The Great Exhibition

As memorialized in today's Google Doodle, May 1st is the 160th anniversary of the opening of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations. Often considered the model of all worlds fairs that have followed, the exhibition was primarily sponsored by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, in order to promote modern technology and design.

The Crystal Palace, a 1848 feet by 454 feet wide, glass and cast iron structure, was build in Hyde Park, London to enclose the event. At the time many people considered it a folly to attempt such a large glass building, and predicted that the building Joseph Paxton had designed would never stand up. It did, in fact, remain standing as 6 million people visited during the fair's 5 ½ month run. At the end of the Exhibition, the Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham in south London, where it remained standing until destroyed by a fire in 1936. In a sense, this building was the precursor to all of the glass enclosed building that exist around the world today.

Here is a video with some images of the Crystal Place.