When I was in London, I desperately wanted to go to Hyde Park.  I wanted to envision The Crystal Palace or better yet, jet back to the 1850s and actually be there.  The Crystal Palace was this magnificent glass building that housed the Great Exhibition in 1854.

The Palace actually only lived in Hyde Park for a short period of time.  It was moved after the exhibition ended.  There were plenty of problems after the move (mainly bankruptcy).  Eventually, The Crystal Palace burned down in 1936.

Over the past few years, there had been talk about rebuilding The Crystal Palace.  But, in January of this year, it was announced that a sports arena would be built instead of a replica of the Palace.  So sad!

Sketch of what the Great Exhibition was like at the first location

The Crystal Palace at its second location

View of The Crystal Palace from afar

The Crystal Palace on fire