The park is one of my favourite places in London. Its good to know that the tradition of the overpriced cafe has been stable of museums since the beginning.
Just had probably the worst turkey club sandwich (soggy bread, dry-ass turkey!) at the Whitney Museum Gallery last night. Oh well, guess we're not there eat, but damn! The current exhibit is nice, btw, but don't come hungry.
The phrase to “Spend a penny” does stem from the great exhibition, it was not used prior to this point. Additionally the fountain in the middle of the great exhibition was also sponsored by Schweppes and was in fact filled with tonic water. The company is still proud of their association with the exhibition and their drinks logo continues to be an image of this fountain.
Thank you, that's very kind! Looking at my numbers, I think my videos mostly spread through word of mouth rather than through The Algorithm, so if you are able to share it somewhere, it would be much appreciated. Have a lovely day!
@@JDraper Really solid videos. I always share them with my family. I hope you keep them up. I personally feel that at some point the channel will naturally scale or you'll be asked to present a funded history show. Excellent stuff !
@@JDraper It seems you're getting more assistance from the algorithm. Seeing a lot of new comments and I was just recommended your channel from another history channel. Great work!
I love how objects made especially for this exhibition are STILL appearing randomly on the Antiques Roadshow. Objects found in barns and attics or just sitting in people’s gardens. Simply brilliant I say ❤ 🙂🐿🌈❤️
I’ve always been intrigued by the Crystal Palace. It’s a shame it wasn’t able to be saved or rebuilt. Though I have read that by 1936 the palace was in a pretty shabby condition which was what led to the fire being able to spread as quickly as it did. Churchill remarked it was the end of an era and I believe him.
The palace was very much the peak for the British people, and it has rapidly gone down hill since then. I say that as someone who has cause to hate the British and their Empire, but I don't.
History student here…Your videos make me feel like when I was a kid falling in love with history for the first time. You’re one of the best history channels on UA-cam.
Crystal palace is one of my absolute favorite human creations. When I hear the name of it it just makes me feel goosebumps, it's so freaking cool I'd love to see like a good art film about it.
I played in the ruins as a child, we managed to get into an underground tunnel which went from the promenade at the top to the bottom of the hill near the entrace to Crystal Palace Park in Penge. We didn't get very far but we saw train tracks.I believed it to be some kind of amusement ride and possibly a precursor to the London Underground.
May I recommend viewers of this excellent vid resort to taking a 3D view in Apple Maps of the Sydenham site as it is today? Parts (in masonry) of the original CP can be seen to the north of Crystal Palace Road, which in the 1990s was a huge empty flat area (now filled with housing) and where the mysterious tunnels were said to be.
God, what I wouldn't give to get to visit and walk around that exhibition. I can't even imagine. I wish someone would make a highly realistic video game simulation of it, with the most accurate details available, and just let you... explore. Sigh.
I love the way you say the long, long, list of things you would see at the Crystal Palace. World Fairs and Exhibitions held an important role in shaping the world we live in today. I think 1967 Montreal was the last one of comparable scale, because while they still are held, we are already so well connected through the internet. They were THE place of dreams. All those inventions and connections of people from around the world. I would love to see a series on World Fairs.
At 16:53 is the Giant Sequoia from California called the “mother of the forest” where the bark of the tree was dismantled in sections (as you can see) and reassembled for display in the Crystal Palace. It burned in the fire that is mentioned here. The actual tree still stands in Big Trees State Park (Arnold CA) and the lines where they removed the bark still show. The tree is basically a dead standing skeleton left to remind people of the shallow thinking that people did in those days to make a buck.
My husband and I stumbled upon the Temple of Mithras when we were just walking around London last summer and I couldn't believe it wasn't more publicized because it was SO cool! Hidden gem, for sure.
Your channel is such a well reseached, educational and enjoyable place to be. I share it with everone. So much good work. Respect. Love from Australia.
That was brilliant! I have long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. While it’s often mentioned as a lost wonder of the modern world, I have never encountered so much detailed information on the topic in one place. Delightfully presented as well. I look forward to watching more videos on this channel.
The Crystal Palace at Sydenham before it was burned down was home to some of the pioneering development work of television by JohnLogie Baird and of course nowadays is the site of the tall tower broadcasting modern TV transmissions across London.
There was a very similar building called The Garden Palace built in Sydney,Australia in 1879 for an international exhibition. Obviously inspired by it and probably grander as it had a huge dome! Burnt down as well a couple of decades later. I have always wondered how a predominantly glass and steel building could burn so easily creating a vast conflagration but I suppose it's the flammable things inside!
Apparently New York, Munich and Montreal also had their own structures built inspired by it that all ended up burning down as well. The one in New York in particular seem to have only survived for 5 years.
This was amazing. I've heard for decades of The Crystal Palace but yours is the best detailing of it I've found. Your enthusiasm and storytelling is engrossing. I found myself having a myriad of emotions during the story. The Crystal Palace was truly an example of the greatness of man when he reaches for the stars.
What a brilliant content! I was looking for a snippet of information about London's crystal palace to add to one of my cologne reviews content but instead I was taken into a wonderful "back-to-the-past" travel through this video! Thank you so much for your great work! By the way, in a trip that I recently made to Brazil, I visited a city called Curitiba, capital of a southern state called Parana, where there's a large greenhouse in the middle of the city's botanical garden which its architect was inspired by London's Crystal palace. It shows how such a marvellous British creation still amazes and inspires people's imagination and creativity around the world up to this day!!
I've been so enjoying your channel, but this piece is really exceptional. I knew about the Crystal Palace, but I learned to so in this, and your presentation is very captivating.
I have a contemporary guidebook called "London as it is today" published for people coming to the exhibition. It has a map of London and notes on all sorts of places of interest. Madame Tussead's is mentioned and the lady herself is lamented as only recently having died.
I love it when you find a really great, entertaining, educational youtube account you've never heard of before that you can immerse yourself in their back catalogue. Im flying through these videos.
02:26 - omg, J., I don't know if you'd read this, but just know that I'm so thankful that someone actually genuinely addressed this type of anxiety. Thank you for sharing this with your viewers. Whenever I try to talk about this, people just shrug it off, as if "stop comparing", "it was a different time" and etc. And actually hearing one of my favorite UA-camrs, sharing the similar experience is so wholesome. Thank You once again🙏
I never knew the whole history of Crystal Palace. Amazing. Could something like this be created today? Possibly. Although I am not sure we have anything now that captivates the public like this did. Thank you for a most excellent presentation.
You’re a doll, and a national treasure. Thank you so much for sharing Britains wonderful history and culture. I’m sharing you with everyone I can think of.
i already knew a lot about the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace, but I still learned something new. I wonder if there might be a movement to rebuild/replace the glass building for the bicentenary in a few years time.
What a great video! It's a pity that the second version of the Crystal Palace burned down but it's nice to know that the offsprings of the original version still stand in Kensington
At the time of the fire it was home to Baird Television. it had a television studio inside, TV equipment manufacturing, and an experimental transmitter. Baird had hoped to get a license and broadcast commercial television since his equipment had lost out in the BBC television contract. The fire didn't start in the Baird facilities, but it did end them.
What a wonderful video on the Crystal Palace, thank you! Just one very small correction, on the off-chance you are still reading these comments: Paxton probably had little or nothing to do with the dinosaur sculptures. Those were made by natural history artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins,. He was commissioned by the newly formed Crystal Palace Company and consulted with famed palaeontologist Richard Owen (who had coined the word "dinosaur" in the first place) and other scientists. The formal study of dinosaur fossils was still quite new, and they were working from the best interpretations of dinosaur fossils available at the time. Hawkins created large molds into which to pour the concrete out of which the dinosaurs were made -- indeed, the mold for the Iguanodon was so huge that he hosted a small dinner party inside it as publicity for the new and improved Crystal Palace. The biography of this artist are, btw, worth looking up, even if only on a _Wikipedia_ level -- a fascinating life story.
I got worried when I noticed all the visuals were paintings and black and white photographs. I was like don't you do it don't tell me it's gone! That's really sad it sounds like it really was a sight to behold. I can just imagine how many historians and scientists of all varieties were inspired by that building.
The Sydenham site was a prominent location all throughout my youth, hosting school trips, family days out, and well into my teens Saturday morning fishing trips. Thank you for bringing back some long forgotten memories.
If I could go back in time and experience anything, it would be this. Sometimes even just thinking about it moves me to tears. All the culture, all the innovation and inventiveness. Really wish I could have experienced it. Anyway, I’ve watched probably every video on UA-cam having to do with the Great Exhibition and this is my favorite one. Awesome job covering a massive topic.
Really stunning video. I've read a deal about the palace, but nothing really prepared me for how remarkable it was. Your writing, images, editing, and delivery gave the subject an immediacy and excitement I'm sure the actual thing did, but which I'd never understood or felt before. Thank you SO MUCH for this. I'm subscribing... and probably going to binge everything you've done.
Punch Magazine naming it the Crystal Palace seems somehow appropriate, given that the same magazine also gave rise to the word "cartoon" as we know it, using the word for their political cartoons only a few years earlier, at a time when it meant "preliminary sketches on cardboard" from the Italian "cartone".
I had heard a few obscure mentions of this before. This video was charming and wonderfully inspiring. Thank you for your work and bringing very interesting history back to life. A pure delight ! Sara, Your Gardener -Salem, MA
I learn so much from your videos! This is very interesting to see the origin of the idea for the Worlds Fair! Your listing the exhibits gives a sense of the experience of overwhelm of trying to see them all!! So well done!
As an American, my first introduction to Crystal Palace was it's namesake football team. I loved learning more about the actual building. This was a fascinating video, as always.
You mention the "massive" organ used in the opening ceremony. In fact, there were no less than eight pipe organs there, six built in Britain, one in France, and one in Germany.
not just one of the best history channels on youtube, but just one of the best channels of any subject, and obviously doesn't have the subs and views it deserves, greetings from Colombia in southamerica, and If I may make a suggestion to the lovely jenny, you should do collabs with other history channels, that adds to the exposure and views
Thank you so much. My mother - who was born in 1901 - told about how she used to go to the Crystal Palace to play in its gardens wearing a gouvered dress.
I hesitated several times to play this video when it came up in my feed as I thought I wouldn't be interested, but I gave in in the end, partly due to the high quality and engaging nature of your other videos. I am very glad I changed my mind, this was also wonderful and interesting. It appears you can make anything appealing! Thank you 🙂
Fantastic video! I work at Chatsworth and we all love to talk about Joseph Paxton with visitors, so this was super interesting and insightful. Thank you so much 😊
Very good storytelling! Liked and subscribed! I’ve been listening to so many Victorian and Regency books lately that there’s soo many things I’m curious about! Thanks for being here!
I Definitely think the Victorian period was the height of British civilisation they didn't do things by half we can learn a lot from them. Hopefully in time we can be great again
I remember learning about The Crystal Palace in college - one of my favorites! I now live in Dallas, TX, and they have a building here called InfoMart, and it’s design is inspired by The Crystal Palace and I think at one time they had a fountain that was built by the same company. Sadly, InfoMart isn’t open to the public and has something to do with data processing (not nearly as exciting in my opinion). But it looks beautiful in the sunlight when you drive by on the highway!
Fascinating stuff, in my studies I have often read about how certain Russian writers were inspired by their impressions of the crystal palace in the abstract, but it’s even more impressive to hear about the specifics like this
The Infomart Building in downtown Dallas Texas is based on the Crystal Palace... it even has the crystal fountain in its center that was produced by the original firm who made it! You'll have to see it if you're ever in Texas.
Thank you very much for this well-researched, engagingly edited and brilliantly narrated video. I look forward to having a look at some of your other videos on YT. Definitely one of the better history documentaries that I've come across on here recently!
I used to have a girlfriend when I was 15 who lived in Crystal Palace - we used to walk around this park everyday for a couple of years before her stepdad told us what used to be there 😅 guess we were too busy with each other to notice the foundations and statues and signs but it is a truly beautiful place to visit and I reccomend anyone to check it out on a nice day
Why is it that whenever I think of crystal Palace I think of it as being Prince Albert's pride, and never think of this Paxton dude who clearly deserves all the credit? Another amazing video xxx
A most excellent piece of investigative journalism combined with truly engaging naration and imagery to boot. I often think of the Crystal palace (in both iterations) and the sad, I'll fated demise as the land based equivalent of the HMS Titanic. Both glorious examples of Victorian engineering splendour, forever lost but never forgotten. 🇬🇧
I'm sorry, just started to watch this video in 3/23. You can see the Crystal Palace today. In Dallas, Texas. It's gorgeous. Dallas has a series of "Trade Mart" buildings on Interstate I-35. One of the buildings is supposedly a copy of the Crystal Palace. It's my favorite building in Dallas. It's probably not an exact copy, but it's darn close. And it is gorgeous. If you're ever in Texas, swing by Dallas and see this gorgeous building. On several occasions, I have just stood in front of it and imagined that I was in Victorian London standing in front of the real Crystal Palace. God, it's magnificent.
I live right by it and grew up playing in its shaodws and still walk my dog through it's echos and it still breaks my heart to think of what we lost that fatefuil night.... Great Video !!
I’ve just stumbled across your channel and think it’s great. Thanks very much for this video and your ‘shorts’ as well. My dad worked on the Crystal Palace in the early 1930’s and told a story about coming out of a cinema to see the CP on fire.
Here in the Chicago are we often think back to the legacy of the 1893 World's Exhibition, but it is nice to the true mother of such things. Thank you for this excellent video!
That was a really fantastic video! Thanks for making it - even though I've been down many a Wikipedia rabbit-hole that has lead me to learning more about the Crystal Palace, it seems there's always more to know :)
I would so loved to have been able to see this! Anyone who comes to my house from friends to workers cannot help but comment on all my plants and planted aquariums. Now that I'm retired I feel like I can be back playing in the woods and creeks even without going outside. I don't need a Crystal Palace, but I'd love to have a greenhouse. Thanks as always for this lovely insight into the times.
Absolutely fantastic! Loved hearing about this! I remember when I was a little kid....my next door neighbour telling me that he had visited the Crystal Palace that same day and how shocked he was when it caught fire...
Fantastic video I have been watching quite a few of your presentations recently and they are all fantastic. Can I add that you can still see the remains of the aquarium, the first indoor aquarium in the country, if you go to the far right hand side of the Sydenham site. After the fire The Girl Guides were permitted to collect the lumps of melted glass to sell to raise funds.
At 14:10. As a denizen of New York City, this lack of public toilets and having to pay to use Starbucks or other toilet facilities sounds awfully familiar. It's depressing to hear that it's been like this for almost 170 years. (Though I hope London has fixed this problem itself.)
The glass palaces couldn’t be built today without ruining several nations. I will always remain in awe of what the great Victorian builders wrought. They were demigods living amongst us. Great presentation! Cheers!
The park is one of my favourite places in London. Its good to know that the tradition of the overpriced cafe has been stable of museums since the beginning.
Ahah this!
Disney took notice.
Poor in quality and high in price. Every museum I’ve ever been too 😂
It used to be a greasy spoon cafe, you could get an excellent plate of chips for a pound, it's gone downhill now!
Just had probably the worst turkey club sandwich (soggy bread, dry-ass turkey!) at the Whitney Museum Gallery last night. Oh well, guess we're not there eat, but damn! The current exhibit is nice, btw, but don't come hungry.
The phrase to “Spend a penny” does stem from the great exhibition, it was not used prior to this point. Additionally the fountain in the middle of the great exhibition was also sponsored by Schweppes and was in fact filled with tonic water. The company is still proud of their association with the exhibition and their drinks logo continues to be an image of this fountain.
I'm always encouraging people to "spend a penny" it's my favorite phrase
I had no idea about the logo being this very crystal fountain. That is a great factoid!
I can't believe you don't have more views! Such a pity, you're a fantastic storyteller.
Thank you very much for this.
Thank you, that's very kind! Looking at my numbers, I think my videos mostly spread through word of mouth rather than through The Algorithm, so if you are able to share it somewhere, it would be much appreciated. Have a lovely day!
@@JDraper Really solid videos. I always share them with my family. I hope you keep them up. I personally feel that at some point the channel will naturally scale or you'll be asked to present a funded history show. Excellent stuff !
Echoing this sentiment!
Exactly!! Love her vidz ❤️❤️
@@JDraper It seems you're getting more assistance from the algorithm. Seeing a lot of new comments and I was just recommended your channel from another history channel. Great work!
I love how objects made especially for this exhibition are STILL appearing randomly on the Antiques Roadshow. Objects found in barns and attics or just sitting in people’s gardens.
Simply brilliant I say ❤
🙂🐿🌈❤️
I’ve always been intrigued by the Crystal Palace. It’s a shame it wasn’t able to be saved or rebuilt. Though I have read that by 1936 the palace was in a pretty shabby condition which was what led to the fire being able to spread as quickly as it did. Churchill remarked it was the end of an era and I believe him.
It would have been a bit of a liability in the Blitz though
The palace was very much the peak for the British people, and it has rapidly gone down hill since then. I say that as someone who has cause to hate the British and their Empire, but I don't.
History student here…Your videos make me feel like when I was a kid falling in love with history for the first time. You’re one of the best history channels on UA-cam.
I feel like a child in primary school, sitting cross legged in front of the teacher and having my mind blown. This is fantastic!
Crystal palace is one of my absolute favorite human creations. When I hear the name of it it just makes me feel goosebumps, it's so freaking cool
I'd love to see like a good art film about it.
I played in the ruins as a child, we managed to get into an underground tunnel which went from the promenade at the top to the bottom of the hill near the entrace to Crystal Palace Park in Penge. We didn't get very far but we saw train tracks.I believed it to be some kind of amusement ride and possibly a precursor to the London Underground.
Whaaaat??!
@@bobsnarey9894 This is new to me, so thank you for this!
Could that be the ruins of the atmospheric railway?
@@PUREbksb if she didn’t get very far I doubt it. The rail way was at the bottom of the park I believe
May I recommend viewers of this excellent vid resort to taking a 3D view in Apple Maps of the Sydenham site as it is today? Parts (in masonry) of the original CP can be seen to the north of Crystal Palace Road, which in the 1990s was a huge empty flat area (now filled with housing) and where the mysterious tunnels were said to be.
God, what I wouldn't give to get to visit and walk around that exhibition. I can't even imagine. I wish someone would make a highly realistic video game simulation of it, with the most accurate details available, and just let you... explore. Sigh.
How about a big LEGO model of it?
Royal Parks have a virtual tour
@@danwilbrey Will have to check that out, thanks
Its genuinely crazy to think there are still people alive who saw it before it burned down. You can talk to people who have no need to imagine.
I love the way you say the long, long, list of things you would see at the Crystal Palace. World Fairs and Exhibitions held an important role in shaping the world we live in today. I think 1967 Montreal was the last one of comparable scale, because while they still are held, we are already so well connected through the internet. They were THE place of dreams. All those inventions and connections of people from around the world. I would love to see a series on World Fairs.
Before globalization, before every home had an Encyclopedia, there was there were world's fairs and exhibitions.
At 16:53 is the Giant Sequoia from California called the “mother of the forest” where the bark of the tree was dismantled in sections (as you can see) and reassembled for display in the Crystal Palace. It burned in the fire that is mentioned here. The actual tree still stands in Big Trees State Park (Arnold CA) and the lines where they removed the bark still show. The tree is basically a dead standing skeleton left to remind people of the shallow thinking that people did in those days to make a buck.
Your videos, both long and short, are a treat to watch. I feel lucky that the UA-cam algorithm brought them to my attention.
My great uncle was there just before he left for Gallipoli, I have a postcard from him that he got at Crystal Palace, absolutely brilliant video
You should upload a picture of it
My husband and I stumbled upon the Temple of Mithras when we were just walking around London last summer and I couldn't believe it wasn't more publicized because it was SO cool! Hidden gem, for sure.
Your channel is such a well reseached, educational and enjoyable place to be. I share it with everone. So much good work. Respect. Love from Australia.
That was brilliant! I have long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. While it’s often mentioned as a lost wonder of the modern world, I have never encountered so much detailed information on the topic in one place. Delightfully presented as well. I look forward to watching more videos on this channel.
This was a lovely video! You have a great talent for storytelling. Greatly enjoyed learning about the history of the Crystal Palace!
great video - thats why Schweppes uses a fountain as its logo
Oh my word. 😃 This was done and told in amazing quality!! It was like watching the History channel back when it was good. 😊 Thank you! 💛
LOL! Whats wrong with Ancient Aliens!?!?
The Crystal Palace at Sydenham before it was burned down was home to some of the pioneering development work of television by JohnLogie Baird and of course nowadays is the site of the tall tower broadcasting modern TV transmissions across London.
I knew of the Crystal Palace and the exhibition, but this was the first time I heard the whole story, thanks.
There was a very similar building called The Garden Palace built in Sydney,Australia in 1879 for an international exhibition. Obviously inspired by it and probably grander as it had a huge dome! Burnt down as well a couple of decades later. I have always wondered how a predominantly glass and steel building could burn so easily creating a vast conflagration but I suppose it's the flammable things inside!
Apparently New York, Munich and Montreal also had their own structures built inspired by it that all ended up burning down as well.
The one in New York in particular seem to have only survived for 5 years.
Damn, business was booming for arsonists and insurance companies back then!
This was amazing. I've heard for decades of The Crystal Palace but yours is the best detailing of it I've found. Your enthusiasm and storytelling is engrossing. I found myself having a myriad of emotions during the story. The Crystal Palace was truly an example of the greatness of man when he reaches for the stars.
What a brilliant content! I was looking for a snippet of information about London's crystal palace to add to one of my cologne reviews content but instead I was taken into a wonderful "back-to-the-past" travel through this video! Thank you so much for your great work! By the way, in a trip that I recently made to Brazil, I visited a city called Curitiba, capital of a southern state called Parana, where there's a large greenhouse in the middle of the city's botanical garden which its architect was inspired by London's Crystal palace. It shows how such a marvellous British creation still amazes and inspires people's imagination and creativity around the world up to this day!!
I've heard of the Crystal Palace before....but your video made me really want to SEE it for myself (oh for a time machine.) What an amazing story!
I've been so enjoying your channel, but this piece is really exceptional. I knew about the Crystal Palace, but I learned to so in this, and your presentation is very captivating.
You might be interested to know that on the Albert memorial, opposite the Albert Hall, Prince Albert is holding a catalogue for the Great Exhibition.
If I ever get the keys to a time machine, the Great Exhibition is definitely on my to-do list!
Mine too!! But let's not forget to bring a nice packed lunch!
Oh my god, look at the sketch of the opening just imagine standing there in the crowd my god
I have a contemporary guidebook called "London as it is today" published for people coming to the exhibition. It has a map of London and notes on all sorts of places of interest. Madame Tussead's is mentioned and the lady herself is lamented as only recently having died.
This is one of the most professional, interesting, fun and well edited videos I've found in UA-cam. I deeply enjoyed it. Thanks!
I love it when you find a really great, entertaining, educational youtube account you've never heard of before that you can immerse yourself in their back catalogue. Im flying through these videos.
02:26 - omg, J., I don't know if you'd read this, but just know that I'm so thankful that someone actually genuinely addressed this type of anxiety. Thank you for sharing this with your viewers. Whenever I try to talk about this, people just shrug it off, as if "stop comparing", "it was a different time" and etc. And actually hearing one of my favorite UA-camrs, sharing the similar experience is so wholesome. Thank You once again🙏
I never knew the whole history of Crystal Palace. Amazing. Could something like this be created today? Possibly. Although I am not sure we have anything now that captivates the public like this did. Thank you for a most excellent presentation.
You’re a doll, and a national treasure. Thank you so much for sharing Britains wonderful history and culture. I’m sharing you with everyone I can think of.
I love the cadence of the commentary
i already knew a lot about the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace, but I still learned something new.
I wonder if there might be a movement to rebuild/replace the glass building for the bicentenary in a few years time.
What a great video! It's a pity that the second version of the Crystal Palace burned down but it's nice to know that the offsprings of the original version still stand in Kensington
I've heard most of this story before, but you still gave me goosebumps.
I love how you are so thrilled and absorbed by the history you are telling that you can make anyone love it.
At the time of the fire it was home to Baird Television. it had a television studio inside, TV equipment manufacturing, and an experimental transmitter. Baird had hoped to get a license and broadcast commercial television since his equipment had lost out in the BBC television contract. The fire didn't start in the Baird facilities, but it did end them.
What a wonderful video on the Crystal Palace, thank you!
Just one very small correction, on the off-chance you are still reading these comments: Paxton probably had little or nothing to do with the dinosaur sculptures. Those were made by natural history artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins,. He was commissioned by the newly formed Crystal Palace Company and consulted with famed palaeontologist Richard Owen (who had coined the word "dinosaur" in the first place) and other scientists. The formal study of dinosaur fossils was still quite new, and they were working from the best interpretations of dinosaur fossils available at the time. Hawkins created large molds into which to pour the concrete out of which the dinosaurs were made -- indeed, the mold for the Iguanodon was so huge that he hosted a small dinner party inside it as publicity for the new and improved Crystal Palace. The biography of this artist are, btw, worth looking up, even if only on a _Wikipedia_ level -- a fascinating life story.
I got worried when I noticed all the visuals were paintings and black and white photographs. I was like don't you do it don't tell me it's gone! That's really sad it sounds like it really was a sight to behold. I can just imagine how many historians and scientists of all varieties were inspired by that building.
The Sydenham site was a prominent location all throughout my youth, hosting school trips, family days out, and well into my teens Saturday morning fishing trips. Thank you for bringing back some long forgotten memories.
Paxton was playing the “get over 100k followers to get brand deals with no experience easily” game over 100 years ago what a lad
Ms. Draper, you must be the greatest tour guide of all time!
If I could go back in time and experience anything, it would be this. Sometimes even just thinking about it moves me to tears. All the culture, all the innovation and inventiveness. Really wish I could have experienced it. Anyway, I’ve watched probably every video on UA-cam having to do with the Great Exhibition and this is my favorite one. Awesome job covering a massive topic.
Really stunning video. I've read a deal about the palace, but nothing really prepared me for how remarkable it was. Your writing, images, editing, and delivery gave the subject an immediacy and excitement I'm sure the actual thing did, but which I'd never understood or felt before.
Thank you SO MUCH for this.
I'm subscribing... and probably going to binge everything you've done.
Punch Magazine naming it the Crystal Palace seems somehow appropriate, given that the same magazine also gave rise to the word "cartoon" as we know it, using the word for their political cartoons only a few years earlier, at a time when it meant "preliminary sketches on cardboard" from the Italian "cartone".
I had heard a few obscure mentions of this before. This video was charming and wonderfully inspiring. Thank you for your work and bringing very interesting history back to life.
A pure delight !
Sara, Your Gardener
-Salem, MA
I learn so much from your videos! This is very interesting to see the origin of the idea for the Worlds Fair! Your listing the exhibits gives a sense of the experience of overwhelm of trying to see them all!! So well done!
J Draper is so good, I feel a little bit in awe of her!
As an American, my first introduction to Crystal Palace was it's namesake football team. I loved learning more about the actual building. This was a fascinating video, as always.
You mention the "massive" organ used in the opening ceremony. In fact, there were no less than eight pipe organs there, six built in Britain, one in France, and one in Germany.
Such a fine storyteller and presenter. This is my first experience without your shining eyes and it was lovely as well!
Interesting subject with an eloquent, knowledgeable and captivating orator.
not just one of the best history channels on youtube, but just one of the best channels of any subject, and obviously doesn't have the subs and views it deserves, greetings from Colombia in southamerica, and If I may make a suggestion to the lovely jenny, you should do collabs with other history channels, that adds to the exposure and views
Thank you so much. My mother - who was born in 1901 - told about how she used to go to the Crystal Palace to play in its gardens wearing a gouvered dress.
I hesitated several times to play this video when it came up in my feed as I thought I wouldn't be interested, but I gave in in the end, partly due to the high quality and engaging nature of your other videos. I am very glad I changed my mind, this was also wonderful and interesting. It appears you can make anything appealing! Thank you 🙂
Fantastic video! I work at Chatsworth and we all love to talk about Joseph Paxton with visitors, so this was super interesting and insightful. Thank you so much 😊
Loved this! Big fan of World's Fair, and many of us count this as the first!
Very good storytelling! Liked and subscribed!
I’ve been listening to so many Victorian and Regency books lately that there’s soo many things I’m curious about!
Thanks for being here!
Wow just found your channel and I absolutely love it! Love all the history and the stories.
This was amazing! I knew nothing about the story of the Crystal Palace, and now I am utterly enthralled. Thank you for making this video.
Excellent! I’ve read about the amazing Crystal Palace recently. Your review, the illustrations, and photos made come alive.
I Definitely think the Victorian period was the height of British civilisation they didn't do things by half we can learn a lot from them. Hopefully in time we can be great again
I remember learning about The Crystal Palace in college - one of my favorites! I now live in Dallas, TX, and they have a building here called InfoMart, and it’s design is inspired by The Crystal Palace and I think at one time they had a fountain that was built by the same company. Sadly, InfoMart isn’t open to the public and has something to do with data processing (not nearly as exciting in my opinion). But it looks beautiful in the sunlight when you drive by on the highway!
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I love how you explain history!❤
Absolutely delightful! I subscribed immediately after watching. Your presentation more that satisfied my curiosity about this signal event. Well done!
Fascinating stuff, in my studies I have often read about how certain Russian writers were inspired by their impressions of the crystal palace in the abstract, but it’s even more impressive to hear about the specifics like this
I can't remember gow i stumbled upon you, but I'm so glad i did. I love history and you make English history so enchanting 😊
The Infomart Building in downtown Dallas Texas is based on the Crystal Palace... it even has the crystal fountain in its center that was produced by the original firm who made it! You'll have to see it if you're ever in Texas.
We had a similar yet smaller version here in Amsterdam, and yes it burnt down as well..
Excellent really enjoyed this and some very good pictures and plates from the time
Thank you very much for this well-researched, engagingly edited and brilliantly narrated video. I look forward to having a look at some of your other videos on YT. Definitely one of the better history documentaries that I've come across on here recently!
Thank you so much for this. I knew about this amazing building, but not what happened to it. Sad demise for such a glorious accomplishment.
WOW! This is the very best story about the crystal palace. Really fine work.
I used to have a girlfriend when I was 15 who lived in Crystal Palace - we used to walk around this park everyday for a couple of years before her stepdad told us what used to be there 😅 guess we were too busy with each other to notice the foundations and statues and signs but it is a truly beautiful place to visit and I reccomend anyone to check it out on a nice day
Fantastic story telling and video making, what a wonderful teacher you would make : )
What an incredible building.
Why is it that whenever I think of crystal Palace I think of it as being Prince Albert's pride, and never think of this Paxton dude who clearly deserves all the credit?
Another amazing video xxx
I always remember my dad shouting 'Why are all the lights on? It looks like Crystal Palace in here!' Informative video thanks!
A most excellent piece of investigative journalism combined with truly engaging naration and imagery to boot. I often think of the Crystal palace (in both iterations) and the sad, I'll fated demise as the land based equivalent of the HMS Titanic. Both glorious examples of Victorian engineering splendour, forever lost but never forgotten. 🇬🇧
I'm sorry, just started to watch this video in 3/23. You can see the Crystal Palace today. In Dallas, Texas. It's gorgeous. Dallas has a series of "Trade Mart" buildings on Interstate I-35. One of the buildings is supposedly a copy of the Crystal Palace. It's my favorite building in Dallas. It's probably not an exact copy, but it's darn close. And it is gorgeous. If you're ever in Texas, swing by Dallas and see this gorgeous building. On several occasions, I have just stood in front of it and imagined that I was in Victorian London standing in front of the real Crystal Palace. God, it's magnificent.
I live right by it and grew up playing in its shaodws and still walk my dog through it's echos and it still breaks my heart to think of what we lost that fatefuil night.... Great Video !!
I used to work there in the museum 😁
I’ve just stumbled across your channel and think it’s great. Thanks very much for this video and your ‘shorts’ as well. My dad worked on the Crystal Palace in the early 1930’s and told a story about coming out of a cinema to see the CP on fire.
Here in the Chicago are we often think back to the legacy of the 1893 World's Exhibition, but it is nice to the true mother of such things. Thank you for this excellent video!
That was a really fantastic video! Thanks for making it - even though I've been down many a Wikipedia rabbit-hole that has lead me to learning more about the Crystal Palace, it seems there's always more to know :)
Oh my word, I love J Draper’s stuff on all platforms. She’s so clever and informative, whilst keeping it clear and (deceptively) simple. Thank you
I would so loved to have been able to see this! Anyone who comes to my house from friends to workers cannot help but comment on all my plants and planted aquariums. Now that I'm retired I feel like I can be back playing in the woods and creeks even without going outside. I don't need a Crystal Palace, but I'd love to have a greenhouse. Thanks as always for this lovely insight into the times.
Lived in Crystal Palace in the 90’s, . Wonderful park to spend those rare summer days.
Oh wow - what a brilliant video - I had no idea about the South Ken link!
Absolutely fantastic! Loved hearing about this! I remember when I was a little kid....my next door neighbour telling me that he had visited the Crystal Palace that same day and how shocked he was when it caught fire...
Fantastic video I have been watching quite a few of your presentations recently and they are all fantastic. Can I add that you can still see the remains of the aquarium, the first indoor aquarium in the country, if you go to the far right hand side of the Sydenham site. After the fire The Girl Guides were permitted to collect the lumps of melted glass to sell to raise funds.
At 14:10. As a denizen of New York City, this lack of public toilets and having to pay to use Starbucks or other toilet facilities sounds awfully familiar. It's depressing to hear that it's been like this for almost 170 years. (Though I hope London has fixed this problem itself.)
I wish I could have seen this exhibition!
Fantastic video, beautiful, evocative images and all so well told.
When time travel is a thing, this place is on my bucket list!
The glass palaces couldn’t be built today without ruining several nations.
I will always remain in awe of what the great Victorian builders wrought. They were demigods living amongst us.
Great presentation!
Cheers!