Your quality of matching old photos to the location of where they are now, is simply sensational! Thankyou so much for your work, effort and knowledge 🙏🏼
My feelings exactly. I've done a bit of fiddling with Google Earth (and street view) trying to match those images with historic photos from my home town in California, and it's NOT easy! For reasons unknown, this video showed up in my RUclips suggestions, and I'm very glad I clicked on it. Well done. I do believe I'll be watching a lot more of your videos in the near future.
I grew up in that park in the 80”s. Scrambling around the ruins. There were a few tunnels and hidden basements here and there. Many have been closed off since. Annoyed that the parks move to become a ‘country park’ means they let everything get overgrown. This first steps at the north end were completely clear of greenery right up into the nineties. Also there is a blue stain porcelain floor under the brush at the top of the stairs there. Before the caravan park came in, in the late 80’s the other side of the wall was completely overgrown but underneath was several greenhouse frames complete with trees growing through from the floor that were once contained in pots still visible in the bark in pieces.
As a life long local resident of the area, its lovely to see it being appreciated. It's heartbreaking to see what once once was such an epic example of British engineering in such a sorry state. Your visualisations of the old palace in relation to the present really bring home hat it must have been like... Brilliant! Thank you!
Deserves an award, what a fantastic documentary. I played there in the 1960's upto 1975 and I can't believe how much of the ruins has gone and has overgrown, there was much more to see and play around when I was a boy. I Remember motor racing, 2 fishing lakes, a zoo, an adventure playground, a ski ramp, fantastic dinosaurs and the ruins. From watching your excellent video so many memories have come flooding back thank you.
When I was a boy, in the early 60s, you could climb up and see into huge rooms under the terraces that were absolutely packed with statues from around the park. Fascinating place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I've lived in this area. all my life it was great to see how it used to look. Apparetnly my Grandad watched it buring down and like you say it could be seen from miles away. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this.
I used to live in Mitcham in the 80's & an old neighbour of mine said he put a ladder up against his house & climbed up to see it burning in the distance.
@@AdventureMe It's obvious this place was all Hydro Turbine Powered to me.. I doubt there is any old records of those installations though. It will have been deleted and replaced by fake history.
I live right next to the park and walk around it every day. I thought I’d seen everything in the park but clearly not! Can’t wait to go exploring tomorrow!! Amazing.
Loving this, another subject close to my heart. When my Dad was 3 my Grandfather held him up to his bedroom window to show him the glow in the sky as the Palace burned. The reservoir was always roofed over and part of the North Transept. I understand it is still very much in use. The South Tower actually acted as a chimney when the Palace burned and although they wanted to save it, it was by then part of the local water supply network, the heat of the fire effectively sintered the brick work. As a Kid in the early 1970's Dad took me there on a couple of occasions. Back then you could still see where the molten glass had flowed down the stairs, still fenced of in those days. He also managed to wangle a short visit to the tunnel that connected the LCDR High Level Station under the road to the Palace entrance. I remember it as a dingy, dirty, dark place with a beautiful vaulted roof. Wish I'd taken more notice but I was a strange Kid who had been promised a visit to Foyles Bookshop (I still have the books I bought (wangled out of Dad)... Thank you so much for bringing back so many good memories.
Thanks for the memories Douglas. I wish I had seen it all those years ago. You might be right about the reservoir, it did look too flat. Part 2 is out next week.
That was amazing Darren. Love your fading past and present photos. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of this building. It’s end so tragic. Music makes me feel nostalgic. Very moving Darren very moving indeed. Thank you.
Absolutely loved that as I am also a huge admirer of The Crystal Palace. I am simply blown away not just by the sheer size and scale of the structure but its breathtaking beauty too. It is criminal that it was allowed to go to a state of disrepair and that it burned down was a massive tragedy. Can you imagine the visitors it would attract today? I am really looking forward to watching the next one and thanks for your hard work and effort; it is greatly appreciated and the overlays were stunning as per usual. Great job and loved the music too.
A wonderful building that really should of been properly looked after,the likes of which we will never seen again . Great informative video well done .
I haven’t been to Crystal Palace Park since I was a child and I remember going on a 122 bus from Woolwich to Crystal Palace and when the pylon was in sight we knew we were nearly there. Happy childhood memories ❤️
What. An. Incredible. Video! Mate, I really appreciate you doing this! I've lived in and around Crystal Palace all my life (40yrs) and have massively fond memories as a kid coming to the park with school and friends, learning about its history and everything it still had to offer. It's genuinely one of the most historic spots in London and perhaps the whole of England and you've done it justice with this stunning video! I've often walked the grounds as an adult and allowed my mind to drift into thoughts of how everything must have looked and felt. The way you pieced the old and new images together was simply spectacular and left not much to the imagination. Your knowledge is top tier, and I'm very impressed, and very grateful! I could honestly ramble on and on about how beautiful this video is. You've really done us proud! This is my Manor and you've brought back a lot of memories for me. I truly hope that 1 day, this can be rebuilt, just as it used to be - because it was absolutely glorious and an absolute spectacle. Thank you for this! I'm looking forward to parts 2 & 3!
I loved the zoo, and seeing guy the gorilla and seeing the penguin , and athletics , and the concert and fireworks and motor racing , on part of old tracks
Danke für dieses Video, Darren. Das ist immer wie eine vorher -nacher Show. Gut dass die Terrassentreppe erhalten geblieben ist. Passt jetzt gut zur Landschaft. Danke Darren ❤👍
Great videos - a place close to my heart, my mum now in her 70s grew up in Crystal Palace, she lived on gypsy hill. Her and her friends used to play in the park growing up, she was fascinated by the palace, and would do similar explorations of the area and park same as you did, she said one day - playing up the top of the park - they a terrace feature that was normally boarded up - was open - they wandered in and found the old ornate subway that ran under the road to the palace. Later years they opened it up to the pubic, still do now I thing, needless to say as kids my mum and Nan would take us to the park, and showed us all the little hidden gems left from the Palace, I’m pretty sure over by the water tower base - the one you can get to - there’s a steel beam - bolted to the ground that looks like one of the old frame pieces? Really enjoyed this video, I just as fascinated as my mum. She’ll love this - I’ll send her a link :)
I remember going here as a child with my school, I remember doing the hedge maze that you mentioned, such a shame that a beautiful building like this was destroyed by fire, I bet it was stunning to look at and walk around
The best video of the history of Crystal Palace. This should be on BBC1 or something. It’s that good. Crystal Palace Park is an amazing place and it’s MASSIVE. Well worth a visit.
Yup, the blending in of the old buildings into the modern day scenes really brings the old back to life. Interesting stuff, looking forward to the next 2 parts.
Thoroughly enjoyed your video and am really looking forward to the next two. The music had a fitting melancholy quality that suited the remains of the palace grounds. It's a real shame that Bromley council will not restore the stonework on the terraces. At least the subway is being restored at long last after local pressure. I really liked the way you managed to superimpose images of the Crystal Palace onto what is left today so seamlessly. Thank you for a fantastic documentary and I really hope that you can do more than just two more.
Nice to see you back in the south again to explore one of my favorite places to walk around . Is just so much to find there . Loving the overlays brings it to life . Part one was great , looking forward to parts 2 and 3 . Is nice to have someone else's view on something you know well . Keep up the great work Darren .
love the vids cant wait for part 3 to drop! ...im not a londoner infact in from up north BUT crystal palace is on of the uk's sadly lost places and it was long gone by the time i was born but it still peaks my interest as i LOVE looking back in history and whats left even if it is recent from the 20th century ect! Fab vid and one of the ones i love going through the history and what is still left that folks dont know about same as me i never knew so much was left ..obv i knew aboth the sphinxes and the high level station ect but never knew about the aquairum and hidded stuff! love it all and thank you for bringing this hidden stuff in crystal palace park to folks that maybe never knew it was still there ! ...ps you look hot shirtless! 😀 but i mean that in a good way!
@@AdventureMe ashton under lyne ... greater Manchester originaly but have live in a village on the outskirts of Bristol for the last 16 yrs ...took me a while to adjust ect ..not like i can walk into town for a night out or catch a bus ect but still love where im living ....green belt ect ...only thing i dont like is when the local farm decides to muck spread 🤣
It is sad to see the beautiful structures of the past, now non existent. But because of you Darren, we can relive this past experience. Thanks so much. Will look forward to Part 2 and 3. Cheers mate! 🏴😊👍🇺🇸
They used to do walks where you could do in the tower remains. The museum is sadly shut at the moment. I'm pretty sure the stones are part of the stairs that were removed. The stairs at the back were added much later in it's life and lead to the first floor, underneath that was the basement. The metal posts you found were the original posts from the palace. That's the outside wall. They cut them off at ground level after it had burnt down. They are 8 inches wide, 8 feet apart. It was the worlds first modular building. Your images at 14 minutes shows where the posts were. The guy who was responsible for putting the column there took me on a personal guided walk. The rubble you found where it's raised up is from the blitz. They filled in the basement with it. There are old cars and bomb damaged buildings. If you go in many woods there are signs of bricks being dumped from WW2. The terraces have been restored in the past but need doing again. The statues were sold off after the fire and are copies of the originals. After the fire many were sold off. You can see some in peoples gardens and dotted around the local area. THe bolts you found were probably from the stairs you thought the cast iron posts were for. I"m pretty sure the back stairs were mostly concrete posts (but I might be wrong). Great video. I hope the above is of some interest. I used to be fascinated by the park and have been on many guided tours of it, including tours of the underground vaulted access from the high level train station.
Superb! Visited a few years ago and this brought back good memories. The old picture fade ins work so well with the hauntingly good music. Top work and thanks for making these vidoes!
Very interesting video, I always thought the palace burned down in Hyde park, I never knew it was moved, and if I am not mistaken it was Prince Albert who came up with the idea of building the iron and glass structure for the great exhibition. 👍👍.
I cannot wait for the next video - this is absolutely fascinating! Your overlays of the past and present locations is stunning. Thanks for this wonderful content.
As a South Londoner I can only say thank you for shining a light and exploring such an iconic site! It's been years since my last visit... well worth a return!
The Crystal Palace must have really been a sight to see. Wish it survived so it could still be enjoyed today. Another great watch. You seem to enjoy your work. Thanks again for your time and work.....
Amazing video! I live in Crystal Palace now, and I remember going to the park once and seeing all the ruins. It’s incredible to see the history of the place!
Hi Darren, superb stuff here, somewhere I've never been, I didn't think there were any remaining parts left at all, what I've always wondered is how a building made entirely of iron & glass managed to catch fire, more likely it was the contents inside that started the fire. If it had not had the fire, it probably would have been a target during WW2. Just imagine what an attraction it would have been today! At least the name lives on in many ways, the park, station, football team & of course the TV transmitter mast, one of the most iconic ones in the UK. Can't wait for Pt2.
I have visited many times when I visit my parents in Upper Norwood (about a mile away) Never noticed any of the features in these videos . Will look out for them next time
I remember seeing the remains of the metal arches to the roof of the old high level station peeping over the walls! Me and my mate, years later, explored the site of the station and discovered the secret Alhambra covered way, which no doubt you will cover in further videos! Very interesting and clever transitions!
Fantastic amount of research and facts. Exceptional period graphics, so well overlaid onto modern landscape. Brilliant work. The architect Owen Jones was indeed a talented man. From Thailand.
Excellent, very interesting Darren, while watching your presentation l was studying the 3D Google Earth images at the same time, I never realised just how much still remains today, having never been there I assumed the site was all reclaimed parkland but looking closer as you show us there is a treasure trove of history.
Fascinating stuff. About 15 to 20 years ago, I attended a 2 day athletics meeting at Crystal Palace and stayed in the 1960s tower block that lies between the stadium and the site where the Palace stood. I remember getting up on a sunny Sunday morning and looking out of the window of my room and trying to imagine what it would be like if the Palace was still there as the foundations were still clearly visible.
I grew up in the 80s in grange wood park spa park and the Crystal Palace park thank you so much for making this truly amazing film you’re cinematography is sublime and brought back so many happy memories of cycling round this park on my bmx pretending to be street hawk little did I know or the rich history around me at the time. Thanks again and please keep up these amazing videos 👍
Absolutely brilliant video I had no idea that so much remains of crystal Palace i still can't get my head round how you find these things lol but keep up the good work from joff
Ah this was a brilliant watch didn't want it to end. love the then and now scenes fascinating stuff would love to see more like this thanks you for posting
So happy you’ve made these! I’ve always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. Partly because of its iconic history and fame in its day and partly because there’s still such a ghost of the building and it’s surroundings remaining. Great video! Will look forward to the next one - thanks!
Absolutely brilliant as usual Darren. I stayed just up the road a couple of years ago to visit a travel trade exhibition at Excel and it was around Bonfire night. The fireworks display was awesome, but I now realised that walked right past that curved wall and never knew it was the base of one of Brunel's water towers. Incredible. The dinosaur park is excellent, so can't wait to see that, as well as the railway stations and hopefully the pneumatic railway remains too. A little side story. I was waiting for a train to crystal palace and a guy had just missed his train. He looked at the board and it said. 6 minutes till next one. He went nuts!!. "Six minutes..six minutes. ". he shouted. I said, try living where I'm from, north of Watford, where they are every hour, if you're lucky! He just went "Humph" and walked off. Lol. Many thanks for all your hard work, research and editing. Trust me, it is very much appreciated. Cheers.
Thanks. Yes 6 minutes is such a shock to us. They don't know how lucky they are darn sarf. The pneumatic railway and dinosaurs are in the next two, along with much more.
@@AdventureMe Haha... I did out of curiosity, I'd never heard of him before... so?... I'm being called a 'stud' eh? Lol I've been called worse things. Oh, while I'm here, can I ask a favour? Can you do more adventures when it's boiling hot so we get to see you with your shirt off... ;) lol
Fascinating. I agree about the matching of old photos to present locations. It makes everything - the past - so much more vivid. It's difficult to find any such connections to The Past over here. :(
Wow! As the Founder Chairman of the Crystal Palace Foundation established in 1979 who erected the Paxton Crystal Palace Corner (pcpc) on the palace site in 2008 (14:00 - 15:00 in this video) I would personally like to congratulate you on this jolly good film. Well done sir.
Amazing video! Very sad that this whole area has fallen into such dereliction. Why aren’t archaeologists investigating the ruins? Surely the large mound and other areas would reveal many treasures from the Victorian era. We don’t really value our past in this country like others do. Of course it is not surprising really, as the country is run by Philistines, whose main interest is stuffing their faces in posh London restaurants and drinking in the House of Commons bar!
I remember my father telling me that he went up there when it was burning and saw molten glass running down the road. You wouldn't be allowed anywhere near such a disaster nowadays. Thanks for doing this, look forward to the next episode!
This was the first of your videos that I watched - and is still one of the best! I live in North London and, like you, I have long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. I only got around to visiting the park last year. Indeed, I may have been there the same day as you - it was exceptionally hot!
Thanks for the quality video Darren, I live 5 minutes walk away from the park and go there every week. Sad to see though how it has deteriorated over the years since I have been there. Nobody wants to spend any money on it these days sadly. Keep up the great work!
That was absolutely fascinating, learnt a load of facts. Superb merging as usual👍🏻 You're keen - London in the heat, no thanks!!!! Thanks Darren, roll on next week!!!!
Thank you for this (and part 2) superb tour of Crystal Palace and the story behind it. Looking forward to seeing part 3. My Dad was 16 in 1936 and remembers seeing the glow of the fire from near Hanger Lane.
Hey , this place is amazing , this place truly is belongs to everyone as i judge how this place is built and your story. Wow , i am speechless ! I hope one day this whole place will stand again for everyone in the world but much better and stronger than before! thanks for the whole video ! 👌
wow the effort you've gone to in this video is wonderful!!! i've visited the park several times and can't get my head around how massive the palace would have been, your before and after pictures really helped to put it in perspective. thank you!
Wow what a fantastic video. I can't wait for the next two installments. Your Butlins Filey one had me hooked and so has this. Something may interest you, If you google War Beach Liverpool, we have a section of beach where demolished buildings in ww2 were dumped. For instance there was a huge domed building, the Customs House that stood opposite the Albert Dock which was destroyed and a lot of it I believe is still on that beach. Best Wishes
Your quality of matching old photos to the location of where they are now, is simply sensational! Thankyou so much for your work, effort and knowledge 🙏🏼
Thanks Emma. My speciality.
I agree. Excellent work 👍🏻 would have been a sight to behold that’s for sure …
My feelings exactly. I've done a bit of fiddling with Google Earth (and street view) trying to match those images with historic photos from my home town in California, and it's NOT easy! For reasons unknown, this video showed up in my RUclips suggestions, and I'm very glad I clicked on it. Well done. I do believe I'll be watching a lot more of your videos in the near future.
I grew up in that park in the 80”s. Scrambling around the ruins. There were a few tunnels and hidden basements here and there. Many have been closed off since. Annoyed that the parks move to become a ‘country park’ means they let everything get overgrown. This first steps at the north end were completely clear of greenery right up into the nineties. Also there is a blue stain porcelain floor under the brush at the top of the stairs there. Before the caravan park came in, in the late 80’s the other side of the wall was completely overgrown but underneath was several greenhouse frames complete with trees growing through from the floor that were once contained in pots still visible in the bark in pieces.
As a life long local resident of the area, its lovely to see it being appreciated. It's heartbreaking to see what once once was such an epic example of British engineering in such a sorry state. Your visualisations of the old palace in relation to the present really bring home hat it must have been like... Brilliant! Thank you!
Thanks Steven
Deserves an award, what a fantastic documentary. I played there in the 1960's upto 1975 and I can't believe how much of the ruins has gone and has overgrown, there was much more to see and play around when I was a boy. I Remember motor racing, 2 fishing lakes, a zoo, an adventure playground, a ski ramp, fantastic dinosaurs and the ruins. From watching your excellent video so many memories have come flooding back thank you.
The Palace existed for 85 years (not all in that location), now has been gone for 85 years. Thanks for a fascinating video, well done.
Thanks for the info!
When I was a boy, in the early 60s, you could climb up and see into huge rooms under the terraces that were absolutely packed with statues from around the park. Fascinating place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I've lived in this area. all my life it was great to see how it used to look. Apparetnly my Grandad watched it buring down and like you say it could be seen from miles away. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this.
Thanks for watching
I used to live in Mitcham in the 80's & an old neighbour of mine said he put a ladder up against his house & climbed up to see it burning in the distance.
@@AdventureMe It's obvious this place was all Hydro Turbine Powered to me.. I doubt there is any old records of those installations though. It will have been deleted and replaced by fake history.
I live right next to the park and walk around it every day. I thought I’d seen everything in the park but clearly not! Can’t wait to go exploring tomorrow!! Amazing.
Thanks Leigh. Enjoy the exploring.
@@AdventureMe I never realised there was still that amount of parkland left in the area.
Loving this, another subject close to my heart. When my Dad was 3 my Grandfather held him up to his bedroom window to show him the glow in the sky as the Palace burned. The reservoir was always roofed over and part of the North Transept. I understand it is still very much in use. The South Tower actually acted as a chimney when the Palace burned and although they wanted to save it, it was by then part of the local water supply network, the heat of the fire effectively sintered the brick work. As a Kid in the early 1970's Dad took me there on a couple of occasions. Back then you could still see where the molten glass had flowed down the stairs, still fenced of in those days. He also managed to wangle a short visit to the tunnel that connected the LCDR High Level Station under the road to the Palace entrance. I remember it as a dingy, dirty, dark place with a beautiful vaulted roof. Wish I'd taken more notice but I was a strange Kid who had been promised a visit to Foyles Bookshop (I still have the books I bought (wangled out of Dad)... Thank you so much for bringing back so many good memories.
Thanks for the memories Douglas. I wish I had seen it all those years ago. You might be right about the reservoir, it did look too flat. Part 2 is out next week.
I Too used to love going to Foyles bookshop with my father. Thank you for the memories, I am 77 years old today!
@@peterbrameld696 It was fantastic! The smell of the place, all those books... Happy to make you smile Peter.
The underpass with that vaulted ceiling is still there.
Considering its size, it's not surprising that some of the foundations remain. Loving the video and how you show the before/after shots.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
That was amazing Darren. Love your fading past and present photos. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of this building. It’s end so tragic. Music makes me feel nostalgic. Very moving Darren very moving indeed. Thank you.
Thanks Shirley.
I have always been fascinated with The Crystal Palace coming from South London! Great video many thanks!
Me too. Thanks for watching
Absolutely loved that as I am also a huge admirer of The Crystal Palace. I am simply blown away not just by the sheer size and scale of the structure but its breathtaking beauty too. It is criminal that it was allowed to go to a state of disrepair and that it burned down was a massive tragedy. Can you imagine the visitors it would attract today? I am really looking forward to watching the next one and thanks for your hard work and effort; it is greatly appreciated and the overlays were stunning as per usual. Great job and loved the music too.
Thanks Jeff. It is such a shame.
I live around the corner and have only ever visited it a handful of times. Must go back again. Learnt so much from this video. Thank you.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
The transitions between old and new are done perfectly Can't wait for parts 2 & 3
Thank you that was very interesting I didn’t realise the Crystal Palace lasted 80 years
Thanks Ron. Yes. Longer abandoned than open.
A wonderful building that really should of been properly looked after,the likes of which we will never seen again . Great informative video well done .
A _wonderful building that really should_ *have* _been properly looked after_
What a shame your 11 years of free education were wasted!
I haven’t been to Crystal Palace Park since I was a child and I remember going on a 122 bus from Woolwich to Crystal Palace and when the pylon was in sight we knew we were nearly there. Happy childhood memories ❤️
Great exploration, packed with fascinating architectural detail. Thank you.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Brilliant! The way you match up the old photos is perfect!
Thanks mate
What I've always found amazing is how it was dismantled piece by piece from Hyde Park and reassembled at its final site.
Yes. Although it was totally remodelled too. Just the basic materials were re-used
The building wasn't the same to be fair, it was massively expanded by Paxton.
What. An. Incredible. Video!
Mate, I really appreciate you doing this! I've lived in and around Crystal Palace all my life (40yrs) and have massively fond memories as a kid coming to the park with school and friends, learning about its history and everything it still had to offer. It's genuinely one of the most historic spots in London and perhaps the whole of England and you've done it justice with this stunning video!
I've often walked the grounds as an adult and allowed my mind to drift into thoughts of how everything must have looked and felt. The way you pieced the old and new images together was simply spectacular and left not much to the imagination. Your knowledge is top tier, and I'm very impressed, and very grateful!
I could honestly ramble on and on about how beautiful this video is. You've really done us proud!
This is my Manor and you've brought back a lot of memories for me.
I truly hope that 1 day, this can be rebuilt, just as it used to be - because it was absolutely glorious and an absolute spectacle.
Thank you for this! I'm looking forward to parts 2 & 3!
I loved the zoo, and seeing guy the gorilla and seeing the penguin , and athletics , and the concert and fireworks and motor racing , on part of old tracks
What a fantastic video - well paced, excellent research and professional. Brilliant work.
Enjoy the video. This is a 3 part series with a new release every Sunday at 5pm.
Danke für dieses Video, Darren.
Das ist immer wie eine vorher -nacher Show.
Gut dass die Terrassentreppe erhalten geblieben ist.
Passt jetzt gut zur Landschaft.
Danke Darren ❤👍
Great videos - a place close to my heart, my mum now in her 70s grew up in Crystal Palace, she lived on gypsy hill. Her and her friends used to play in the park growing up, she was fascinated by the palace, and would do similar explorations of the area and park same as you did, she said one day - playing up the top of the park - they a terrace feature that was normally boarded up - was open - they wandered in and found the old ornate subway that ran under the road to the palace. Later years they opened it up to the pubic, still do now I thing, needless to say as kids my mum and Nan would take us to the park, and showed us all the little hidden gems left from the Palace, I’m pretty sure over by the water tower base - the one you can get to - there’s a steel beam - bolted to the ground that looks like one of the old frame pieces? Really enjoyed this video, I just as fascinated as my mum. She’ll love this - I’ll send her a link :)
Great video buddy 👍 looking forward to the rest
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
I remember going here as a child with my school, I remember doing the hedge maze that you mentioned, such a shame that a beautiful building like this was destroyed by fire, I bet it was stunning to look at and walk around
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
The best video of the history of Crystal Palace. This should be on BBC1 or something. It’s that good. Crystal Palace Park is an amazing place and it’s MASSIVE. Well worth a visit.
Thanks for watching.
Yup, the blending in of the old buildings into the modern day scenes really brings the old back to life. Interesting stuff, looking forward to the next 2 parts.
Thoroughly enjoyed your video and am really looking forward to the next two. The music had a fitting melancholy quality that suited the remains of the palace grounds. It's a real shame that Bromley council will not restore the stonework on the terraces. At least the subway is being restored at long last after local pressure. I really liked the way you managed to superimpose images of the Crystal Palace onto what is left today so seamlessly. Thank you for a fantastic documentary and I really hope that you can do more than just two more.
Thanks Gary. The photo fades are my speciality. There's lots more in the next two.
Nice to see you back in the south again to explore one of my favorite places to walk around . Is just so much to find there .
Loving the overlays brings it to life .
Part one was great , looking forward to parts 2 and 3 .
Is nice to have someone else's view on something you know well .
Keep up the great work Darren .
Brilliant video! I lived in Thicket Road back in the late 70s and often wandered around wondering what it must have been like.
Glad you enjoyed it
This is an amazing video, so detailed. I need to go back to Crystal Palace park and explore everything I missed
Fantastic video. Love your work.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
love the vids cant wait for part 3 to drop! ...im not a londoner infact in from up north BUT crystal palace is on of the uk's sadly lost places and it was long gone by the time i was born but it still peaks my interest as i LOVE looking back in history and whats left even if it is recent from the 20th century ect! Fab vid and one of the ones i love going through the history and what is still left that folks dont know about same as me i never knew so much was left ..obv i knew aboth the sphinxes and the high level station ect but never knew about the aquairum and hidded stuff! love it all and thank you for bringing this hidden stuff in crystal palace park to folks that maybe never knew it was still there ! ...ps you look hot shirtless! 😀 but i mean that in a good way!
Thanks Sean. Where you from up North?
@@AdventureMe ashton under lyne ... greater Manchester originaly but have live in a village on the outskirts of Bristol for the last 16 yrs ...took me a while to adjust ect ..not like i can walk into town for a night out or catch a bus ect but still love where im living ....green belt ect ...only thing i dont like is when the local farm decides to muck spread 🤣
Great video. This makes me nostalgic for an era that I wasn’t alive for .
It is sad to see the beautiful structures of the past, now non existent. But because of you Darren, we can relive this past experience. Thanks so much. Will look forward to Part 2 and 3. Cheers mate! 🏴😊👍🇺🇸
Thanks Martin
I used to live near Crystal Palace park and was there at the start of the Crystal Palace Foundation. Can’t wait to see your videos
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Beautifully presented, superb over lapping new and old pics, I've been wondering for years what the site looks like now. Can't wait for part 2.
Wow, fantastic stuff Darren. I worked in Croydon for a couple of years and never walked across to see this, my loss!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
They used to do walks where you could do in the tower remains. The museum is sadly shut at the moment. I'm pretty sure the stones are part of the stairs that were removed. The stairs at the back were added much later in it's life and lead to the first floor, underneath that was the basement.
The metal posts you found were the original posts from the palace. That's the outside wall. They cut them off at ground level after it had burnt down. They are 8 inches wide, 8 feet apart. It was the worlds first modular building. Your images at 14 minutes shows where the posts were. The guy who was responsible for putting the column there took me on a personal guided walk.
The rubble you found where it's raised up is from the blitz. They filled in the basement with it. There are old cars and bomb damaged buildings. If you go in many woods there are signs of bricks being dumped from WW2.
The terraces have been restored in the past but need doing again.
The statues were sold off after the fire and are copies of the originals. After the fire many were sold off. You can see some in peoples gardens and dotted around the local area.
THe bolts you found were probably from the stairs you thought the cast iron posts were for. I"m pretty sure the back stairs were mostly concrete posts (but I might be wrong).
Great video. I hope the above is of some interest. I used to be fascinated by the park and have been on many guided tours of it, including tours of the underground vaulted access from the high level train station.
Excellent.Thanks Darren.
Thanks ste
Superb! Visited a few years ago and this brought back good memories. The old picture fade ins work so well with the hauntingly good music. Top work and thanks for making these vidoes!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Amazing work! Well done sir.
Very informative, well presented and the blending from new to old pictures is brilliant. Thank you.
Very interesting video, I always thought the palace burned down in Hyde park, I never knew it was moved, and if I am not mistaken it was Prince Albert who came up with the idea of building the iron and glass structure for the great exhibition. 👍👍.
I cannot wait for the next video - this is absolutely fascinating! Your overlays of the past and present locations is stunning. Thanks for this wonderful content.
Really looking forward to this series! Loved the history intro
Thanks Angela
@@AdventureMe also want to say I absolutely love the photo overlays...thanks for taking the editing time to do that, it makes it really special
Many more to come in the next parts.
So interesting - can’t wait for the next 👍🏻
Thanks Kevin.
As a South Londoner I can only say thank you for shining a light and exploring such an iconic site! It's been years since my last visit... well worth a return!
I had to do it. Always been fascinated by it.
I remember first hearing about this. Such a beautiful building. All that history lost inside nevermind the Palace itself.
Your layover photos, placed in the same place now, where it was then is super magic.
Thanks 👍
Brilliant...! When we were kids, the stairs were used as seats for the motor racing. We sat there and watched James Hunt racing in about 1972...
Thanks John
The Crystal Palace must have really been a sight to see. Wish it survived so it could still be enjoyed today. Another great watch. You seem to enjoy your work. Thanks again for your time and work.....
Thanks Mike. Yes I love telling these stories.
Amazing video! I live in Crystal Palace now, and I remember going to the park once and seeing all the ruins. It’s incredible to see the history of the place!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can't wait I live in Brixton and often go to crystal palace park for a walk. 👍
Thanks Maggie. Hope you enjoy.
@@AdventureMe absolutely brilliant can't wait for the next one.👍
EXPLORING THE LOST CRYSTAL PALACE . Wow, LOVED IT FROM , U.K. (2023).
Hi Darren, superb stuff here, somewhere I've never been, I didn't think there were any remaining parts left at all, what I've always wondered is how a building made entirely of iron & glass managed to catch fire, more likely it was the contents inside that started the fire.
If it had not had the fire, it probably would have been a target during WW2.
Just imagine what an attraction it would have been today!
At least the name lives on in many ways, the park, station, football team & of course the TV transmitter mast, one of the most iconic ones in the UK.
Can't wait for Pt2.
Yes so true. Yes it was the contents that burned. The palace succumbed to the heat instead. Basically melted.
I have visited many times when I visit my parents in Upper Norwood (about a mile away) Never noticed any of the features in these videos . Will look out for them next time
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Super video and very informative. Love the merging of old pics with today's view. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
I remember seeing the remains of the metal arches to the roof of the old high level station peeping over the walls! Me and my mate, years later, explored the site of the station and discovered the secret Alhambra covered way, which no doubt you will cover in further videos! Very interesting and clever transitions!
Thanks Michael. What's the Alhambra covered way? Do you mean the subway?
@@AdventureMe yes, the subway between the railway station and the crystal palace
Fantastic amount of research and facts. Exceptional period graphics, so well overlaid onto modern landscape. Brilliant work. The architect Owen Jones was indeed a talented man. From Thailand.
Thanks mate
Excellent, very interesting Darren, while watching your presentation l was studying the 3D Google Earth images at the same time, I never realised just how much still remains today, having never been there I assumed the site was all reclaimed parkland but looking closer as you show us there is a treasure trove of history.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
what a beautiful giant of architecture, such a shame it's gone. great video and presentation!!!
Thanks for watching
Fascinating stuff. About 15 to 20 years ago, I attended a 2 day athletics meeting at Crystal Palace and stayed in the 1960s tower block that lies between the stadium and the site where the Palace stood. I remember getting up on a sunny Sunday morning and looking out of the window of my room and trying to imagine what it would be like if the Palace was still there as the foundations were still clearly visible.
I grew up in the 80s in grange wood park spa park and the Crystal Palace park thank you so much for making this truly amazing film you’re cinematography is sublime and brought back so many happy memories of cycling round this park on my bmx pretending to be street hawk little did I know or the rich history around me at the time. Thanks again and please keep up these amazing videos 👍
Thanks for watching. More to come.
Been looking forward to this since I saw the teaser, disused railways included ofc lol, I love these videos, I'd love to join you one day :)
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Absolutely brilliant video I had no idea that so much remains of crystal Palace i still can't get my head round how you find these things lol but keep up the good work from joff
Ah this was a brilliant watch didn't want it to end. love the then and now scenes fascinating stuff would love to see more like this thanks you for posting
Thanks Mick. Plenty of similar stuff on my channel.
Excellent. Fascinating, well produced
Discovered this by accident. Fascinating video and your interest and passion shine through! Looking forward to catching up with the next two videos.
Thanks. I really enjoyed making this one.
So happy you’ve made these! I’ve always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. Partly because of its iconic history and fame in its day and partly because there’s still such a ghost of the building and it’s surroundings remaining.
Great video! Will look forward to the next one - thanks!
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Absolutely brilliant as usual Darren.
I stayed just up the road a couple of years ago to visit a travel trade exhibition at Excel and it was around Bonfire night. The fireworks display was awesome, but I now realised that walked right past that curved wall and never knew it was the base of one of Brunel's water towers. Incredible.
The dinosaur park is excellent, so can't wait to see that, as well as the railway stations and hopefully the pneumatic railway remains too.
A little side story. I was waiting for a train to crystal palace and a guy had just missed his train. He looked at the board and it said. 6 minutes till next one. He went nuts!!. "Six minutes..six minutes. ". he shouted.
I said, try living where I'm from, north of Watford, where they are every hour, if you're lucky!
He just went "Humph" and walked off. Lol.
Many thanks for all your hard work, research and editing. Trust me, it is very much appreciated.
Cheers.
Thanks. Yes 6 minutes is such a shock to us. They don't know how lucky they are darn sarf. The pneumatic railway and dinosaurs are in the next two, along with much more.
@@AdventureMe I totally agree mate.
Cheers
@@AdventureMe oh and thanks for the heads up on dinos and rail things. Cheers
Great video and this is my old Manor born bread around this place.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
Great video as ever Darren... amazing to see how much is actually left of The Crystal Palace... looking forward to Pt. 2
You look like captain Lee from below deck on your profile picture.
@@AdventureMe Pmsl... Not sure whether to take that as a compliment... but better than Santa or Uncle Albert from Only Fools And Horses I guess... lol
@@martint6819 You should Google captain Lee. He's a stud. The old gals love him.
@@AdventureMe Haha... I did out of curiosity, I'd never heard of him before... so?... I'm being called a 'stud' eh? Lol I've been called worse things. Oh, while I'm here, can I ask a favour? Can you do more adventures when it's boiling hot so we get to see you with your shirt off... ;) lol
I think I've made Darren blush... lol
Brilliant video, love the superimposed historical photos of old world on new. Excellent content!
Thanks John
Fascinating. I agree about the matching of old photos to present locations. It makes everything - the past - so much more vivid. It's difficult to find any such connections to The Past over here. :(
Glad you enjoyed it
Superb video, looking forward to the next one.
Thank You. Part 2 is out next Sunday.
@@AdventureMe cannot wait 👍
Enjoyed all 3 excellent episodes. Brilliant superimposition of historic pics over current scenes...
Again, best wishes from Western Canada.
Many thanks Geoff!
Just catching up on these superb videos. I would love to go back in time and wander around inside the Crystal Palace !
Me too
Excellent film, superbly put together
Wow!
As the Founder Chairman of the Crystal Palace Foundation established in 1979 who erected the Paxton Crystal Palace Corner (pcpc) on the palace site in 2008 (14:00 - 15:00 in this video) I would personally like to congratulate you on this jolly good film.
Well done sir.
Thanks John. Hopefully I did it justice. Did you watch all three videos?
I'm looking forward to when you explore what's left of the old race track (if you do of course!)
I don't really cover it. But you can see lots of it in the next video.
Amazing video! Very sad that this whole area has fallen into such dereliction. Why aren’t archaeologists investigating the ruins? Surely the large mound and other areas would reveal many treasures from the Victorian era. We don’t really value our past in this country like others do.
Of course it is not surprising really, as the country is run by Philistines, whose main interest is stuffing their faces in posh London restaurants and drinking in the House of Commons bar!
I remember my father telling me that he went up there when it was burning and saw molten glass running down the road. You wouldn't be allowed anywhere near such a disaster nowadays. Thanks for doing this, look forward to the next episode!
Really enjoyable video. It's an interesting subject in its own right but I also like the way you put the video together and structure your reports.
Thanks mate. More to come
This was the first of your videos that I watched - and is still one of the best! I live in North London and, like you, I have long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. I only got around to visiting the park last year. Indeed, I may have been there the same day as you - it was exceptionally hot!
Thanks mate. It's a personal interest for me.
Fascinating, really well researched - thank you so much for taking the time and effort to produce this superb video.
Subscribed.
Great video. Thanks for posting this. Have a nice day.
Thanks for watching mate.
Your photo transitions are spot on, love the fade in and out. It really gives you a sense of what was. Thanks for you work.
Quite interesting that Darren 👍
Thanks Thomas.
Thanks for the quality video Darren, I live 5 minutes walk away from the park and go there every week. Sad to see though how it has deteriorated over the years since I have been there. Nobody wants to spend any money on it these days sadly. Keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoyed it
Great camera work and graphics, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
That was absolutely fascinating, learnt a load of facts. Superb merging as usual👍🏻 You're keen - London in the heat, no thanks!!!! Thanks Darren, roll on next week!!!!
Thank you for this (and part 2) superb tour of Crystal Palace and the story behind it.
Looking forward to seeing part 3.
My Dad was 16 in 1936 and remembers seeing the glow of the fire from near Hanger Lane.
Hey , this place is amazing , this place truly is belongs to everyone as i judge how this place is built and your story. Wow , i am speechless ! I hope one day this whole place will stand again for everyone in the world but much better and stronger than before! thanks for the whole video ! 👌
Thanks for watching
What a Nice and informative Series you Got here m8 ❤️ great work love it 👍👍
Thanks Brian
wow the effort you've gone to in this video is wonderful!!! i've visited the park several times and can't get my head around how massive the palace would have been, your before and after pictures really helped to put it in perspective. thank you!
Wow what a fantastic video. I can't wait for the next two installments. Your Butlins Filey one had me hooked and so has this. Something may interest you, If you google War Beach Liverpool, we have a section of beach where demolished buildings in ww2 were dumped. For instance there was a huge domed building, the Customs House that stood opposite the Albert Dock which was destroyed and a lot of it I believe is still on that beach. Best Wishes
I loved this!!! Great presenting and editing!
Thank you so much!!