New York City · 1853New York Crystal PalaceA fireproof iron-and-glass hall burns to the ground in five years. How?An iron-and-glass palace for the 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, behind the reservoir on 42nd Street. Destroyed by fire on 5 October 1858.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Same Story, Different City · Washington, D.C., United States
Library of Congress fire
The open question
The nation's library burns, again. What was in those books?
On the record
A major fire. It destroyed two-thirds of Jefferson's original books.
- Year
- 1851
- Kind
- Records lost
- The story told
- A major fire.
- What came after
- It destroyed two-thirds of Jefferson's original books.
Sources
More from Same Story, Different City
New York City · 1853New York Crystal PalaceA fireproof iron-and-glass hall burns to the ground in five years. How?An iron-and-glass palace for the 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, behind the reservoir on 42nd Street. Destroyed by fire on 5 October 1858.
Munich, Germany · 1854Glaspalast, MunichAnother glass palace, another fire. Why do they all end the same way?Built by MAN for the first German Industrial Exhibition, opened 15 July 1854. Destroyed by arson in 1931.
London, England · 18621862 International ExhibitionA building too big to keep, recycled into another palace. Who decided?A huge exhibition building in South Kensington. Parliament would not buy it; it was dismantled and the materials went into Alexandra Palace.
London, England · 1873Alexandra Palace fireSixteen days after opening. Then a bigger one in two years. Sound familiar?Opened 24 May 1873. Only 16 days later a fire destroyed it; it was rebuilt and reopened on 1 May 1875.