Introduction To Royal Albert Hall

Albert Hall that is situated at Kensington road was opened in May, 1871. It is a big building of oval form in the style of the Italian revitalization, the materials of the concealment being entirely red brick and terra-cotta. The larger external diameter is 272 ft., interior 219 ft.; the less significant exterior 238 ft., interior 185 ft. The wall painting above the balcony was executed by Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co., and is separated into compartments consists of allegorical designs by Messrs. Armitage, Armstead, Horsley, Marks, Pickersgill, Poynter, and Yeames. There are two box entrances -- on the east and west -- with a private doorway from the Horticultural Society's Gardens on the south side, and separate entrances on either side for the balcony, the gallery, and the area, and for the platforms on either side of the great organ. The interior, which is amphitheatrical in construction -- like, for example, the Coliseum at Rome -- is not very appropriate to any purpose for which it is ever likely to be required except musical performances on a large scale.