[2] About 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Charing Cross, it includes one of the highest points in London, at 367 feet (112 m),[3] offering views over the capital.

Crystal Palace was named in the Sunday Times newspaper's top ten list of "the best places to live in London" of 2016.

[4] In April 2022 Crystal Palace was named the best place to live in London by the Sunday Times,[5][6] being characterised by a bohemian fusion of urban vibes and village-feel.

[7] This has led to the Crystal Palace area straddling the boundaries of five London Boroughs; Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth,[8] Southwark and Lewisham.

[7] It was also a home of Gypsies, with some local street names and pubs recording the link,[7] and the area still retains vestiges of woodland.

After the Palace was destroyed by fire, and with railway travel declining, passenger numbers fell and the high level station was closed in 1954 and demolished seven years later.

Following the success of the exhibition, the Palace was moved and reconstructed in 1854 in a modified and enlarged form in the grounds of the Penge Place estate at Sydenham Hill.

[14] There was an ongoing campaign to turn a former bingo hall (at 25 Church Road) back into a cinema, after it had been purchased by the Kingsway International Christian Centre.

The towers may appear similar in height and design, but the Crystal Palace mast, constructed in 1956, is on a slightly higher elevation.

This ridge offers views northwards to central London, east to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and Greenwich, and southward to Croydon and the North Downs.

It is also one of the starting points for the Green Chain Walk, linking to places such as Chislehurst, Erith, the Thames Barrier and Thamesmead.

The land originally formed the gardens of Victorian villas built on the hill overlooking Croydon, but fell into disrepair.

In 1962, the Croydon Council approved terms for buying the land from the Church Commissioners and other local freeholders, allowing the construction of a link.

[29] Crystal Palace is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Charing Cross on Norwood Ridge and includes one of the highest points of London at 112 metres above the mean sea level (OS map reference TQ337707).

The elected officials by ward for Crystal Palace local authorities in October 2023 were: The area is represented by four constituencies in the London Assembly.

In July 2024, their elected MPs were: The Italian Job has a scene filmed at the athletics track in the Crystal Palace sports centre, in which Michael Caine says, "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

[48] The writer Deborah Crombie sets her 2013 mystery, The Sound of Broken Glass, in the Crystal Palace area of London.

[49] The club were formed in 1905 and initially played their home games at the sports stadium situated inside the grounds of The Crystal Palace.

However, in 1915 they were forced to leave due to the First World War and played at nearby Herne Hill Velodrome and the Nest, before moving to their current home at Selhurst Park in 1924.

The London County Cricket Club also played their matches here, having been formed by The Crystal Palace Company with the help of W. G. Grace.

For three years, from 1997, parts of the circuit were used for a once-a-year sprint time trial similar to a hillclimb before stopping due to development work.

As of October 2014, the school is considering three possible building configurations – with the Greater London Authority running a public consultation on each option – all of which would involve demolishing one of the seated stands around the athletics track at the National Sports Centre.

[60] Transport for London have proposed to build Quietway route 7 that runs from Crystal Palace to Elephant and Castle.

The station was built to serve passengers visiting the Crystal Palace, but after the fire in 1936, traffic on the branch line declined.

Marie Stopes, early promoter of sex education and contraception, was raised in a house on Cintra Park shortly after her birth in Edinburgh in 1880.

[74] Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, artist and sculptor who created the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs in the park, lived in Belvedere Road between 1856 and 1872.

[78] Zola fled to England after being convicted of criminal libel in France on 23 February 1898, a direct consequence of the publication of his open letter J'Accuse…!.

Francis Pettit Smith, one of the inventors of the screw propeller and a contributor to the construction of the SS Archimedes, lived in the area between 1864 and 1870.

[81][82] Comedy scriptwriter John Sullivan of Only Fools and Horses fame wrote the pilot episode of his debut sitcom Citizen Smith at his in-laws' house in Crystal Palace.