GUIDE TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE. THE SITE. The Crystal Palace stands in the county of Surrey, immediately on the confines of Kent, bordered on one side by Sydenham, and on the other by Norwood and Anerley, whilst Penge lies at the foot of the hill, and Dulwich Wood at the top. No particular topographical or historical facts are associated with these places. Sydenham, however, is invested with some literary interest as having been the residence of the poet Campbell, the author of the “Pleasures of Hope," who passed, as he says in one of his letters, the happiest years of his life in this suburban village. ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE. The visitor, having reached the Crystal Palace terminus, quits the train, and ascends the broad flight of steps before him, leading to a covered way called the Railway Colonnade, in which will shortly be placed a collection of plants forming an avenue of choice exotics. At the end of this colonnade is the south wing of the Palace. Ascending the first flight of stairs he enters the secondclass Refreshment Room, and by another flight he attains the level of the floor of the main building.* * In the lower story of the South Wing will be found a second-class REFRESHMENT ROOM, where refreshments of a substantial kind may be procured at a moderate charge. Above this, in the next story of the South Wing, is a first-class Refreshment Room, for confectionary and ices, as well as more nourishing fare; and, above this again, is a large space occupying the whole of the upper floor of the Wing, and extending across the end of the main building, whilst, built out from the North end, will be found two Dining Rooms, one devoted to general use, and the other for Exhibitors only, appropriated to first-class Refreshment Tables, where cold viands may be obtained. each end of the great Transept, under the Galleries, will be found two Stalls with ices and refreshments and at the north end of the building, extending to the back of the Assyrian Court, and covering the top floor of the North Wing, is a large space also devoted to the sale of ices and confectionary. At Having entered the Palace, the visitor may desire, before he examines its various contents, to learn something of the Building itself-certainly not the least remarkable feature in the extraordinary scene now submitted to his contemplation. We therefore proceed at once to furnish him with an ACCOUNT OF THE BUILDING. In taking the structure of the Great Exhibition of 1851-that type of a class of architecture which may fairly be called "modern English "*. -as the model for the new building at Sydenham, the projectors found it necessary to make such modifications and improvements as were suggested by the difference between a temporary receiving-house for the world's industrial wealth, and a permanent Palace of Art and Education, intended for the use of mankind long after its original founders should have passed away. Not only, however, have increased strength and durability been considered, but beauty and artistic effect have come in for a due share of attention. The difference of general aspect between the present palace and its predecessor, is visible at a glance. In the parent edifice, the external appearance, although grand, was monotonous; the long flat roof was broken by only one transept, and the want of an elevation proportionate to the great length of the building was certainly displeasing. In the Sydenham Palace, an arched roof covers the nave-raising it forty-four feet higher than the nave in Hyde Park-and three transepts are introduced into the structure instead of one, the centre transept towering into the air, and forming a hall to the Palace of surpassing brilliancy and lightness. A further improvement is the formation of recesses, * We do not know any name more suitable to express the character of this iron and glass building than that which we have chosen. In Gothic architecture we have named one style "Early English," and we think we may with equal propriety confer the title of "Modern English upon the new order, which is essentially the creation of the nineteenth century, and which served to house one of the greatest national displays that England ever attempted-THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851. The erection of the building both of 1851 and of 1854, it may be well to remark, is mainly due to the rapid advances made in this country in the manufactures of glass and iron, substances which with only moderate attention will defy the effects of time. The present structure is capable of enduring longer than the oldest marble or stone architectural monuments of antiquity. The iron, which forms its skeleton or framework, becomes when painted, the most indestructible of materials, and the entire covering of glass may be renewed again and again without in any way interfering with the construction which it covers. twenty-four feet deep, in the garden fronts of all the transepts. These throw fine shadows, and take away from the continuous surface of plain glass walls: whilst the whole general arrangement of the exterior-the roofs of the side aisles rising step-like to the circular roof of the nave, the interposition of square towers at the junction of the nave and transepts, the open galleries towards the garden front, the long wings stretching forth on either side, produce a play of light and shade, and break the building into parts, which, without in any way detracting from the grandeur and simplicity of the whole construction, or causing the parts themselves to appear mean or small, present a variety of surface that charms and fully satisfies the eye. Unity in architecture is one of the most requisite and agreeable of its qualities: and certainly no building possesses it in a greater degree than the Crystal Palace. Its design is most simple: one portion corresponds with another; there is no introduction of needless ornament: a simplicity of treatment reigns throughout. Nor is this unity confined to the building. It characterizes the contents of the glass structure, and prevails in the grounds. All the component parts of the Exhibition blend, yet all are distinct and the effect of the admirable and harmonious arrangement is, that all confusion in the vast establishment, within and without, is avoided. "The mighty maze" has not only its plan, but a plan of the most lucid and instructive kind, and the visitor is enabled to examine every court, whether artistic or industrial; every object, whether of nature or of art, in regular order; so that, as in a well-arranged book, he may proceed from subject to subject at his discretion, and derive useful information without the trouble and vexation of working his way through a labyrinth. All the materials employed in the Exhibition of 1851, with the exception of the glass on the whole roof, and the framing of the transept-roof, have been used in the construction of the Crystal Palace. The general principle of construction, therefore, is identical in the two buildings. The modifications that have taken place, and the reasons that have led to them, have already been stated. Two difficulties, however, which were unknown in Hyde Park, had to be provided against at Sydenham: viz., the loose nature of the soil, and the sloping character of the ground. Means were take to overcome these difficulties at the very outset of the work. The disadvantage of soil was repaired by the introduction of masses of concrete and brickwork under each column, in order to secure breadth of base and stability of structure. The slanting ground was seized by Sir Joseph Paxton with his usual sagacity, in order to be converted from an obstacle into a positive advantage. The ground ran rapidly down towards the garden, and Sir Joseph accordingly constructed a lower, or basement story towards the garden front, by means of which not only increased space was gained, but a higher elevation secured to the whole building, and the noblest possible view. The lower story is sufficiently large to serve as a department for the exhibition of machinery in motion, which interesting branch of science and human industry will thus be contemplated apart from other objects. Behind this space, westwards, is a capacious horizontal brick shaft, twentyfour feet wide, extending the whole length of the building, and denominated "Sir Joseph Paxton's Tunnel" (▲). Leading out of this tunnel are the furnaces and boilers connected with the heating apparatus, together with brick recesses for the stowage of coke. The tunnel itself is connected with the railway, and is used as a roadway for bringing into, and taking from, the Palace all objects of art and of industry; an arrangement that leaves the main floor of the building independent of all such operations. Behind the tunnel, and still towards the west, the declivity of the ground is met by means of brick piers of the heights necessary to raise the foundation pieces of the columns to the level at which they rest on the summit of the hill. A The building consists, above the basement floor, of a grand central nave, two side aisles, two main galleries, three transepts, and two wings. It will be remembered, that in Hyde Park an imposing |