Alexandra Palace opened in 1873 on Queen Victoria’s 54th birthday. Known as “The People’s Palace,” the structure provided Victorians with an entertainment venue and recreation center, and thus, its debut was marked by a grand celebration that included concerts, fireworks, and the unveiling of a new Henry Willis organ driven by two steam engines and vast bellows. It was one of the largest organs in all of Europe at the time.

Winston Churchill would come to speak in the Great Hall in 1913, and during the war, its theatre would be converted into a chapel where the Catholic Belgians could take mass. Soldiers and their horses would be billeted at in the event of mobilization.  The world’s first regular high-definition public television broadcast would take place from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace in 1936, but during WWII,  TV broadcasts would be ceased while BBC transmitters at the Palace would be used in a secret operation to jam radio signals used by German bomber pilots to identify their positions and targets.

Before all that, however, there was a dog show held by the Kennel Club in 1879, and the Scottish Terrier was exhibited at Alexandra Palace for the first time. There were thirteen entries judged by Mr. I. B. Morrison of Greenock, a chap who had devoted much study to the breed, and along with Thompson Gray and others, was responsible for the first standard of the breed ever published. At the time, the breed was called “Hard-Haired Scottish Terriers.”

Today, Alexandra Palace continues on as a Charitable Trust administered by the London Borough of Haringey. The Palace hosts the annual MTV Europe Music Awards, and remains a very popular choice for corporate and private events.