An architect's dream to rebuild what was once one of south London's most famous landmarks has been boosted by a multi-million pound donation.

Architect Ray Hall said he has been handed £30million towards the cost of rebuilding a crystal palace in Crystal Palace Park.

Mr Hall said an anonymous donor who "is a big fan of everything Crystal Palace stands for" gave him the cash.

The donation is half of the £60million required for the rebuild.

If his plans receive the go-ahead Mr Hall hopes the stunning glass palace's opening will coincide with that of the East London Line Tube extension, which will connect New Cross Gate to Crystal Palace from 2010.

He also said rebuilding the palace would be a massive boost for local business and could create as many as 2,000 jobs. Profits from the rebuilt landmark could be pumped into improving the park.

Mr Hall, who has been working on the project for nine years, said: "The name Crystal Palace is known but whenever people go to Crystal Palace, they think where actually is it? With the new palace we can help put the area back on the map.

"The way to put it back on the map is to enable the new palace so it has a new identity that everyone can understand and enable business communities and south London to become a destination."

The first Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition in 1851. It was then dismantled, relocated to Crystal Palace Park and reopened in 1854. The palace was destroyed by fire in 1936.

Lewisham-based architect Mr Hall said if his plans for a third crystal palace are given the go-ahead it will be a quarter of the size of Joseph Paxton's original, but will be designed with the original features using up-to-date materials and technology.

One of those, he said, would be photovoltaic glass that can convert energy from the sun into enough electricity to serve 10,000 homes.

As well as being an attraction the palace will be a venue for exhibitions, cultural and social events.

Mr Hall said he hopes to work with the London Development Agency (LDA) to supplement the park's existing facilities.

The LDA took over responsibility for the National Sports Centre in the park in March. It also has the option to take over the day-to-day running of the park in 2009.

Sue Nagle, part of a group called Rebuild Crystal Palace, said: "This is fantastic news and we are thrilled to bits. It would bring people up here, it would give us jobs and entertainment up here for the young kids things we desperately need.

"Financially there is nothing that would work better. The minute the palace goes up it becomes a tourist attraction and people will be coming from all over the world to look at it. It would be administered by a charitable trust which would give half the money to a backer and half towards running the park."

An LDA spokesman said: "We have not included a development for the top site of Crystal Palace Park in our proposals.

"Any proposals for a crystal palace would need to take account of some pretty significant obstacles, including traffic issues.

"There is a lot of passion and support for the idea, which is fantastic, but it would need to be financially viable and acceptable to local people."