The Hidden Histories Museum & Community Hub brings the public together to experience the past while building for a better future. The project is a 16,250 square foot Museum and Hub that was developed from the study of the interactions enslaved Africans had or were prohibited from having within public spaces. The project includes an underground tunnel that immerses an individual in the museum through the length of Waverly Place. In the plan, you see the full 830-foot length of the tunnel. On this 7 minute walk from the arch to the museum, you get to experience a series of walls. These walls all have interactive elements that you either push, lift or feel to get through to the next milestone. The walls are intended to give an individual an immersive experience of 200 years of unjust treatment of enslaved Africans. The walls get more transparent and easier to pass through with time but are obstacles nonetheless. The light wells also start to incorporate feelings of hope as one makes the journey to freedom. The walls of the tunnel, the facade, and interior elements are made of recycled materials to pay homage to the construction processes during slavery.
