United Nations Peace Plaza (Independence, Missouri) United Nations Peace Plaza (Independence, Missouri) The United Nations Peace Plaza in Independence, Missouri was unveiled on October 27, 1997, formally dedicated by U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan on April 25, 2003, and is described by its creators as "the only memorial in the world to those persons serving in the Peacekeeping Forces of the United Nations". The 12.5-foot statue is named "Girl with Dove" by its sculptor, Tom Corbin, and in 2003, a four-foot miniature was gifted to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. On 11 December 2006, after his final speech as Secretary-General, delivered at the
Headquarters of the United Nations the structure was so narrow. The flag of the United Nations was raised above the first beam as a demonstration for the many spectators who witnessed the first beam's erection. The Secretariat Building was to be completed no later than January 1, 1951, and if the consortium of Fuller, Turner, Slattery, and Walsh exceeded that deadline, they had to pay a minimum penalty of $2,500 per day to the UN. To reduce construction costs, the complex's planners downsized the Secretariat Building from 42 stories to 39 stories. The cornerstone of the headquarters was originally supposed to be laid on April