The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure,
originally built in 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 990,000
square feet (92,000!m2) exhibition space to display examples of
technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph
Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet (564!m) long, with
an interior height of 128 feet (39!m),and was three times the size of St
Paul's Cathedral.
The introduction of the sheet glass method into Britain in 1832
made possible the production of large sheets of cheap but strong
glass,
and its use in the Crystal Palace created a structure with 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.
Douglas Jerrold “…”
It has been suggested that the name of the building resulted from a
piece penned by the playwright Douglas Jerrold, who in July 1850 wrote
in the satirical magazine Punch about the forthcoming Great Exhibition,
referring to a "palace of very crystal”.
After the exhibition, the Palace was relocated to an area of South
London known as Penge Place.
It was rebuilt 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 after the
landmark.
This included the Crystal Palace Park that surrounds the site, home
of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre,
which had previously been a football stadium that hosted the 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.
