The Crystal Palace was an exhibition hall built for the Montreal Industrial Exhibition of 1860, originally located at the foot of Victoria Street (one block west of University) between Sainte-Catherine and Cathcart Streets, then relocated to Fletcher's Field. It was used for temporary exhibitions, and in winter, housed an ice skating rink.
Side view in 1866, at original location on Victoria Street.
The building was designed by Montreal architect John William Hopkins. It had an iron framework, a tinned barrel-vaultednave and two galleries, each twenty feet wide, extending all the way around the interior. Its design was inspired by The Crystal Palace in London. Its main facades were of iron and glass. Its side walls were of white brick with rose-coloured contrast, with the iron and wood elements painted to match the brick. Its bays were subdivided by three arches, with only the centre arch glazed. Constructed in 20-foot modules, the Crystal Palace was intended to be 180 x 200 feet, but was constructed with shorter transepts, reducing its dimensions to 180 x 120 feet.[1]
1860 Industrial Exhibitionedit
The Industrial Exhibition displayed agricultural and industrial products from the then British North America. The displays ranged from minerals, native woods, seeds and grains, preserved birds and fish, oils and foodstuffs to textiles and leather goods, furniture, clothing, machinery, iron work, tools and crafts. As part of the exhibition the Art Association of Montreal, the future Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, organized a display of Canadian art. The Prince of Wales visited Montreal that year and officially opened the exhibition.
Skating rinkedit
The large open space of the exhibition hall was suitable for other uses. In later years, the hall would house a natural ice skating rink in the winter, and was one of the first indoor skating rinks in Canada. The skating rink was used by McGill University students to play ice hockey and the rink is the site of the first known photograph of ice hockey players in hockey uniforms, taken in 1881.
In 1878 it was dismantled and moved to Fletcher's Field, part of which is now known as Jeanne-Mance Park. In July 1896, the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire, as London's original Crystal Palace would be 40 years later in 1936.[2][3] The site of the Crystal Palace, between Mont-Royal Avenue and Saint-Joseph Boulevard, was developed for housing a few years after the fire.
The original downtown location later was home to the Palace Theatre, a movie house, and today contains an alley named Ruelle Palace.
Referencesedit
^Graham, Fern E.M. (March 1995). (PDF). Bulletin. 19 (1). Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada: 9. ISSN 0228-0744. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
^Goldman, Norman. . BootsnAll:The Ultimate Source for the Independent Traveller. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-02-19..
^Gazette article, "Flames devoured one of the city's most glittering landmarks"
crystal, palace, montreal, crystal, palace, exhibition, hall, built, montreal, industrial, exhibition, 1860, originally, located, foot, victoria, street, block, west, university, between, sainte, catherine, cathcart, streets, then, relocated, fletcher, field, . The Crystal Palace was an exhibition hall built for the Montreal Industrial Exhibition of 1860 originally located at the foot of Victoria Street one block west of University between Sainte Catherine and Cathcart Streets then relocated to Fletcher s Field It was used for temporary exhibitions and in winter housed an ice skating rink Side view in 1866 at original location on Victoria Street Interior of the Crystal Palace in 1879 Hockey match Crystal Palace skating rink 1881 Contents 1 Construction 2 1860 Industrial Exhibition 3 Skating rink 4 Relocation and fire 5 References 6 External linksConstruction editThe building was designed by Montreal architect John William Hopkins It had an iron framework a tinned barrel vaulted nave and two galleries each twenty feet wide extending all the way around the interior Its design was inspired by The Crystal Palace in London Its main facades were of iron and glass Its side walls were of white brick with rose coloured contrast with the iron and wood elements painted to match the brick Its bays were subdivided by three arches with only the centre arch glazed Constructed in 20 foot modules the Crystal Palace was intended to be 180 x 200 feet but was constructed with shorter transepts reducing its dimensions to 180 x 120 feet 1 1860 Industrial Exhibition editThe Industrial Exhibition displayed agricultural and industrial products from the then British North America The displays ranged from minerals native woods seeds and grains preserved birds and fish oils and foodstuffs to textiles and leather goods furniture clothing machinery iron work tools and crafts As part of the exhibition the Art Association of Montreal the future Montreal Museum of Fine Arts organized a display of Canadian art The Prince of Wales visited Montreal that year and officially opened the exhibition Skating rink editThe large open space of the exhibition hall was suitable for other uses In later years the hall would house a natural ice skating rink in the winter and was one of the first indoor skating rinks in Canada The skating rink was used by McGill University students to play ice hockey and the rink is the site of the first known photograph of ice hockey players in hockey uniforms taken in 1881 The rink also housed the Crystal Skating Club and Crystal Hockey Club more commonly known as the Montreal Crystals which played men s senior level amateur hockey in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada Relocation and fire editIn 1878 it was dismantled and moved to Fletcher s Field part of which is now known as Jeanne Mance Park In July 1896 the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire as London s original Crystal Palace would be 40 years later in 1936 2 3 The site of the Crystal Palace between Mont Royal Avenue and Saint Joseph Boulevard was developed for housing a few years after the fire The original downtown location later was home to the Palace Theatre a movie house and today contains an alley named Ruelle Palace References edit Graham Fern E M March 1995 The Crystal Palace in Canada PDF Bulletin 19 1 Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada 9 ISSN 0228 0744 Archived from the original PDF on 26 April 2012 Retrieved 25 December 2011 Goldman Norman Montreal s Eighth Wonder of the World BootsnAll The Ultimate Source for the Independent Traveller Archived from the original on 2008 05 11 Retrieved 2008 02 19 Gazette article Flames devoured one of the city s most glittering landmarks External links editSee photographs at the McCord Museum website exterior 1881 ice hockey photograph 45 30 09 N 73 34 11 W 45 5025 N 73 5698 W 45 5025 73 5698 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Crystal Palace Montreal amp oldid 1072671518, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
