Sydenham (Sid'nam), a district in Lewisham parish, 8 miles S. of London. It has become of world-wide celebrity in connection with the Crystal Palace, which, however, is really in the adjoining parish of Lambeth, and which was erected in 1852-54, chiefly from the materials of the Great Exhibition (1851), and under the superintendence of Sir Joseph Paxton. The cost amounted to nearly £1,500,000. The building is 1608 feet long, 390 wide across the transept, and 175 high, the height of the two water-towers being 282 feet. The chief arts and sciences illus-trated by the collections are Sculpture, Architecture, Painting and Photography, Mechanics and Manufactures, Botany, Ethnology, Palaeontology, Geology, and Hydraulics. There are two concert-rooms, within the larger of which the triennial Handel festivals (since 1859) take place with 4000 performers. The park and gardens occupy nearly 200 acres, and are adorned with sculptures, stone balustrades, an artificial lake, and magnificent fountains. In 1866 there was a lire in the north wing, doing damage to the amount of £150,000; the Crystal Palace had never been a monetary success, and in 1887 the company was declared insolvent. Under new and more prosperous auspices, important 'demonstrations' still take place here, as well as cricket, football, bowling, and tennis matches, not to speak of great firework displays.