The Crystal Palace in Madrid’s Retiro Park is one of the most emblematic and well-known spots in the park. This building by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, dating from 1887, attracts attention precisely because of what gives it its name: the large glass panels that cover its surface. But the secret that not many people know is that it was inspired by an earlier building constructed thousands of miles away.
The building that Bosco used as a model for the Madrid building—which, incidentally, was erected for the Philippine Islands Flora Exhibition and completely renovated in 1975—was the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, designed by Joseph Paxton in 1851… which can now only be spoken of in the past tense.
The building, to which we owe one of the best-known and most visited sites in our city, disappeared while our country was going through a civil war: a fire on November 30, 1936, destroyed the cast iron and glass palace, the largest in the world and a London icon of the time.
The history of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park
In addition to the similarities in the materials used for its construction and, of course, in terms of its aesthetics, the Crystal Palace in El Retiro and the Crystal Palace in London also shared the reason for their construction: Paxton designed it to house the first Universal Exhibition in 1851.
Paxton’s experience as a designer and builder of greenhouses was decisive in its conception: he transferred this acquired knowledge to the Crystal Palace, achieving a solid and robust construction with a fragile appearance that almost seemed to float above the ground.
Image courtesy of: J. McNeven / Wikimedia Commons
Given its popularity, according to the International Journal of Architecture, Art and Science Metalocus, in 1854 “the building was dismantled and moved to Upper Norwood, south of London,” where it remained until it was destroyed by fire.
The other Crystal Palace in Madrid
Image courtesy of: Manuel / Wikimedia Commons
Although it is the most popular, the one in the Retiro is not the only Crystal Palace that can be visited in Madrid: in the Arganzuela district, there is a “twin” within the Matadero Madrid complex (Paseo de la Chopera, 10).
Also known as Nave de las Patatas (Potato Warehouse) due to its former use as a potato storage facility, the Arganzuela Crystal Palace Greenhouse was designed and built by architect Luis Bellido y González between 1908 and 1928.
The greenhouse is home to some 750 species of plants and can be visited free of charge during the following hours:
Winter
- Tuesday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (closed on Mondays).
- Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Closed: December 24, 25, and 31; January 1, 4, and 5.
Summer
- Tuesday to Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. (closed on Mondays).
- Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Closed on August afternoons.