Irish Hunger Memorial; Manhattan, NYC
| Basics: | |
| Location: | 40.715090257774754,
-74.01656359434128 |
| Neighborhood: | Battery Park City |
| Borough: | Manhattan |
| City: | New York City |
| State: | New York |
| Country: | USA |
| Artist: | Brian Tolle |
| Landscape Architect: | Gail Wittwer-Laird |
| Architect: | 1100 Architect |
| Size: | .5 Acre |
| Materials: | Limestone |
| Glass | |
| Steel | |
| Year Built: | 2002 |
This unique memorial to the Great Irish Famine features a rebuilt 19th century Irish cottage and native coastal landscape.
Key Details:
The Irish Famine, known outside of Ireland as the “Irish Potato Famine”, was caused by a potato disease and led to the starvation of approximately 1 million people; about 20% of the Ireland’s population. At the time, roughly one third of the Irish population was dependent on the potato crop for their primary food source. The famine also led to the mass emigration of many Irish to the United States and other countries, many of which arrived in New York City and stayed.
The centerpiece of the memorial is an authentic 150-year-old Irish cottage that was painstakingly reassembled on the site. The cottage was donated by the Artist’s extended family, the Slacks of Attymass in County Mayo on the northwest coast of Ireland. Visitors are encourage to have an interactive experience with the cottage and the other portions of the memorial. The partially enclosed entrance is on the west side and includes crisply detailed walls of native Irish limestone with inscribed metal bands. After passing through this portal, visitors enter the cottage itself. After walking through the front door, an sloped and spiraling pathway directs visitors through a native Irish coastal landscape with low grasses and perennials. The path culminates at an overlook which provides elevated views of Rockefeller Park and the Hudson River.
If You Go:
The Memorial is located in the Battery Park City area of Manhattan and is adjacent to the World Financial Center and World Trade Center complexes. It is well worth the short walk from the September 11 Memorial to check it out.
Sources:
http://www.bpcparks.org/bpcp/parks/parks.php#memorial
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0307Hunger-3.asp
http://www.batteryparkcity.org/pdf_n/PS28442-BPCA_IHM_Bro_LR.pdf
This work by Matt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
