Crystal Palace | website=20thcenturylondon.org.uk | date=2013-03-23 | url=http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/crystal-palace | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109215724/http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/crystal-palace | archive-date=9 January 2013 | url-status=dead | access-date=16 April 2025 }}</ref>

Within hours, the Palace was destroyed: the glow was visible across eight counties.<ref name="LifeFire"/> The fire spread quickly in the high winds that night, in part because of the dry old timber flooring, and the huge quantity of flammable materials in the building.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/crystal-palace/crystal-palace-fire.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031027021134/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/crystal-palace/crystal-palace-fire.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2003 |title=Crystal Palace On Fire, 1936 |quote=The cause of the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace is unknown, although an electrical fault due to old wiring is suspected.}}</ref><ref name="burningFilm"/> Buckland said, "In a few hours we have seen the end of the Crystal Palace. Yet it will live in the memories not only of Englishmen, but the whole world". 100,000 people came to Sydenham Hill to watch the blaze, among them [[Winston Churchill]], who said, "This is the end of an age".<ref name="RT">{{cite web |first1=R. |last1=White |first2=J. |last2=Yorath |title=The Crystal Palace – Demise |url=http://www.whitefiles.org/b3_q/1_architecture/zqla/qla7/7_xtlplc.htm |work=The White Files – Architecture |year=2004 |access-date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728174826/http://www.whitefiles.org/b3_q/1_architecture/zqla/qla7/7_xtlplc.htm |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=dead}} (Quotations from Yorath's original [[Radio Times]] article.)</ref> Just as in 1866, when the north transept burnt down, the building was not adequately insured to cover the cost of rebuilding (at least £2{{nbsp}}million, or £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK-GDP|2000000|1936}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|UK-GDP}}).<ref name="burningFilm">{{cite web |url=http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/article.php?story=2005100819530392 |title=British Paramount News: Crystal Palace Fire |publisher=newsfilm online |date=30 October 1936 |quote=Film of the fire that completely destroyed the Crystal Palace. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511000755/http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/article.php?story=2005100819530392 |archive-date=11 May 2013}}</ref>

The South Tower and much of the lower level of the Palace had been used for tests by television pioneer [[John Logie Baird]] for his [[mechanical television]] experiments, and much of his work was destroyed in the fire.<ref name="trandsiffusion-baird">{{cite web |url=http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/baird/baird_itv.php |title=Baird's independent television |last=Elen |first=Richard G |date=5 April 2003 |access-date=29 May 2008 |publisher=Transdiffusion Broadcasting System |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608091708/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/baird/baird_itv.php |archive-date=8 June 2008}}</ref><ref name="soundscapes-baird">{{cite journal |last=Herbert |first=Ray |date=July 1998 |title=Crystal Palace Television Studios |journal=Soundscapes |volume=1 |issue=4 |publisher=[[University of Groningen]] |location=Groningen, Netherlands |issn=1567-7745 |url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME01/Crystal_Palace.shtml |access-date=29 May 2008 |archive-date=14 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214115151/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME01/Crystal_Palace.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baird is reported to have suspected the fire was a deliberate act of sabotage against his work on developing television, but the true cause remains unknown.<ref>Brian Robb, ''Quicklook at Television'' (Grittleton: Quicklook Books, 2012) p.17</ref>

The last singer to perform there before the fire was the Australian ballad contralto [[Essie Ackland]].<ref name=weekly>{{cite web |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51587380 |title=MARRIAGE and Career Not Bar To HAPPINESS |work=Australian Women's Weekly |date=6 March 1937 |pages=32 |via=Trove}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
[[File:Crystal Palace Destoyed 1936.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Crystal Palace completely destroyed, a few days after the night of 30 November 1936]]

All that was left standing after the fire were the two water towers and a section of the north end of the main nave which was too badly damaged to be saved. The south tower to the right of the Crystal Palace entrance was taken down shortly after the fire, as the damage sustained had undermined its integrity and presented a major risk to houses nearby. [[Thos. W. Ward|Thos. W. Ward Ltd]]., Sheffield, dismantled the Crystal Palace.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digital.lib.umd.edu/worldsfairs/result/id/umd:768?query=sheffield |title=Dismantling by Thos. W. Ward Ltd., Sheffield & London {{!}} World's Fair Treasury |website=digital.lib.umd.edu |access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>

[[File:CPupperterraces01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Crystal Palace site: Remains of the upper terrace, 1993]]

[[File:Crystal Palace (39934435335).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Crystal Palace site from the air]]

The north tower was demolished with explosives in 1941.<ref name="time-north-tower">{{cite magazine |date=28 April 1941 |title=War's Worst Raid |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,765495,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201013843/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,765495,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2008 |access-date=29 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="pescod-north-tower">{{cite journal |last=Pescod |first=David FRS |title=Correspondence |date=10 February 2005 |journal=The Linnean |volume=21 |issue=2 |page=36 |publisher=[[Linnean Society of London]] |location=London |url=http://www.linnean.org/fileadmin/images/Publications/Linnean-21-2__2__web_complete.pdf |access-date=29 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730041406/http://www.linnean.org/fileadmin/images/Publications/Linnean-21-2__2__web_complete.pdf |archive-date=30 July 2007}}</ref> No reason was given for its removal—it was rumoured that it was to remove a landmark for German aircraft in the Second World War. In fact [[Luftwaffe]] bombers actually navigated their way to central London by tracking the [[River Thames|Thames]]. The Crystal Palace grounds were used as a manufacturing base for aircraft radar screens and other hi-tech equipment of the time. This remained a secret until well after the war.

After the destruction of the Palace, the High Level Branch station fell into disuse and was finally shut in 1954. After the war the site was used for a number of purposes. Between 1927 and 1972, the [[Crystal Palace circuit|Crystal Palace motor racing circuit]] was located in the park, supported by the [[Greater London Council]], but the noise was unpopular with nearby residents, and racing hours were regulated under a high court judgment.<ref name="norwoodsociety.co.uk" /> The [[Crystal Palace transmitting station]] was built on the former aquarium site in the mid-1950s and still serves as one of London's main television transmission masts.

In northern corner of the park is the [[Crystal Palace Bowl]], a natural [[amphitheatre]] where large-scale open-air summer concerts have been held since the 1960s. These have ranged from classical and orchestral music, to rock, pop, blues and reggae. [[Pink Floyd]], [[Bob Marley]], [[Elton John]], [[Eric Clapton]], and [[The Beach Boys]] played the Bowl during its heyday. The stage was rebuilt in 1997 with an award-winning permanent structure designed by [[Ian Ritchie (architect)|Ian Ritchie]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ianritchiearchitects.co.uk/projects/concert_stand/ |title=Crystal Palace Concert Platform |work=Ian Ritchie Architects |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329233107/https://www.ianritchiearchitects.co.uk/projects/concert_stand/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Bowl has been inactive as a music venue for several years, and the stage has fallen into a state of disrepair, but as of March 2020 [[London Borough of Bromley]] Council are working with a local action group to find "creative and community-minded business proposals to reactivate the cherished concert platform".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bromley.gov.uk/press/article/1572/creative_proposals_wanted_for_the_future_of_the_concert_platform |title=Creative proposals wanted for the future of the concert platform &#124; London Borough of Bromley |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329233108/https://www.bromley.gov.uk/press/article/1572/creative_proposals_wanted_for_the_future_of_the_concert_platform |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2020 the base and foundation of the south tower were given historic status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insidecroydon.com/2020/09/24/remains-of-brunels-crystal-palace-tower-granted-listed-status/|title=Remains of Brunel's Crystal Palace tower granted listed status|date=24 September 2020|website=Inside Croydon}}</ref> They are located near the Crystal Palace Museum on Anerley Hill, which is dedicated to the history of the building.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk/|title=Crystal Palace Museum|website=Crystal Palace Museum}}</ref>

=== Future ===
Over the years, numerous proposals for the former site of the Palace have not come to fruition. Plans by the [[London Development Agency]] to spend £67.5&nbsp;million to refurbish the site, including new homes and a regional sports centre were approved after Public Inquiry in December 2010. Before approval was announced the LDA withdrew from taking on management of the park and funding the project.

In 2013, the Chinese company ZhongRong Holdings held early talks with the London Borough of Bromley and Mayor [[Boris Johnson]] to rebuild the Crystal Palace on the north side of the park.<ref name="rebuild">{{cite web|title=Plans for Crystal Palace replica |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23475994 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=27 July 2013 |access-date=27 July 2013}}</ref> However, the developer's sixteen-month exclusivity agreement with Bromley council to develop its plans was cancelled when it expired in February 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mann |first1=Will |title=Shattered:£500M Crystal Palace rebuild plan |date=26 February 2015 |url=http://www.nce.co.uk/news/structures/shattered-500m-crystal-palace-rebuild-plan/8679193.article |publisher=New Civil Engineer |access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>

Work on regeneration of Crystal Palace Park, including the Italian Terraces immediately below the site of the  Palace, began in May 2025 and is expected to be largely completed by late summer 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Park Regeneration Updates |url=https://www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/regeneration-updates |access-date=2025-07-20 |website=www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Cultural significance ==

After a visit to London as a tourist during the Expedition of 1862, [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] made reference to the Palace in his travelogue ''[[Winter Notes on Summer Impressions]]'' and in ''[[Notes from Underground]]''. Dostoevsky viewed the Crystal Palace as a monument to soulless modern society, the myth of progress, and the worship of empty materialism.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Tim |title=Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China's Consumer Revolution |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn=978-1-5179-0031-1 |series=Globalization and Community series |location=Minneapolis, MN}}</ref>{{Rp|page=276}}

In [[Nikolay Chernyshevsky]]'s novel [[What Is to Be Done? (novel)|''What Is to Be Done?'']] (which ''Notes from Underground'' is a response to), the Crystal Palace is presented as the birth place of a new social order structured by reason and as a symbol of socialist utopia.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|pages=276–277}}

"Crystal Palace" is one of the 'investitures' or meeting places of [[The Baker Street Irregulars]], a [[Sherlock Holmes]] fan club.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}

== See also ==
* [[Alexandra Palace]], a surviving similar Victorian-era exhibition hall in north London.
* [[Crystal Palace circuit]], a motor racing circuit built within the grounds
* [[New York Crystal Palace]], directly inspired by The Crystal Palace; built for the [[Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations]], New York in 1853 and destroyed by fire in 1858.
* [[Glaspalast (Munich)|The Glaspalast]], modelled after The Crystal Palace; built in Munich in 1854 for the ''First General German Industrial Exhibition'' and destroyed by fire in 1931.
* [[Crystal Palace (Montreal)]], inspired by The Crystal Palace; built for the ''Montreal Industrial Exhibition'' in 1860, relocated in 1878 and destroyed by fire in 1896.
* [[Crystal Palace (Porto)]], inspired by The Crystal Palace; built for the ''[[1865 International Exhibition]]'' in 1865, demolished in 1951.
* [[Garden Palace]], a reworking of The Crystal Palace; built in Sydney in 1879 to house the [[Sydney International Exhibition]] and destroyed by fire in 1882.
* [[Gardens by the Bay]]
* [[Palacio de Cristal del Retiro|Crystal palace of Retiro Park in Madrid]], inspired by London Crystal Palace, built in 1887.
* [[Stock Exchange, Antwerp|Stock Exchange in Antwerp]], the progressive dome built by Charles Marcellis in 1853 was inspired by The Crystal Palace.
* [[Infomart]], a building opened in Dallas, Texas in 1985, modelled after the Crystal Palace.
* [[Aberdeen Pavilion]], a Victorian designed exhibition hall located in Ottawa, inspired by the Crystal Palace.
* [[Paleis voor Volksvlijt]], inspired by London Crystal Palace, built in Amsterdam from 1859 to 1864, burned down in 1929.
* [[List of destroyed heritage]]
* [[List of demolished buildings and structures in London]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources and further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Auerbach | first=Jeffrey | title=Exhibiting the empire | chapter=Empire under glass: The British Empire and the Crystal Palace, 1851–1911 | publisher=Manchester University Press | date=2017-03-01 | isbn=978-1-5261-1834-9 | doi=10.7765/9781526118349.00011 }}
* {{cite book |last=Braga |first=Ariane Varela |chapter=Owen Jones and the Oriental Perspective | editor-last1=Giese | editor-first1=Francine | editor-last2=Braga | editor-first2=Ariane Varela | title=The Myth of the Orient | publisher=Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften | publication-place=Bern | date=2016 | isbn=978-3-0343-2107-5 |pages=149–165 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36097837}}
* {{cite book |last=Braga |first=Ariane Varela |chapter=How to Visit the Alhambra and be Home in Time for Tea: Owen Jones’s Alhambra Court in the Crystal Palace of Sydenham |title=A Fashionable Style: Carl von Diebitsch und das maurische Revival | publisher=Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften | publication-place=Bern ; New York | date=2017 | isbn=978-3-0343-2939-2 | oclc=995758344 |pages=71–84 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/download/56077016/VarelaBraga_AlhambraCourt_2017.pdf }}
* {{cite book |last=Briggs |first=Asa |chapter=The Crystal Palace and the Men of 1851 |title=Victorian People |location=London |publisher=Odhams |year=1954 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/victorianpeoplea000327mbp/page/n9/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book |last=di Campli |first=Antonio |title=La ricostruzione del Crystal Palace |publisher=Quodlibet |location=Macerata |year=2010 |language=it}} 
* {{cite book | last=Colquhoun | first=Kate | title=A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton | publisher=Fourth Estate | publication-place=London | date=2003 | isbn=0-00-714353-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Chadwick |first=George F. |title=Works of Sir Joseph Paxton |publisher=The Architectural Press |year=1961}}
* {{cite book |title=Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851 |location=London |publisher=Dickinson Bros. |year=1854}}
* {{cite book |last=Hobhouse |first=Christopher |title=1851 and the Crystal Palace: Being an Account of the Great Exhibition |publisher=John Murray |year=1950 |edition=Revised |orig-year=1937}}
* {{cite journal | last=Knadler | first=Stephen | title=At Home in the Crystal Palace: African American Transnationalism and the Aesthetics of Representative Democracy | journal=ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance | publisher=Project MUSE | volume=56 | issue=4 | year=2011 | issn=1935-021X | doi=10.1353/esq.2011.0006 | pages=328–362}}
* {{cite book |last=Leith |first=Ian. |title=Delamotte's Crystal Palace: A Victorian Pleasure Dome Revealed |location=London |publisher=English Heritage |year=2005}}
* {{cite book |last=MacDermott |first=Edward |title=Routledge's Guide to the Crystal Palace and Park at Sydenham |year=1854 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://archive.org/details/routledgesguide00macdgoog}}
* {{cite book |last=McKean |first=John |title=Crystal Palace: Joseph Paxton & Charles Fox |location=London |publisher=Phaidon Press |year=1994}}
* {{cite book |last=McKean |first=John |chapter=The Invisible Column of The Crystal Palace |title=La Colonne – nouvelle histoire de la construction |editor-link=Roberto Gargiani |editor=Roberto Gargiani |location=Lausanne (Suisse) | publisher=EPFL Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-2-88074-714-5}}
* {{cite journal |last=McKinney |first=Kayla Kreuger |title=Crystal Fragments: Museum Methods at the Great Exhibition of 1851, in London Labour and the London Poor and in 1851 |journal=The Victorian |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=2017 |url=https://journals.sfu.ca/vict/index.php/vict/article/download/225/113|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808172327/https://journals.sfu.ca/vict/index.php/vict/article/download/225/113 |archive-date=8 August 2019 }}
* {{cite thesis |last1=Miao |first1=Yinan |title=The Influence of Victorian Imperialism on the Crystal Palace and the South Kensington Museum: A Comparative Analysis |year=2017 |url=https://www.academia.edu/39357815 |publisher=University of British Columbia}}
* {{cite book |last=Moser |first=Stephanie |title=Designing Antiquity: Owen Jones, Ancient Egypt and the Crystal Palace |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2012}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nichols |first1=Kate |first2=Sarah Victoria |last2=Turner |chapter=‘What is to become of the Crystal Palace?’ The Crystal Palace after 1851 |title=After 1851: The material and visual cultures of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2017 |jstor=j.ctvnb7mhs.7 |pages=1–23}}
* {{cite book |last=Piggott |first=J. R.  |title=Palace of the People: The Crystal Palace at Sydenham 1854–1936 |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Co. |year=2004}}
* {{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Samuel |title=Guide to the Crystal Palace and Park |year=1854 |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetocrystalpa00phil_0}}
* {{cite journal | last=Schoenefeldt | first=Henrik | title=Adapting Glasshouses for Human Use: Environmental Experimentation in Paxton's Designs for the 1851 Great Exhibition Building and the Crystal Palace, Sydenham | journal=Architectural History | publisher=SAHGB Publications Limited | volume=54 | year=2011 | issn=0066-622X | jstor=41418354 | pages=233–273 | doi=10.1017/S0066622X00004068 }}
* {{cite journal | last=Schoenefeldt | first=Henrik | title=Creating the right internal climate for the Crystal Palace | journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage | volume=165 | issue=3 | date=2012 | issn=1757-9430 | doi=10.1680/ehah.11.00020 | pages=197–207 }}
* {{cite journal | last=SIEGEL | first=JONAH | title=Display Time: Art, Disgust, and the Returns of the Crystal Palace | journal=The Yearbook of English Studies | publisher=Project MUSE | volume=40 | issue=1–2 | year=2010 | issn=2222-4289 | doi=10.1353/yes.2010.0012 | pages=33–60}}
* {{cite journal |last=Zaffuto |first=Grazia |title='Visual Education' As The Alternative Mode Of Learning At The Crystal Palace, Sydenham |journal=Victorian Network | doi=10.5283/VN.43 |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=2013 |pages=9–27 |url=http://www.victoriannetwork.org/index.php/vn/article/download/43/46 |format=PDF}}

== External links ==
{{commons and category|Crystal Palace}}
* [http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/ Official website] of the Crystal Palace Foundation
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200215151610/https://www.crystalpalacemuseum.org.uk/ Crystal Palace Museum]
* [http://www.archdaily.com/397949/ad-classic-the-crystal-palace-joseph-paxton/ The Crystal Palace] on ArchDaily
* [http://openarchive.icomos.org/1511/ Crystal Palace: from metallic lattice to portal frame] by Isaac Rodrigo López César - [[Universidade da Coruña]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090421144232/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7429156.stm Park hosts Crystal Palace replica] – [[BBC News]], 31 May 2008

'''Images '''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140414160526/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&form=advanced&collection=P%20H%20Delamotte Historic images of Crystal Palace, dating back to the 1850s]. Taken by [[Philip Henry Delamotte|Philip Delamotte]] but now held by the [[English Heritage Archive]].
* [http://www.victorianlondon.org/buildings/crystalpalace.htm The Crystal Palace, sources from www.victorianlondon.org]
* Crystal Palace - 3D version - [https://heathcaldwell.com/architectural_projects_0 Rendered images] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buG3jRMuUsE Video]
* [http://www.iath.virginia.edu/london/model/ A 3D computer model of the Crystal Palace with images and animation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904013559/http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/london/model/ |date=4 September 2009 }}

'''Maps'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160924024003/http://www.cocgb.dircon.co.uk/cry_pal_park.htm Crystal Palace Park] – map of the park as was until recently
* {{mmukscaled|TQ3425070750|25|Map sources for the park and surrounding area}} including Victorian maps showing the palace

'''Baird Television'''
* [http://www.ric.edu/rpotter/cryspal.html Crystal Palace, with information on the Baird Television studios] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517091120/http://www.ric.edu/rpotter/cryspal.html |date=17 May 2008 }},  [[Russell Potter|Russell A. Potter, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English]], [[Rhode Island College]]
* [http://www.bairdtelevision.com/crystal-palace-television-studios.html Crystal Palace Television Studios] - Bairdtelevision.com Ray Herbert's article (1998) about the Baird Television studios

{{Brunel}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crystal Palace, The}}
[[Category:1851 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1936 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1851]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1936]]
[[Category:Building and structure fires in London]]
[[Category:1930s fires in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1936 fires]]
[[Category:1936 disasters in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:Cultural and educational buildings in London]]
[[Category:Crystal Palace, London]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in London]]
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:Palaces in London]]
[[Category:Greenhouses in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World's fair architecture in London]]
[[Category:Relocated buildings and structures in England]]
[[Category:Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cast-iron architecture in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Great Exhibition]]
[[Category:Joseph Paxton buildings and structures]]