The Crystal Palace It was rebuilt at the top of Penge Peak next to Sydenham Hill, an affluent suburb of large villas. It stood there for 82 years from 1854 until its destruction by fire in November 1936. The nearby residential area was renamed Crystal Palace after the landmark including the park that surrounds the site, home of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, which had previously been a football stadium that hosted the FA Cup Final between 1895 and 1914. Crystal Palace F.C. were founded at the site in 1905 and played at the Cup Final venue in their early years. The
Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 its chief administrator was Henry Cole. The current president is Anne, Princess Royal. The exhibition was a great popular and financial success, and made a huge surplus of £186,000 (approximately £22m in today's money). An unusual decision was made to maintain the Royal Commission as a permanent administrative body to use the profits for charitable purposes. Its revised Charter charged the Commission with "increasing the means of industrial education and extending the influence of science and art upon productive industry". The profit from the 1851 Exhibition was invested by The Commissioners who bought of land in South Kensington that was