William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park

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William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR

Clinton Presidential Center

Entrance sign, at night.

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 newly-built 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." While the physical building is the second-largest presidential library (after the Reagan Library), the archives of the Clinton Library are the largest, containing two million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e-mail messages, and nearly 80,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The museum showcases artifacts from Clinton's term and includes full-scale replicas of the Clinton-era Oval Office and Cabinet Room. The Clinton School of Public Service is also located on the site.

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.

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.

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U.S. Presidential Libraries
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