Dag Hammarskjöld Library

750 1st Avenue | also 405 East 42nd Street, 752 1st Avenue | United Nations | built 1952

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The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1952

    The UN proposes a new library building to replace a too-small six-story one

    In 1952 a new building for the UN's library was proposed, since the existing six-story structure, once owned by the New York City Housing Authority, held only 170,000 books while the UN wanted room for 350,000 to 400,000. The planned facility was budgeted at $3 million.

    “A new library building for the UN headquarters was proposed in 1952. ... The NYCHA building could only hold 170,000 books…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1959

    Dag Hammarskjöld secures Ford Foundation funding for a new UN library

    Facing overcrowded quarters in the UN's original library, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld helped secure a $6.2 million grant from the Ford Foundation in 1959 to fund a new library building, designed by Harrison & Abramovitz beside the Secretariat and Conference buildings. Hammarskjöld did not live to see it completed, dying in September 1961. The library was dedicated in his name two months later, on November 16, 1961.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1961

    November 16

    The UN dedicates its new library in memory of Dag Hammarskjöld

    A $6.2 million Ford Foundation grant in 1959 paid for a new UN library designed by Harrison & Abramovitz. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in September 1961, and when the building was dedicated on November 16, 1961, two months later, it was renamed in his honor. It serves delegations and staff rather than the general public.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 1961

    October 3

    Ford Foundation president Henry Heald proposes naming the new library for Hammarskjöld

    On October 3, 1961, Ford Foundation president Henry T. Heald proposed that the General Assembly name the new library The Dag Hammarskjöld Library. On October 16 the Assembly adopted Resolution 1625(XVI), a memorial to Hammarskjöld that named the library for him and set its dedication for November 16, 1961.

    Source: static.un.org

  5. 1961

    Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris deliver a white marble, glass and aluminum library

    Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris designed the library, working with the George A. Fuller Construction Co. and the designer Richard Craig. It is built of white marble, glass and aluminum, rising six floors plus a penthouse, with three more levels underground. The building measures 219 feet long by 84 feet wide and includes a 200-seat auditorium and two large reading rooms.

    Source: un.org

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