Photo © John Bachmann, Museum of the City of New York

The New York Crystal Palace Exhibition

The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations

Description

Started, 1853

Early American fairs drew inspiration from European counterparts, but their impact was limited.

Ended, 1854

The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, also known as the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition, in 1853-54, mirrored London's Great Exhibition but faced low attendance and financial loss. After this setback, it took over 20 years for another major exposition to occur in the United States.

Burned, Oct 5, 1858

The structure caught fire during the annual fair of the American Institute. The 2,000 people in the building were evacuated by New York fire fighters. Ironically, the building which was called “fireproof,” burnt to the ground in less than thirty minutes.

Related Sites

Metropolitan Hotel-The Metropolitan Hotel was built at a time of a "hotel boom" in response to the opening of the New York Crystal Palace exhibition of 1853.

Map View

Bryant Park, New York, NY 10018, USA

Timeline