May 7, 2026, 6:07 a.m. ET
- Construction has started on the Poindexter Village African American Museum in Columbus.
- The $25.9 million museum is being built on the site of the former Poindexter public housing complex, where two of the buildings remain and will be incorporated into the museum.
- The museum will explore the history of public housing, urban renewal, and African American heritage.
- The museum is scheduled to open to the public in early 2028.
Construction began May 6 on an African American museum in Columbus, which is expected to open in early 2028.
The Poindexter Village African American Museum is a $25.9 million project for the Ohio History Connection and is located at 290 N. Champion Ave. on the Near East Side. Two of the buildings remaining at the site of the former Poindexter public housing complex will be part of the museum complex.
The event also kicked off an ongoing fundraising campaign for the museum, called the Lift Every Legacy Campaign.
“The Poindexter Village African American Museum will connect the history of public housing, urban renewal and African American heritage through immersive exhibits, interactive displays and powerful storytelling,” Megan Wood, executive director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection, said in a news release May 6.
“This museum will be a place where all Ohioans can learn from the stories of resilience, creativity and community that have defined the Near East Side and the greater African American community for generations,” she said.
What will be inside the museum?
The museum is being developed from two of the original 35 buildings from the former federal housing complex, the rest of which were demolished by the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) in 2013.
In 2017, after years of advocacy by the James Preston Poindexter Foundation, the Ohio History Connection bought the remaining buildings.
Since then, the organization has been getting funding, making plans and growing community partners in preparation for completing a museum on the site. The museum will be a research hub and feature immersive exhibits, interactive displays and storytelling via oral histories, photographs and more. There are plans to highlight different eras of Black history in Columbus, too.
Outdoor areas will connect it to the larger neighborhood, including the nearby historic Union Grove Baptist Church.
The funding is coming from the state, county and city of Columbus as well as foundations, corporations and individuals, according to the release from the Ohio History Connection.
The museum is intended to connect the history of public housing, what was called “urban renewal” and African American heritage. Urban renewal, began with federal funding in 1949, was done with the goal of clearing slum and blight from communities and lasted until 1974. Today, it’s seen as having been used to clear Black neighborhoods, according to scholars.
Poindexter Village’s long and storied history
Poindexter Village, one of the nation’s first public housing projects, was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1940, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The complex was named after the Rev. James Preston Poindexter, a Columbus community leader and activist, and it offered residents community, opportunity and stability until the early 2000s.
The museum can be used to understand federal policy, race and urban planning in the past, said Shelbi Toone, the Ohio History Connection’s Project Director for the Poindexter Village African American Museum.
“Poindexter Village reflects a larger national story,” Toone said. “Its story includes progress and promise, but also the challenges of disinvestment, segregation and urban renewal.”
For more information and updates on the museum’s progress, go to ohiohistory.org/poindexter.
Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.
