Palacio de Cristal - El Retiro - Madrid by Vicenç Palà

Hand held Canon Powershot G9

Since assuming its role as a public park the late 19th century, the "Parque del Retiro" has been used as avenue for various international exhibitions. Several emblematic buildings have remained as testimony to such events, including the Minig building, popularly know as the Velázquez Palace (1884) by architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, and the Palacio de Cristal ("Crystal Palace"), a glass pavilion inspired by The Crystal Palace in London, undoubtedly the gardens' most extraordinary building. Built along with its artificial pond in 1887 by architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco for the Philipinne Islands Exhibitions, it was first used to display flower species indigenous to the island.