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Description: | First opened as The People's Palace in 1873, this venue aimed to provide the public with an environment suitable for both variety entertainment and outdoor recreation. It was situated in the middle of 196 acres of parkland, with landscaped gardens, fountains, ornamental lakes, a racetrack and even a funfair. The palace itself covered some seven acres of land. Only sixteen days after its opening, however, the dome of the palace caught fire and destroyed the building. It was remodelled and then rebuilt over the next two years, reopening in May 1875 as Alexandra Palace. The building now contained a Great Hall, an art gallery, a museum, a library, and halls for lectures, banquets and concerts. It was one of London's chief public attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of people every year.
In 1935, the BBC leased the eastern part of the building and made the first public television transmissions from the palace. It remained the BBC's main transmitting centre until 1956. In 1988, the palace caught fire again, destroying all but the atrium, known as Palm Court, and the BBC offices. Restoration work was completed in 1988, and Alexandra Palace now operates as a Charitable Trust administered by the London Borough of Haringey. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | Unknown | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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