Peace Monuments Related to the United Nations

Click here for "Art ... at Home in the United Nations" by Ed Marks (1998).
Click here for virtual tour of the United Nations in New York City.

Right click image to enlarge.

1820 - Temple de l'amite et de la paix / Temple of Friendship & Peace, United Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built by Count Jean-Jaques de Sellon [1782-1839] on his estate La Fenetre (which now belongs to the United Nations). Destroyed during a storm in 1946, but its stones remain in storage (as shown in lower image).

August 28, 1913 - Vredespaleis / Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands). Constructed and still owned by the Carnegie Foundation. Now home of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Peace Palace Library, and the Hague Academy of International Law.

1936 - Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built for the League of Nations. Since the 1950s, it has served as the home of the UN Office at Geneva.

August 1939 - "Armillary Sphere," Ariana Park, Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). 410 cm in diameter. Weighs some 5,800 kg. Also called Celestial Sphere. By Paul Manship [1885-1966]. Presented by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in memory of the founder of the League of Nations.

June 1, 1950 - "Aero Memorial World War I 1917-18," Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). By Paul Manship [1885-1966]. "Proposed during WW-I by the Aero Club of Pennsylvania. Commissioned by Fairmount Park Art Association."

1939 - Statue, ILO Headquarters, International Labour Organization, Geneva (Switzerland). Gift from the Government of Yugoslavia.

July 1944 - Bretton Woods Monetary Conference, Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (USA). Marker commemorates the international conference in July 1944 during which the groundwork was laid for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD) -- now called the World Bank -- and other so-called "Bretton Woods" institutions. What is date of the marker?

June 26, 1945 - War Memorial Building, United Nations Plaza, , San Francisco, California (USA). Signing of the United Nations Charter at the United Nations Conference on International Organization by 50 of the 51 original member countries. (Poland signed later). The UN Charter entered into force on October 24, 1945. The auditorium was renamed the Herbst Theatre in 1977.

1946 - League of Nations Museum, Palais des Nations, B.328, Geneva (Switerland). Operated by the Library of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), the League of Nations Archives (LON) & Historical Collections Unit. Illustrates the history & work of the League of Nations [1919-1946].

Date? - Plaque for First Meeting of the UN General Assembly, Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London (England). The UNGA met here January 10-February 14, 1946. Named in "A Peace Trail Through London" by Valerie Flessati (1998).

1946-1951 - Temporary home of the UN Secretariat, Lake Success, Long Island, New York (USA). Designed by the Philadelphia-based architecture and design firm EwingCole. Transformed from industrial space used as a defense manufacturing plant dating back to WW-II when it was operated by Sperry Gyroscope Co. Used by UN after the UN charter was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945. Now part of North Shore-LIJ Health System’s Center for Advanced Medicine.

1950 - United Nations Memorial Cross, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu Island (Japan). "Standing faced Korea, the soldier of the Allied Forces killed in the Korean War is commemorated." Inscription: "In honor of the fallen heroes of the United Nations erected in 1950 by members of the Kokura General Depot Camp Kokura Kyushu Japan." (Kitakyushu was created in 1963 and includes the old city of Kokura.)

1950 - United Nations Headquarters Building, East River, New York City, New York (USA). Cornerstone laid October 24, 1949. Replaced UN's termporary home (1946-1951) in the Sperry Gyroscope building in Lake Success, Long Island, New York (USA). See Apsel, Joyce (2008), "Peace & human rights education: The UN as a museum for peace," pp. 37-48, in Anzai, Ikuro, et al, ed. by (2008).

1952 - Peace & Freedom Tapestry, East Wall, Security Council Room, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Entry #754 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). By Per Krohg [1889-1965] of Norway.

1952 - Children's Fountain, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Entry #747 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

June 1953 - Woman & Bird Statue, Trusteeship Chamber, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Large teak statue made by a Danish artist Henrik Starcke. Gift from Denmark. Woman with outstretched arms letting a bird fly free suggests "unlimited flight upwards to greater heights." In the context of the Trusteeship Council, it can be seen to symbolize the colonies achieving independence. Entry #760 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1953 - "Mankind's Struggle for a Lasting Peace", Third Floor, Conference Building, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Mural 64 feet long x 9.5 feet tall by Jose Vela Zanetti [1914-1999], a Spanish exile living in the Dominican Republic, in which a giant, four-armed figure implants the UN emblem. Entry #758 in the "Peace Movement Directory by James Richard Bennett (2001).

June 8, 1954 - Japanese Peace Bell, West Court Garden, Secretariat Building, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Cast (including coins & metal from about 60 UN member countries) by Chiyoji Nakagawa [1905-1972] on October 24, 1952, at "the Tada Factory" (Japan). Gift of the UN Assn. of Japan. Rung on the Vernal Equinox and on 21 September to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly and the International Day of Peace. Click here for Wikipedia article. Entry #756 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Click here for Japanese website about the bell.

1954 - Triumph of Peace Tapestry, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). By Belgian painter Peter Colfs [1906-1983]. Entry #759 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1954 - Horsewoman (Monument of Peace), United Nations, New York, NY (USA). "One of the symbols of the United Nations that everybody knows is... a sculpture created by Antun Augustincic [1900-1979]. It was given as a gift to the UN and it is situated in front of the main building in New York. The basement of the monument is made of the marble from the Croatian island of Brac. The equestrian statue was cast in the city of Zagreb, capital of Croatia."

1955 - "Guernica," UN Headquarters, New York City, New York (USA). Full-sized tapistry version of original commisisoned by the government of Spain for the Paris International Exposition and painted in 1937 by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]. Original is in Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid (Spain). Another copy at Gernika Peace Museum.

1957 - "Guerra e Paz / War & Peace," Security Council, UN Headquarters, New York, New York (USA). Two panels by Candido Portinai [1903-1962] measuring 35x47 feet presented by Brazil. Portinari was banned from entering the US to open the panels, accused of being communist.

1958 - Jardin de la Paix (Jardin Japonais) / Garden of Peace (Japanese Garden), UNESCO Headquarters, Paris (France). 1,700 square meter masterpiece by Japanese-American landscape architect Isamu Noguchi [1904-1988]. Restored in 2000. Noguchi also designed a bridge in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

1959 - "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares", United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Bronze statue sculpted by Evgeniy Vuchetich [1908-1974] to represent the human wish to end all wars by converting the weapons of death and destruction into peaceful and productive tools that are more beneficial to mankind. Donated to the UN by the Soviet Union. Entry #752 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

November 16, 1961 - Dag Hammarskjöld Library, United Nations, New York, New York (USA). Named for Dag Hammarskjöld [1905-1961] immediately after his death in Africa.

September 17, 1964 - "Peace & Human Happiness", Eastern Side of the Public Lobby, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Stained glass window by Marc Chagall. Memorial to Dag Hammarskjold [1905-1961] about 15 feet wide and 12 feet high. Contains several symbols of peace and love, such as the young child in the center being kissed by an angelic face which emerges from a mass of flowers. On the left, below and above, motherhood and the people who are struggling for peace are depicted." Entry #755 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1969 - United Nations University, Tokyo (Japan). "Researches the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the UN and its agencies... Motto is 'Advancing knowledge for human security, peace, and development.'" Another campus in Bonn (Germany). Offices at UN Headquarters New York and UNESCO Headquarters Paris.

1970 - Japanese Peace Bell from United Nations in New York City is displayed for six months in the UN pavilion at Expo '70, Expo Memorial Park, Osaka (Japan). The bell is rung every day at Noon. First image shows Tower of the Sun, symbol of Expo '70.

1975 - United Nations Plaza, San Francisco, California (USA). Near the War Memorial Building where the UN charter was signed on June 26, 1945. Constructed as part of the Market Street Reconstruction Project in conjunction with the subterranean installation of the BART subway line. Now in need of redevelopment.

1976 - "United Nations Visit to Nashville" (historical marker), Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Text: "On June 7, 1976, 101 permanent representatives of the UN made a historic and unprecedented group visit to Nashville... [They] attended a forum at nearby Vanberbilt University, a special Tennessee luncheon in Centennial Park, and a special performance of the Grand Ole Opry. UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim [1918-2007] was presented the Cordell Hull Peace award [sic]... Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. No. 70. Erected 1976." Cordell Hull [1871-1955] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. President Roosevelt called Hull the "Father of the UN." Click here for monuments related to Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

January 1, 1979 - International Year of the Child (IYC). UNESCO proclamation signed January 1, 1979, by UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. Follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child intended to draw attention to problems that affected children throughout the world, including malnutrition & lack of access to education. Many of these efforts resulted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.

1979 - "Dove of Peace," General Assembly Lobby, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Reproduction of a mosaic in the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Presented by Pope John Paul II. Entry #749 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

August 23, 1979 - Vienna International Centre (VIC), UN Office at Vienna (UNOV), Vienna (Austria). Includes headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), respectively in Vienna since 1957 and 1967.

1980 - "Peace Form One", Ralph Bunche Park, East 43rd Stret & First Avenue, New York City, New York (USA). Stainless-steel obelisk 50 feet (15 meters) high, honoring Ralph Bunche [1903-1971]. Adjacent to the Isaiah Wall. The sculptor, Daniel Larue Johnson [b.1938], was a personal friend of Bunche, and dedicated the sculpture to Bunche, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.Entry #731 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

December 1980 - University for Peace (UPAZ / UPEACE), Ciudad Colón, 30 kms southwest of San Jose (Costa Rica). Click here for the Wikipedia article. See below for Monument to Disarmament, Work & Peace (1987).

September 21, 1982 - First International Day of Peace. Observed at UN Headquarters by ringing the Japanese Peace Bell. Henceforth, the bell is rung on the Vernal Equinox and on 21 September to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly and the International Day of Peace.

1985 - Golden Rule Mosaic, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Presented by first lady Nancy Reagan for the UN's 40th anniversary. A creation of Venetian artists based on a painting by American artist Norman Rockwell [1894-1978]. Depicts people of all races, religions, creeds & hues. Imparts the message of the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"). Entry #750 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1986 - UN Internatonal Year of Peace. Click here for list of postage stamps issued to commemorate the International Year of Peace.

1986 - Beachy Head Peace Path, West Sussex (England). Commemorates the UN International Year of Peace (1986). "A 750 metre circular route starting opposite the main Beachy Head car park and leading to a viewpoint on the Head. One of several trails in the South Downs suitable for people with impaired mobility, wheelchairs, mobility scooters and push chairs." One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009.

1986 - Canberra Peace Park, Canberra, Australian Capitol Territory (Australia). Established for UN International Year of Peace. Monument added in 1990.

1986 - UN Year of Peace Commemorative Plaque, Riverbank Reserve, Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch (New Zealand). Stainless steel plaque on concrete plinth at base of tree opposite the Theosophical Society.

1986 - Stamp for the UN International Year of Peace (Mexico). Shows the Banner of Peace of Nicholas Roerich [1874-1947]. Click here for a complete list of International Year of Peace stamps.

1986 - Stamp for the UN International Year of Peace (Australia). With dove of peace.

1986 - Finnish stamp for the UN International Year of Peace.

1987 - Monument to Disarmament, Work & Peace, University for Peace (UPAZ / UPEACE), Ciudad Colón, 30 kms southwest of San Jose (Costa Rica). By Cuban artist Thelvia Marín. Honors Costa Ricans who have made outstanding efforts in building and maintaining peace. "World's largest peace monument."

1988 - Non-Violence by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (oil painting on canvas), Conventional Arms Branch, Dept. for Disarmament Affairs (DDA), United Nations, New York (USA).

1988 - Non-Violence by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd ("the knotted gun"), United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Gift from Luxembourg. Entry #753 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1988 - Peace Monument, Bicentennial Park (north of the distinctive water feature), Sydney, New South Wales (Australia). Metal sculpture by artist Michael Kitching. Commissioned by the NSW government in 1986 to commemorate the UN International Year of Peace (qv).

September 1990 - Good Defeats Evil, UN Gardens near 47th Street, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Forty-foot metal statue of St. George brandishing a crucifix as he slays a nuclear dragon. Gift of the Soviet Union. Sculpted by Zurab Tsereteli who also made the Tear Drop memorial for 9/11 in Bayonne, New Jersey in 2006 (qv).

June 3-14, 1992 - Peace Monument, UN Conference on Environment & Development (Earth Summit), Brasilia (Brazil). Erected by the Bahá’í International Community and the Bahá’í Community of Brazil. Contains soil samples from nearly 150 countries, a symbolic representation of the oneness of humanity and the global cooperation needed to achieve lasting peace. On September 19, 2000, the final earth samples from 26 nations were deposited [as shown in right image].

1992 - Reconcilation (National Peacekeeping Monument), Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Memorializes Canadian "casques bleus / blue caps" who served in UN peace-keeping missions in Korea (1947), Palestine (1948), Golan Heights, former Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Erected during 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation (Canada 125). Entry #1302 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1995 - United Nations Peace Bell, Main Plaza, Vienna International Centre (VIC), Vienna (Austria). Cast in Japan. Continues the traditon of the Japanese Peace Bell (qv) at UN Headquarters in New York City.

1995 - World Headquarters, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Place de la Cité internationale, Quartier International, Montréal, Quebéc (Canada).

Date? - Headquarters, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva (Switzerland).

Date? - Headquarters, Food & Agriclturture Organization (FAO), Rome (Italy).

Date? - Headquarters, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington, DC (USA).

Date? - Headquarters, World Bank, Washington, DC (USA). Formerly called the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD).

P L A Z A

1995 - Statue of Sadako Sasaki, United Nations Peace Plaza, Lexington Avenue & Walnut Street, Independence, Missouri (USA). Near auditorum (right image) where President Truman declared the creation of the United Nations in 1945. Maintained by Community of Christ (Reorganized Mormon Church). Click here for air view.

M U S E U M

1997 - Cordell Hull Birthplace & Museum State Park, 1300 Cordell Hull Memorial Drive, Byrdstown, Tennessee (USA). Preserves Hull's birthplace and various personal effects Hull donated to the citizens of Pickett County, including his 1945 Nobel Peace Prize. Cordell Hull [1871-1955] was Secretary of State 1933-1944. President Roosevelt called hime the "Father of the United Nations." Click here for monuments to all Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Date? - Paintings by Christopher Calle. Left image depicts the Japanese Peace Bell at United Nations in New York City. Colors of both paintings represent the United Nations.

1997 - UN General Assembly decrees 2000 to be the "International Year for the Culture of Peace."

March 4, 1998 - UN General Assembly decrees 2001-2010 to be the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violece for the Children of the World."

1998 - Count Folke Bernadotte Memorial, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Entry #748 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Count Folke Bernadotte [1895-1948] was a Sweedish diplomaet who was assassinated in Jerusalem.

January 15, 2000 - Peace Bell, Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building (west entrance), 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, California (USA). Cast from melted guns for the 50th anniversary of the UN Charter (signed in the War Memorial Building in nearby San Francisco) by Bruce Hasson, founder of the "Bell Project" which promotes world peace by using melted-down firearms to cast bells which incorporate images of nonviolence and environmental concerns. Rung at the War Memorial Building by Attorney General Janet Reno.

August 11, 2000 - UN Peace Bell Garden, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Designed & built by Shinichiro Abe, ZEN Associates, Inc., Woburn, Massachusetts (USA). Symbolically represents the seven continents of the globe, as depicted on the UN flag. Surrounds the Japanese Peace Bell (qv).

	September 18, 2003 - Jardin de la Paix / Peace Garden, Domaine de Trembley, rue Moillebeau, Geneva (Switzerland). Jardin impressionniste de Moillebeau renamed in memory of Brazilian Sergio Vieira de Mello [1948-2003] and 21 other Unied Nations employees who were killed in Baghdad (Iraq) on August 19, 2003.
	January 9, 2004 - Human Rights Mural, Coral Springs Museum of Art (Csmart), Coral Springs, Florida (USA). By artist Yuri Gevorgian Yuroz. "Commissioned by the United Nations. Joined an already running show on the artist called 'The Narrative Culture of Cubism.'" What's its permanent location?

June 8, 2004 - UN stamp commenorating the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Peace Bell, West Court Garden, Secretariat Building, United Nations (UN), New York City, New York (USA).

2005 - "Let There Be Peace," Catholic High School (Singapore). Ten-foot monument by Romanian artist Alexandra Nechita [born 1985] call the "Petite Picasso." "In November 1999, 14-year old Alexandra was selected by the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA) to lead a Global Arts Initiative involving more than 100 nations. In 2005, she unveiled her United Nations Peace Monument for Asia in Singapore [3rd image]."

After 2005 - United Nations Peace Garden, St. Mary's Cathedral, Bridge Street, Limerick, Munster (Ireland). Plaques name Irish soldiers killed in Congo 1960-63, Lebanon 1978-2000, Cyprus 1965-71, etc. Most recent death was in 2005.

June 15, 2007 - International Day of Nonviolence decreed by the UN General Assembly to be on October 2, the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948].

Fall 2008 - Tolerance Monument, Tolerance Park, Jerusalem (Israel). 15-meter monument "funded by Polish businessman Aleksander Gudzowaty as a symbol to promote peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Between Jewish Armon Hanatziv and Arab Jabal Mukaber and just outside the United Nations headquarters in Jerusalem's "Government House."

Future - United Nations Peace Park, Global NGO Complex & Map Museum, Global Campus, Kyung Hee University, Suwon (South Korea). "Expected to help improve relations between the Global Campus & international organizations, such as the UN, & domestic & international NGO's by offering spacious & convenient venues for international gatherings & research."