![Jackson was the first African American engineer to work at NASA and was featured in the film "Hidden Figures." [Center renderings by Work Program Architects (WPA)]](https://media.13newsnow.com/assets/WVEC/images/db9448df-71e9-42ee-8caa-dc90bff2dd36/db9448df-71e9-42ee-8caa-dc90bff2dd36_1920x1080.jpg)
HAMPTON, Va. — It was a big day for the entire community of Olde Hampton celebrating one of its finest.
City leaders broke ground on the Mary W. Jackson Neighborhood Center on Lincoln Street.
Jackson was the first African-American engineer and mathematician to work at NASA and was featured in the award-winning book and film “Hidden Figures.”
Jackson was known for giving back to the community, and the new center will do just that -- offering up meeting and classroom space, a fitness area and lots of other features for people in all age groups.
Renderings show what the 12,500 square-foot space will look like once it’s completed.
Just like her vision to send men to space, this new community center creates a vision for Olde Hampton and is a fitting tribute to a trailblazer who was a product of this very neighborhood.