The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a vast iron-and-glass hall built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Designed by gardener Joseph Paxton, it measured 564 metres long with a 39-metre-high interior. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world displayed industrial technology inside its 92,000-square-metre space. The building used 293,000 glass panes made by Chance Brothers and was finished in just thirty-nine weeks. Its clear walls and ceiling let in so much light that no interior lighting was needed. After the exhibition the Palace was moved to a hilltop site in South London called Penge Peak. It stood there from 1854 until a fire destroyed it in 1936. The surrounding area was renamed Crystal Palace, and the park around the ruins became home to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The park also contains the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, life-sized models of prehistoric creatures created in 1854. Today the hilltop site offers views across London and the remains of the terraces and fountains once used for concerts and events. The park’s paths lead past the Dinosaurs and the sports centre, where visitors can still see the old football ground. The name Crystal Palace lives on in the local railway station and football club, keeping the memory of the great glass hall alive.