Crystal Palace, (London, England), 1851-1936, Victorian Architecture
The Crystal Palace was an iron and glass building, designed for the World’s fair in 1851. It held the Great Exhibition which consisted of over 14,000 exhibitioners, whom fell under four main categories - Machinery, Raw Materials, Manufacturers and Fine Arts. Many different countries were represented within its massive 990,000 sq/ft display space. Almost half of the exhibitions were non-British with France sending 1,500, and America nearly 1,000. Some of the American displays included artificial legs, dentures, chewing tobacco, Colt’s repeating pistol, and the McCormick’s Reaper harvester. British displays included hydraulic presses, steam engines, and cotton spinning machines. Original Structure and Grounds When the competition first went public the board received over 250 designs in the first three weeks, all of which were rejected. A design was then received which was low in cost, and efficient to construct given there was only eight months until ...