Dreams of world cooperation towards peace began in the final years of the 19th century and somehow survived two world wars. The term “United Nations” was actually coined by Franklin Roosevelt in 1942, amidst fierce fighting on two oceans and three continents. The hope for a league of nations persevered, and the official organization was founded shortly after the end of the second world war.

On this day, January 10th, in 1951 the United Nations headquarters in Turtle Bay, New York opened its doors for the first time. The location – some 17 acres – was bought from the city’s biggest real estate developer and financed by the son and grandson of the oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (who incidentally founded Standard Oil on the same day 81 years earlier.)

The headquarters’ iconic shape appeared in numerous film and television shows, including Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (although Hitchcock was refused permission to film on the grounds of the headquarters itself); Batman: The Movie; a Disney feature called The Rescuers and the final season of the political thriller series 24.