The headquarters of Rotary International always has been in the area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The first seven Secretariat offices were located in the city’s downtown, but in 1954 Rotary built an attractive new building in suburban Evanston.

This building met the needs of the Rotary Secretariat until the 1980s, when the addition of new programs, the growth of The Rotary Foundation, and the new PolioPlus activities made the headquarters building extremely crowded and required some staff members to operate in supplementary office space nearby.

When a modern 18-story office building became available in downtown Evanston in 1987, it appeared to meet all of Rotary’s space and expansion needs for years to come. The glass and steel structure, built in 1977, provides 400,000 square feet (37,160 square meters) of office and usable space. The building was purchased by Rotary International, which leases nearly half of the space to commercial tenants, until needed by future Rotary growth.

The building provides a 190-seat auditorium, large parking garage, and 300-seat cafeteria, as well as functional office space for the 500 employees of the World Headquarters. The executive suite on the 18th floor includes conference rooms for meetings of the RI Board of Directors, Rotary Foundation Trustees, and RI and Foundation committees, in addition to the offices of the RI president, president-elect, president-nominee, chairman of The Rotary Foundation Trustees, and general secretary.

One Rotary Center, as it is called, enhances the efficient operations of Rotary International.