11 JUNE 1954, Page 21

Zbe Eipettator, Yttite 100, 1854

As these lines fall under the eyes of our earliest readers, the new Crystal Palace will be opening or opened. It is very far indeed from being finished. We all remember that the same was the case with the Hyde Park Exhibition—how far that was from being finished when it opened, yet how fast it filled and got itself to rights. We do not despair of finding that the Sydenham Palace on this its opening-day is in a state of comparative completion. Nevertheless, whatever amount of energetic labour may be compressed into the few remaining days, the fact remains that the Crystal Palace opens in a decidedly incomplete state.