Close-up of the complex framework which supports the upper gallery of the Crystal Palace exhibition hall at Sydenham, designed by architect Joseph Paxton for the first universal fair held in Hyde Park in 1851. After the exhibition closed, the prefabricated building was dismantled and reconstructed in south-east London. The building was a milestone in the development of modern architecture for its innovative use of wrought iron and glass, symbolic of English power both from a political and engineering standpoint.
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Restoration work in progress in the grounds of Crystal Palace in Sydenham Hill. After housing the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, the Crystal Palace was dismantled and rebuilt in south-east London. The first column was raised on 5 August 1852 and the palace was opened by Queen Victoria on 10 June 1854. P H Delamotte was commissioned to document its reconstruction (1852-1854) for the Crystal Palace Art Union.