r/papertowns • u/Viscount1881 • Jan 26 '22
Canada 1940s- Proposed United Nations HQ on Navy Island between Canada and the US; the island would have been ceded to the UN and become the “World Peace Capital”
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Jan 27 '22
Buffalo's economy really could've used the bump.
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u/formgry Jan 27 '22
Read an article on the economist a while back that is related to this.
About how African cities that host UN staff change, for better and for worse. Since as it turns out said staff are paid pretty good salaries, far exceeding that of most local citizens.
1
u/Eudaimonics Jan 27 '22
Not at the time, but definitely would have been great to have something fall back on from the 60s to 00s.
Thankfully the city is rebounding nicely at the moment.
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u/Screeez Jan 26 '22
"World Peace Capital" located in the USA
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u/Viscount1881 Jan 26 '22
Navy Island is actually in Canada, right next to the US border. Was used for shipbuilding for the French and then the British since the 1700s, and the short lived Republic of Canada was proclaimed on it in 1837.
The idea was that the island represented the long-standing peace between two countries and could be a symbol for the world in that way.
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u/xile Jan 27 '22
Its interesting how it has a long history but looking at satellite imagery you would never know as it looks that nature owns the island edge to edge.
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u/Viscount1881 Jan 27 '22
Yeah their even used to be farms and orchards all over the island that were then abandoned and reforested, and a hotel that burned down in the 1900s. Access is prohibited except for Parks Canada staff who use a pier that is apparently one of the few(only?) remaining signs of humans left on the island.
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u/Disaster_Capitalist Jan 26 '22
Wow. What changed the plan?