A Victorian dinosaur park finds its way into the 21st century
Statues of extinct animals spring from trees, delighting passers-by in this London park. But don't expect them to be scientifically accurate.
Imagine: it's 1854. The concept of evolution won't be introduced for about five years. The word dinosaur is only ten years old. No David Attenborough documentary teaches you about extinct animals.
Now imagine yourself as a resident of Victorian London, walking through Crystal Palace Park in part southeast of the city. Here you'll encounter dozens of three-dimensional dinosaurs and ancient mammals you never could have imagined, made of clay, bricks, and other available building materials. They are arranged in small groups, emerging from behind trees and bushes, some of them towering over their human visitors for an afternoon stroll.
Except which you don't have to imagine too hard, because these statues are still there, some 170 years later. They are a little less wear resistant and are no longer considered scientifically accurate. But they still delight visitors. And this month, thanks to restaurateurs, scientists and a group called the Friends of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, their Paleolithic picnic party got a little bigger, with the addition of a new statue – finally , a recreation of an old statue – to replace one that disappeared in the 1960s.
The statues, built by 19th century artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, are part of a reconstructed geological walk at through time, beginning 260 million years ago. They were the first of their kind, much to the admiration of the public at the time.
"It was educational for the Victorians," said Adrian Lister, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London. "It was groundbreaking."
The sculptures by Mr. Hawkins, who was one of the best-known natural history sculptors at the time, were believed to educating and entertaining visitors near the Crystal Palace, an exhibition space that had been built for the Great London Exhibition of 1851. After the exhibition, this palace moved to the area to which it gives its name today. (The statues survived the current palace, which burned down in 1936.)
Statues of extinct animals spring from trees, delighting passers-by in this London park. But don't expect them to be scientifically accurate.
Imagine: it's 1854. The concept of evolution won't be introduced for about five years. The word dinosaur is only ten years old. No David Attenborough documentary teaches you about extinct animals.
Now imagine yourself as a resident of Victorian London, walking through Crystal Palace Park in part southeast of the city. Here you'll encounter dozens of three-dimensional dinosaurs and ancient mammals you never could have imagined, made of clay, bricks, and other available building materials. They are arranged in small groups, emerging from behind trees and bushes, some of them towering over their human visitors for an afternoon stroll.
Except which you don't have to imagine too hard, because these statues are still there, some 170 years later. They are a little less wear resistant and are no longer considered scientifically accurate. But they still delight visitors. And this month, thanks to restaurateurs, scientists and a group called the Friends of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, their Paleolithic picnic party got a little bigger, with the addition of a new statue – finally , a recreation of an old statue – to replace one that disappeared in the 1960s.
The statues, built by 19th century artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, are part of a reconstructed geological walk at through time, beginning 260 million years ago. They were the first of their kind, much to the admiration of the public at the time.
"It was educational for the Victorians," said Adrian Lister, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London. "It was groundbreaking."
The sculptures by Mr. Hawkins, who was one of the best-known natural history sculptors at the time, were believed to educating and entertaining visitors near the Crystal Palace, an exhibition space that had been built for the Great London Exhibition of 1851. After the exhibition, this palace moved to the area to which it gives its name today. (The statues survived the current palace, which burned down in 1936.)
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