Headquarters of the United Nations | |
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View from Roosevelt Island
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Location within New York City
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Alternative names |
Headquarters of the United Nations (English) 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) |
General information | |
Architectural style | International Style |
Location |
New York City (International territory) |
Address | 760 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan, New York City |
Coordinates | 40°44′58″N 73°58′5″W / 40.74944°N 73.96806°WCoordinates: 40°44′58″N 73°58′5″W / 40.74944°N 73.96806°W |
Construction started | 1948 |
Completed | October 9, 1952 |
Cost | $65,000,000 (in adjusted inflation $586,221,805) |
Owner | United Nations |
Height | 155 meters (509 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 39 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Oscar Niemeyer Le Corbusier Harrison & Abramovitz |
Main contractor | Fuller, Turner, Slattery, and Walsh |
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. 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. The term "Turtle Bay" is occasionally used as a metonym for the UN headquarters or for the United Nations as a whole.
The United Nations has three additional, subsidiary, regional headquarters, or headquarters districts. These were opened in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1946, Vienna (Austria) in 1980, and Nairobi (Kenya) in 1996. These adjunct offices help represent UN interests, facilitate diplomatic activities, and enjoy certain extraterritorial privileges, but only the main headquarters in New York City contains the seats of the principal organs of the UN, including the General Assembly and Security Council. All fifteen of the United Nations' specialized agencies are located outside New York City at these other headquarters or in other cities.
Although it is situated in New York City, the land occupied by the United Nations Headquarters and the spaces of buildings that it rents are under the sole administration of the United Nations and not the U.S. government. They are technically extraterritorial through a treaty agreement with the U.S. government. However, in exchange for local police, fire protection and other services, the United Nations agrees to acknowledge most local, state, and federal laws.