Embassy of the United States, Nairobi
building in Kenya
The Embassy of the United States of America in Nairobi (also known as Embassy Nairobi by the State Department), located in Nairobi, is home to the diplomatic mission of the United States to the Republic of Kenya. The embassy opened in central Nairobi on 2 March 1964, when the United States established diplomatic relations with Kenya. In 1998, the original embassy was the target of a terrorist attack, after which a new embassy building was constructed in Gigiri, a suburb of Nairobi, in 2003.
History
Original embassy
The United States recognized Kenya upon its independence on 12 December 1963. The US formally established diplomatic relations with Kenya on 2 March 1964. The US embassy in Nairobi was established the same day. The original embassy (1.289017°S 36.826880°E / -1.289017; 36.826880 (Original US Embassy, Nairobi (1964-1998))) was located on the western corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue in central Nairobi.
1998 bombing
On the morning of August 7, 1998, a truck loaded with explosives detonated in a parking lot between the embassy and two commercial, high-rise buildings (both of which contained some offices for US diplomatic staff). The attack killed 213 people and injured approximately 4000. Only 12 of the dead were Americans; most were Kenyans killed when the Ufundi House—a seven-storey office building adjacent to the embassy—collapsed.
The public source identifies “Embassy of the United States, Nairobi” as building in Kenya. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Embassy, United and States.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Embassy of the United States, Nairobi”, the useful work is to connect “building in Kenya” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20926176. VIAF identifies the subject as 235739279. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1964, 1998, 2003 and 1963.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Embassy of the United States, Nairobi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.