The Crystal Palace

A huge iron and glass building, The Crystal Palace was a building in 19th Century Britain. A rebuilt and expanded version of the building that originally housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, it stood in Upper Norwood from 1854 until 1936, and attracted many thousands of visitors from all levels of society. The name "Crystal Palace" was coined by the satirical magazine Punch who also commented on other historical features like the cholera epidemic, and the filthy streets of London.

Original Hyde Park building

The huge glass and iron structure at the top of Sydenham Hill was the successor of the similar but smaller building erected in Hyde Park to house the Great Exhibition, which itself had caused a sensation, embodying the products of many countries throughout the world.

Related Topics:
Glass - Iron - Sydenham - Hyde Park

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seen in its grand magnificence, the new Crystal Palace again displayed the genius of its creator, Joseph Paxton, who was knighted in recognition of his work. Paxton had been head gardener at Chatsworth, in Derbyshire, where he had befriended its owner, the Duke of Devonshire. Here he had experimented with glass and iron in the creation of large greenhouses, and had seen something of their strength and durability. He applied this knowledge to the plans for the Great Exhibition building -- with astounding results. Planners had been looking for strength, durability, simplicity of construction and speed -- and this they got from Paxton's ideas.

Related Topics:
Genius - Joseph Paxton - Knight - Gardener - Chatsworth - Derbyshire - Duke of Devonshire - Experiment - Glass - Iron - Greenhouses - Great Exhibition - Building - Idea

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 900,000 square feet (84,000 m²) of glass was provided by the Chance Brothers glassworks in Smethwick, Birmingham. They were the only glassworks capable of fulfilling such a large order, and had to bring in labour from France to meet it in time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(The Hyde Park article features a poem written about this construction.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~