Ralph Bunche Park is a small municipal public park in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of New York City, on First Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets. It was named in 1979 for Ralph Bunche, the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
In 1985 the park was dedicated as the city's first Peace Park. As it covers less than a quarter of an acre (1,000 m²), it cannot accommodate major gatherings.
The park is across First Avenue from the United Nations headquarters. (This stretch of First Avenue is also known as "United Nations Plaza".) The granite staircase in the park's northwest corner leads to 43rd Street and the Tudor City apartments. It was built and dedicated in 1948 during construction of the U.N. headquarters and has the famous quotation from Isaiah 2:4: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" incised into its wall. Known as the Isaiah Wall, it was rededicated in 1975 and had the name "Isaiah" added under the final word. [2] In 1981 the staircase was named the Sharansky Steps in honor of Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky. [1]
In the plaza in front of the Isaiah Wall is Peace Form One, a stainless-steel obelisk 50 feet (15 m) high, erected in 1980. The sculptor, Daniel LaRue Johnson, was a personal friend of Bunche and dedicated the sculpture to Bunche when the latter won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. [3]
Near the southern end of the park is a plaque, dedicated in 1990, which commemorates American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. [1]
Because of its proximity to the United Nations, the peace theme of the Isaiah Wall and Peace Form One, and Bunche's career as a peacemaker, the park is a popular site for demonstrations and rallies for peace and other international issues. [4] In 1985 the park was dedicated as New York City's first Peace Park. [1] The park covers less than a quarter of an acre (1,000 m²), however, so it cannot accommodate major gatherings.
The nearest New York City Subway station to the park is the Grand Central–42nd Street station, served by the 4 , 5 , 6 , <6> , 7 , <7> , and S trains. In addition, Metro-North Railroad's Grand Central Terminal is nearby. [5]
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, spanning the entire breadth of Midtown Manhattan, from Turtle Bay at the East River, to Hell's Kitchen at the Hudson River on the West Side. The street hosts some of New York's best known landmarks, including the headquarters of the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the New York Public Library Main Branch, Times Square, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
The United Nations (UN) is headquartered in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, United States. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the UN since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on 17 to 18 acres of grounds overlooking the East River. It borders First Avenue to the west, East 42nd Street to the south, East 48th Street to the north, and the East River to the east.
Ralph Johnson Bunche was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. Among black Nobel laureates he is the first African American and first person of African descent to be awarded a Nobel Prize. He was involved in the formation and early administration of the United Nations, and played a major role in both the decolonization process and numerous UN peacekeeping operations.
The Times Square–42nd Street station is a major New York City Subway station complex located under Times Square, at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue, and Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan. The complex allows free transfers between the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle, the BMT Broadway Line, the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IRT Flushing Line, as well as to the IND Eighth Avenue Line one block west at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal. The complex is served by the 1, 2, 3, 7, N and Q trains at all times, the W train during weekdays; the R and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; and ⟨7⟩ trains during rush hours in the peak direction. A free passageway from the shuttle platform to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station, served by the 7, <7>, B, D, F, <F>, and M trains, is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Turtle Bay is a neighborhood in New York City, on the east side of Midtown Manhattan. It extends from roughly 43rd Street to 53rd Street, and eastward from Lexington Avenue to the East River's western branch. The neighborhood is the site of the headquarters of the United Nations and the Chrysler Building. The Tudor City apartment complex is next to the southeast corner of Turtle Bay.
The 33rd Street station is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue and 33rd Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by 6 trains at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and 4 trains during late night hours.
The Grand Central–42nd Street station is a major station complex of the New York City Subway. Located in Midtown Manhattan at 42nd Street between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it serves trains on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the IRT Flushing Line and the 42nd Street Shuttle. The complex is served by the 4, 6, and 7 trains at all times; the 5 and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction; and the <7> train during rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction.
The 34th Street–Herald Square station is an underground station complex on the BMT Broadway Line and the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Herald Square in Midtown Manhattan where 34th Street, Broadway and Sixth Avenue intersect, and is served by the D, F, N, and Q trains at all times; the R train at all times except late nights; the B, M, and W trains on weekdays; and the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction.
The 23rd Street station is a local station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 23rd Street, Broadway, and Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, it is served by the R train at all times except late nights, the W train on weekdays, the N train during late nights and weekends, and the Q train during late nights.
Tudor City is an apartment complex on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, bordering the Turtle Bay and Murray Hill neighborhoods. Designed and developed by the Fred F. French Company, it lies on a low cliff east of Second Avenue, between 40th and 43rd Streets, and overlooks First Avenue to the east. Construction commenced in 1926, making it the first residential skyscraper complex in the world. Tudor City was one of the first and largest examples of a planned middle-class residential community in New York City. Named for its Tudor Revival architecture, the complex is a New York City designated landmark district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Vanderbilt Avenue is the name of three thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island. They were named after Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877), the builder of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
The 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station is an express station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located along Sixth Avenue between 47th and 50th Streets, on the west side of Rockefeller Center. The station is served by the D and F trains at all times, the B and M trains on weekdays, and the ⟨F⟩ train during rush hours in the peak direction. In 2019, it was the 12th busiest subway station in the system.
The Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station is a station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan, it is served by the E and F trains at all times and the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction.
The Fifth Avenue–59th Street station is a station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located under Grand Army Plaza near the intersection of 5th Avenue and 60th Street in Manhattan, it is served by the N train at all times, the W train on weekdays during the day, and the R train at all times except late nights.
The 28th Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.
The Lexington Avenue/59th Street station is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway Line. It is located at Lexington Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets, on the border of Midtown and the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The station complex is the fourteenth-busiest in the system, with over 21 million passengers in 2016.
The 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station is an underground New York City Subway station complex, consisting of stations on the IRT Flushing Line and IND Sixth Avenue Line. Located at 42nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the 7, D and F trains at all times, the B and M trains on weekdays, and the ⟨7⟩ and ⟨F⟩ trains during rush hours in the peak direction. A free passageway from the IND platforms to the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal station, served by the 1, 2, 3, 7, <7>, A, C, E, N, Q, R, W, and S trains is open during the day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Ralph Johnson Bunche House, the last home of American diplomat Ralph Bunche (1903-1971), is a National Historic Landmark in New York City. It is a single-family home built in 1927 in the neo-Tudor style, and is located at 115-24 Grosvenor Road, Kew Gardens, Queens. It is named after Ralph Bunche, who helped to found the United Nations in 1945. In 1950 he became the first African American and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize, for mediating armistice agreements between Israel and its neighboring countries.
Trygve Lie Plaza is a 0.10-acre (0.040 ha) public park in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Located on the west side of First Avenue between East 41st Street and East 42nd Street, the park was created in 1948 as part of the widening of First Avenue for the development of the United Nations. It was named after Trygve Lie in 1998.
Media related to Ralph Bunche Park at Wikimedia Commons
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