A Brief History of Alexandra Palace

The Palace was to serve the burgeoning population of North London as the relocated Crystal Palace served the South.

Over 200 acres of land was acquired and the Alexandra Park opened in 1863.

Attractions were added to the park. The racecourse, affectionately know as the 'frying pan' due to its unique shape, opened in 1868.

The Park and Palace were extremely popular but only 16 days after opening, tragedy struck...

Its location on the top of a hill proved difficult to get water to put out the flames.

When the fire had burned out little remained of the building with only the porticos salvageable.

The latest technology was not limited to the Palace, the park even installed electric lights!

The burgeoning zoological collection included an aviary and monkey house in the Palm Court. The Brooke's Great Monkey Show of 1889 held over 1,000 monkeys of different breeds.

Many of the attractions are ones we would not consider acceptable today, like the popular Nelson the Teddy Bear.

The scale of Alexandra Palace meant it often faced financial troubles. A small amount of park was sold for housing, and in 1901 the Park and Palace were given to public by an Act of Parliament

Belgian and Dutch refugees fleeing the German invasion traveled to London and arrived at Alexandra Palace.

The Great Hall held 1,000 beds tightly packed together.

In 1915 the Palace became an internment camp for 'enemy aliens', German, Austrian and Hungarian men living in the UK without a British passport.

Under the Aliens Restriction Act 1914, 3,000 men were interned at Alexandra Palace between 1915 and 1919.

Changes were made to the Palace to hold the volume of men, with dormitories, workshops and allotments. It was 1919 before the last internee was able to leave, and 1922 when the Palace reopened

Public sport returned to the park with boxing, racing, cricket and football.

The Theatre was renovated by manager MacQueen-Pope and leased to Archie Pitt, husband of Gracie Fields, to rehearse her shows. Legend has it Gracie coined the name 'Ally Pally'.

Professionals and amateurs performed at Alexandra Palace. Nancy McMillan became the star of the 1920s stage with the Alexandra Palace Operatic and Dramatic Society.

The world's first high-definition television service was launched from Alexandra Palace on 2nd November 1936. The Studios became the test bed for the latest developments and innovations for decades.

The first outside broadcasts were made, first from the colonnade, then in the Park and on 12 May 1937 from Hyde Park Corner for the Coronation Procession of King George VI.

Vision mixer, Beryl Hockley faded up the returning television service on 7 June 1946.

In 1946 the first children's television programme 'For the Children' created a star of puppet Muffin the Mule and his co-star, Annette Mills.

Television's crowning moment came with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The recording made at Alexandra Palace was taken from helicopter in the grounds to be flown for broadcast in North America

The BBC Studios became the dedicated home of BBC news.

In 1955 Kenneth Kendall became the first in-vision news presenter, followed by Richard Baker and Robert Dougall.

The Great Hall was restored in 1957 with a much simpler decoration than the opulence of the Victorian Palace.

The Palace hosted exhibitions and trade shows for organisations, such as the Oil and Colour Chemist Association. At the same time the counter culture revolution was building.

29 April 1967 Alexandra Palace hosted the seminal psychedelic happening the '14 Hour Technicolor Dream'. It kick-started our gig history, followed by the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead

In 1966 the Park and Palace were transferred to the Greater London Council to ensure they remained available to the public.

In 1975 Alexandra Palace celebrated its centenary with events across the Park and Palace.

In 1979 the Park and Palace were designated a conservation area and the site was transferred to Haringey Council but shortly after tragedy struck for a second time...

The Palace caught fire again, destroying much of the original building, including the Great Hall, Skating Rink, dining rooms and the Grand Willis Organ.

Miraculously the Victorian Theatre and BBC Studios survived. Having spent the last decade broadcasting with the Open University, the BBC finally stopped production at Alexandra Palace in 1981.

Reconstruction was started immediately, overseen by Dr. Peter Smith. The organ restoration was begun by the decendents of the original builder Henry Willis. The Palace reopened in 1988.

Alexandra Palace hosted the Brit Awards for three years from 1993, followed by the MTV Music Awards in 1996.

Jay-Z performed the Palace in 2009.

For the London 2012 Olympics, Alexandra Palace became the Holland Heineken House celebrating the success of the Netherlands team.

The Palace continues to host iconic gigs and events. In 2013 Bjork hosted the finale of her Biophilia tour, in the round at Alexandra Palace.

After the fire, historic areas of the Palace continued to decline into dereliction. In 2015 it was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore the East Wing, including the Victorian Theatre.

Continuing its history of innovation, Alexandra Palace has partnered with Google Arts and Culture and an unexpected treasure was discovered as we started moving through abandoned spaces...