United Nations headquarters
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The United Nations headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the United Nations's headquarters since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood, on the east side of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River.
The complex includes three major buildings: the Secretariat (the 39-floor office tower), the General Assembly building (where all member nations of the United Nations meet in the UN General Assembly), and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. It is also notable for its gardens and outdoor sculpture.
Although the site of the United Nations headquarters is U.S. territory, U.N. regulations take precedence over U.S. laws within the site. In addition, many of the diplomats working there have diplomatic immunity and so cannot be prosecuted by local courts. In the 1990s, however, the New York City government took steps to force diplomats to abide by local laws when living and traveling outside the U.N. headquarters, especially those concerning parking tickets and drunk driving.
The United Nations headquarters building was constructed in New York City in 1949 and 1950 beside the East River on land purchased by an 8.5 million dollar donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. It is a declared international zone belonging to all Member States, and as such will survive in perpetuity, forever belonging to the Member States as an asset of the UN.
It is sometimes incorrectly stated that the famous "beat their swords into plowshares" passage from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 2:4) is inscribed on a wall at the U.N. headquarters building. In fact, the inscribed Isaiah Wall is in Ralph Bunche Park, a New York City municipal park across the street from the U.N.
Proposed alternatives
Prior to the choice of the site in New York City, Navy Island in Ontario, Canada was proposed as an alternative headquarters for the United Nations. An international committee pitched the site as the "World Peace Capital" over 1945 and 1946. The island was considered to be an ideal location as it lay on the boundary of two peaceful bordering countries. It was proposed 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 U.N. move. The proposal was ultimately turned down in favour of the current site in New York City.
In fiction and film
The building has a distinctive appearance in North by Northwest.
In The Pink Panther Strikes Again, the building is flattened by a gigantic laser.
The Interpreter was the first movie to be filmed inside the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council buildings.
In The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance, the headquarters is destroyed by the forces of Zero-One.
External links
- Information on public tours (http://www.un.org/tours)
- Google Map showing location of UN headquarters. (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10001&ll=40.749321,-73.967986&spn=0.008122,0.011952&t=k&hl=en)