The William J. Clinton Presidential Center is the presidential library of 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 Clinton Presidential Center, the largest presidential library in the United States, contain 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.

Opening 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.

Controversy has erupted over the reported "cleansing" of the surrounding area of homeless and vagrant persons. Critics, notably The Washington Post editoral page, have claimed that it is the "ultimate sign of the disingenuity of the Clinton administration".

External links

• Official website (http://www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org/index.htm)
• First-hand account of the dedication of the center, from someone who had VIP tickets (http://the-raw-prawn.blogspot.com/2004/11/my-trip-to-opening-of-clintons.html)