The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass structure originally built in Hyde Park, London , to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its 990,000-square-foot (92,000 m 2 ) exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution . Designed by Joseph Paxton , the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet (564 m) long, with an interior height of 128 feet (39 m). [1] The invention of the cast plate glass method in 1848 made possible the production of large sheets of cheap but strong glass, and its use in the Crystal Palace created a structure with the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building and astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights. The name of the building resulted from a piece penned by the playwright Douglas Jerrold , w...