National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opens in Cincinnati

The structure, designed by famed architect Walter Blackburn before his untimely death in 2000, includes 2 acres of park ground, an amphitheater, and the Wall of Remembrance, commemorating the freedom conductors such as Harriet Tubman, John Parker and Rev. John Rankin, who opened the doors to freedom to so many people. More than 32 percent of the building's construction contracts were awarded to minority-owned firms for a total of $21 million of the $65 million construction costs.

The co-chairs of the center's board of director are retired Circuit Court Judge Nathaniel Jones and Harry Whipple, retired publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer. They work closely with Ed Rigaud, who served as the center's first executive director and CEO as a loaned executive from The Procter & Gamble Company, and now serves as the center's president. "This has been a team project, and passion, from the beginning," Rigaud says. "It has been a very rewarding experience for me."

The center has almost reached its initial goal of raising $110 million. Museum officials want it to be self-sufficient, operating within a balanced budget from income derived from admissions, gift shop sales, fundraising and grants. They are projecting that 260,000 people will visit the center annually.