Largest U.S. Diplomatic Post Comes to Frankfurt

An old U.S. military hospital in Frankfurt has been chosen as the site for the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world. By 2005, more than 800 U.S. state department employees will be stationed at the new consulate, most of them serving as support staff for more than 130 American embassies and consulates in Europe, Asia and Africa. The current consulate in the city already ranks as the fifth-largest U.S. diplomatic mission and the largest consulate. It will be sold once a €54 million ($63 million) remodeling project at the new location has been completed. The decision to move the consulate came after security concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.