In 1951, the UN Secretariat opened for business.
The slender 39-storey office tower has become the iconic symbol of the United Nations, so we dove into our archives for a look at the world’s meeting place that has grown alongside New York’s ever-changing skyline over the past seven decades.
With its green glass and Vermont marble shimmering in the sunlight and the water of the East River, the building’s modern aesthetic was an intentional decision by the?collaborating architects?to symbolize change, embodying a sense of newness that sheds light on the optimistic future of the world’s nations working together as one collective body. It was the first major "international style" building constructed in New York.
Since the?UN Secretariat?opened its doors, its?membership?climbed from 60 to its current 193 Member States, with South Sudan becoming, in 2011, the latest to join, and the Holy See and the State of Palestine being recognized as permanent observer States.
All their flags are raised every morning, lacing the front of the UN campus.
Owned by the UN, the site of UN Headquarters has a special status within the United States of America. No federal, state, or local officer or official of the host country may enter the campus without consent and under conditions agreed to by the Secretary-General.
Curating material from the archives, shot over several decades.
Catch up with the?, and watch episodes from??cultivated from the?’s 49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio recordings.
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