Activity Since The Fire
All that was left standing after the 1936 fire were the two water towers. In a November 2011 interview with the Crystal Palace Museum the true story of the towers was revealed. The south tower to the right of the Crystal Palace entrance was taken down shortly after the fire, as the damage sustained had undermined its integrity and it presented a major risk to houses nearby.
The north tower was demolished with explosives in 1941. No reason was given for its removal, although it was rumoured that it was to remove a landmark for WWII German aircraft, but Luftwaffe bombers actually navigated their way to Central London by tracking the River Thames. The Crystal Palace grounds were also used as a manufacturing base for aircraft radar screens and other hi-tech equipment of the time. This remained secret until well after the war.
With the Palace's destruction, the High Level Branch station fell into disuse, and was finally shut in 1954.
After the war the site was used for a number of purposes. Between 1953 and 1973 an auto racing circuit operated there, supported by the Greater London Council, but the noise was unpopular with nearby residents and racing hours were soon regulated under a high court judgment.
Read more about this topic: The Crystal Palace
Famous quotes containing the words activity and/or fire:
“What have we achieved in mowing down mountain ranges, harnessing the energy of mighty rivers, or moving whole populations about like chess pieces, if we ourselves remain the same restless, miserable, frustrated creatures we were before? To call such activity progress is utter delusion. We may succeed in altering the face of the earth until it is unrecognizable even to the Creator, but if we are unaffected wherein lies the meaning?”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“Bare night is best. Bare earth is best. Bare, bare,
Except for our own houses, huddled low
Beneath the arches and their spangled air,
Beneath the rhapsodies of fire and fire,
Where the voice that is in us makes a true response....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)