An icon of India-US friendship for five decades, the stately US embassy chancery, hailed as an inspiration by none other than the then US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Monday celebrated its 50th anniversary in the presence of American diplomats and hundreds of Indians.

It was also a nostalgia trip for many long-time residents of Delhi like Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who recalled how one could see this magnificent landmark from anywhere in the city in those days when there were not many trees in the embassy compound.