William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park
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The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park includes the Clinton presidential library and the offices of the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton School of Public Service, established by Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States.
Located within a Little Rock, Arkansas city park, the facility, designed by architect James Polshek, cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's famous campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century."
The archives and library at the William J. Clinton Library and Museum, the 2nd largest presidential library in the United States after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, contains 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e-mail messages, and nearly 80,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The museum within the site showcases artifacts from Clinton's term and includes a full-scale replica of the Clinton-era Oval Office; other occupants of the Center include the Clinton School of Public Service, and the offices of the Clinton Foundation.
The park is a leading example of urban renewal. It was built on the site of abandoned railroad tracks of the defunct Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The public service school is housed in a former passenger train terminal, and a railroad bridge across the Arkansas River, leading to North Little Rock, is in the process of being converted into a pedestrian bridge.
The design of the Clinton Presidential Center has been criticized as being reminiscent of a mobile home, the stereotypical dwelling of the rural Arkansan.
Opened on November 18, 2004, the Clinton Presidential Center cost $165 million to construct and covers 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²) within a 28 acre (113,000 m²) park.
[edit] External links
- Official Clinton Center website
- Official Clinton Library website
- Official Clinton Foundation website
- Official Clinton School website
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