1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. This week we talked about Andrew Crosses fascinating 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: and eccentric electricity experiments, and towards the end we mentioned 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: that he and his second wife took a trip to 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: the Great Exposition of eighteen fifty one, which was housed 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: in Paxton's Crystal Palace. So naturally, this seemed like a 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: good time to bring back our episode on the Crystal Palace. 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: That episode came out all the way back on August, 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: and at the end of that episode we mentioned a 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: plan to rebuild it. That effort failed, but as of 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: eighteen the developer hoped it's still might work out one day. 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: I can only presume a pandemic put those plans on 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: the back burner for some time. Yeah, I was not 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: able to find an update more recently than so we 14 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: shall see enjoy. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 15 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to 16 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm and I'm Tracy Wilson, and today we're 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: going to talk about a famous piece of architecture. Uh 18 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: and some pieces of architecture seemed to have nothing but 19 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: bad luck, and today's topic could probably be filed under 20 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: luck comma bad but it didn't start out that way. 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: It's it's beginnings were quite lovely and pretty glorious and um, 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: you know, filled with success. Yeah, the right of bad 23 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: luck was definitely a later part of its history. Yes, 24 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: when the building moved, which is one of those things 25 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: that doesn't happen very often, but in this case, uh, 26 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: it did. And it was a gloriously beautiful structure which 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: was called the Crystal Palace. And that's a name that's 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: been attributed to many, many buildings, but this is kind 29 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: of the Crystal Palace, all capital letters. Yes. Uh So 30 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: first we'll talk a little bit about the architect behind it, 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: who did not actually start out as an architect. No, 32 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: and this this led to some concerns. Yeah. So it 33 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: was Sir josh of Paxton. He was a nineteenth century 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: English botanist and then later an architect. He designed um 35 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: met More towers in a famous hot house which was 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: called the Great Stove at Chatsworth, and he also designed gardens. 37 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 1: And there is a piece called Bourgeois and Aristocratic Cultural 38 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: Encounters in Garden Art of fifteen fifty to eighteen fifty. 39 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: And in that piece, Margaret Flanders Darby says that Paxton 40 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: quote is celebrated as the very definition of nineteenth century 41 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: upward mobility because he started out humble and ended up 42 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: pretty celebrated. Yeah. He was born on August third, eighteen 43 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,239 Speaker 1: o one in Bedfordshire to a farm family and when 44 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: he was young he worked for the Duke of Devonshire 45 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: as a gardener at Chiswick Gardens. In eighteen twenty six, 46 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: he had cultivated this friendship with the Duke and really 47 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: impressed him with his horticultural whiles. So at that point 48 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 1: he was assigned to the post of Superintendent of Ardens 49 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: at the Duke's estate in Derbyshire known as Chatsworth. Some 50 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: of the elements of the garden designs that he created there, uh, 51 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: and what's called the classic mixed style still exist and 52 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,239 Speaker 1: they're at Chatsworth. Paxton designed and built a greenhouse for 53 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: the Duke, that's the one we referenced earlier called the 54 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: which is sometimes casually called the Great Stove because it 55 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: was a hothouse. Uh. And he also created these really 56 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: impressive fountains. He built a model village there. Uh. He 57 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: was very busy creating a lot of structures for the 58 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: garden and the grounds, and one of his greatest accomplishments 59 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: was that he was able to keep this exotic lily 60 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: cutting that he got from Guiana not just alive but thriving. 61 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: The leaves were allegedly twelve feet wide, so if you 62 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: can wrap your brain around that, there is a picture 63 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: of his daughter sitting on one of them. That was 64 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: just this amazing accomplishment considering that this was England, which 65 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: is not really where you think about these giant, sort 66 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: of exotic lilies growing. Uh. And he had built at 67 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: this specialized house with the heated pool, which was quite 68 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: new to the idea of gardening. And he was obviously 69 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: an extremely clever man, and he had this innate and 70 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: ability to solve problems in really creative ways. But he 71 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 1: also had an eye for the visual element, because often 72 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: these creative problem solving situations were also just visually stunning. 73 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty nine, Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who 74 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: was also the president of the Royal Society of Arts, 75 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: launched this plan to host an exhibition to showcase Great 76 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: Britain's industrial achievements. He managed to get funding for the 77 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: project really quickly. Most of that funding came from quick 78 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,239 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria and he planned a site for the expo 79 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 1: at Hyde Park. So designers were asked to submit their 80 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: ideas for a structure for the show to the Industrial 81 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: Exhibition Executive Committee. So it was a little bit of 82 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: a design contest, uh, And there were numerous challenges for 83 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: architects to deal with if they wanted to submit to 84 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: this project. First, this structure had to be constructed quickly. Second, 85 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 1: there were concerns about the destruction of elm trees in 86 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: the park, so the hope was that the design would 87 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: accommodate those elm trees in some way. Third, the building 88 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: had to be temporary. It would have to be removed 89 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: from Hyde Park by a date of June one, eight 90 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: fifty two. And of course it also had to be 91 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: big enough to accommodate all of the exhibitors that the 92 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: committee wanted to attract, as well as all the foot 93 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: traffic that they wanted to come and see the visitors. 94 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: So that's kind of a tall order. It needed to 95 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: be a giant temporary convention center basically, which even with 96 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: modern tech, would be kind of tricky. I know, it happens, right, 97 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: but then when you think back to the early eighty fifties, 98 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: it's really quite something to think about, right. Joseph Paxton 99 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: submitted his idea for a glass and iron structure on June. 100 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: The commission wanted him to address the concern over destroying 101 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: the elm trees in the park, and they requested that 102 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: he revised his design to include this vaulted cross wise 103 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: piece in the building, which is called a transept, and 104 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: that would enclose the elm trees and prevent the need 105 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: for them to be destroyed. He did this and his 106 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: design was accepted in part because his construction plan involved 107 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: pieces that could be brought together in segments and installed 108 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: in a modular production process. All the other submitted designs 109 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: and involved this like large scale masonry, so they really, 110 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: we're not practical for the very short time frame they 111 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: had to build a thing, or the idea that they 112 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: wanted to take it down later. Yeah, it's almost like 113 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: they got this idea of they wanted to showcase their 114 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 1: country's cultural history. So a lot of them kind of 115 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: went in the castle zone and it's like, no, no, 116 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: you're missing kind of part of the brief. We need 117 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: to we need this to be quick up and down right. Well, 118 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: and I think if I had been in the meeting 119 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 1: where they came up with this whole idea in the 120 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: first place, of like, let's be a really big building, 121 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: but only for a very short amount of time and 122 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: then we will take it down. I would have just 123 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: been like, are you serious? Is this the best use 124 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: of your time and resources? Well, but uh, you know, 125 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: Paxison figured it out and because the most available glass 126 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: dimension at the time was apparently ten inches by forty inches, uh, 127 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: and the structure was going to need a lot of glass, 128 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: that standard size was actually used as the basis for 129 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: a lot of the entire design. There's actually a really 130 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: really cool site that will link to in the show 131 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: notes that breaks down how that geometry works. And they've 132 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: actually built out CG models of the various elements of 133 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: the structure so you can kind of look at them 134 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: in three D and see how it all came together 135 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 1: and how those glass pieces were used in those dimensions 136 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: to create what became the Crystal Palace. And as a 137 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: side note, I feel like I should say the name 138 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace was not officially given by Paxton. It 139 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: kind of came up in the press as this was 140 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: being discussed during the submission and acceptance process us and 141 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: the pre build lead up to it that journalists started 142 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: calling it a palace of crystal, and it kind of 143 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: took the name accidentally, but then it got adopted officially. 144 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: I wonder if that annoyed people who were really into 145 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: glass possibly. Maybe One really interesting challenge that comes with 146 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: building a huge building made entirely of glass is the 147 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: fact that glass just can't handle a huge waterload in 148 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: that configuration, so rain can be really dangerous. So they 149 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: put in special gutters, which of course we're named Paxton gutters, 150 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: and those are designed to quickly carry water away through 151 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: this big gutter system and really just keep fluid from 152 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: accumulating on the roof and crushing the thing. Yeah, it 153 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,479 Speaker 1: was very, very efficient. It was almost like a tributary 154 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: approach in reverse, where they would start very small and 155 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: just lead into the progressively bigger gutter system. Well, and 156 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: if you think about like our office is pretty much 157 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:03,719 Speaker 1: a giant building wall in glass, those are there's the 158 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: vertical surfaces, like the horizontal surfaces in our building are 159 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: are not glass because it's too it's really really hard 160 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: to maintain specialty. It's safe, and we'll get to the 161 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: scale in a little bit when we're talking about construction, 162 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: which we'll make you realize how mammoth the structure really was. 163 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: I was, I was unaware. Uh. During construction, there was concern, 164 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: as you hinted at earlier, that Paxton's lack of real 165 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: architectural experience was really going to be a problem. Who 166 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: were like, well, yes, it's beautiful, but it's going I 167 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: don't know how to make buildings. He makes greenhouses, uh, 168 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: and his area of expertise was hot houses, So they 169 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: were not the kind of things that would be seeing 170 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: the kind of foot traffic that the Expo was expected 171 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:52,959 Speaker 1: to have, And there was some very real fear. Yeah, 172 00:09:53,200 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: meeting Tracy again would be saying sure. So, due to 173 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: all these concerns that the expo was going to be 174 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,839 Speaker 1: housed in a structure that was designed by a gardener, 175 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: even though his experience had really moved way past just 176 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: gardening at that point, it was decided that all iron 177 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: girders had to be tested before they could be installed, 178 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: and they also added cross bracings that were made of wood, 179 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: primarily as sort of a visual reassurance for visitors. Yeah, 180 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: it just looked sturdier, Yeah, which is kind of fun, 181 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,959 Speaker 1: and the building was actually put together in less than 182 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: eight months by two thousand men that are sometimes referred 183 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: to in some UM historical documents on it as unskilled labors. 184 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: Like basically these skilled workers had put together the modular pieces, 185 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: but then they were shipped to the site and it 186 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 1: was almost like, I don't want to demean it by saying, 187 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: like click together, but you really didn't have to have 188 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: like a degree in engineering to see how they went 189 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: together and to assemble those barn raising. It was pretty 190 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: smartly designed in that regard barn raising or glass. Yes, 191 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: and the finished dimensions of this structure are It was 192 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: one thousand, eight hundred and forty eight feet long, which 193 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: is about five hundred sixty three It was four hundred 194 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: and eight feet wide or a hundred twenty four in 195 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: a hundred and eight feet high, which is about thirty 196 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: three meters, and including the galleries and the ground floor, 197 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: more than eight miles or thirteen kilometers of display tables 198 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: were housed. Eight miles of display tables. This is where 199 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: my mind really boggled. Well, it's one of those things 200 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,719 Speaker 1: where UM trying to kind of filter it through like 201 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: my modern experience, I'm like this is kind of like 202 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: a dragon Con or comic con was in an entirely 203 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 1: glass building. Let's never do that, no, for other reasons, 204 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: but when you think about it at that scale of 205 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: like a huge convention center that's made entirely of glass, 206 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: you can't help but be a little one impressed at 207 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: just the sheer brazenness of it, and two pretty wowed 208 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: by the engineering, again by someone who people were kind 209 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: of poop pooing as a mere gardener. So yeah, well, 210 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: and to be fair, while the structure was definitely unique 211 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: and eye catching, there was one major flaw in its design, 212 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: and you could attribute that flaw directly to Paxton's previous 213 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,239 Speaker 1: experience being a hot house designer rather than an architect. 214 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: Because the palace was designed like a giant hot house, 215 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: it basically worked like a giant hot house, so when 216 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: you went inside, it was basically an oven. They put 217 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: in this rather elegantly designed louver system that allowed for 218 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,439 Speaker 1: some ventilation and moved cool air from the base of 219 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: the building up into the main halls. But as you 220 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: make s if you have ever been into a greenhouse 221 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: in your life, is not really enough. No, And I 222 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: mean they had taken other precautions they had. The lover 223 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: system had been built in to the design from almost 224 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,199 Speaker 1: the beginning, and they had even placed the boiler house, 225 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: which produced steam that powered all the exhibits UH in 226 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: another building separate from the exhibit hall. Again that he 227 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: had thought about the heat, it just wasn't enough to 228 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: mitigate the problem because the sun shining through the glass 229 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: still turned the whole place into an oven well. And 230 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: then when you fill it up with people exactly, I 231 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: mean even a fully modernized air conditioned building when filled 232 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: up with people as really, temperature goes up very quickly. 233 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: And so to remedy these temperature issues, they put these 234 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: large canvas tarps that were draped in between the roof 235 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: ridges up to offer some shade, and the fabric draping 236 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: is actually ended up being a benefit in a couple 237 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,679 Speaker 1: of other ways. They cut down on glare, and they 238 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: created a more even softer lighting for the interior of 239 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: the building ing UH. And they had to of course, 240 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, glass not great at load bearing. UM. 241 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: There were so there were small openings designed into the 242 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: seams of the drapings that let water pass through and 243 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,839 Speaker 1: go directly to the Paxton gutters. UH so the tarps 244 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: wouldn't get too heavy for the glass, they wouldn't compromise 245 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: the structure, and again it was a pretty elegant solution 246 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: to the whole problem. One other ingenious aspect of the 247 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: structures design was small gaps in between the wood planks 248 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: and the floor, so every evening after the crowd left, 249 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: they could just sweep the accumulated dirt from the day 250 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: into the gaps for quick going up. Yeah, because remember 251 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: it was a temporary building, so while it had um 252 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: uh like a column sort of base to it, um 253 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: like a foundation, it didn't have like a full slab foundation, 254 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: so they really could just kind of return the dirt 255 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: back to the earth and they it was very very smart, 256 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: uh and it went up on on schedule and opened 257 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: on time. The exhibition open to the public on May one, 258 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one. Nearly fourteen thousand exhibitors were at the show, 259 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: and they featured such items as steam engines, prosthetic legs, 260 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: chewing tobacco, false teeth guns, hydraulic presses, and rubber goods 261 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: made by Goodyear. Exhibitors from France, the United States, Turkey, Russia, 262 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: and Egypt attended, and even the coy Noord diamond was 263 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: on display. The expo ran until October eleventh of eighteen 264 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: fifty one, and there was a big closing ceremony on 265 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: October and everyone agreed that the show had been a 266 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: huge success and it actually did turn a nice profit, 267 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: and more than six million visitors had attended during the 268 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: time that the expo was open. As a consequence of 269 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: all of this success, Joseph Paxton was knighted in that 270 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: same year for his work on the project. Because the 271 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace had been such a success, it inspired other 272 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: exhibitions to house their shows and glass conservatories. This included 273 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: the Cork Exhibition of eighteen fifty two, the New York 274 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: City Exposition of eighteen fifty three, and the Paris Exhibition 275 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty five, as well as others. So having 276 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: a big glass exhibit hall was a thing now, yeah, 277 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: because it was so cool and unique and really beautiful. 278 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: It was cool and unique until everyone was doing it, 279 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: until it became hot and popular. But once the expo 280 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: was over, Paxton really yearned to preserve the exhibit hall, 281 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: as did the public. I think there was a sense 282 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: of they really have to take it down now. And 283 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: while it did have to be moved from its spot 284 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: in Hyde Park. The good news was that because of 285 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: its prefab design, they could be reassembled elsewhere. There were 286 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: a whole lot of battles along the way, but Paxton 287 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: managed to set up the Crystal Palace Company under a 288 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: Royal charter and with the help of a bunch of 289 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: other wealthy gentlemen who were willing to fund the moving 290 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: project and serve as its directors. In August eighteen fifty two, 291 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: the reconstruction started on the Crystal Palace in its new home. 292 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: This was Sydenham Hill, which was in southeast London, and 293 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: the rebuilt Palace opened in June of eighteen fifty four. 294 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,199 Speaker 1: There were some structural changes to it. It didn't go 295 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: together exactly the way it had been for the expo, 296 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: but it was pretty close. Uh. They kind of switched 297 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: some things around, I think to match the new footprints. 298 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't that they got to the end said where 299 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,160 Speaker 1: does this have a piece leftover? Uh? And in its 300 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,879 Speaker 1: new incarnation, the Crystal Palace became what many people call 301 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: the world's first theme park. It had more than two 302 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 1: million visitors each year and they enjoyed educational exhibits. There 303 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 1: were like museum style setups. There was a roller coaster there, 304 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 1: there was live entertainment, there were cricket matches. Uh. And 305 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: they even put in a prehistoric dinosaur swamp, which I 306 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: kind of love. Uh. And it's worth keeping in mind 307 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: that the existence of dinosaurs, while there had been some 308 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: fossil record for a long time before that, they really 309 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: had only kind of put together the concept of what 310 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: dinosaurs were a few decades before this, so they were 311 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: kind of working from very early ideas of dinosaurs. The 312 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace Park was even popular with royalty, which is 313 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: not so surprising. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited on 314 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: a regular basis, and kings, queens, shaws, sultan's and all 315 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,479 Speaker 1: kinds of other rulers from all over the world visited 316 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,440 Speaker 1: as well, and as a random and very holly specific 317 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,720 Speaker 1: interest aside. In eighteen seventy one, the Crystal Palace was 318 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: actually home to the world's first cat show, uh, and 319 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: it actually hosted many other subsequent shows of cats and 320 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: other animals. So it's just a very popular place, uh, 321 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: you know, huge kind of cultural center in theme park. Right. 322 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: That actually was after the Crystal Palace started its long 323 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: and unfortunate run of terrible luck. Yeah. It had been 324 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: such a great success as an exhibition hall, and everyone 325 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: really lauded its beauty and its beautiful design. But one 326 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: it moved, it seemed like it's luck kind of ran out. 327 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: It started to have one piece of bad fortune after another. 328 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: And whether you want to attribute that to actual change 329 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: in luck or just this will happen. When a thing 330 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: is around a long time, it will accumulate bad events. 331 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: It really had some really rough ones. Yeah. It starts 332 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,080 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty one when high winds damaged to the structure, 333 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 1: and then a few years after that. Five years after that, 334 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: on December eighteen sixty six, a fire destroyed the north 335 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: end of the building and a number of the natural 336 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:37,399 Speaker 1: history displays, including the Alhambra, Assyrian, Byzantine Court, Indian and 337 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: naval galleries, as well as the tropical department. And they 338 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,880 Speaker 1: had sort of a small zoo happening at the time, 339 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,440 Speaker 1: and several of the animals housed in that park zoo 340 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 1: were also killed, but due to funding issues, only a 341 00:19:50,160 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: portion of the destroyed building could be rebuilt. In a 342 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: hot air balloon accident at the park caused one fatality, 343 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: and in eight nine an escaped elephant trampled a park visitor. 344 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: That's both tragic and crazy to me that there was 345 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: an escaped elephant in a giant glass structure. Well, I 346 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: think it wasn't in the glass structure, it was in 347 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: the bigger park. The park was really quite large. The 348 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: structure was the centerpiece, but there were lots of other 349 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: things going out, like the dinosaur swamp was outside the building, 350 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: but the whole thing was considered the Crystal Palace as 351 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: a park I see. And then in nineteen eleven the 352 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,400 Speaker 1: park actually declared bankruptcy. Even though it had been wildly 353 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: popular and continued to be and had many visitors, the 354 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: cost of upkeep, especially when they were having to do 355 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: things like repair glass that was injured or that was 356 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,439 Speaker 1: damaged in winds, you know, rebuild sections that have been 357 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: lost in fire. They just could not keep up with 358 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: the expenses of rebuilding and maintaining. And prior to the 359 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: bankruptcy and sort of a last ditch effort to drum 360 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: up some cash, the Palace had hosted what they called 361 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,119 Speaker 1: the Festival of Empire, which coincided with George the Fifth 362 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,919 Speaker 1: Coronation and the pageants and the displays did give the 363 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: finances of the park a slight lift, but it really 364 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: was not enough to undo decades worth of fiscal strain. 365 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 1: So on September eleventh of nineteen eleven, an announcement appeared 366 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: in The Times stating that the Crystal Palace would be 367 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: sold at auction on November twenty eight of that year, 368 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,439 Speaker 1: And in the weeks after the announcement a flurry of 369 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 1: uproar and crazy fiscal juggling started happening because people really 370 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,160 Speaker 1: did love it and they wanted to save it somehow. 371 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: On the ninth of November, the Times ran the headline 372 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace Saved. So Lord Plymouth, who was Lord Lieutenant 373 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: of Glamorgan and Mayor of Cardiff, had arranged to purchase 374 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: the palace for two hundred and ten thousand pounds to 375 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,639 Speaker 1: try to keep the beloved park off of the auction block. 376 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: The Lord Mayor of London then set up a fund 377 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: to purchase the property from Lord Plymouth, and in thirteen 378 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace became a National property. Yeah, Lord Plymouth 379 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:14,360 Speaker 1: sort of stepped in. He didn't actually want to become 380 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,479 Speaker 1: the owner of the park, but he wanted to save it, 381 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: and it was one of those like, look, I will 382 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: do the quick thing we have to do to save 383 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: the situation and buy us some time. And that gave 384 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,320 Speaker 1: the Lord Mayor of London time to be like, let's 385 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: now start to build up some money so we can 386 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,919 Speaker 1: take this financial strain off of you and give it 387 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: to the people of the country. Uh. In nineteen fourteen, 388 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 1: a charitable trust was established under the Ministry of Education 389 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: to keep the park and the historical building going, and 390 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: the trustees hired Henry James Buckland as manager of the 391 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace. Buckland was so completely devoted to the park 392 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 1: and the palace and his job that he even named 393 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,640 Speaker 1: one of his daughter's crystal in its honor. That's kind 394 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 1: of lovely, it is. During World War One, the Crystal 395 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: Palace was close to the public so it could be 396 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: used as a training area for the Royal Naval Division. 397 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 1: The property was designated as the Royal Naval Shore Station 398 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: HMS Victory six, but soon became known as HMS Crystal Palace. 399 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,399 Speaker 1: And once that had wrapped up and it got it 400 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: reopened to the public for the next couple of decades, 401 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:28,439 Speaker 1: Buckland really worked tirelessly to restore the neglected park and 402 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 1: work on continual improvements, because you know, it had been 403 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: falling into some disrepair prior to the auction, and so 404 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: he was kind of making up for some lost time 405 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: of care. But under his management it even started to 406 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: turn a small profit again. So just when things seemed 407 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: to be going better, they actually had seemed to be 408 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,439 Speaker 1: going better for a little while at this On the 409 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:56,160 Speaker 1: night of November six, the Crystal Palace was almost entirely 410 00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: destroyed by a fire. According to a BBC article written 411 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,719 Speaker 1: on the history of the Crystal Palace, there were fire engines, 412 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 1: fo fire officers and seven forty nine police officers called 413 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,199 Speaker 1: to the scene to try to fight the fire, but 414 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: it wasn't enough. Only the towers survived, and the cause 415 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: of the blaze was never identified. Yeah, there was a 416 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: lot of speculation. Some people claimed it had to have 417 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: been arson, but there are other instances where people were like, hey, 418 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: it's a giant building full of delicate displays that have 419 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: lots of glue and paper in them. This could have 420 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: just naturally happened, and it was so easy to spread, 421 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,160 Speaker 1: as sometimes unfortunately happens in museums. Displays are often not 422 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: always made to be really fire retardant um, and by 423 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: n seven most of the ironwork of the once regal 424 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,119 Speaker 1: and now demolished Crystal Palace had actually been removed by 425 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: scrap merchants because at that point to rebuild the whole 426 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: building they just did not have the finances for it. 427 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: During World War Two, the park, which still existed even 428 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: though the Crystal Palace had been destroyed, was close to 429 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: the public again and used as a post for governmental 430 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 1: war work. For a while, the North Tower was used 431 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 1: to test dummy bombs. Yeah, they would drop them off 432 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: the tower and test them. It's kind of fine. It's 433 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: like dropping eggs to kind of The South tower was 434 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: dismantled over the course of the winter of nineteen ninety one, 435 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,960 Speaker 1: and then on April sixteenth one, the North Tower was 436 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: destroyed with explosives. According to some accounts, the towers were 437 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 1: continued considered too conspicuous and war strategists feared that they 438 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,199 Speaker 1: would be too easy for German bombers to spot. So 439 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,959 Speaker 1: here's a quote from Buckland about the state of the 440 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: park following all of this. The general devastation which we 441 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: have suffered would lead one to suppose that our acres 442 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,120 Speaker 1: had been chosen as the field for the most realistic 443 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: battle of the war. All our equipment, stands, seating, and 444 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: furniture have either been destroyed or removed by the military. 445 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: Not an inch of mahogany has been left in the 446 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: contents of the buildings, not a single shelf has been 447 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: left in any cupboard. Yeah, Buckland was really not very 448 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 1: delighted with how the military returned his beloved park. I 449 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: mean again, remember that this man loved his work and 450 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,199 Speaker 1: his job, so I think he kind of felt like 451 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: it had been misused and abused a little bit. And 452 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: it should be noted that Buckland actually stayed on as 453 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 1: manager there until he resigned in nineteen nine. In nineteen 454 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 1: forty five, competition was announced for architects and town planners 455 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: to submit layouts for a new Crystal Palace and surroundings, 456 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,719 Speaker 1: and while a winner was announced in May of nineteen 457 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: forty six, in June of that same year a letter 458 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,200 Speaker 1: to the Joint Committee on the part of the assessors 459 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,719 Speaker 1: indicated that while a prize had been awarded, the winning 460 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: entry was not practical and they should have another competition. Uh, 461 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: we didn't really find any evidence that that second competition 462 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: never really took place. No, it seems like there was. 463 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: I'm not sure how much of it can be chalked 464 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:06,919 Speaker 1: up to like poor planning versus they just didn't get 465 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: the level of expertise in the entries that they had 466 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: hoped for. But it was sort of like, uh, we 467 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: just had to pick the one that we thought was 468 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: generally prettiest, but we can't make any of these, which 469 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: is a pity. And then it it never really happened. Um. However, 470 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace Park still remains. Uh. Now it's home 471 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: to a concert bowl, there's a sports center there, there's 472 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 1: pretty much all of the other accouterments you would expect 473 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: in a park like play areas. Uh. And the dinosaur 474 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: court remains though, and it was actually refurbished a while back, 475 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: which I kind of love. Uh. And even though the 476 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: dinosaurs are not really we recognize now as accurate, you know, 477 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,159 Speaker 1: like I said, they were originally put together and design 478 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: when we didn't know as much about dinosaurs as we 479 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: do now. So some of them would be a little 480 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,719 Speaker 1: silly if you look at them with um a picky 481 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: I do they have caveman next to them? I've seen 482 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 1: pictures and I didn't see any caveman, but there are 483 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: like some downed animals and stuff, like some snacks. I 484 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: would have a problem with caveman. No. Uh. And in 485 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 1: the year since Sir Henry Buckland resigned, there's been a 486 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: steady ebb and flow of projects in the park, as 487 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: there would be in any public space where you know, 488 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: people will make a bid to build a thing, and 489 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 1: sometimes it even gets announced in the papers, but then 490 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 1: it never happens, or small structures are built. One building 491 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 1: was turned into a museum for the Crystal Palace. Uh, 492 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,639 Speaker 1: But you know continues. However, there is a sort of 493 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 1: new development. Yeah. In July, which is basically just before 494 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: we're recording this. Yeah, just a few weeks ago it 495 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: was announced that the Chinese developer was working on plans 496 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: to rebuild Paxton's Crystal Palace, although the Mayor's office and 497 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 1: Bromley Council representatives were pretty clear that the project was 498 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: still in the very very early and theoretical state ages. Yeah, 499 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 1: there have been other discussions that it was going to 500 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 1: get rebuilt before that didn't pan out, So we'll see 501 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,120 Speaker 1: what happens. It would be really neat if that could happen, 502 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 1: but we don't know. We'll see, We'll wait and see. 503 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 1: As for Sir Joseph Paxton, the architect of the original 504 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace, he continued to design gardens and build structures 505 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: and hot houses and he actually became a member of 506 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: Parliament in eighteen fifty four and he held that post 507 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 1: until his death in eighteen sixty five. So he really did, 508 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: as we mentioned at the top of the podcast, kind 509 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: of He's a great story of like rags to riches 510 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: upward mobility is a bit extreme. I don't think it 511 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,160 Speaker 1: was quite that with his farm family, but he really 512 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 1: did kind of just through his own smarts and ingenuity, 513 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:47,719 Speaker 1: rise to prominence with beautiful, gigantic glass building. Absolutely gorgeous. Uh. 514 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: We'll have lots of links in show notes, and many 515 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: of them will have pictures of the Crystal Palace. It's 516 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 1: so amazing, what a huge structure it was. Just the 517 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 1: sheer size of it is really pretty um overwhelming. I 518 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: had imagined it as much smaller until looking at all 519 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: of these pictures and the people, it's so teeny. Yeah, 520 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: when you actually see some of the sketches and stuff 521 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: of the elm trees that were encased in it, and 522 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:18,800 Speaker 1: the people walking around in there, and people up on 523 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: the balconies on the upper levels. It's almost startling. That 524 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: can't be. That is to scale, al right, It makes 525 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: total sense that they would put in wooden supports that 526 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: were much more to make it look sturdier, because I 527 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: probably would have been scared to go in there. Yeah, 528 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: but to the best of my knowledge, no incidents related 529 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: to the safety of the structure ever happened during the expo, 530 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: and that was some heavy foot traffic. Go Paxton, you 531 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,600 Speaker 1: knew what you were doing, even though everyone doubted you. 532 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: Pay so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 533 00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: this episode is out of the archive, if you heard 534 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: an email address or Facebook U r L or something 535 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: similar over the course of the show, that could be 536 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: obsolete now. Our current email address is History Podcast at 537 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: I heart radio dot com. Our old how stuff Works 538 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,959 Speaker 1: email address no longer works, and you can find us 539 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: all over social media at missed in History and you 540 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, 541 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen 542 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 543 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I 544 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or 545 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.