Garden Palace

[1] This was largely due to the importation from England of electric lighting, which enabled work to be carried out around the clock.

A reworking of London's Crystal Palace, the plan for the Garden Palace was similar to that of a large cathedral, having a long hall with lower aisle on either side, like a nave, and a transept of similar form, each terminating in towers and meeting beneath a central dome.

It was constructed primarily from timber, which ensured its complete destruction when engulfed by fire in the early morning of 22 September 1882.

[4] A 1940s-era sunken garden and fountain featuring a statue of Cupid marks the former location of the Palace's dome.

An 1878 Bechstein concert grand piano, that won a first prize, had luckily been removed from the Garden Palace prior to the fire, and is held by the Powerhouse Museum.