Along the East River in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay neighborhood stands one of New York’s most unusual architectural complexes: the United Nations Headquarters.
The complex stretches from First Avenue to the East River, between East 42nd and East 48th Streets. Although located in New York City, the UN Headquarters has a special international legal status. It is not technically foreign soil, but under agreements with the United States, the United Nations enjoys privileges and immunities that make the complex unlike any other place in New York.
But before diplomats, flags, and international conferences arrived here, this was a very different part of Manhattan.
Turtle Bay, Goat Hill and Corcoran’s Roost
In the 18th century, this part of Manhattan was still largely rural. Turtle Bay was a small cove on the East River, roughly around today’s East 45th to 48th Streets. A stream flowed into the cove, and the surrounding land was used for farms and country estates. As New York expanded northward during the 19th century, the countryside disappeared, and the neighborhood became increasingly industrial.
Nearby lay an area occupied by squatters and poor immigrants, where goats reportedly wandered freely among the rough roads and makeshift homes. It was known as Goat Hill. By the mid-19th century, the area had developed into an Irish shantytown known as Corcoran’s Roost, named after Jimmy “Paddy” Corcoran. The neighborhood acquired a reputation as one of the rougher corners of Manhattan, associated with gangs, thieves, and waterfront characters. Meanwhile, along the East River, industry was taking over. Slaughterhouses, stockyards, coal yards, and factories crowded the waterfront. For decades, the smell and noise of industry defined this section of Manhattan.
That chapter of the neighborhood closed in the mid-20th century.
The Idea of the United Nations
The idea behind the United Nations was born from the devastation of World War II.
The world had already tried once to create an international organization that could prevent another catastrophic war. After World War I, the League of Nations was established in 1920. But the League ultimately failed to prevent aggression and was unable to stop the world from sliding into another global conflict. World War II was even more devastating. As the war was still being fought, Allied leaders began discussing how to create a better system for maintaining peace after victory.
The name “United Nations” was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1941, Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, outlining their vision for a postwar world. On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 nations fighting the Axis powers signed the Declaration by United Nations, pledging to continue the war together and not make a separate peace with the enemy.
After Roosevelt’s death in 1945, representatives of 50 nations gathered in San Francisco to write the United Nations Charter. The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945. The purpose was ambitious: to prevent another world war and provide a place where nations could settle disputes through diplomacy rather than warfare. The UN was designed as a forum—a place where sovereign nations could meet and try to resolve international problems.
Choosing the United Nations Location
Once the new United Nations was established, it needed a permanent home.
Europe in 1945 was hardly an ideal location for a new international headquarters. Much of the continent was physically devastated by the war; its cities were struggling to rebuild, and political tensions between the emerging Western and Soviet blocs were already reshaping Europe.
The United States offered a stable alternative. In February 1946, during the first session of the General Assembly in London, the UN decided to establish its headquarters in the United States. Proposals came from around the country – San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, and other locations. California was considered too far from Europe. The idea to use the Rockefeller family’s estate at Kykuit in the Hudson Valley was rejected because transportation and access would have been difficult.
New York City emerged as the compromise. It was already one of the world’s great international cities, with excellent transportation links, communications, and a large diplomatic community. It was also relatively close to Europe by transatlantic ship and, increasingly, by air.
Along the East River, between East 42nd and East 48th Streets, was an 18-acre stretch of slaughterhouses, tenements, light industry, and a railroad barge landing. It had several advantages: it was in the heart of Manhattan, easily accessible, and large enough to accommodate a major international complex. John D. Rockefeller Jr. offered $8.5 million to purchase the property for the United Nations. His son, Nelson Rockefeller, played an important role in helping arrange the deal. The United Nations accepted the offer in December 1946, and the East River site became the location of its permanent headquarters.
The waterfront that had once been associated with stockyards, factories, gangs, and goats was about to become the stage for international diplomacy.
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