| Location |
| First Avenue at 46th Street |
| Metro |
| Grand Central Station-42nd Street
(4,5,6,7) |
| Info |
| A complex built as the UN Headquarters
between 1947 and 1952. |
| Remarks |
| Guided tours of the United Nations
are conducted almost every day, they take approximately
1 hr. |
| Website |
| www.un.org |
|
In 1946, the United Nations were looking for a location
for their new headquarters in New York. The original plan
was to use the grounds of the 1939 World Fair in  Flushing
Meadow Park in Queens. But when a project known as X-City
on Manhattan's eastern border failed to materialize, John
D. Rockefeller Jr. bought the 18 acre plot and donated
it to United Nations. This site was then used to build
the UN's headquarters. The whole area was converted into
international territory and officially does not belong
to the United States.
The design for the United Nations complex was drawn by
an international committee of architects, the United Nations
Board of Design. The most notable of the architects were
Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier and Wallace K. Harrison,
who headed the board. Some renowned architects including
Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius were excluded due
 to
their historic links with Germany, the enemy during the
war.
The international style was chosen by the board members
as it symbolized a new start after the second World War.
A plan by Le Corbusier, known as project 23A, was taken
as the basis for the complex. After many months of heated
discussions, mainly between Le Curbusier and the other
architects,  the
final plan 23W, drawn up by Oscar Niemeyer was adopted
by all members of the board. It consists of a complex
with 4 buildings: the Secretariat building, the General
Assembly building, the Conference building and the Dag
Hammarskjold Library.
The largest of the four buildings is the Secretariat of
the building, home of the UN's administration. The large,
39 story, 544 ft tall slab has become a worldwide symbol
of the United Nations. The green glass-curtain tower,
the first of its kind in New York, contrasts starkly with
the 1920s buildings of Tudor city nearby.
Construction of the Secretariat started in september 1949
and was completed in 1950. The complex as a whole was
only finished two years later.
The Secretariat building dwarfs the adjacent 5 story General
Assembly building, actually the most important part of
the complex. In the General  assembly
hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,800, meetings
with representatives of all UN members take place.
The conference building behind the Secretariat and General
assembly buildings houses the security Council and the
Economic and Social Council.
Adjacent to the United Nations complex is a small public
park bordering the East River. It is littered with artwork
donated by many countries,  including
the 'Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares' by Evgeniy Vuchetich,
donated by the Soviet Union in 1959. Recently a piece
of the Berlin Wall was added to the park.
Along First Avenue in front of the United Nations Headquarters
is a display of flags from each member of the UN. It starts
with Afghanistan at 48th street and ends with Zimbabwe
at 42nd street.
The United Nations is currently considering moving its
personnel to a new 35 story building, as the Secretariat
building needs to be renovated. The renovation would take
approximately four years.
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