African Burial Ground

A major archaeological discovery, the African Burial Ground is a small remnant of a 6.6-acre unmarked gravesite where between 10,000 and 20,000 enslaved Africans—men, women and children—were buried. The burial ground, which closed in 1794, was unearthed during the construction of a federal office building in 1991 and designated a National Monument. In October 2007, a dedication ceremony was held for the newly erected stone memorial designed by architect Rodney Leon. The tall, curved monument draws heavily on African architecture and contains a spiral path leading to an ancestral chamber. An interpretation center is located inside the lobby of 290 Broadway.