The Crystal Palace - The Great Exhibition of 1851

[theguywhokillyou2]

fire ruins so many historic buildings and structures!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi theguywhokillyou2 - so true, cheers

[1RadioTV]

Great to see these clips. I often walk on the site of the former CP. It's amazing to think of the history of the place.

[chelseacool100]

My Mother (still with us) walked up to see the fire when she was 7.She can still describe the terrible sight - the sky red and orange - but the most vivid memory was the molten glass running like water in the gutters!!! Good video - great Elgar.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi chelseacool100 - extraordinary - the glass flowing like water - only those there would see/know this. quite apocalyptic with a red/orange sky! yes, the Elgar is an obvious choice but sets a nice sense of 'time lost' - glad you like it, cheers from sydney

[chelseacool100]

@nickwallacesmith  cheers mate from West Sussex

[balletnut]

Why on earth could the 'unsafe' tower be made 'safe' and kept as a historical monument?

[chelseacool100]

@balletnut - the tower was demolished in the early part of the war because German pilots was using it to gain their bearings on their way to central London, it being such an obvious landmark on top of the hill.

[balletnut]

Hi Nick,

I think you misunderstood me about the Floral Hall. I didn't mean the old part of Cov. Gdn. but the new building attached to the Opera House - which is also called the Floral Hall.

Thank goodness that hasn't been destroyed too as it makes my very few and far visits there (i.e. the Opera House) that much more enjoyable - if poss.

Anyway, thanks again for all your really wonderful videos. Your replies are also interesting and so is the info. you give accompanying your videos.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi balletnut - it's late at night here and my brain must have gone to sleep! ok, i see about the Floral Hall - i remember now that one was/is on the left side as you look at the entrance - yes? or is my brain still only half awake! it was incorporated into the new C G development. very glad you like the notes i add - i think a lot of people just look at the videos - which is fine as i often do the same myself. BTW, comments like yours encourage me want to find new things to upload! cheers

[418sadeyes]

Many, MANY thanks!!!! I found this almost as good as being there myself!! I must commend you on the music....Absolutely perfect!!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi 418sadeyes - great you like it! and hope you like the music choice - as you may know, it's edward elgar from his 'enigma variations'.

btw, i got your comment for the 'Maria Tallchief and Andre Eglevsky - 'Pas de Dix' (Balanchine, 1955; TV Performance, 1957)' upload but had to remove and re-upload it - so sadly your comment got lost - i'd love for you to post it again.

cheers from sydney!

[balletnut]

So very, very many thanx Nick.

Elgar was just the right music, particularly Nimrod. If only the Crystal Place had been built like the Floral Hall it would still be here (unless it was bombed out of existence during the war!) If I could be born again, I would go to see it in its prime. Thank you Prince Albert.

Thank you Nick for a wonderful video.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi balletnut - very happy you liked it! and yes i just watched it again and the elgar works very well with it - if i say so myself (no modesty here unfortunately!).

and talking about the floral hall at coven garden, i used to walk through it as a kid and once a guy on a barrow, seeing i'd enviously noticed he was eating chocolate, broken a piece off his block and threw it to me - very nice sharing gesture.

cheers from sydney

[rebl0u]

Great video! Thank you for posting - very informative and wonderful to see some actual video footage of the structure and everything.

[nickwallacesmith]

@rebl0u - great you liked it - i must say i was surprised there was film of the structure existed but given that it was destroyed in 1936 i shoildn't have been. cheers from sydney

[CliveKandel]

As a child in the 1950's, I would listen to adults tell me how the London sky was brightly lit up the night of the fire.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi CliveKandel - yes, i've read that the blaze was visible over so many counties - scary! and i keep forgetting that the building nearly made it into modern times. cheers

[Pearlaceous]

Spot the definite resemblance between that and the Floral Hall at Covent Garden! LOL!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Pearlaceous - absolutely - and there was a french crystal palace too - these structures were all the rage in the mid to late C19. cheers! i used to walk through covent garden as a kid and i remember a guy on a flower barrow throwing me a piece of chocolate when he saw me noticing him eating some - very nice, very.

[ploplisphilin]

The end of an era! (We should have been listening to Bizet "Symphony in C" remembering the original title of Balanchine's ballet "Palais de Cristal." LOL. Love the nostalgic Elgar though!) Thanks, nick.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi ploplisphilin - yes - symbolic of the end of a great industrial power - i thought of the elgar as it's so quintessentially english and nostalgic of empire. but lots of music would be good with this footage, as you mention bizet. cheers, nick!

[cavalonja]

Fascinating, and such a beautiful structure. Thanks for sharing these video treasures!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi cavalonja - it was an amazing structure and an engineering achievement - love sharing things so glad you liked it! cheers from sydney