Tuesday, April 19, 2005

crystal palace


crystal palace
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Yesterday after work I decided to explore the huge Crystal Palace Park which is about 10 minutes walk from home. It will definitely be a good place to run in the evenings although it has a bit of a deserted air about it.

As I found out from Phil on the weekend it is named after the massive glass and steel structure that was reconstructed there in 1854 after the Industrial Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. According to a reliable source (BBC website) 293,655 panes of glass were used in the building, 4,500 tons of iron, and 600,000 cubic ft of timber. It must have been an impressive sight to see.

Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1936 and about all you can see at the site now are some rather forlorn, graffiti-ed Egyptian sphinxes. There is also a museum and Dinosaur park which I am yet to check out.

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