Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-03-15
Fsn sf me Famous Crystal Paiass y hos-
III. London Times, q Che asd ult- has the

Fan 81 ths Famous Crystal Palace n Lon
The London Times, . fthe 2sd ult- has the
following: ROAD
During all Thursday the wind blew over
the hills az Norwood with extraordinary
h~erceness full against the front of the Palac
facing toward London. That IL was more
violent here than in other suburban districts
is evidenced by the broken branches Of trees,
the palings, and even garden walls blown
down in the neighborhood. But, although
the pressure Of the gale upon the whole sur
face OF the Palace must have amounted in
the aggregate to several thousand tuns, not
the smallest peEceptible effect was produced
upon il, and, ss we have stated, not a single
pane of glass was broken. All stood well,
till about hall. past seven o'clock on Thurs
day night, when, during one of the fearful
gusts which then swept over the hill, some
men in the carpenters room heard a little
crashing Of grass and iron, and Immediately
ran. out on to the terrace garden.
In another minute, with an appalling
crash, the huge tower fell over among some
trees, and lay smashed into millions Of frag-
ments on the ground. In the course of two
or three minutes more the rest of the wing
went, by thirty or forty yards at a time, till
a total length Of about ITO yards strewed the
earth, a mere mass of splinters of glass,
wood and iron. Any thing more complete
than the destruction it would be difficult TO
imagine. The appearance Of the ruin
rather suggests that every part Of the build
Ing has been carefully broken into small
pieces than that 1t has been merely blown
down. A tremendous explosion could not
probably have shattered the place more eff
fectually, The woodwork is all in small
pieces, the cast iron columns are broken up
like glass, and the rods twisted and torn into
every shape.
Fortunately, there was nothing in this
wing but the. empty pens used at the late
poultry show, and a number of garden seats;
all these, Of course, are more or less de-
stroyed. AS far as can be Judged from the
way in which the ruins have fallen, it would
seem that the corner column, nearest the
railway, must have had to sustain the
thrust exercised upon it by the other
columns yielding to the force of the gale.
AS the wind came in gusts, it is supposed
the tower must have oscillated to such a de-
gree as 10 force the corner column, on which
the main strain came, out of its p%erpendicu-
Jar, when, of course, it snapped at once. 1t
was no doubt the breaking of this which the
carpenters first heard, and ran out or, to the
terrace, when the tower, thus deprived Of its
main support, fell instantly before the next
blast. s.
1t is a great proof, however, of the
strength of the structure, that when the rest
o the wing was thus weakened and bryk n "
the fall OF the tower, it was not instantly over
thrown also. 1t stood for several minutes,
and only fell piece by piece as the wind
swept down upon it with almost the force Of
a hurricane. The strength of either of these
wings, however, is not to be compared with
the enormous strength and compactness with
which the main building is put together.
The cost of rebuilding the north wing, it is
stated, would not amount to more than
$4,000, but as lately it was never used for
any thing but the poultry shows, which can
just as well be held in the south wing, it is
not probable that it will be rebuilt at all.