Following the completion of 1853 Schrannenhalle [de] and the planned and conservatory of Munich Residence, a glass with cast iron design was used, using existing experience for this modern building.

Due to the short time available for construction, the design was significantly simplified and relied on use of standard components.

The Erste Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung opened five weeks later, only three years after the completion of the Crystal Palace in London, which served as its model.

The fire in the Glaspalast irretrievably destroyed more than 3,000 artworks including more than 110 paintings from the early 19th century including many paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, Moritz von Schwind, Karl Blechen, and Philipp Otto Runge.

[...] A special tragicomedy was the fact that the pictures rejected by the jury were stored in an adjacent shed not affected by the fire.

The initial investigations show that the fire may have broken out in the carpentry shop, where work continued on the day.

Director-General Zimmermann, who risked his life to save treasures from the 75 completely burned halls, had first to be forcibly restrained by police.

A meeting at the Ministry of Culture, which ended in the afternoon, has decided to immediately initiate a relief by a public appeal to the German people on the occasion of national calamity ...After the fire, plans were made to rebuild the Glaspalast.

Instead of rebuilding the palace, the government built the Haus der Kunst (House of Art) on the Prinzregentenstraße near the Englischer Garten (a public park).

[7] The fountain of the Glaspalast, which remained intact, today stands in the center of the Weißenburger Platz in the Haidhausen quarter of Munich.