Crystal Palace is a residential area in south London, England named from the former local landmark, The Crystal Palace, which occupied the area from 1854 to 1936. The area is located approximately 8 miles south east of Charing Cross, and offers views over the capital. It includes one of the highest points in London, at 367 feet (112 m). Two television transmitter masts make the district a landmark location visible from many parts of the London area.
Crystal Palace still retains much of its Victorian architecture, although housing styles are mixed, including Victorian terraces, mid-war terraces and blocks of modern flats. Crystal Palace Park is surrounded by grand Victorian villas, many of which have been converted into flats and apartments.
The "Crystal Palace Triangle", formed by Westow Street, Westow Hill and Church Road, has a number of restaurants and several independent shops, as well as an indoor secondhand market on Haynes Lane. The triangle also contains a range of vintage furniture and clothing stores, as well as galleries, arts and crafts shops and other businesses.
Notable Crystal Palace residents include the French novelist Émile Zola, who lived in what is now the Queen's Hotel on Church Road between October 1898 and June 1899. Arthur Conan Doyle was active in the area between 1891 and 1894. Although he lived in nearby South Norwood he visited the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood area regularly in connection with the Upper Norwood Literary and Scientific Society.
The area where The Crystal Palace Market is situated was made famous by being the home of the Crystal Palace after its relocation following the world-famous Great Exhibition in 1851.
It is also home to the Crystal Palace Football Club, formed in 1905 by the builders of the Crystal Palace and has been based at nearby Selhurst Park since 1924.
Crystal Palace is synonymous with innovation in technology – in 1934 the Palace was already holding 4 television studios from the Baird Television Company, founded by John Logie Baird who invented the first colour television.
The grounds are infamous for motor racing with various racing leagues having been held at the Crystal Palace circuit. Several records have been broken, one notably F1 champion Jochen Rindt (now in the hall of fame) beating Graham Hill, father of Damon Hill.
