Owen Jones conceived a glass Palace of the People in 1859, which was not built. John Johnson and Alfred Meeson designed the built palace, begun in September 1865. It opened on May 24, 1873, and a fire destroyed it about 16 days later, leaving only the outer walls. Johnson rebuilt it, and it reopened on May 1, 1875.
The BBC began the world's first regular public high-definition television service here in November 1936. A fire on July 10, 1980 destroyed about half the building, including the Great Hall, and the palace reopened in 1988.
A renovation from 2016 to 2018 reopened the East Wing and theater on December 1, 2018. The Great Hall's capacity is listed as 10,250. The article calls the building Victorian and Grade II listed but names no specific style.
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