Description of the attraction
The United Nations headquarters is located on the east bank of Manhattan overlooking the East River. This is an administrative building, but a tour of it is really fascinating - you can see wonderful works of art here. And isn't it interesting to know exactly where Nikita Khrushchev “knocked on the podium with his boot”?
After World War II, the victorious countries created the UN. At first, the organization sought to build a new city for the "capital of the world", but numerous difficulties forced them to turn away from overly ambitious plans. A suitable plot in Manhattan was bought by famed philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and donated to the city. Architects, engineers and designers from various countries, including the USSR, were invited to design the complex of buildings. The main idea was proposed by the great Le Corbusier. By the time construction was completed in 1952, the headquarters was recognized as an example of 20th century architecture.
The complex's most prominent building is the flat, 39-story office tower that houses the UN Secretariat along the East River. It is flanked by a surging General Assembly building. On the front side of the complex, there is a long row of flagpoles with the flags of 193 UN member states and the flag of the organization itself in the center.
The headquarters art collection is huge. The works of artists and sculptors here are mainly devoted to the themes of international cooperation and peace. The sculptures by Evgeny Vuchetich “Let's Break Swords into Plowshares”, Carl Frederick Reutersward's “Twisted Pistol”, “Peace Bell” from Japan are widely known. France presented the UN with a huge stained-glass window by Marc Chagall, affirming the primacy of love, the USA - a mosaic made on the basis of a painting by Norman Rockwell (it depicts people of all races). Zurab Tsereteli was also noted here: his George the Victorious tramples on a dragon assembled from the remnants of nuclear missiles. Kenya, Zambia and Nepal presented a life-size statue of an elephant, made so realistically that former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ordered bushes to be planted around the statue (to hide unnecessary details).
More than a million tourists visit the UN headquarters every year. Everything is open for them here, including the halls of the Security Council and the General Assembly. It is especially interesting to visit this last hall under a huge dome. Legend has it that on October 12, 1960, during the discussion by the General Assembly of the USSR's invasion of Hungary, Nikita Khrushchev tried to disrupt the discussion by knocking his boot on the podium. In fact, this is not the case. Witnesses said that during the speaker's speech, Khrushchev really had a shoe in his hands, and the Soviet leader demonstratively examined him, showing in every possible way that he was not interested in the speech. The photo of Khrushchev that appeared later on the podium and with a boot was recognized as a photomontage.
