Place

United Nations Headquarters

The United Nations Headquarters is an eighteen-acre East River modernist complex of the Secretariat tower, General Assembly, council chambers, library and diplomatic art.

City guideMidtown East

United Nations Headquarters in New York City — Looking across at the United Nations headquarters from Pier 2 of Gantry Plaza State Park, on the East River at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue in Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens.Tdorante10 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Why visit

United Nations Headquarters occupies an eighteen-acre East River site acquired through John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s donation. Wallace Harrison led an international design team including Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier; construction began in 1949 and the principal modernist complex was completed in 1952.

What to see

Four main elements define the composition: the 39-story glass-and-marble Secretariat slab, the low Conference Building, the curved General Assembly Building and the later Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Their sharply different forms separate administration, debate and public assembly while creating a collective architectural image for the organization.

Plan your visit

Meeting chambers, interpretation booths, artworks and gifts from member states fill the interior, and gardens line the river edge. Guided access can include the General Assembly Hall and Security Council Chamber when meetings permit, revealing the headquarters as a working diplomatic institution rather than a static monument.

Sources and updates

References used by Irhal's editors to verify this page.

Last editorial review: 2026-07-01

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Why visit

What to see

Plan your visit