2-701-162 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Opening of Crystal Palace at Sydenham by Queen Victoria on June 10th 1854; from Views of London (lithograph). vast crowds surrond a pedestal upon which Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and three of their children stand, at the opening cermony of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton (1803-1865) in Sydenham; in the background stand members of a choir and orchestra, from photographic evidence of the event we know this is a fairly accurate rendering of the scale of the occasion; the iconic steel girders that supported the building can be seen rising above the crowds.