A groundbreaking was being held Monday for a new spot in Albany, hoping to teach people more about the history of the Underground Railroad in the city and across the country.

The empty lot on Livingston Avenue is going to be transformed into a new $10 million interpretive center.

The Underground Railroad Education Center has been operating out of the Stephen & Harriet Myers residence just a few hundred feet down the street for two decades.

It served as a center for the Underground Railroad in Albany, helping hundreds of people escape slavery.

The new building will allow the story of the Underground Railroad to be told even better, according to Paul and Mary Liz Stewart the co-founders of the center.

It will give them the space they need for new programs, exhibits, and events, they said. It will also help create jobs and create a new destination for people to visit in the area.

“We have a lot of activity that happens here. We have people who are coming through for tour experiences on a regular basis. We have young people’s programs that are active out of this site. We have our office here, and there are many programs that we’d like to do that we can’t do for lack of space,” Paul Stewart said.

The groundbreaking for the center is at 2 p.m. Monday at 186 Livingston Avenue. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Learn about why Earth Day is the perfect day for the groundbreaking, according to organizers, by watching the video of Tiffany Payton’s story.