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Greenwich
Greenwich is a town now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich.
The Royal Greenwich Observatory is located in Greenwich and the Prime Meridian passes through the building. Greenwich Mean Time was once based on the time observations made at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, before being superseded by Coordinated Universal Time. While Greenwich no longer hosts a working astronomical observatory, a ball still drops daily to mark the exact moment of 1 pm, and there is a museum of astronomical and navigational tools. The observatory is situated in Greenwich Park, which used to be the grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia. At the bottom of the park is the National Maritime Museum which also includes the Queen's House, designed by Inigo Jones.
The Cutty Sark (a clipper ship) is in a dry dock by the river, but was damaged in a fire on 21 May 2007 and is undergoing extensive restoration. Nearby for many years was also displayed Gipsy Moth IV, the 54ft yacht sailed by Sir Francis Chichester in his single-handed 226-day voyage around the globe during 1966-67. In 2004 Gypsy Moth IV was removed from Greenwich for extensive restoration to be followed by a return to the sea and a second sailing career. By the Cutty Sark there is a pedestrian tunnel to the Isle of Dogs, and on the riverside in front of the north-east corner of the Greenwich Hospital is an obelisk erected in memory of Arctic explorer Joseph René Bellot.
The University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music are now based in the Greenwich Hospital (formerly the Royal Naval College) buildings between Greenwich Park and the river. These buildings were designed by Sir Christopher Wren and include the Painted Hall, painted by James Thornhill, and St Paul's Chapel.
The town centre features Greenwich Market, a covered market popular with tourists at the weekends.
In recognition of the suburb's astronomical links, Asteroid 2830 has been named 'Greenwich'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich)
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