Crystal Palace, Hyde Park

Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass structure 564 meters long, with an interior height of 39 meters, and 92,000 square meters of exhibition space originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. After the exhibition, the Palace was relocated to Penge Peak next to Sydenham Hill, South London, an affluent suburb of large villas. It stood there until its destruction by fire in 1936.

Parent Map

Victorian London

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.508535453470
Longitude: -0.165395736694

View on the COVE Master Map

Timeline of Events Associated with Crystal Palace, Hyde Park

Date Event Manage
1 May 1851 to 15 Oct 1851

Great Exhibition

Interior of the Crystal PalaceHeld from May to October of 1851, “The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations” was opened by Queen Victoria in the structure built to house it, the Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park, London. Image: Interior view of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London during the Great Exhibition of 1851. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was an event in the history of: exhibitions; world’s fairs; consumerism; imperialism; architecture; collections; things; glass and material culture in general; visual culture; attention and inattention; distraction. Its ostensible purposes, as stated by the organizing commission and various promoters, most notably Prince Albert, were chiefly to celebrate the industry and ingeniousness of various world cultures, primarily the British, and to inform and educate the public about the achievement, workmanship, science and industry that produced the numerous and multifarious objects and technologies on display. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace (pictured above) was a structure of iron and glass conceptually derived from greenhouses and railway stations, but also resembling the shopping arcades of Paris and London. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations became a model for World’s Fairs, by which invited nations showcased the best in manufacturing, design, and art, well into the twentieth century.

Articles

Audrey Jaffe, "On the Great Exhibition"

Related Articles

Aviva Briefel, "On the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition"

Anne Helmreich, “On the Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 1854″

Anne Clendinning, “On The British Empire Exhibition, 1924-25″

Barbara Leckie, “Prince Albert’s Exhibition Model Dwellings”

Carol Senf, “‘The Fiddler of the Reels’: Hardy’s Reflection on the Past”
10 Jun 1854

Sydenham Crystal Palace opens

Sydenham Crystal Palace on Fire

Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham on 10 June 1854. Image: The Crystal Palace on fire (30 November 1936; author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

The resurrection of the Crystal Palace of 1851 in its new setting at Sydenham, with an expanded architectural complex and enhanced functional brief, embodies the Victorian emphasis upon visuality as a means of acquiring and conveying knowledge. In addition, the new Crystal Palace was shaped by prevailing concepts of rational recreation and beneficial commerce that insisted that private and public interests could be simultaneously satisfied and lead to a stronger nation and even Empire.

Articles

Anne Helmreich, "On the Opening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 10 June 1854"

Related Articles

Audrey Jaffe, "On the Great Exhibition"

Aviva Briefel, "On the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition"

Anne Clendinning, “On The British Empire Exhibition, 1924-25″