United Nations Secretariat Building United Nations Secretariat Building The United Nations Secretariat Building is a tall skyscraper and the centerpiece of the headquarters of the United Nations, located in the Turtle Bay in Midtown Manhattan area of Manhattan, in New York City. The lot where the building stands is considered United Nations territory, although it remains part of the United States. It is the first skyscraper in New York City to use a curtain wall. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Secretariat Building occurred on September 14, 1948. A consortium of four contracting companies from Manhattan and Queens were selected to construct the Secretariat Building
Headquarters of the United Nations were set to go on trial in March 1949. The House was loath to distribute the full $65 million because the government was concerned that the UN's proposed headquarters would grant diplomatic immunity to the two individuals. The UN used the Reconstruction Finance Corp.'s $25 million as a stopgap measure. The resulting case circumscribed the immunity of UN employees. To save money, the UN considered retaining an existing building on the Manhattan site, which had been slated for demolition once the headquarters was completed. Until 1950, the UN refused to accept private donations for the headquarters' construction, citing a policy