Navy Island (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

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Navy Island is a small island in the Niagara River in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is currently under the administration of the Niagara Parks Commission. It is located about 4.5 km upstream from Horseshoe Falls, and has an area of roughly 1.2 km².

Navy Island was proposed to be the new World Peace Capital and headquarters of the United Nations by an international committee in 1945 and 1946. The island was considered to be an ideal location as it lay on the boundary between two peaceful countries. An artist's rendering of the World Peace Capital showed the property with bridges spanning both countries (at Grand Island in the US and the Canadian mainland on the other side). It was proposed that Navy Island would be ceded to the United Nations as long as the headquarters remained, and to revert to the Canadian government should the U.N. move. The proposal was ultimately turned down in favour of the current U.N. headquarters in New York City.