Located along First Avenue on Manhattan, New York City, is the Ralph Bunche Park. The small public park can be found just opposite from the United Nations headquarters in the Turtle Bay / Tudor City area.
Ralph Bunche Park is a very small park and only occupies around a quarter of an acre.
The History of Ralph Bunche Park
The park’s history is tied to the development of the United Nations complex across the street. It was built and dedicated in 1948 when the UN headquarters was being built.
With its close proximity to the United Nations, it was dedicated at New York City’s first Peace Park in 1985.
The park was named after Ralph Bunche in 1979. Ralph Bunche was the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the 1950 Noble Peace Prize for his mediation in Israel in the 1940s.
Bunche was also involved in the set up of the United Nations and was on the American delegation that attended the first session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946.
He died in 1971.
What’s at Ralph Bunche Park?
The small park opposite from the United Nations Plaza is dominated by flower beds, kept behind metal bars.
A prominent feature of Ralph Bunche Park is the stainless steel obelisk called Peace Form One.
The obelisk is the work of sculptor Daniel LaRue Johnson, who knew Bunche. It stands 50 feet (15 meters) high.
The sculpture was formally dedicated with a ceremony held at the UN General Assembly Hall on September 15, 1980 after the unveiling of a plaque at the monument by Mrs. Ralph Bunche.
Peace Form One is a contemporary interpretation of an ancient form and a reminder of Ralph Bunche and the international peace that he sought to advance.
The granite stairs leading up from the park to 43rd Street and the apartments of Tudor City are known as the Sharansky Steps. They were designed in 1948.
In 1975, they were inscribed with the bible passage 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”.
It is now known as the Isaiah Wall.
There is also a plaque at the southern end of the park dedicated to American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.
The Ralph Bunche Park is located along First Avenue, between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets.
If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy this one on visiting the United Nations or this one on Balsley Park along West 57th Street.
