‘Palaces for the People’—A Kind of Utopia?
The idea of a palace as a popular cultural asset, rather than as a symbol of exclusive power and wealth, was born with the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition’s ability to attract large numbers of working-class visitors fascinated contemporary observers. After it closed in October 1851, Paxton’s buildi...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cve, |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprache: | Anglais |
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Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens
2026
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| Online Zugang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Zusammenfassung: | The idea of a palace as a popular cultural asset, rather than as a symbol of exclusive power and wealth, was born with the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition’s ability to attract large numbers of working-class visitors fascinated contemporary observers. After it closed in October 1851, Paxton’s building was moved to Sydenham, where it formed the nucleus of a permanent exhibition which had a major impact on London’s cultural life. However, the Crystal Palace was never financially secure, and went through numerous crises before it finally burned down in 1936. two other London ‘people’s palaces’, Alexandra Palace and Walter Besant’s ‘Palace of Delight’—described in his novel all sorts and conditions of men and later built in Stepney—had an even more chequered history. The gulf between the aspirations of the people’s palaces’ and their reality is captured in fictional descriptions of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham by George Gissing and H. G. Wells. |
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