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Hyde Park
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, and one of the Royal Parks of London. The park is divided in two by the Serpentine Lake which gets its name from its supposedly snakelike curving shape. It provides a haven for wildlife including ducks, geese and swans, and will be used for the swimming leg of the triathlon at the London 2012 Olympics.
The park is contiguous with Kensington Gardens, which is widely assumed to be part of Hyde Park, but is technically separate. Hyde Park is 350 acres and Kensington Gardens is 275 acres giving an overall area of 625 acres.
The oldest part of Hyde Park once belonged to the manor of Ebury. This land had an area of one hide which gave the park its name. The land was acquired by Henry VIII in 1536 from the monks of Westminster Abbey. Much of the layout dates back to the work of architect Decimus Burton in the 1820s.
Hyde park was the original site of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition which was a big international exhibition organized by Prince Albert and held between 1 May to 15 October 1851. It was visited by over 6 million people including Queen Victoria who attended the event frequently, visiting roughly every other day during its first three months. In 1852, the Crystal Palace was dismantled and moved to Sydenham, South London.
Hyde Park has been the venue for some famous rock concerts, including those featuring Jethro Tull (1968), The Rolling Stones (1969), King Crimson (1969), Pink Floyd (1970), Roy Harper (1971) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (2004). Furthermore, it was the location for Live 8. In addition, the photography for the Beatles album Beatles for Sale occurred at Hyde Park in autumn of 1964.
Queen played one of their most famous gigs here in 1976 with an attendance between 150,000 and 200,000 people.
Sites of interest in the park include Speakers' Corner which is an area where public speaking is allowed. Rotten Row which in the 18th century was a fashionable place for upper class Londoners to be seen, but today it's maintained as a place to ride horses in the centre of London. A memorial fountain to Diana, Princess of Wales And a statue of Achilles located near Hyde Park Corner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park)
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