What Was the Lasting Impact of the Great Exhibition of 1851

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May 1st 1851 marked the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition had more than six million visitors and over one hundred thousand separate exhibits. One half of the space for exhibits was reserved for Great Britain and its colonies, while the other half was reserved for foreign countries. According to page 94 of the textbook, the exhibits contained items that displayed the industrial, agricultural, and artistic achievements of each nation. It was the first event that brought so many people from different classes and cultures together in one place at the same time. The World’s Fair was created out of this exhibition and it is identified as the first World’s Fair. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was held in a building designed specifically for the event. The building was called the Crystal Palace and was revolutionary at the time. The Crystal Palace was constructed entirely of glass and metal. It was also prefabricated and then assembled on-site. The Crystal Palace was 1,848 feet long and 410 feet wide. As a result of the prefabrication, the building only took three months to build. The structure covered eighteen acres and was built over existing trees. The Crystal Palace was indeed a technological and industrial marvel in 1851. The skyscrapers that are built today are based off of the same techniques used in construction of The Crystal Palace. The concept of having different types of people in one place at the same time was untested in 1851. Some fear existed about what would happen when the rich, poor, city folks, and country folks all converged at one event. The British from rural areas were educated on how to behave in the city prior to entering the exhibition. As it turned out, the fears were not warranted. The exhibition had no problems of note and it was learned that large groups of diverse people could be together without

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