Crystal Palace Subway - June Open Day - London Festival of Architecture

Welcome to the Crystal Palace Subway – June Open Day!

Crystal Palace Park Trust invites you to visit the newly restored Crystal Palace Subway

(Please note there is no step-free access to the Subway. Access is via 36 stairs with a handrail.)

The Crystal Palace Subway is a stunning brick structure that supports a four-lane road. It is hidden beneath Crystal Palace Parade, close to the bus station.

The Victorian subway features a beautiful fan-vaulted ceiling, hand-built using red and cream bricks. It first opened in 1865 to give train passengers more direct access to the famous Crystal Palace.

After the Crystal Palace burnt down in 1936, the subway was used in different ways: an air raid shelter, a space for raves, community events and more! Join us to find out more about this unique historic space.

Visits will be self-guided. Staff and volunteers are available to share the Subway's remarkable history.

For June we're celebrating the 2026 London Festival of Architecture and this year's theme: Belonging.

Drop-in art workshop: Footprints of our station

Come and add your memories of your favorite train trips or adventures and help build an artwork that journeys across the subway floor. Draw around your foot and decorate your footprint, you can add your name, a picture of you, or a memory of a favourite adventure or trip that you've been on. Come and tell us where you’ve been!

A Place to Be: an intervention by the Young Advisory Group

Over the years, the Crystal Palace Subway has had many unofficial uses, shaped by people using it in their own way. The Young Advisory Group were drawn to stories and activities that created space for visitors to be themselves, connect with others, and find a sense of belonging within this hidden heritage site. Using media and lighting, the group invites visitors to gather in the Subway and reflect on how heritage spaces can belong to young audiences too.

Booking details:

Entry is free and this is a self-led visit.

Entry is via a pre-booked timeslot every 15 minutes but places must be booked in advance.

Last admission is 12:30pm and we will close at 13:00.

Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Accessibility:

Please note there is no step-free access to the Subway. Access is via 36 stairs with a handrail.

The subway has uneven flooring and light changes from bright to dim in various points.

Accessibility information including photos of the stairs can be found here: https://www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/how-to-visit-the-crystal-palace-subway

If you have any questions, please contact the Crystal Palace Park Trust team via [email protected]

About the facilitors:

Hazel East:

Hazel is an illustrator and community artist, and delivers art and drama projects in community and cultural spaces across London. Hazel's work often focuses on places and spaces, helping people to explore their local area and use colour, pattern and shapes to bring them to life. Her work is influenced by a passion for maps, permanent way, architecture and a curiosity for how everything links together. Hazel loves to explore and creates maps and illustrations of spaces and places that have meaning and connection for her.

Crystal Palace Park Youth Advisory Group (YAG):

A group for young people aged 16–25 to share ideas, have their voices heard, and help shape the future of the park – while having fun and gaining skills.

This is a FREE ADMISSION event. If you can no longer attend, please ensure that tickets are cancelled so that someone else can use the place.

This event is made possible thanks to a grant from , with thanks to National Lottery players.

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Host or Publisher Crystal Palace Park Trust