The Lost Crystal Palace of New York (Part 2)

It only took 15 minutes for the New York Crystal Palace, a beautiful building made of iron and glass, to burn to the ground.

Financially insolvent and falling apart, New York City's Crystal Palace had seen better days. New management attempted to save the beautiful edifice, but its ruin was too far gone. What had once been a glamorous tourist attraction became a decrepit mess.

New York City considered selling it for scraps, or moving the building to Philadelphia, but the screws that kept it together had rusted, making the Crystal Palace too expensive to even take apart. It was almost a blessing when a fire--which was blamed on arson but was more likely the rest of some cost-saving compromises on the gas lines--burned the building to the ground.

But, as the New York Tribune said: "We shall never have another Crystal palace. Its glorious dome . . . is no more; its galleries, its treasures, its magnificent expanses indispensable to the mass-gatherings of this great metropolis--its superb memories are all gone, and gone forever."

Highlights include:
• PT Barnum's attempts to save the Crystal Palace
• An elevator safety demonstration that involved repeatedly cutting the cord
• An exclusive gala organized by conmen and ending in a brawl between ultra-wealthy guests
• How a sensation like the Crystal Palace could have been forgotten

For the shownotes, sources, and pics of the Crystal Palace, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com.

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