It was designed by Joseph Paxton during the Romantic era. It was built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition and was first located in Hyde Park, London. It was surrounded by a series of fountains with almost 12,000 individual jets. When flowing in full play, about 120,000 gallons of water flowed through the system.
When Paxton built the walls of the palace, he made them from glass. He used over 900,000 square feet of glass. The entire Crystal Palace was 1,851 feet long and 408 feet wide.
The Crystal Palace was conceived to symbolize military and industrial superiority of Great Britain. Eventually it was closed down and then moved to South London. This is where Queen Victoria re-opened it in 1854. It was associated with the development of television because a television company was established in it. Many sports were then played in the name of the Crystal Palace, even though Paxton’s original design did not include any of this.
The Crystal Palace was used for many things, but was later destroyed by a fire in 1936. A lot of important events in history took place there; so much of the original overall layout is still there today.
I was once took a history class that covered some topics regarding the Crystal Palace. I also agree that many important events and happening took place there. What I didn't know is that it was conceived to mirror the military and industrial powers of Great Britain. One thing I would like to know is how much water actually flew through the palace during one full day.
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