Recently I was able to take advantage of an open day to see the the lovely Byzantine-style subteranean walkway at the former Crystal Palace High-Level Station. The station itself is long gone, have been closed in 1954 and taken down in 1961 but the subway that originally connected first class passengers arriving there to the Crystal Palace has been lovingly restored with funding from many sources including the Friends of the Crystal Palace Subway.
The Crystal Palace itself, built and used for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, continued to be so popular after it was relocated to the Park in 1854 that not one but two stations (the other being what is now the southern terminus of the Windrush Line of the Overground) were used to transport passengers to the location. The Park stands on Penge Place that was originally part of Penge Common, excised specifically to accomodate the Crystal Palace. After the Palace burned to the ground in a dramatic fire in 1936, the popularity of the Park as a destination declined, which eventually led to the closure of the High-Level Station. If you would like to experience the beauty of the Charles Barry, Jr.-designed subway, check when their next even or open day is happening here: https://www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/crystal-palace-subway It's usually only open once a month, but in 2025 it will be 160 years old, so there may be a special celebration!
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