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The rise and fall of the Crystal Palace was brought to life on 29th Nov with Palace Dreams, a specially created live spectacle to mark the 70th anniversary of the unique structure being burned to the ground, a historic event that took place on 30 November 1936. (See ‘The Crystal Palace Fire’). Commissioned by the London Development Agency in partnership with the Mayor of London, Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Foundation, Palace Dreams took place on the eve of the anniversary of the fire, which could be seen for miles around. The event was developed by some of the UK’s leading outdoor spectacle artistes and was designed to evoke the story of Crystal Palace. Reflecting the concept of the original architect, Joseph Paxton, to create a vision of light and wonder and pomp and ceremony of Queen Victoria opening the palace to a fanfare of music and fireworks. The show included the creative talents of The World Famous, Hive of Industry, Sophy Smith and Natasha Chivers.
Thousands of people gathered around the terraces to watch a spectacular well-organised event. The event opened with archive footage of the Crystal Palace on a giant screen followed by a series of dramatic aerial displays by trapeze style performers suspended from a huge crane above the site. The finale was a fireworks display, which reached a crescendo with the raising of an effigy of the palace itself which in turn broke into flames and from which further fireworks were launched. One couldn’t help imagine how the witnesses to the original fire felt.
The event was used as a springboard by the LDA to publicise its ambitious plans to redevelop the park. The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: ‘Crystal Palace was for many a symbol of the future, and the fire that destroyed it – which could be seen across the South East – remains etched in the memory of those that witnessed it. With Palace Dreams we wanted to illustrate the impact that the rise and fall of Paxton’s great achievement had, but we also wanted look to Crystal Palace’s future. Crystal Palace Park is an important green space and my vision is to create a revived metropolitan park for the 21st century, one that meets the needs of local residents and visitors from across London and beyond.’
In 2005 the London Development Agency, under the direction of the Mayor of London, took over control of the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace from Sport England, thereby safeguarding the future of sports at the world famous sports venue until 2012 and beyond. Last August the London Development Agency appointed award-winning landscape architects Latz + Partners as the master planner for Crystal Palace Park, to build upon work undertaken with the local community and produce a plan to improve the park. As part of this plan, the aim is to re-establish it as space for events and other recreational activities throughout the year – more events are planned following Palace Dreams.
Local people’s involvement is seen as key and proposals for the park have been developed in consultation with the local community. Manny Lewis, Chief Executive at the London Development Agency, said: ‘The London Development Agency is committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with local communities and others interested in the development and management of this wonderful green space. The aim is to improve accessibility, rejuvenate facilities and increase the amount of open space to ensure this ‘people’s park’ has a vibrant and sustainable future.’ Members of the public interested in getting involved can visit www.crystalpalacepark.org, or call 020 7357 6894.
Karen Moran events manager of the Crystal Palace foundation explained how she came upon the idea of a fireworks display: “When fire destroyed the Crystal Palace in 1936 it was an enormous loss to the area. I felt a tribute should be paid to this great building so I thought a firework display was appropriate. The fireworks gave the Palace its dignity back, to me it was the greatest tribute that could be paid to one of Paxton’s greatest achievements”. Karen also organised the talk by Ian Bevan the following day on the 70th anniversary of the fire.
Further information go to the Crystal Palace Foundation website.
(First printed in Palace Mag Jan 07)
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