Today’s post is by John LeGloahec, Archivist in the Electronic Records Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD.
On June 26, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations was signed in San Francisco, California. There are approximately 100 properties in the National Register files that contain the term “United Nations,” including the San Francisco Civic Center (National Archives Identifier 123858074), where the organizational meeting for the international organization was held in 1945. “The San Francisco Civic Center is a group of monumental buildings around a central open space (Civic Center Plaza), and additional buildings that extend the principal axis to the east and west. It includes all or part of 12 city blocks, six of which are combined into three double blocks that accommodate larger features.”
“The Herbst Auditorium is similar to the main hall of the Opera House, but is smaller and has more subdued detailing. It holds 1,100 people and had only one balcony until box seats were added in 1978. The arches of its side walls contain eight giant murals by British artist Frank Brangwyn depicting earth, air, fire, and water and their benefits to humanity. The murals originally hung in one of the demolished Panama-Pacific International Exposition structures. They were installed in the Herbst at the time of the building’s construction. The ceiling of the Herbst is irregularly coffered; a traditional bronze chandelier hangs from its center. The chamber retains its essential appearance as of the time the United Nations Charter was signed in it.”
“The 1-acre United Nations Plaza commemorates the founding of the United Nations in the Civic Center in 1945. It consists of former Fulton Street, between Market and Hyde, and Leavenworth, between Market and McAllister, which have been converted into a pedestrian plaza. The entire area is paved in brick, with granite borders that echo the principal materials of the Civic Center buildings. The architects were Mario Ciampi and Associates, John Carl Warnecke and Associates, and Lawrence Halprin and Associates. U.N. Plaza provides a pedestrian approach to the Civic Center and a clear view from Market Street to City Hall.”
“The San Francisco Civic Center, the scene of events of national and international importance, including the founding of the United Nations and the drafting and signing of the post-World War II peace treaties with Japan, outstandingly illustrates the era of turn-of-the-century municipal reform movements in the United States and early public and city planning. By general consensus, its architecture and plan are regarded as one of the finest and most complete manifestations of the “City Beautiful” movement in the United States. Henry Hope Reed, a well-known scholar of Classical architecture, has called it “the greatest architectural ensemble in America.””
In Bretton Woods, New Hampshire at the Mount Washington Hotel (National Archives Identifier 77844915) in the summer of 1944, financial leaders met at the Bretton Woods Conference, “sponsored by the United Nations to deal with post-World War II economic problems. This meeting . . . led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [the World Bank].”
Set on a broad plateau between several mountain ranges, the Mount Washington Hotel presents a spectacular sight. Opened in 1902 by Joseph Stickney, a wealthy New York industrialist, the Mount Washington was, and still is, the grandest and largest of the North Country hostelries. The hotel, designed in the Spanish Renaissance styled is shaped like a capital “Y” (the third wing having been added within three years of construction). Between the two five-story (114 feet) octagonal towers is the main portion of the building. Two wings extend from the north tower to the northeast and northwest. One wing extends from the south tower in line with the main portion of the building. The greatest length is over 800 feet. The height of the central portion from the basement to the roof garden is 70 feet. There is an extravagantly wide porch all the way around the hotel. The building is constructed of stone, steel, brick, lumber, and plaster. The foundation was constructed by skilled Italian artisans, imported for that purpose, from native gray granite quarried in the area. A light colored cement (stucco) was laid on the steel network, above the granite, to give the impression of masonry. The roof was red, imitative of Spanish tile.”
“The hotel’s exquisite natural setting is of fundamental importance, as well. The Bretton Woods property is nestled on a secluded and breathtaking plateau, surrounded on the southeast by the lofty Presidential Range, on the northwest by the Dartmouth Range, and on the southwest by the Rosebrook Range. Except for the area adjacent to the hotel, the land has been preserved as a wilderness. Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast United States, forms a dramatic Backdrop to the hotel and the entire property. The area’s natural beauty and exquisite landscape features constitute the hotel’s very unique significance. This extraordinary siting is vitally related to the significance of this spectacular hotel and creates an outstanding blend of built and natural splendor.”
Located in Hot Springs, Virginia is another resort hotel, the Homestead (National Archives Identifier 41679718), “one of the finest resort hotels in the nation. Situated at Hot Springs, Virginia in the Alleghany Mountains, the Homestead provides luxurious accommodations, excellent cuisine, and beautiful natural scenery for its internationally famous guests . . . During the twentieth century, the Homestead enjoyed a national reputation as an outstanding year-round resort which industrial giants such as Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller, and other prominent Americans often visited. Designed by Elzner and Anderson, architects of Cincinnati, Ohio, the present Homestead dates from 1902 and is an excellent example of the Georgian or Colonial Revival in architecture. The hotel’s most impressive architectural feature is its ten-story tower . . . The Homestead received additional notoriety as the site of the International Food Conference in 1943. This conference, attended by representatives of forty-four countries, can be regarded as a precursor of the later founding of the United Nations.”
There are also a number of properties in the National Register of Historic Places files specific to individuals who made their careers in the United Nations and on the international stage. The W.E.B. DuBois Boyhood Homesite in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (National Archives Identifier 63793639) and the Ralph J. Bunche House in New York (National Archives Identifier 75316026) are two locations of prominent African-Americans who worked in the field of international affairs. DuBois “is generally recognized as one of the most incisive thinkers and profound scholars of his time. Too scholarly and arrogant to have a large following of his own, he influenced much of the twentieth century black protest and helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) . . . During most of his career, DuBois was an avid Pan-Africanist. He participated in the Pan African Conference of 1900 held in London and in the First Universal Races Congress of 1911, also in London. From 1919 to 1927 he organized four Pan-African Congresses. In 1945 he was accredited as a Consultant to the San Francisco Conference which organized the United Nations and in that same year he served as Co-chairman of the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England. From 1949 to 1954 he was Vice-chairman of the Council on African Affairs, a private organization which gathered and disseminated valuable information about the “black” African colonies.”
“The two and a half story Ralph Bunche residence, with attached two-car garage, is located at 115-25 Grosvenor Road, in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York . . . In 1945, Ralph Bunche became the first black to hold a desk in the State Department when he accepted the position of Territorial Specialist. As Territorial Specialist, he went to the organizational meeting of the United Nations Organization in San Francisco where he helped to draw up the United Nations’ Charter. He also served as a participant in the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and as a delegate to the International Conferences in Europe. In 1946 Dr. Bunche accepted the post of Director of the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council was provided in order to safeguard the interest and welfare of non-self-governing peoples in territories held either under League of Nations mandates or detached from enemy countries after World War II. In 1948, Secretary General Trygve Lie made Dr. Bunche secretary of the peace-seeking Palestine Commission. Replacing the assassinated United Nation Mediator, Count Folke Bernodotte, a Swedish diplomat. Dr. Bunche brought an end to the Arab-Israeli war in 1949. News of Dr. Bunche’s armistice agreement took the United States by storm. Honors were heaped upon him from all over the world. He was awarded more than thirty honorary degrees, scrolls, awards and designations. The highest honor accorded him was the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first black to receive the Nobel Prize. Ralph Bunche went from one position of great responsibility to another. Between serving as professor of government at Harvard, as an advisor to the President of Howard, and as President of the American Political Science Association, he served on the major United Nations negotiating teams and became the principal director of the Trusteeship Division. In 1952, he was a member of the Korean War Policy and Mediation Team. During the 1953 Kashmir situation. Dr. Bunche worked with the Security Council as a mediator between India and Pakistan. In 1955, he went to Africa to obtain information about the nations seeking independence. In 1956, he settled the war in Egypt and the Suez Canal Crisis. In 1958 he went to Ghana to prevent turmoil there and was later appointed Undersecretary for Political Affairs, the highest position of any American at the United Nations. Dr. Bunche continued and expanded his involvement with the United Nations through the 1960s. His ability to act as a peaceful catalyst in the many explosive situations in the Middle East and Africa continued to win him recognition and praise, both at home and abroad. At home. President Kennedy bestowed upon him the nation’s highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. On the broader scale, he was appointed Undersecretary General of the United Nations.”
In Hyde Park, New York sits Val-Kill, the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (National Archives Identifier 75317458), “more than any other residence, was the home of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. From 1924 until her death in 1962, she spent as much time at Val-Kill as her commitments allowed. During this time she developed and refined her approach to social and political issues. It offered her a refuge from public life for family gatherings, a place for self renewal, and an informal setting to entertain and confer with world leaders . . . Val-Kill was used for family activities as well as a gathering place for Eleanor’s friends and associates, such as members of the American Association for the United Nations, politicians, and labor leaders. Groups of students, both foreign and domestic, came to picnic and to talk with Mrs. Roosevelt . . . When foreign dignitaries visited the States, they would arrive in Washington, DC, then visit the United Nations, and then many would travel to Hyde Park to pay their respects at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s gravesite and visit with Eleanor at Val-Kill; Nikita Khruschev and Marshall Tito were two such prominent visitors. During these years this remarkable woman served as a United States delegate to the United Nations where she chaired the Human Rights Commission, worked on refugee problems and women’s Issues, and earned a bipartisan praise for her international goodwill and unofficial position as a world diplomat.”
In Mettawa, Illinois, is the Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm (National Archives Identifier 28893386), “Stevenson regarded the farm as home from the time that a house was built on the property until his death in 1965. Except when he served as Governor of Illinois and took up residence at the Governor’s mansion in Springfield, it was the place he always came back to. It was home even when as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, he lived in at the United States Embassy at the Waldorf Astoria Towers in New York . . . When World War II ended, in 1945, Stevenson received many job offers including several from the Secretary of State’s office. The offer he accepted was to serve as Special Assistant to Archibald MacLeish, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public and Cultural Affairs. While he served in the State Department, Stevenson helped organize the United Nations. At the meeting convened in San Francisco, Stevenson’s principal function was to brief the press. The San Francisco Conference, which wrote the U.N. Charter, had established a Preparatory Commission to bridge the gap between the signing of the Charter and the convening of the first session of the United Nations. Stevenson received an appointment to become a member of the United States delegation, and he left for London to serve. Because of the illness of Edward R. Stettinius, Stevenson replaced him as head of the United States Delegation., becoming the chief United States spokesman. Adlai assessed later that this was “the most exacting, interesting and in many ways the most important interval of my life.”” During the time between assignments, Stevenson always returned to the farm, his home base. Stevenson wanted very much to be United States delegate to the first session of the General Assembly, yet for political reasons he wasn’t appointed one of the five members, and he was asked to become “one of the senior advisors” to the delegation. It was in this position that Stevenson began his long, close friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt.”
Westminster College is located in Fulton, Missouri and the gymnasium there (National Archives Identifier 63818142) was the site of one of the greatest addresses ever delivered. “Winston S. Churchill’s speech at Westminster College on March 5, 1946, which introduced the term “iron curtain” into public usage, marks a turning point in international relations. It was the first step toward recognition that the “Cold War” had begun and that existing policies of the Soviet Union constituted a threat to the West. As former President Truman once commented, “It was one of the greatest speeches I ever listened to…and part of the policy of the free world ever since.” The college gymnasium where Churchill delivered the speech remains unchanged.”
“In 1946, Westminster College, a small liberal arts college (250 students) in Fulton, Missouri, decided to invite Winston Churchill, who was then planning a trip to the United States, to deliver a speech on campus. Doubtful that Churchill would accept, the president of the college. Franc L. McCluer, sought help from an alumnus. Major General Harry H. Vaughan, military aide to President Truman. Vaughan secured Truman’s support for the idea, and the President added a postscript to McCluer’s invitation: “This is a wonderful college in my home State. Hope you can do it. I will introduce you.” Churchill accepted the invitation, and his speech, entitled, “Sinews of Peace,” was given on March 5, 1946, at the Westminster College gymnasium before an audience of 2,800 people.”
“The speech turned out to be Churchill’s analysis of the postwar world. He spoke of the destruction caused by the War and pleaded for a strong United Nations – “a true temple of peace,” and, “not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel.” The United Nations, Churchill said, had to have a strong foundation, based on a binding Anglo American alliance that would include the common study of potential dangers, the interchange of officers and cadets at technical colleges, and the joint use of all Naval and Air Force bases in the possession of both countries in all parts of the world. He firmly believed that the knowledge of the atomic bomb should be kept in Anglo American hands and not entrusted to the still feeble United Nations.”
“Churchill then spoke of the most pressing threat to peace: Russian expansion. “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic,” Churchill declared, “an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” Behind that line, he noted, lay all the capitals of the ancient States of Central and Eastern Europe. Countries in front of the iron curtain were endangered from without by Soviet might and from within by Communist fifth columns. The answer to this threat, according to Churchill, was the United Nations, supported by the whole strength of the English speaking world and all its connections.”
In Tangier, Morocco, at the American Legation Building (National Archives Identifier 131518059) “is a structure of architectural, diplomatic and military significance integrally associated with American-Moroccan relations for almost 160 years. The building is the first property ever acquired abroad by the U.S. Government and for 140 years housed the United States Consular offices in Tangier, the longest period any building abroad has ever been occupied as a diplomatic or consular post.”
“The Cape Spartel Lighthouse Treaty of 1860 is considered by some to be the forerunner of the League of Nations and the United Nations. This treaty was negotiated by the Western Powers including the United States with the Moroccan Government to build a lighthouse, maintain it, and jointly administer its operation with the head of the commission being rotated among the participating nations.”
Each year at the opening of the General Assembly in New York City, the President of the United States traditionally delivers an address to the United Nations. Here, President George W. Bush addresses the General Assembly in 2002.
