| Crystal Palace Park The Crystal Palace was a huge glass and iron structure originally built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition held in London's Hyde Park (pic. below). The Palace was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and a huge bust of him is situated in the park (Grade II listed and again pic. below). After the Great Exhibition finished in October 1851 it was moved to Penge Place Estate, Sydenham (now called Crystal Palace Park). The building was 1,848 feet long and 408 feet wide and included two huge towers and many fountains. In its heyday the park attracted 2 million visitors a year. Part of the gardens included a prehistoric swamp complete with models of dinosaurs. They were the first prehistoric animals ever built and came only around 30 years after dinosaurs were discovered. Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled in 1854, they were the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. Designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, they were Grade II listed buildings from 1973 and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007. The models themselves are now considered out of date and by and large inaccurate. The dinosaur park has recently re-opened after a £4m refurbishment project. Some of the original remains that can still be seen today are classed as Grade II listed. They include terraces and sphinxes. Other fascinating features include sets of stairs, remains of the aquarium and the base of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's south water tower. Hover over each thumbnail image for details on street and click on each to open a bigger picture. I'd be grateful if the photos with copyright logo are not used without prior permission. Please e-mail any request for usage or to obtain any photo without the copyright wording. Crystal Palace Park items @ ebay.co.uk (direct link)
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Crystal Palace Park items @ ebay.co.uk (direct link)
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