Masonry Magazine August 2004 Page. 34
MASONRY AROUND THE NATION
MASONRY PLAYS A SYMBOLIC ROLE IN
New Freedom
National Underground Railroad
FREEDOM CENTER
www.freedomcenter.org
The legacy of freedom as embodied in the stories from the Underground Railroad will inspire visitors from around the world with engaging storytelling, innovative exhibits and dialogues on modern-day freedom events when the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opens on August 23rd in Cincinnati.
Several elements of symbolism are powerfully represented in the Freedom Center's architectural design by Walter Blackburn, Blackburn Architects of Indianapolis, in cooperation with BOORA Architects of Portland, Ore. The three buildings of the structure signify courage, cooperation and perseverance, and the rough exterior stone symbolizes steadfastness. Curved elements inside and out are also inspired by the challenging path to freedom and the winding Ohio River.
The five-story, three-pavilion, 158,000-square-foot learning center sits on the north bank of the Ohio River as the crown jewel of a $2 billion redevelopment of Cincinnati's central riverfront. The various stylist elements help to frame the facility as a beacon for the past, present and future.
Before 1863, the Underground Railroad was a system of cooperation among African-American slaves, free African-Americans, abolitionists, sympathetic whites and Native Americans to help slaves escape their bonds and claim the promise of freedom. This informal system arose as a loosely constructed network of escape routes that originated in the South, intertwined throughout the North, but also extended into western territories, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The center rests in the middle of the sacred river's "freedom corridor"-a 200-mile stretch of 19th-century towns that played leading roles in the freedom stories of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Most scholars agree that as many as 40% of all fugitives escaping from enslavement crossed the Ohio River, making Cincinnati the gateway to Ohio's over 500 Underground Railroad routes one of the most well-traveled states in the nation.
The center's focus is to recount the powerful American story of freedom using a variety of programs, interactive media and live performances. Beginning with an opening film experience, "Suite for Freedom," guests will explore three basic themes of "unfreedom," slavery and freedom. Next, they will discover the two-story slave pen, donated by a Kentucky farmer and preserved as the