Coordinates: 40°44′58″N 73°58′5″W / 40.74944°N 73.96806°W / 40.74944; -73.96806

United Nations HQ مقر الأمم المتحدة (Arabic) 联合国总部大楼 (Chinese) Siège des Nations unies (French) Центральные Учреждения Организации Объединенных Наций (Russian) Sede de las Naciones Unidas (Spanish)
United Nations Headquarters in New York City, as viewed from the East River.
General information
Location	New York City, USA (International Territory)
Address	760 United Nations Plaza New York, New York 10017 United States
Coordinates	40°44′58″N 73°58′5″W / 40.74944°N 73.96806°W / 40.74944; -73.96806
Construction started	1947 (1947)[1]
Completed	9 October 1952 (1952-10-09)[1][2]
Height	155 metres (509 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count	39[1]
Design and construction
Owner	United Nations
Architect	Oscar Niemeyer

The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River. Its borders are First Avenue on the west, East 42nd Street to the south, East 48th Street on the north and the East River to the east.^[3] Turtle Bay is occasionally used as a metonym for the U.N. headquarters or for the U.N. as a whole.^[4]

The United Nations has three additional, subsidiary, regional headquarters or headquarter districts. These are located in Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), and Nairobi (Kenya).^[5] These adjunct offices help represent UN interests, facilitate diplomatic activities, and enjoy certain extraterritorial privileges, but only the main headquarters in New York contains the seats of the principal organs of the UN, including the General Assembly and Security Council. All 15 of the United Nations' specialized agencies are located outside New York at these other headquarters or in other cities.

Though it is in New York City, and part of the United States, the land used by the United Nations Headquarters is under the administration of the United Nations, while also being subject to most local, state, and federal laws.^[6] For award purposes, Amateur radio operators consider it a separate "entity", and for communications the UN has its own internationally recognized ITU prefix, 4U.

The United Nations Headquarters complex was constructed in New York City in 1949–1950 beside the East River, on 17 acres (69,000 m²) of land purchased from the foremost New York real estate developer of the time, William Zeckendorf. Nelson Rockefeller arranged this purchase, after an initial offer to locate it on the Rockefeller family estate of Kykuit was rejected as being too isolated from Manhattan. The US$8.5 million purchase was then funded by his father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who donated it to the city.^[7] The lead architect for the building was the real estate firm of Wallace Harrison, the personal architectural adviser for the Rockefeller family.

Planning and construction[link]

Map of the United Nations headquarters

Rather than announce a competition for the design of the facilities for the headquarters, the UN decided to commission a collaborative effort among a multinational team of leading architects. The American architect Wallace K. Harrison was named as chief architect and director of planning, and a board of design consultants was nominated by member governments. The board consisted of N. D. Bassov of the Soviet Union, Gaston Brunfaut (Belgium), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Le Corbusier (France), Liang Seu-cheng (China), Sven Markelius (Sweden), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), Howard Robertson (United Kingdom), G. A. Soilleux (Australia), and Julio Vilamajó (Uruguay).^[8]

Bound by such constraints as the East River Drive (later the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive) and the East River, it became necessary to build a high-rise office building.^{[citation needed]} 50 designs were evaluated by the team^{[citation needed]}, and a design based on Niemeyer's project 32 and Le Corbusier's project 23 was finally chosen. Le Corbusier's project 23 consisted of one building containing both the Assembly Hall and the councils in the centre of the site. Neimeyer's plan proposed two buildings, one for the General Assembly, located alongside the river, and one for the Secretariat. This plan included a public plaza as well. Le Corbusier and Niemeyer together submitted the scheme 23–32, which was built and is what can be seen today.^[9] The 39-story^[1] Secretariat Building was controversial in its time but became a modernist landmark.

Per an agreement with the city, the buildings met some but not all local fire safety and building codes.^{[citation needed]} The Secretary-General's office is on the 38th floor.

Construction on the initial buildings began in 1947, with the cornerstone laid on 24 October 1949,^[8] and was completed in 1952. The Dag Hammarskjöld Building was added in 1961. The construction of the headquarters was financed by an interest-free loan of $65 million made by the United States government, and the cost of construction was also reported as $65 million.^[10]

Proposed alternatives[link]

San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens,^[8] Chopmist Hill Area of Scituate, Rhode Island and even the Black Hills of South Dakota and Bald Head Island in North Carolina^[11] were all proposed as sites for the United Nations Headquarters before Manhattan was finally decided upon. It was later revealed that France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands voted against situating the headquarters in the United States.^[12] The Manhattan site was selected after John D. Rockefeller, Jr. offered to donate $8.5 million to purchase the land.^[8]

UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in front of the General Assembly building (1950s)

Prior to the choice of New York City, Navy Island near Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada was proposed as an alternative headquarters for the United Nations. An international committee touted the site as the "World Peace Capital" during 1945 and 1946. The island was considered an ideal location as it lay on the boundary of two bordering countries with a long peaceful status. The proposal further stipulated that Navy Island would be ceded to the United Nations as long as the headquarters remained, and to revert to the Canadian Government should the UN move. The proposal was ultimately rejected in favor of the current site in New York City.^[13]

In 1945–6, London hosted the first meeting of the General Assembly in Methodist Central Hall, and the Security Council in Church House. The third and sixth General Assembly sessions, in 1948 and 1951, met in the Trocadéro in Paris. Prior to the construction of the current complex, the UN was headquartered at a temporary location at the Sperry Gyroscope Corporation's offices in Lake Success, New York, an eastern suburb of the city in Nassau County on Long Island, from 1946–1952.^[14] The Security Council also held sessions on what was then the Bronx campus of Hunter College (now the site of Lehman College) from March to August 1946.^[15][16] The UN also met at what is now the New York City Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair site. The General Assembly met at what is now the ice skating rink,^[17] and the Long Island Rail Road reopened the former World's Fair station as United Nations station^[18]

Corbusier and Niemeyer[link]

Right after his arrival in New York, Niemeyer met Corbusier on his demands. He requested Niemeyer not to submit a scheme, but rather to collaborate with him on a project, on the basis that he could ‘create a commotion’. It was Wallace Harrison who tried to convince Niemeyer to move on his own.

50 designs were evaluated by the team, and Niemeyer's project 32 was finally chosen. As opposed to Corbusier’s project 23, which consisted of one building containing both the Assembly Hall and the councils in the centre of the site (as it was hierarchically the most important building), Niemeyer's plan split the councils from the Assembly Hall, locating the first alongside the river, and the second on the right side of the secretariat. This would not split the site, but on the contrary, would create a large civic square. George Dudley latter stated:

It literally took our breath away to see the simple plane of the site kept open from First Avenue to the River, only three structures on it, standing free, a fourth lying low behind them along the river’s edge. …He [Niemeyer] also said, ‘beauty will come from the buildings being in the right space!’. The comparison between Le Corbusier’s heavy block and Niemeyer’s startling, elegantly articulated composition seem to me to be in everyone’s mind…^[19]

Latter on the day, Corbusier came once again to Niemeyer, and asked him to reposition the Assembly Hall back to the centre of the site. Such modification would destroy Niemeyer’s plans for a large civic square. However, he finally decided to accept the modification:

I felt he [Corbusier] would like to do his project, and he was the master. I do not regret my decision.^[20]

Together, they submitted the scheme 23–32, which was built and is what can be seen today.

International character[link]

View from First Avenue towards the library, Secretariat and General Assembly buildings

Flags of the member states, arranged in alphabetical order

The site of the United Nations Headquarters has extraterritoriality status.^[21] This affects some law enforcement where UN rules override the laws of New York City, but it does not give immunity to those who commit crimes there. In addition, the United Nations Headquarters remains under the jurisdiction and laws of the United States, although a few members of the UN staff have diplomatic immunity and so cannot be prosecuted by local courts unless the diplomatic immunity is waived by the Secretary-General. In 2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan waived the immunity of Benon Sevan, Aleksandr Yakovlev, and Vladimir Kuznetsov in relation to the Oil-for-Food Programme.^[22] All have been charged in the U.S. Federal Court of New York, except for Kofi Annan's own son, who was also implicated in the scandal. Benon Sevan later fled the U.S. to Cyprus, while Aleksandr Yakovlev and Vladimir Kuznetsov decided to stand trial.

The currency in use at the United Nations headquarters' businesses is the U.S. dollar. English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; most of the daily communication within secretariat and most of the signs in the UN headquarters building are in French and English. English, French and Spanish are the working languages of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are working and official languages of the General Assembly.

The complex has a street address of United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY 10017, USA. For security reasons, all mail sent to this address is sterilized, so items that may be degraded should be sent by courier.^[23] The United Nations Postal Administration issues stamps, which must be used on stamped mail sent from the building. Journalists, when reporting from the complex, often use "United Nations" rather than "New York" as the identification of their location in recognition of the extraterritoriality status.^[24]

Structures[link]

The complex includes a number of major buildings. While the Secretariat building is most predominantly featured in depictions of the headquarters, it also includes the domed General Assembly building, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, as well as the Conference and Visitors Center, which is situated between the General Assembly and Secretariat buildings, and can be seen only from FDR Drive or the East River. Just inside the perimeter fence of the complex stands a line of flagpoles where the flags of all 193 UN member states, plus the U.N. flag, are flown in English alphabetical order.^[25]

Hall filled nearly to full capacity.

United Nations General Assembly hall.

The General Assembly building holds the General Assembly Hall which has a seating capacity of 1,800. At 165 ft (50 m) long by 115 ft (35 m) wide, it is the largest room in the complex. The Hall has two murals by the French artist Fernand Léger. At the front of the chamber, is the rostrum containing the green marble desk for the President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General and Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services and matching lectern for speakers.^[8] Behind the rostrum is the UN emblem on a gold background.^[26] Flanking the rostrum is a paneled semi-circular wall that tapers as it nears the ceiling and surrounds the front portion of the chamber. In front of the paneled walls are seating areas for guests and within the wall are windows which allow translators to watch the proceedings as they work. The ceiling of the hall is 75 ft (23 m) high and surmounted by a shallow dome ringed by recessed light fixtures. The General Assembly Hall was last altered in 1980 when capacity was increased to accommodate the increased membership. Each of the 192 delegations has six seats in the hall with three at a desk and three alternate seats behind them.^[8]

The Conference Building faces the East River between the General Assembly Building and the Secretariat. The Conference Building holds the Security Council Chamber, which was a gift from Norway and was designed by the Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg. The oil canvas mural depicting a phoenix rising from its ashes by Norwegian artist Per Krogh hangs at the front of the room.^[23]

The 39-story Secretariat tower houses offices for the Secretary General, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel,^[27] the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Office of Disarmament Affairs,^[28] and the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM).^[29]

The Dag Hammarskjöld Library was dedicated on 16 November 1961. The building was a gift from the Ford Foundation and is located next to the Secretariat at the southwest corner of the headquarters campus. The library holds 400,000 books, 9,800 newspapers and periodical titles, 80,000 maps and the Woodrow Wilson Collection containing 8,600 volumes of League of Nations documents and 6,500 related books and pamphlets. The library's Economic and Social Affairs Collection is housed in the DC-2 building.^[30]

Art at the United Nations[link]

Knotted gun sculpture, a gift from the Luxembourg government

Japanese Peace Bell, made out of coins donated by children

The complex is also notable for its gardens and outdoor sculptures. Iconic sculptures include the "Knotted Gun," a statue of a Colt Python revolver with its barrel tied in a knot, which was a gift from the Luxembourg government^[31] and "Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares", a gift from the Soviet Union, Russia.^[32] The latter sculpture is the only appearance of the "swords into plowshares" quotation, from Isaiah 2:4, within the complex. Contrary to popular belief, the quotation is not carved on any UN building.^[33] Rather, it is carved on the "Isaiah Wall" of Ralph Bunche Park across First Avenue. A piece of the Berlin Wall also stands in the U.N. garden.^[34]

Other prominent artworks on the grounds include a Marc Chagall stained glass window memorializing the death of Dag Hammarskjöld,^[35] the Japanese Peace Bell which is rung on the vernal equinox and the opening of each General Assembly session,^[36] a Chinese ivory carving made in 1974 (before the ivory trade was largely banned in 1989),^[37] and a Venetian mosaic depicting Norman Rockwell's painting The Golden Rule.^[38] A tapestry copy of Pablo Picasso's Guernica on the wall of the United Nations building at the entrance to the Security Council room.^[39] In 1952, two Léger murals were installed in the General Assembly Hall. The works are meant to merely be decorative with no symbolism. One is said to resemble cartoon character Bugs Bunny and US President Harry S. Truman dubbed the other work Scrambled Eggs.^[40]

Two huge murals by Brazilian artist Cândido Portinari, entitled Guerra e Paz (War and Peace) are located at the delegates hall. The works are a gift from the United Nations Association of the United States of America and Portinari intended to execute them in the US. However, he was denied a visa due to his communist convictions and decided to paint them in Rio de Janeiro. They were later assembled in the headquarters. After their completion in 1957, Portinari, who was already ill when he started the masterpiece, succumbed to lead poisoning from the pigments his doctors advised him to abandon.^[41]

Other buildings[link]

1 United Nations Plaza, also known as DC-1 and DC-2

While outside of the complex, the headquarters also includes two large office buildings that serve as offices for the agencies and programmes of the organization. These buildings, known as DC-1 and DC-2 are located at 1 and 2 UN Plaza respectively. DC1 was built in 1976. There is also an identification office at the corner of 46th Street, inside a former bank branch, where pre-accredited diplomats, reporters, and others receive their grounds passes. UNICEF House (3 UN Plaza) and the UNITAR Building (807 UN Plaza) are also part of headquarters. In addition, the Church Center for the United Nations (777 UN Plaza) is a private building owned by the United Methodist Church as an interfaith space housing the offices of several non-governmental organizations. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is located at 380 Madison Avenue.^[42]

Renovation plans[link]

In recent years, however, the headquarters buildings have come to need extensive renovation, including the need to install sprinklers, fix leaks, and remove asbestos. A renovation plan was announced in 2000 involving the building of a temporary headquarters in Robert Moses Playground, across First Avenue from the current facility. Once renovations were finished, the temporary building would be used to ease overcrowding at the DC-1 and DC-2 However, due to the refusal of the United States and New York state governments to fund the project, the plan was abandoned.^[43]

Alternative sites were considered as temporary holding locations. In 2005, officials investigated establishing a new temporary site be created at the old Lake Success location. Brooklyn was also suggested as a temporary site.^[44] Another alternative for a temporary headquarters or a new permanent facility was the World Trade Center site.^[45] Once again, these plans met resistance both within the UN and from the US and New York governments and were abandoned.^[46]

On 28 July 2007, UN officials announced the complex would undergo a $1 billion renovation starting in the fall. Swedish firm Skanska AB won a bid to overhaul the buildings which will include the Conference, General Assembly and Secretariat buildings. The renovations, which will be the first since the complex opened in 1950, are expected to take about 7 years to complete. When completed the complex is also expected to be more energy efficient and improve security.^[47] Work began 5 May 2008 and the project has been plagued by setbacks.^[48] By 2009, the cost of the work had risen from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion with some estimates saying it will take $3 billion^[49] Officials hope the renovated buildings will achieve a LEED Silver rating, although they concede that the delay in construction will result in a projected 7.5% inflation rate in the cost of materials and labor over the course of the project.^[50]

In popular culture[link]

View of the headquarters in the 1959 MGM thriller North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock

Due to its role in international politics, the United Nations Headquarters is often featured in movies and other pop culture. Movies in which the headquarters buildings are major settings include North by Northwest, The Interpreter, Live and Let Die, The Art of War, U.S. Marshals, Batman: The Movie, The Glass Wall, The Second Renaissance, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Peacemaker, Thirteen Days, In the Loop and Disney's 1977 animated film The Rescuers. The eighth (final) season of 24 takes place partly in the building, where major peace talks are interrupted by an assassination attempt. The only film actually shot on location in the UN headquarters is The Interpreter (2005), filmed with the consent of the Secretary-General,^[51] although some scenes in the political documentary film U. N. Me were surreptitiously filmed inside the building without permission.