A Secret Island in New York
Most people have probably never heard of it but there is a tiny 100 by 200-foot island on the East River in New York City called U Thant Island. It’s right on Roosevelt Island and next to the United Nations headquarters and has more history per square foot than most places in Manhattan.
U THANT ISLAND
It’s origin dates back to the late 19th century when construction of an underground tunnel produced a tiny mound of rock that was originally named Belmont Island, after August Belmont Jr. who financed the construction project.
In the intervening years, it was leased by a Buddhist spiritual group, crashed into by numerous vessels, and briefly occupied by a protesting artist.
The tiny U Thant Island, United Nations building, and the Chrysler Building