Ground Broken at Last For Frederick Douglass Museum ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - Several years in the making, a home has finally been found in Rochester for a museum to honor abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday on King Street in Rochester which will house the museum. The Frederick Douglass Resource Center will be just around the corner from the Susan B. Anthony House. Anthony and Douglass were contemporaries in the push for human rights.

Mayor Bob Duffy said the center has been a long time coming. He said cities like Baltimore and Cincinnati have proclaimed Douglass as their own, but Rochester was his chosen city and it's about time the Flower City honored him properly.

$1.3 million in state and city funds has been invested in the center. It will feature a large exhibit space, a theater, classrooms, workshop space and offices.

The new Frederick Douglass Resource Center should be completed by next spring.

Elected officials, members of the clergy and community leaders gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony.

Frederick Douglas IV presented a picture of his great great grandfather to the museum. He'll also donate other artifacts

The Reverend Errol E. Hunt chairs the Frederick Douglass Community Development Corporation. He says the museum will be more than just brick and mortar, but will tell the story Black people have endured in America. © Copyright 2009, WXXI