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One of the reasons I got a camera for Xmas a couple of years ago, was that I wanted to go around locally and take some photos of the local sites. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go to Crystal Palace Park on a Saturday morning and put it to good use.
The site has got such a lot of history and interest. It takes it’s name from the Crystal Palace that was built from cast-iron and glass and was an enormous building designed to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. If you go online, then you can see some photos of the original building. Unfortunately, a fire in 1936 meant that the building was destroyed; save for the foundations, which are still there. The photos taken above show some of the foundations/steps/walls that are still there and by looking at them, you can get some idea of the size of the building.
Looking in the museum was fascinating, and really brought home just how extraordinary a site it was. It still is interesting today. It also houses the National Sports Centre, including the athletics track (where I saw Brendan Foster break a world record once – that’s how old I am!), and the olympic sized swimming pool (where I once saw Duncan Goodhew – again, that’ s how old I am!).
But all of this is housed in a lovely park. It’s a nice size and has several ponds/lakes which are pretty to look at. And the kids love the dinosaur statues in one section of the park (no idea whose idea it was to put them there, but they look hilarious). One of the ponds is the site of the old Bowl, where bands used to play. Bob Marley once played there. And several other big names. The bowl has been replaced with another structure now, but it seems a really cool, quirky place to watch a band.
But I would recommend to anyone that they go down to the Park and take a look. And venture into the museum. It’s easy sometimes to miss the history you have on your own doorstep.
