Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza is a 1.59-acre (0.64 ha) public park in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, United States.

[3][4] The road was to consist of two 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) roadways separated by a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) median, with a landscaped park running along the remainder of the south side of the street.

[3][4] Over 2,000 people signed a petition sent to the Board of Estimate to block the proposed demolition of St. Boniface Church and asked the city to select another street to serve as the approach to the United Nations.

[9] William Zeckendorf submitted a plan to redevelop six blocks from First to Third avenues with a 320-foot (98 m) wide east-west concourse leading to the north end of the United Nations site.

[15][16] A New York Supreme Court justice determined in January 1948 that the properties, which the city was to acquire for the widening of 47th Street, were worth $1.435 million.

[7]: 614 After Dag Hammarskjöld, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, was killed in a plane crash while traveling on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo, the New York City Council approved legislation to rename the park on 47th Street in his honor.

[22] New York City and UN officials announced plans in April 1964 to redesign the plaza by adding a wall with quotations from the late Secretary-General.

[28] Throughout its history, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza has been the site of numerous political protests and demonstrations given its location near the United Nations.

The New York Times wrote in 1991 that Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, along with the smaller Ralph Bunche Park at 43rd Street and First Avenue, were "the city's speakers' corners.

[33][34][36] The renovations to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza were designed by NYC Parks architect George Vellonakis and included six fountains within reflecting pools, steel lattice pavilions and colonnade, and new landscaping and benches.

[35] As part of the renovations, a garden was created along the southern edge of the park and dedicated to actress Katharine Hepburn on May 12, 1997, her ninetieth birthday.

Katharine Hepburn Garden includes a bench taken from her estate in Fenwick, Connecticut, stepping stones inscribed with her quotations, and tablets with pictures from her films.