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Hidden Among NYC's Towers Lies a Foreign Plot of Land That Tells A Tragic Story

Hidden Among NYC's Towers Lies a Foreign Plot of Land That Tells A Tragic Story

Nestled among the glass and steel of lower Manhattan, on some of the most expensive real estate on earth, lies an odd, rural sight.

A quarter-acre plot of of Irish farmland rests flat on a concrete pedestal which angles up toward the New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

On that land squats on old stone cottage built in Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1852, which the entire monument now commemorates.

Unknown to most New Yorkers, the 96-by-170-foot potato field stands in stark contrast to the skyscrapers which huddle around it, and to One World Trade Center, which hovers above.

The memorial was completed in 2002, just months after the World Trade Center towers fell, raining death and destruction on the area.

Beyond representing the Great Potato Famine, and worldwide hunger, the memorial quickly came to represent the police and firefighters of Irish descent who lost their lives as first responders to the 9/11 attacks.

Today, visitors from around the can wander the field and find respite from the rumble of the city outside.

Editors note: Thanks to the Conrad New York for providing access for aerial shots.

Follow Josiah Ryan on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram:

Twitter (@JosiahRyan) and Instagram (@ahhdannyboy.)

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