Burning of the New York Crystal Palace, October 5th, 1858, During its Occupation for the Annual Fair of the American Institute
Lithographed and published by Currier & Ives American
Not on view
New York's Crystal Palace was built to house the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in 1853 and stood in Reservoir Square (Bryant Park today). Inspired by the success of London's Great Exhibition and Crystal Palace of 1851, Georg Carstensen and Charles Gildemeister designed a glass and iron structure in the shape of a Greek cross surmounted by a dome 100 feet in diameter. The engineer who oversaw the construction was Christian Edward Detmold.
This lithograph records the fire that destroyed the building on October 5, 1858 during a fair of the American Institute, a blaze that started in a lumber room close to 42nd Street. It took only twenty-five minutes for the structure to be destroyed, together with the exhibits, that included statuary remaining from the World's Fair of 1853.
The New York firm of Currier & Ives grew from a printing business established by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) in 1835. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with James Merritt Ives (1824–1895). The firm operated until 1907, lithographing over 4,000 subjects for distribution across America and Europe. Until the 1880s, images were printed in monochrome, then hand-colored by women who worked for the company.
