<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> General information </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Inaugurated </Th> <Td> 24 May 1873 (1873 - 05 - 24) </Td> </Tr> <P> Alexandra Palace is a historic entertainment venue in London . It is located between Muswell Hill and Wood Green, in the north of the city . It was originally built by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson and opened in 1873 but was rebuilt, solely by Johnson, in 1875 following a fire . It was originally designed to serve as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment and as North London's counterpart to The Crystal Palace in South London . </P> <P> Intended as "The People's Palace" and later nicknamed "Ally Pally" (supposedly by Gracie Fields), in 1936 it became the home of the world's first regular public "high - definition" television service, operated by the BBC . Although other facilities soon superseded it after the war, Alexandra Palace continued to be used by the BBC for many years and its radio and television mast is still in use . The original studios' A' and' B' still survive in the south - east wing with their producers' galleries and are used for exhibiting original historical television equipment . The original Victorian theatre with its stage machinery also survives . The theatre and stage structure is on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk register . Alexandra Palace became a listed building in 1996, at the instigation of the Hornsey Historical Society . </P>

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