Cincinnati’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center museum is one of the most unique, culturally enriching, and historically significant spots in all of the Queen City. Its location recognizes the significant role of Cincinnati in the history of the Underground Railroad, as thousands of slaves escaped to freedom by crossing the Ohio River from the southern slave states. And it's a very fitting location since the Ohio River - unofficially - split the southern slave states and northern free states once Pennsylvania abolished slavery. For decades, Black Americans risked their lives to cross the river to achieve their hopes and dreams in the Northern United States or Canada. It is believed that some 100,000 people made the journey from the deep south into the north for freedom and the hope that they may one day be treated as equals.
The center offers insight into the struggle for freedom in the past, in the present, and for the future, as it attempts to challenge visitors to contemplate the meaning of freedom in their own lives. With exhibits ranging from the hardships of slavery, escaping the south, and black culture to contemporary life of African-Americans in this country, this museum is perception-changing.
The Underground Railroad: Crash Course Black American History #15
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, based on the history of the Underground Railroad. It is one of a new group of "museums of conscience" in the United States, along with the Museum of Tolerance, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Civil Rights Museum.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
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Establishment and Design
After ten years of planning, fundraising, and construction, the $110 million Freedom Center opened to the public on August 3, 2004; official opening ceremonies took place on August 23. The 158,000 square foot structure was designed by Boora Architects (design architect) of Portland, Oregon with Blackburn Architects (architect of record) of Indianapolis. Three pavilions celebrate courage, cooperation and perseverance.
The exterior features rough travertine stone from Tivoli, Italy on the east and west faces of the building, and copper panels on the north and south. According to Walter Blackburn, one of its primary architects before his death, the building's "undulating quality" expresses the fields and the river that escaping slaves crossed to reach freedom.
Key Features and Exhibits
The center's principal artifact is a 21 by 30-foot, two-story log slave pen built in 1830. It was reconstructed in the second-floor atrium of the museum, where visitors encounter it again and again while exploring other exhibits.
Interior of the Slave Pen exhibit, featuring wrought iron rings
The pen was originally owned by Captain John Anderson, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and slave trader. Slaves from the area were transported from Dover, Kentucky to slave markets in Natchez, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana; they were held in this pen for a few days or several months, as he and other traders waited for favorable market conditions and higher selling prices.
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The pen has eight small windows, the original stone floor and fireplace. On the second floor are a row of wrought iron rings through which a central chain ran, tethering men on either side. "The pen is powerful," says Carl Westmoreland, curator and senior adviser to the museum. "It has the feeling of hallowed ground. When people stand inside, they speak in whispers. It is a sacred place.
Visitors to the museum could at one time walk through the holding pen and touch its walls. It is now closed off. Westmoreland spent three and a half years uncovering the story of the slave jail. We're just beginning to remember. There is a hidden history right below the surface, part of the unspoken vocabulary of the American historic landscape.
The "ESCAPE! Freedom Seekers" interactive display about the Underground Railroad; it presents school groups and families with young children a series of choices on an imaginary escape attempt. The film, Brothers of the Borderland, tells the story of the Underground Railroad in Ripley, Ohio, where conductors, both black (John Parker) and white (Reverend John Rankin), helped slaves such as a fictional Alice.
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal - or the Cincy Museum as it's sometimes called - is actually a compilation of museums housed within the art deco-style Union Terminal building. In addition to these museums, the center has an OMNIMAX theater, the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, a library and archives facility, and a research center. Visitors raved about the convenience of having three impressive museums in one space. Many travelers said to visit the dinosaur exhibit. One past visitor particularly recommended the space exhibit, caves, dinosaur exhibit, history of Cincinnati and children play zone for families on a rainy day.
There's the Cincinnati History Museum, which contains exhibits on everything from the city's various modes of transportation to the city's history of manufacturing. There is also The Children's Museum, which features interactive exhibits for little ones. The Museum of Natural History & Science covers a variety of subjects, including dinosaurs, the Ice Age and the Apollo 11 mission.
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Visiting the Freedom Center
Today, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center tells the story of slavery in America with several exhibits, giving a broad sweep of three centuries of history and a more detailed look at the Civil War era. Many past visitors found the museum to be a very moving and emotional experience.
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Admission Costs | Adult admission costs $16.50; tickets for children ages 3 to 12 are $11.50; and entry for seniors is $14. |
| Free Admission Days | The museum is free for visitors on the third and fifth Sundays of the month, Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tickets for fee-free days must be reserved. |
| Time to Spend | 1 to 2 hours |
The museum is located at 50 E. 1 of 22 of 2Price & Hours$16.50 for adults; $11.50 for children 3-12; free for kids younger than 3DetailsMuseums, Sightseeing Type1 to 2 hours Time to SpendScorecardThis museum, which opened in 2004, sits along the banks of the Ohio River.
