It's St. Patrick's Day and every year a local tradition takes place in Syracuse's Tipperary Hill neighborhood. At the stroke of midnight, people gathered to watch the painting of the giant shamrock. Brad Vivacqua was on Tipp Hill Thursady morning and has the details.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Every year revelers gather under the famous upside-down traffic light at the intersection of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue to watch the painting of the giant shamrock
Tipperary Hill got its name after immigrants from Ireland -- specifically from the county of Tipperary settled on Syracuse's Westside.
A brief ceremony was held which included the reading of the names of neighborhood residents who have passed away in the past year. This event has been an important part of the Irish history in the area for many years.
Those in attendance will likely get some sleep and then come back to celebrate the Irish heritage later in the day.
"It just brings everyone together as a community and have a good time," said Amy Doyle, a Syracuse resident.
"I've been doing it for about eight years now. My grandfather was a stone thrower. I want to honor the tradition, and it's a good thing to do for the community," said Mike Grajko, a Fairmount resident.
Back in the 1920s a group of Irish children would throw stones at the city installed traffic light that included the traditional color red on top. The city relented to change the light and the kids continued to break the light with stones until the city changed it permanently to include green on top.
The shamrock painting event has been held each year for more than three decades, helping kick off day long celebrations on Tipp Hill.