1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: I'll and I'm Tracy Wilson, and today we're going to 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: talk about a famous piece of architecture. Uh and some 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: pieces of architecture seemed to have nothing but bad luck, 6 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 1: and today's topic could probably be filed under luck comma bad. 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: But it didn't start out that way. It's it's beginnings 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: were quite lovely and pretty glorious and um, you know, 9 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: filled with success. Yeah, the run of bad luck was 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: definitely a later part of its history. Yes, when the 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: building moved, which is one of those things that doesn't 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: happen very often, but in this case, uh, it did. 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: And it was a gloriously beautiful structure which was called 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace. And that's a name that's been attributed 15 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: to many many buildings, but this is kind of the 16 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace Paul capital letters. Yes. Uh so, first we'll 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: talk a little little bit about the architect behind it, 18 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: who did not actually start out as an architect. No, 19 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: and this this led to some concerns. Yeah, so it 20 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: was Sir Joseph Paxton. He was a nineteenth century English 21 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: botanist and then later an architect. He designed um meant 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: More towers and a famous hot house which was called 23 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: the Great Stove at Chatsworth, and he also designed gardens, 24 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: and there is a piece called Bourgeois and Aristocratic Cultural 25 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: Encounters in Garden Art of fifteen fifty to eighteen fifty 26 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: and in that piece Margaret Flanders Darby says that Paxton 27 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: quote is celebrated as the very definition of nineteenth century 28 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: upward mobility because he started out humble and ended up 29 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: pretty celebrated. Yeah. He was born on August third, eighteen 30 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: o one in Bedfordshire to a farm family, and when 31 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: he was young he worked for the Duke of Devonshire 32 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: as a gardener at Chiswick Gardens. In eighteen twenty six 33 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: he had cultivated this French with the Duke and really 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: impressed him with his horticultural wiles. So at that point 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: he was assigned to the post of Superintendent of Gardens 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: at the Duke's estate in Derbyshire known as Chatsworth. Some 37 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: of the elements of the garden designs that he created 38 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: there uh in what's called the classic mixed style, still 39 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: exists and there at Chatsworth Paxton designed and build a 40 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: greenhouse for the Duke, that's the one we referenced earlier 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: called the which is sometimes casually called the Great Stove 42 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: because it was a hothouse. Uh. And he also created 43 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: these really impressive fountains. He built a model village there. Uh. 44 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: He was very busy creating a lot of structures for 45 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: the garden and the grounds. And one of his greatest 46 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,399 Speaker 1: accomplishments was that he was able to keep this exotic 47 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: lily cutting that he got from Guiana not just alive 48 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: but thriving. The leaves were allegedly twelve feet wide, so 49 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: if you can wrap your brain around that, there is 50 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: a picture of his daughter sitting on one of them. 51 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: That was just this amazing acomplishment considering that this was England, 52 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: which is not really where you think about these giant, 53 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: sort of exotic lilies growing. Uh. And he had built 54 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: at the specialized house for the heated pool, which was 55 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: quite new to the idea of gardening. And he was 56 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: obviously an extremely clever man, and he had this innate 57 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: and ability to solve problems in really creative ways. But 58 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: he also had an eye for the visual element, because 59 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: often these creative problem solving situations were also just visually stunning. 60 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty nine, Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who 61 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: was also the President of the Royal Society of Arts, 62 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,119 Speaker 1: launched this plan to host an exhibition to showcase Great 63 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: Britain's industrial achievements. He managed to get funding for the 64 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: project really quickly. Most of that funding came from quick 65 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria and he planned a site for the expo 66 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: at Hyde Park. So designers were asked to submit their 67 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: ideas for a structure for the ship to the Industrial 68 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: Exhibition Executive Committee. So it's a little bit of a 69 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: design contest, uh, And there were numerous challenges for architects 70 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: to deal with if they wanted to submit to this project. First, 71 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: this structure had to be constructed quickly. Second, there were 72 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: concerns about the destruction of elm trees in the park, 73 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: so the hope was that the design would accommodate those 74 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: elm trees in some way. Third, the building had to 75 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: be temporary. It would have to be removed from Hyde 76 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,679 Speaker 1: Park by a date of June one, eight fifty two, 77 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: And of course it also had to be big enough 78 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: to accommodate all of the exhibitors that the committee wanted 79 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: to attract, as well as all the foot traffic that 80 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: they wanted to come and see the visitors. So that's 81 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: kind of a tall order. It needed to be a 82 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: giant temporary convention center basically, which even with modern tech, 83 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,119 Speaker 1: would be kind of tricky. I know it happens, right, 84 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: but then when you think back to the early eighteen fifties, 85 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: it's really quite something to think about, right. Joseph pack 86 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,480 Speaker 1: To submitted his idea for a glass and iron structure 87 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: on June. The commission wanted him to address the concern 88 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: over destroying the elm trees in the park, and they 89 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: requested that he revised his design to include this vaulted 90 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: cross wise piece in the building, which is called a transept, 91 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: and that would enclose the elm trees and prevent the 92 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: need for them to be destroyed. He did this, and 93 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: his design was accepted in part because his construction plan 94 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: involved pieces that could be brought together in segments and 95 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: installed in a modular production process. All the other submitted 96 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: designs and involved this like large scale masonry, so they 97 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: really we're not practical for the very short time frame 98 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: they had to build a thing for the idea that 99 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: they wanted to take it down later. Yeah, it's almost 100 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 1: like they got this idea of they wanted to showcase 101 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: their country's cultural history. So a lot of them kind 102 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: of went in the castle zone and it's like, no, no, 103 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: you're missing kind of part of the brief. We need 104 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: to we need this to be quick up and down right. Well, 105 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: And I think if I had been in the meeting 106 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: where they came up with this whole idea in the 107 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: first place, it's like, let's build a really big building, 108 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: but only for a very short amount of time and 109 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: then we will take it down, I would have just 110 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: been like, are you serious? Is this the best use 111 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: of your time and resources? Well, but uh, you know, 112 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,239 Speaker 1: Paxson figured it out and because the most available glass 113 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: dimension at the time was apparently ten inches by fort 114 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: uh and the structure was going to need a lot 115 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: of glass, that standard size was actually used as the 116 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: basis for a lot of the entire design. There's actually 117 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: a really really cool site that will link to in 118 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: the show notes that breaks down how that geometry works. 119 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: And they've actually built out CG models of the various 120 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: elements of the structure so you can kind of look 121 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: at them in three D and see how it all 122 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: came together and how those glass pieces were used in 123 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: those dimensions to create what became the Crystal Palace. And 124 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: as a side note, I feel like I should say 125 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: the name the Crystal Palace was not officially given by Pakiston. 126 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: It kind of came up in the press as this 127 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: was being discussed during the submission and acceptance process and 128 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: the the pre build lead up to it. That journalists 129 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: started calling it a Palace of crystal, and it kind 130 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: of took the name accidentally, but then it got adopted officially. 131 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: I wonder if that annoyed people who were really into 132 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: glass possibly. Maybe One really interesting challenge that comes with 133 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 1: building a huge building made entirely of glass is the 134 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: fact that glass just can't handle a huge waterload in 135 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: that configuration, so rain can be really dangerous. So they 136 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: put in special gutters, which of course were named Paxiston gutters, 137 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: and those are designed to quickly carry water away through 138 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: this big gutter system and really just keep fluid from 139 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: accumulating on the roof and crushing the thing. Yeah, it 140 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: was very, very efficient. It was almost like a tributary 141 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: approach in reverse, where they would start very small and 142 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: just lead into the progressively bigger gutter system. Well, and 143 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: if you think about like our office is pretty much 144 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: a giant building walled in glass, those are there's the 145 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: vertical surfaces, Like the horizontal surfaces in our building are 146 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: are not glass because it's too it's really really hard 147 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: to Maintainpecially it's safe and we'll get to the scale 148 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: in a little bit when we talking about construction, which 149 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: will make you realize how mammoth the structure really was. 150 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: I was, I was unaware. Uh. During construction, there was concern, 151 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: as you hinted at earlier, that Paxton's lack of real 152 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: architectural experience was really going to be a problem. Who 153 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,719 Speaker 1: are like, well, yes, it's beautiful, but there's going I 154 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: don't know how to make buildings. He makes greenhouses, uh, 155 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: and his area of expertise was hothouses, So they were 156 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,599 Speaker 1: not the kind of things that would be seeing the 157 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: kind of foot traffic that the Expo was expected to have. 158 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: And there was very real fear. Yeah, meeting Tracy again 159 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: would be saying sure, so due to all these concerns 160 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: that the Expo was going to be housed in a 161 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: structure that was designed by a gardener, even though his 162 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: experience had really moved way past just gardening at that point. 163 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 1: It was decided that all iron girders had to be 164 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: tested before they could be installed, and they also added 165 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: cross bracings that were made of wood, primarily as sort 166 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: of a visual reassurance for visitors. Yeah, it just looked sturdier, yeah, 167 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: which is kind of fun. And the building was actually 168 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: put together in less than eight months by two thousand 169 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: men that are sometimes referred to in some um historical 170 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: documents on it as unskilled labors. Like basically these skilled 171 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: workers had put together the modular pieces, but then they 172 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,319 Speaker 1: were shipped to the site and it was almost like, 173 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: I don't want to demean it by saying, like click together, 174 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: but you really didn't have to have like a degree 175 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: in engineering to see how they went together and to 176 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: assemble those barn raising. It was pretty smartly designed in 177 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: that regard barn raising or glass. Yes, And the finished 178 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: dimensions of this structure are it was one thousand, eight 179 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: hundred and forty eight feet long, which is about five 180 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: hundred sixty three. It was four hundred and eight feet 181 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: wide or a hundred and a hundred and eight feet high, 182 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: which is about thirty three ms on including the galleries 183 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: and the ground floor, more than eight miles or thirteen 184 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: kilometers of display tables were housed. Eight miles of display tables. 185 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: This is where my mind really boggled. Well, it's one 186 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: of those things where trying to kind of filter it through, 187 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: like my modern experience, I'm like, this is kind of 188 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: like a dragon Con or comic con was in an 189 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: entirely glass building. Let's never do that, no, for other reasons, 190 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: but when you think about it at that scale of 191 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: like a huge convention center that's made entirely of glass, 192 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: you can't help but be a little one impressed at 193 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: just the sheer brazenness of it, and two pretty wowed 194 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: by the engineering, again by someone who people were kind 195 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 1: of poo pooing as a mere gardener. So yeah, well, 196 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: and to be fair, while the structure was definitely unique 197 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: and eye catching, there was one major flaw in its design, 198 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: and you could attribute that flaw directly to Paxton's previous 199 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: experience being a hot house designer rather than an architect. 200 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: Because the palace was designed like a giant hot house, 201 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: it basically worked like a giant hot house. So when 202 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: you went inside, it was basically an oven. They put 203 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 1: in this rather elegantly designed louver system that allowed for 204 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:56,839 Speaker 1: some ventilation and moved cool air from the base of 205 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: the building up into the main halls. But as you 206 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: may guess if you have ever been into a greenhouse 207 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: in your life, is not really enough. No, and I 208 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: mean they had taken other precautions. They had. The liver 209 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: system had been built in to the design from almost 210 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: the beginning, and they had even placed the boiler house 211 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 1: which produced steam that powered all the exhibits UH in 212 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: another building separate from the exhibit hall. Again that he 213 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: had thought about the heat, it just wasn't enough to 214 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: mitigate the problem, because the sun shining through the glass 215 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: still turned the whole place into an oven. Well. And 216 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 1: then when you fill it up with people, I mean 217 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: even a fully modernized air conditioned building, when filled up 218 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: with people, as the temperature goes up very quickly. And 219 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: so to remedy these temperature issues, they put these large 220 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: canvas tarps that were draped in between the roof ridges 221 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: up to offer some shade, and the fabric drapings actually 222 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,439 Speaker 1: ended up being a benefit in a couple of other ways. 223 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: They cut down on glare and they created a more 224 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: even softer lighting for the interior of the building. Uh. 225 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: And they had to of course, as we mentioned, glass 226 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: not great at load bearing. Um there were so there 227 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: were small openings designed into the seams of the drapings 228 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: that let water pass through and go directly to the 229 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: paxton gutters. Uh. So the tarps wouldn't get too heavy 230 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: for the glass, they wouldn't compromise the structure, and again 231 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: it was a pretty elegant solution to the whole problem. 232 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: One other ingenious aspect of the structures design was small 233 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: gaps in between the wood planks and the floor. So 234 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,200 Speaker 1: every evening after the crowd left, they could just sweep 235 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: the accumulated dirt from the day into the gaps for 236 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: quick going up. Yeah. Because remember it was a temporary building. 237 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: So while it had um uh like a column sort 238 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: of base to it um like a foundation, it didn't 239 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: have like a full slab foundation, so they really could 240 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:52,680 Speaker 1: just kind of return the dirt back to the earth. 241 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: And then it was very very smart uh, And it 242 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,360 Speaker 1: went up on on schedule and opened onto time. The 243 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 1: exhibition opened to the public on May one, eighteen fifty one. 244 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: Nearly fourteen thousand exhibitors were at the show, and they 245 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:14,200 Speaker 1: featured such items as steam engines, prosthetic legs, chewing tobacco, 246 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: false teeth guns, hydraulic presses, and rubber goods made by Goodyear. 247 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: Exhibitors from France, the United States, Turkey, Russia, and Egypt attended, 248 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: and even the coy Door Diamond was on display. The 249 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: expo ran until October eleventh of eighteen fifty one, and 250 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: there was a big closing ceremony on October fift and 251 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: everyone agreed that the show had been a huge success 252 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: and it actually did turn a nice profit, and more 253 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: than six million visitors had attended during the time that 254 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: the expo was open. As a consequence of all of 255 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: this success, Joseph Paxton was knighted in that same year 256 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: for his work on the project. Because the Crystal Palace 257 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: had been such a success, it inspired other exhibitions to 258 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: house their shows and glass conservatories. This included the Cork 259 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: x Shibition of eighteen fifty two, the New York City 260 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: Exposition of eighteen fifty three, and the Paris Exhibition of 261 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty five, as well as others. So having a 262 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: big glass Exhibit Hall was a thing now, yeah, because 263 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: it was so cool and unique and really beautiful. It 264 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 1: was cool and unique until everyone was doing it, until 265 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: it became hot and popular. But once the Expo was over, 266 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: Paxson really yearned to preserve the Exhibit Hall, as did 267 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: the public. I think there was a sense of they 268 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: really have to take it down now. And while it 269 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: did have to be moved from its spot in Hyde Park, 270 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: the good news was that because of its prefab design, 271 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: it could be reassembled elsewhere. There were a whole lot 272 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: of battles along the way, but Paxson managed to set 273 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: up the Crystal Palace Company under a Royal charter and 274 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: with the help of a bunch of other wealthy gentlemen 275 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: who were willing to fund the moving project and serve 276 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: as its directors. In August eighteen fifty two, the k 277 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: instruction started on the Crystal Palace in its new home. 278 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: This was Sydenham Hill, which was in southeast London, and 279 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: the rebuilt palace opened in June of eighteen fifty four. 280 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: There were some structural changes to it. It didn't go 281 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: together exactly the way it had been for the Expo, 282 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: but it was pretty close. Uh, they kind of switched 283 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: some things around, I think to match the new footprints. 284 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't that they got to the end where does 285 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: have a piece leftover? Uh though. And in its new incarnation, 286 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace became what many people call the world's 287 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: first theme park. It had more than two million visitors 288 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: each year, and they enjoyed educational exhibits. There were like 289 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: museum style setups. There was a roller coaster. There, there 290 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: was live entertainment, there were cricket matches. Uh. And they 291 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: even put in a prehistoric dinosaur swamp, which I kind 292 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 1: of love. Uh. And it's worth keeping in mind that 293 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: the existence of dinosaurs, while there had been some fossil 294 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: record for a long time before that, they really had 295 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: only kind of put together there the concept of what 296 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: dinosaurs were a few decades before this, so they were 297 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 1: kind of working from very early ideas of dinosaurs. The 298 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace Park was even popular with royalty, which is 299 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: not so surprising. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited on 300 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: a regular basis, and kings, queens, shaws, Sultan's and all 301 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,880 Speaker 1: kinds of other rulers from all over the world visited 302 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: as well. And as a random and very holly specific 303 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: interest aside. In eighteen seventy one, the Crystal Palace was 304 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: actually home to the world's first cat show. Uh, and 305 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 1: it actually hosted many other subsequent shows of cats and 306 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,239 Speaker 1: other animals. So it's just a very popular place. Uh, 307 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,400 Speaker 1: you know, huge kind of cultural center and theme park. Right. 308 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: That actually was after the Crystal Palace started its long 309 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 1: and unfortunate run of terrible look. Yeah, it had been 310 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,919 Speaker 1: such a great success as an exhibition hall, and everyone 311 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: really lauded its beauty and its beautiful design. But once 312 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,880 Speaker 1: it moved, it seemed like its luck kind of ran out. 313 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: It started to have one piece of bad fortune after another. 314 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 1: And whether you want to attribute that to actual change 315 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,360 Speaker 1: in luck or just this will happen when a thing 316 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: is around a long time, it will accumulate bad events. 317 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 1: It really had some really rough ones. Yeah. That starts 318 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty one when high winds damaged the structure, 319 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: and then a few years after that. Five years after that, 320 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: on December thirtieth, eighteen sixty six, a fire destroyed the 321 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,119 Speaker 1: north end of the building and a number of the 322 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 1: natural history displays, including the Alhambra Assyrian Byzantine Court Indian 323 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: and Naval galleries, as well as the Tropical Department, and 324 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: they had sort of a small zoo happening at the time, 325 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: and several of the animals housed in that park zoo 326 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: were also killed, but due to funding issues, only a 327 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: portion of the destroyed building could be rebuilt. In eighteen 328 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: nine two, a hot air balloon accident at the park 329 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,440 Speaker 1: caused one fatality, and in eighteen ninety and escaped elephant 330 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: trampled a park visitor. That's both tragic and crazy to 331 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: me that there was an escaped elephant in a giant 332 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,920 Speaker 1: glass structure. Well, I think it wasn't in the glass structure. 333 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: It was in the bigger park. Because the park was 334 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:17,880 Speaker 1: really quite large. The structure was the centerpiece, but there 335 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: were lots of other things going out, like the dinosaur 336 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: swamp was outside the building. That the whole thing was 337 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,959 Speaker 1: considered the Crystal Palace as a park. And then in 338 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven the park actually declared bankruptcy. Even though it 339 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: had been wildly popular and continued to be and had 340 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: many visitors, the cost of upkeep, especially when they were 341 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: having to do things like repair glass that was injured 342 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 1: or that was damaged in winds, you know, rebuild sections 343 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: that have been lost in fire. They just could not 344 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: keep up with the expenses of rebuilding and maintaining, and 345 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: prior to the bankruptcy and sort of a last ditch 346 00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: effort to drum up some cash, the Palace had did 347 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: what they called the Festival of Empire, which coincided with 348 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: George the Fifth Coronation, and the pageants and the displays 349 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: did give the finances of the park a slight lift, 350 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: but it really was not enough to undo decades worth 351 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: of fiscal strain. So on September eleventh of nineteen eleven, 352 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: an announcement appeared in The Times stating that the Crystal 353 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: Palace would be sold at auction on November twenty eighth 354 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,399 Speaker 1: of that year, And in the weeks after the announcement, 355 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: a flurry of uproar and crazy fiscal juggling started happening 356 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: because people really did love it and they wanted to 357 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: save it somehow. On the ninth of November, the Times 358 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:40,399 Speaker 1: ran the headline Crystal Palace saved. So Lord Plymouth, who 359 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: was Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan and Mayor of Cardiff, had 360 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: arranged to purchase the palace for two hundred and ten 361 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,400 Speaker 1: thousand pounds to try to keep the beloved park off 362 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: of the auction block. The Lord Mayor of London then 363 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: set up a fund to purchase the property from Lord Plymouth, 364 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 1: and in thirteen the Crystal Palace became National property. Yeah, 365 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: Lord Plymouth sort of stepped in. He didn't actually want 366 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 1: to become the owner of the park, but he wanted 367 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 1: to save it. And it was one of those like, look, 368 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,239 Speaker 1: I will do the quick thing we have to do 369 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,479 Speaker 1: to save the situation and buy us some time. And 370 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: that gave the Lord Mayor of London time to be like, 371 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: let's now start to build up some money, so we 372 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: can take this financial strain off of you and give 373 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: it to the people of the country. Uh. In nineteen fourteen, 374 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: a charitable trust was established under the Ministry of Education 375 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: to keep the park and the historical building going, and 376 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: the trustees hired Henry James Buckland as manager of the 377 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace. Buckland was so completely devoted to the park 378 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,880 Speaker 1: and the palace and his job that he even named 379 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,360 Speaker 1: one of his daughter's crystal in its honor. That's kind 380 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,719 Speaker 1: of lovely, it is. During World War One, the Crystal 381 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: Palace was close to the public so it could be 382 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: used as a training are it for the Royal Naval Division. 383 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: The property was designated as the Royal Naval Shore Station 384 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: HMS Victory six, but soon became known as HMS Crystal Palace. 385 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: And once that had wrapped up and it got it 386 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: reopened to the public. For the next couple of decades, 387 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:21,159 Speaker 1: Buckland really worked tirelessly to restore the neglected park and 388 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: work on continual improvements, because you know, it had been 389 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,959 Speaker 1: falling into some disrepair prior to the auction, and so 390 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: he was kind of making up for some lost time 391 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: of care. But under his management it even started to 392 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,719 Speaker 1: turn a small profit again. So just when things seemed 393 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: to be going better, they actually had seemed to be 394 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: going better for a little while at this point. On 395 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,160 Speaker 1: the night of NOVEMBERTI six, the Crystal Palace was almost 396 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: entirely destroyed by a fire. According to a BBC article 397 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: written on the history of the Crystal Palace, there were 398 00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: eight eight fire engines, four fire officers and seven forty 399 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 1: nine police officers called to the scene to try to 400 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: fight the fire, but it wasn't enough. Only the towers survived, 401 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: and the cause of the blaze was never identified. Yeah, 402 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: there was a lot of speculation. Some people claimed it 403 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: had to have been arson, But there are other instances 404 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: where people are like, hey, it's a giant building full 405 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,440 Speaker 1: of delicate displays that have lots of glue and paper 406 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: in them. This could have just naturally happened, and it 407 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: was so easy to spread, as sometimes unfortunately happened in museums. 408 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:35,240 Speaker 1: Displays are often not always made to be really fire 409 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: retardant um, and by n seven, most of the iron 410 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: work of the once regal and now demolished Crystal Palace 411 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 1: had actually been removed by scrap merchants because at that 412 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: point to rebuild the whole building, they just did not 413 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: have the finances for it. During World War Two, the park, 414 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,160 Speaker 1: which still existed even though the Crystal Palace had been destroyed, 415 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: was closed to the public again and used as a 416 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: post for governmental war work. For a while, the North 417 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: Tower was used to test dummy bombs. Yeah, they would 418 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,439 Speaker 1: just drop them off the tower and test them, just 419 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 1: kind of It's like dropping eggs and kind of. The 420 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: South Tower was dismantled over the course of the winter 421 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: of nineteen ninety one, and then on April sixteenth one, 422 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: the North tower was destroyed with explosives. According to some accounts, 423 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: the towers were continued considered too conspicuous and war strategists 424 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 1: feared that they would be too easy for German bombers 425 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,159 Speaker 1: to spot. So here's a quote from Buckland about the 426 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: state of the park following all of this. The general 427 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 1: devastation which we have suffered would lead one to suppose 428 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: that our acres had been chosen as the field for 429 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,439 Speaker 1: the most realistic battle of the war. All our equipment, stands, seating, 430 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: and furniture have either been destroyed or removed by the military. 431 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 1: Not an inch of mahogany has been left in the 432 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,880 Speaker 1: contents of the buildings. Not a single shelf has been 433 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: left in any cover. Yeah, Buckland was really not very 434 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,639 Speaker 1: delighted without the military returned his beloved park. I mean again, 435 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 1: remember that this man loved his work and his job, 436 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: so I think he kind of felt like it had 437 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 1: been misused and abused a little bit. Uh. And it 438 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: should be noted that Buckland actually stayed on as manager 439 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: there until he resigned in nineteen nine. In nineteen forty five, 440 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,639 Speaker 1: competition was announced for architects and town planners to submit 441 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 1: layouts for a new Crystal Palace and surroundings, and while 442 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,160 Speaker 1: a winner was announced in May of nineteen forty six, 443 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: in June of that same year, a letter to the 444 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: Joint Committee on the part of the assessors indicated that 445 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: while a prize had been awarded, the winning entry was 446 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: not practical and they should have another competition. Uh. We 447 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: didn't really find any evidence that that second competition never 448 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: really took place. No, it seems like there was I'm 449 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: not sure how much of it can be chalked up 450 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: to like poor planning versus they just didn't get the 451 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 1: level of expertise in the entries that they had hoped for. 452 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 1: But it was sort of like, uh, we just had 453 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: to pick the one that we thought was generally prettiest, 454 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: but we can't make any of these, which is a pity. 455 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: And then it it never really happened. Um. However, the 456 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace park still remains. Uh. Now it's home to 457 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: a concert bowl, there's a sports center there, there's pretty 458 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: much all of the other accouterments you would expect in 459 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: a park like play areas. Uh. And the dinosaur Court 460 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,200 Speaker 1: remains though, and it was actually refurbished a while back, 461 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: which I kind of love. Uh. And even though the 462 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 1: dinosaurs are not really we recognize now as accurate, you know, 463 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,920 Speaker 1: Like I said, they were originally put together and design 464 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: and we didn't know as much about dinosaurs as we 465 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: do now, So some of them would be a little 466 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,439 Speaker 1: silly if you look at them with um a picky 467 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: I do they have cavemen next to them? I've seen 468 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: pictures and I didn't see any caveman, but there are 469 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: like some downed animals and stuff like snacks. I would 470 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: have a problem with caveman. No. Uh. And in the 471 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: year since Sir Henry Buckland resigned, there's been a steady 472 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: ebb and flow of projects in the park, as there 473 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: would be in any public space where you know, people 474 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,920 Speaker 1: will make a bid to build a thing, and sometimes 475 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: it even gets announced in the papers, but then it 476 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,879 Speaker 1: never happens, or small structures are built. One building was 477 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: turned into a museum for the Crystal Palace. Uh. But 478 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: you know, continues, however, there is a sort of new development. Yeah. 479 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: In July, which is basically just before we're recording this. Yeah, 480 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,239 Speaker 1: just a few weeks ago, it was announced that the 481 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: Chinese developer was working on plans to rebuild Paxton's Crystal Palace, 482 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,879 Speaker 1: although the Mayor's office and Bromley Council representatives were pretty 483 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: clear that the project was still in the very very 484 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: early and theoretical stages. Yeah, there have been other discussions 485 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: that it was going to get rebuilt before that didn't 486 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: pan out, So we'll see what happened. It would be 487 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: really neat if that could happen, but we don't know. 488 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,640 Speaker 1: We'll see, We'll wait and see. As for Sir Joseph Paxton, 489 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: the architect of the original Crystal Palace, he continued to 490 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,479 Speaker 1: design gardens and build structures and hot houses and he 491 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: actually became a member of Parliament in eighteen fifty four 492 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:17,359 Speaker 1: and he held that post until his death in eighteen 493 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:19,800 Speaker 1: sixty five. So he really did, as we mentioned at 494 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: the top of the podcast, kind of He's a great 495 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: story of like rags to riches upward mobility is a 496 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: bit extreme. I don't think it was quite that with 497 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: his farm family, but he really did kind of just 498 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:36,160 Speaker 1: through his own smarts and ingenuity, rise to prominence with beautiful, 499 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: gigantic glass building. Absolutely gorgeous. Uh. We'll have lots of 500 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: links in show notes, and many of them will have 501 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: pictures of the Crystal Palace. It's so amazing. What a 502 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: huge structure it was. Just the sheer size of it 503 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: is really pretty um overwhelming. I had imagined it as 504 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: much smaller until looking at all of these pictures and 505 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: the people. It's so teeny. Yeah, when you actually see 506 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: some of the sketches and stuff of the elm trees 507 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: that were encased in it, and the people walking around 508 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: in there, and people up on the balconies on the 509 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: upper levels, it's almost startling. That can't be Oh, that 510 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: is the scale, al right. It makes total sense that 511 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 1: they would put in wooden supports that were much more 512 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: to make it look sturdier, because I probably would have 513 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: been scared to go in there. Yeah. But to the 514 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: best of my knowledge, no incidents related to the safety 515 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: of the structure ever happened during the expo, and that 516 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: was some heavy foot traffic. Go PAXT. Then you knew 517 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: what you were doing, even though everyone doubted you do. 518 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: You also have listener mail, you know I do. Uh. 519 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 1: This one comes to us from our listener, Jennifer. She says, Hi, 520 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: History Podcasters, I'm new to your podcast, which I started 521 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: listening to on my hour long commute to work as 522 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: a foster care worker in North Carolina before I became 523 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: a social worker. I live in Afghanistan as a humanitari 524 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: an aid worker. I'm a little odd by, Jennifer. I 525 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: will say that right out of the gate. I lived 526 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: in Kabul, maser Shari, Fazabad, and a village in northern 527 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: Afghanistan for a period of two years. I lived with 528 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: local families and enmeshed in the local culture, as opposed 529 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: to other workers who stay mostly in camps or quote 530 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: behind the wire. During my time the year, one of 531 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 1: the things I found most difficult about fitting in was 532 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,200 Speaker 1: how to dress appropriately. I know most people associate the 533 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: chadari or burke up with Afghanistan, but behind behind closed doors, 534 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: women actually have a very specific fashion culture. One of 535 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: the quote rules of society for women is that skirts 536 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: cannot be worn without pants. These pants range from a 537 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: large amount of fabric that folds and gathers and stinches 538 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: at the waist to leggings with lace at the bottom. 539 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: Either way, it's important that your pants be seen peeking 540 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: out at the bottom of your dresser skirts so that 541 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: everyone can see you are being proper and wearing pants 542 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: under your skirt. I couldn't help but think about how 543 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,640 Speaker 1: similar this is to bloomers or pantalets you described in 544 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,600 Speaker 1: the underwear podcast. Also, the men of Afghanistan continue to 545 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: wear pants like you described, with a lot of fabric 546 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: allowing for movement that then cinches at the waist. I'll 547 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: never forget my husband holding up his new pants from 548 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: the tailor and seeing that at least four of him 549 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: could have fit into the fabric and saying, how fat 550 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 1: do they think we are? That's what I was thinking 551 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: when you described the rumors about Queen Victoria's weight based 552 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,640 Speaker 1: on the sides of her bloomers. Anyway, I thought you 553 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,200 Speaker 1: might be interested in the similarities and in my glimpse 554 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,240 Speaker 1: of fashion behind the burka. If you like pictures of 555 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: our outfits, let me know. Of course, I want to 556 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,920 Speaker 1: see pictures, because that's cool. And while I was reading 557 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,959 Speaker 1: this email when we got it, it made me selfishly 558 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 1: think of the fact that I don't think I ever 559 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: wear a skirt without leggings underneath. So I'm halfway there. Yeah, 560 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: I don't do bloomers, but I so rarely wear skirts. 561 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: I wear them a lot, but I uh, you know, 562 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,880 Speaker 1: I take mass transit. Sometimes I walk around the city 563 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: a lot. There's you never know one wind is going 564 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,800 Speaker 1: to do anything, so this better safe than sorry scenario. 565 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: But it is cool and I think it's some of 566 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: those things that is always an interesting touchstone to see 567 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,239 Speaker 1: people shift into very very different cultures than what they 568 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: grew up with. And the clothing is often like a 569 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:19,120 Speaker 1: big wait, what once you get out of the western 570 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: jeans and T shirt thing, it all feels very different. Uh. 571 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, please do 572 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: so at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. You can 573 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: also visit us on Twitter at mist in History and 574 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 1: on Facebook dot com slash history class stuff. UH. You 575 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: can also visit us on tumbler at Miston History dot 576 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: tumbler dot com, and you can see us on Pinterest. 577 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: If you would like to read a little bit about 578 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:43,719 Speaker 1: what we've talked about today, you can go to our 579 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: website and type in the words Crystal Palace in the 580 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: search bar, and one of the articles that will come 581 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,040 Speaker 1: up is the ten best vacations You'll Never get to take, 582 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 1: And it's an article about really cool places that don't 583 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: exist anymore, of which the original Crystal Palace is included. 584 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: While the park remains, and there could be a new 585 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,800 Speaker 1: one if these Chinese developers come through. You will never 586 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: get the seed Packston's original building unfortunately. Nope. If you 587 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: would like to learn about that, or almost anything else 588 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: you can think of, you should do so at our website, 589 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:18,959 Speaker 1: which is how stuff works dot com. For more on 590 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, is it how stuff 591 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:34,240 Speaker 1: works dot com. Audible dot com is the leading provider 592 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 1: of downloadable digital audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible 593 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,000 Speaker 1: has more than one thousand titles to choose from to 594 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 1: be downloaded to your iPod or MP three player. 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