The embassy was initially hosted in leased facilities which then-ambassador
Loy W. Henderson identified as insufficient. When the Indian government created the diplomatic enclave of
Chanakyapuri, it gave the United States the second pick for selecting property behind the United Kingdom; Henderson selected a "beautiful" 13-acre plot, and although the State Department did not purchase the land then, he persuaded Indian officials to hold it until the government authorized its procurement in 1953, when increased ties and awareness between the two countries as well as Cold War politics placed a new embassy in India atop the foreign service's construction priorities. The embassy was designed by American architect
Edward Durell Stone, then a professor of architecture at
Yale University and the designer of
Radio City Music Hall. and became the first contemporary American building constructed following the U.S. State Department's directive that overseas buildings "should be in harmony with cultural, architectural and climatic conditions." Following the opening ceremony, U.S. Ambassador to India
Ellsworth Bunker stated, "To me this building is symbolic of what can be achieved through the cooperation of our two countries. From beginning to end it has been a joint venture." Before, during and soon after its construction, the embassy gained became a source of appraisal and fascination for both mainstream publications and architecture journals, particularly during
Jacqueline Kennedy's 1962 goodwill tour of India and Pakistan. The complex is currently undergoing a major renovation by
Weiss/Manfredi, with the new design announced in 2019 and groundbreaking taking place in January 2021. The original chancery building is to remain in use as the plan will both restore current buildings and construct new structures. Construction is expected to finished by 2027. The US has declared intent to open consulates in
Bengaluru and
Ahmedabad. ==See also==