The Crystal Palace was a
cast-iron and
plate-glass structure erected in
Hyde Park, London, England, to house the
Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the
Industrial Revolution. Designed by
Sir Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was long, with an interior height of . The invention of the
cast plate glass method in 1848 made possible the production of large sheets of cheap but strong glass, and its use in the Crystal Palace created a structure with the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building and astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights.