Crystal Palace Park's historic dinosaur sculptures restored

Between 1852 and 1854, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, in collaboration with palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen, produced the world’s first life-sized dinosaur sculptures, which have now been restored as part of the broader revitalization of Crystal Palace Park in London. This initiative, spearheaded by Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Park Trust, involved meticulous conservation of the Grade I-listed Geological Court through paint analysis, material testing, and 3D printing, successfully removing the sculptures from Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register. The park, which is Grade II*-listed and was established after the Crystal Palace's move from the 1851 Great Exhibition, reopened this month featuring enhanced sightlines, desilted lakes, new rain gardens, and 58,000 sq m of wildflower meadow. The project also included accessibility improvements, a redesigned Penge Gate, a dinosaur-dig play area, and a timber Visitor Centre designed by Tate + Co. Additionally, the Italian Terrace received stonework repairs, and a bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, the park's creator, was restored to its original location.