A brand new repository for all things journalism is opening with great fanfare. The Newseum celebrated its grand opening in Washington Friday.

A bald eagle flew overhead, cannons fired confetti and a huge newspaper front page was unrolled across the front of the glass building this morning reading "NEWSEUM OPENS."

The opening caps seven years of planning and construction after the original and much smaller Newseum closed in Arlington, Virginia, in 2002.

Newseum chief executive Charles Overby says the $450-million museum will be a beacon for First Amendment freedoms for many years. Trustee Louis Boccardi, former president of The Associated Press, says visitors can experience the museum like a newspaper by choosing the stories and history they find most interesting.