Last Updated on February 16, 2024
By Dave G. Houser
For all the technical gimmickry and Texas-style extravagance of the George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, it is a simple white bullhorn that stands out to many visitors as the most iconic and evocative item on view at the sprawling $250 million facility located on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, TX.
A stunned nation watched on September 14, 2001, as President Bush stood somberly atop the still-smoldering ruins of Ground Zero – with that very bullhorn in hand – to address a cheering throng of gritty rescue workers, responding famously, “I can hear you…the rest of the world hears you!”
Thus, a common bullhorn became a powerful and symbolic reminder of an epic moment in our nation’s history – while at the same time serving as an example of the vital role presidential libraries and museums play in preserving the tangible elements of that history.
14 Libraries In 11 States
America’s presidential library system includes 14 libraries administered and operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These repositories preserve and make available to the public the papers, letters, records, collections, and historical artifacts of every president since Herbert Hoover, whose term ended in 1933.
Libraries also exist for presidents who preceded the official start of NARA’s administration, dating back to George Washington. Still, they’re owned and operated by private foundations, historical societies, or universities.
When Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, it established a system of privately erected but federally maintained libraries. In essence, the act mandated that future libraries be built with funds from private and non-federal public sources and turned over to NARA to operate and maintain.
More Museum Than Library
In a moment, you’ll learn what’s on offer at the fourteen NARA presidential libraries – but before visiting, you should know a few things.
First of all, these are not libraries in the traditional sense. In fact, they’re way more museums than a library. Most letters, books, and documents remain in archives behind the scenes, where they are available for researchers. During your visit, you’ll view a collection of the most important and visual artifacts connected to the subject presidency.
Second, visiting these museums is a great day trip whether you’re with a family or along. Making it more interesting for all age ranges is often the technology.
Newer libraries have taken a page from Disney by adding high-tech exhibits, touch-panel interactive displays, and even limousines and aircraft that once served our presidents. In addition, the gravesites of each deceased president and first lady, except the Kennedys and Johnsons, are on their respective library grounds.
Each of the libraries is open year-round except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and admission fees are nominal, generally $20 or less for adults. They are listed below in chronological order.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
West Branch, Iowa
Visitors to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in the small Iowa town of West Branch (pop. 2,509) begin their tour of the museum’s eight permanent galleries in a rotunda area where a 16-foot red granite map of the world studded with 57 brass sheaves of wheat symbolizes countries served by feeding programs initiated by Hoover – often cited as the “Great Humanitarian.”
Hoover actually gained his reputation as a humanitarian before becoming the nation’s 31st president in 1928. During World War I, he led hunger relief efforts in Europe as head of the American Relief Administration. Then, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to lead the Food Administration, which supplied American agricultural products to members of the military serving overseas.
Later, as secretary of commerce, he spearheaded the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Hoover Dam.
As depicted in museum galleries, things went badly for the Hoover administration just months after the Iowa Republican took office when the stock market collapsed in 1929, ushering in the Great Depression. Hoover’s policies, however, failed to overcome the economic destruction and despair that swept the country. As a result, he lost his reelection bid in 1932 by a wide margin to Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
210 Parkside Drive
West Branch, Iowa, 52358
https://hoover.archives.gov
Tel: (319) 643-6045
@ [email protected]
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Hyde Park, New York
It stands to reason that following FDR’s long, illustrious 12+ year tenure in the White House, this museum would be a veritable treasure trove of historical records and memorabilia. And that is certainly the case for the Dutch colonial-style fieldstone structure on 16 acres in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Hyde Park, just north of Poughkeepsie, New York.
Located on the grounds of Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate, the library/museum was built under the president’s personal direction in 1939-1941. It was also renovated in 2013.
Roosevelt was noted as a great collector. Quite unbelievably, he gathered extensive collections of rare books, stamps, prints, coins, drawings, and ship models from an early age. In fact, by the time of his presidency, he had amassed one of the nation’s finest collections of naval art and Hudson River Valley School prints and paintings.
During the New Deal years, he hoarded art and crafts work produced by his Works Progress Administration (WPA). These materials and personal items connected to the president, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and their family and friends, became the core of a museum collection that numbers nearly 35,000 artifacts.
Viewing the library’s authentically preserved study, old-timers can reminisce about listening to FDR’s famous radio “fireside chats” delivered from this setting, especially during World War II.
Wings to provide space for nearly three million of Eleanor’s papers were added in 1972. But the impossibly crowded conditions in the complex have resulted in a major digitization program to make its vast collections of documents, photographs, sound recordings, film, and artifacts accessible to the broadest possible audience.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
4079 Albany Post Road
Hyde Park, NY 12538
https://www.fdrlibrary.org/
Tel: (845) 486-7770
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
Independence, Missouri
That signatory sign, “The Buck Stops Here,” remains on the Oval Office desk at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.
Undoubtedly, America’s 33rd president ranks among the most colorful, candid, and plainspoken of the nation’s chief executives. His personality is palatable to visitors exploring exhibits at the suitably modest single-story circular structure that crowns a hilltop just outside Truman’s hometown.
The repository was recently renovated to better accommodate and display its vast collections – consisting of more than 15 million pages of manuscript material, 128,000 still photos, 1,300 hours of audio and tape recordings, 500 motion pictures, 10,000 books, and more than 32,000 artifacts.
Among the permanent exhibits are a mural in the entrance lobby, “Independence and the Opening of the West” by noted Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton, a reproduction of the Oval Office as it was during the Truman administration (1945-1953), the office Truman used during his retirement years – and the highlight exhibition, “Harry S. Truman: An Ordinary Man, His Extraordinary Journey.”
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
500 W. U.S. Highway 24
Independence, Missouri 64050
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/
Tel: (816) 268-8200
@ [email protected]
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
Abilene, Kansas
Yes, Toto, we are undoubtedly in Kansas for this one – Abilene, to be exact. It’s a city on the plains, best known as the original “cow town” of the American West. It is also renowned as home to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum.
Eisenhower grew up in Abilene, where he was a high school football and baseball star. Soon after, he received an appointment to West Point, which set the stage for his military career, gaining distinction as Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II.
Upon retirement, “Ike” returned to Abilene in 1952 to claim the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, winning in a landslide to become the nation’s 34th chief executive.
A visit to Ike’s library begins with a short film reviewing the president’s life and introducing the various components of the complex that spread over a peaceful park-like setting.
They include a library building open only to researchers, a low-slung, 30,000 sq. ft. museum building containing exhibit space, the Eisenhower Boyhood Home, and also the Place of Meditation. The latter is a chapel that serves as the final resting place of the president and First Lady Mamie.
The museum covers five major galleries, the Introductory Gallery, Changing Exhibits Gallery, First Lady’s Gallery, Military Gallery, and the President’s Gallery.
The Military Gallery attracts the most interest. One particularly fascinating artifact is the Order of Victory medallion – a five-pointed platinum star surrounded by a 16-carat array of diamonds – presented to Ike by the Soviets following World War II. It’s the USSR’s highest military decoration, awarded to only four other foreigners up to that time.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
200 SE 4th Street
Abilene, KS 67410
www.eisenhower.archives.gov
Tel: (785) 263-6700
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Boston, Massachusetts
No matter how you view it – from inside or out – the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum has striking architecture as embodied in one of the most brilliant designs ever created by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei.
Soaring nine stories above Columbia Point, facing Boston’s waterfront, the angular modernistic complex belies its age of nearly 44 years, appearing as if it might have been built only yesterday.
Overlooking the sea that he loved and the city that launched his political career, the library and museum stand as a vibrant tribute to the life and times of President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Visitors are introduced to the exhibit area with a film about Kennedy’s early life, leading to his nomination at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Next comes a linked series of exhibition areas beginning with Kennedy’s campaign against Richard Nixon – the first to feature live television debates – and his election as the 35th president of the United States.
Subsequent exhibits highlight important events during the Kennedy presidency, including the “space race” with the Soviets, and also the Cuban missile crisis – all with video and audio recordings that remind us of this president’s extraordinary oratory skills.
As visitors round a corner, they suddenly find themselves in a stark corridor, its walls painted black, labeled simply “November 22,1993,” where a series of TV screens loop through the tragic news of that day.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Columbia Point
Boston MA 02125
www.jfklibrary.org
Tel: (617) 514-1600
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
The University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Texas is home to yet a third presidential museum / library housed in a boxy 10-story travertine marble structure on the University of Texas campus in Austin.
The LBJ Library houses more than 45 million pages of historical documents. mainly the president’s papers and those of his close associates. There are also some 650,00 photos, and 5,000 hours of recordings – collections of interest primarily to researchers.
The museum, however, presents visitors with a much more stimulating mix of historical and cultural exhibits. They range from a replica of Johnson’s Oval Office, to a pair of his favorite cowboy boots.
It is also a repository of over 2,000 head-of-state gifts presented to the president and first lady, including ceremonial swords from Morocco and Saudi Arabia, Chinese tomb sculptures from the Tang Dynasty, and alabaster funerary vases from Egypt.
Most impressive among the many artworks is a 50-foot magnesium photo mural in the Great Hall. Created by American artist/photographer Naomi Savage, it depicts scenes from the life of LBJ.
Notable too is the November 22, 1963 exhibition depicting the tragic event surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas and outlining the transition of power from President Kennedy to his then vice-president, LBJ.
Arguably the most famous of presidential spouses, Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson, is appropriately remembered in the First Lady’s Gallery – a space dedicated to retracing her legacy as a humanitarian and champion of the environmental movement.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
2313 Red River St.
Austin, TX 78705
www.lbjlibrary.org
Tel: (512) 721-0200
@ [email protected]
Richard Nixon Presidential Museum and Library
Yorba Linda, California
Richard Nixon’s presidency is undoubtedly the most exhaustively documented (and controversial) administration in American history. It’s all there to be perused and pondered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Museum and Library in Yorba Linda, California.
Situated on a 9-acre site once owned by the Nixon family, the complex incorporates the Richard Nixon Birthplace. In this small frame home, the 37th president (1969-1974) was born and spent his childhood. It also contains the Katherine B. Loker Center and Annenberg Court, a 38,000-square-foot wing with an exact replica of the White House East Room used as an event space.
Prominently displayed on the library grounds is the VH-3A “Sea King” helicopter – the same aircraft that sadly flew the disgraced president on his final flight from the White House.
Inside the library, the Nixon Presidential Materials Collection contains more than 46 million pages of documents, including 3,700 hours of recorded presidential conversations. They are infamously known as the “White House Tapes” that were connected to the Watergate break-in. There are nearly 4,500 hours of additional audio recordings, 4,000 recordings of broadcast video, 300,000 still photos, two million feet of film and more than 35,000 state and public gifts.
The Lincoln limousine used by Nixon is displayed in the Domestic Affairs Gallery. At the same time, a 12-foot-high section of the Berlin Wall can be viewed in the expansive Foreign Affairs Gallery. Also, there are original pages of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed by Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in 1972.
Richard Nixon Presidential Museum and Library
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, California 92886
www.nixonlibrary.gov
Tel: (714) 983-9120
@ [email protected]
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
Grand Rapids, Michigan (Museum)
Ann Arbor, Michigan (Library)
In an unusual twist, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum are in two Michigan cities. The library is in Ann Arbor, while the museum is in Grand Rapids. Nevertheless, they are a single institution under the NARA administration and share the same director.
The library, located on the North Campus of the University of Michigan, consists mainly of digitized presidential papers of interest primarily to researchers. It also offers an excellent 20-minute film, “A Time To Heal: Gerald Ford’s America.”
But you’ll enjoy a more typical museum experience at the Grand Rapids complex. The two-story structure is perched on the west bank of the Grand River, where its 300-foot-long glass front wall affords a great view of the river.
At the museum’s core is the main floor exhibit where one can experience highlights from the lives of the President and First Lady. There is a full-scale replica of the Oval Office as it was during the Ford presidency. An exhibit also takes a video tour with Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to various hot spots worldwide.
Always attracting a crowd, the Watergate Gallery includes a multi-screen documentary of the event beginning with the June 1972 break-in. There’s even a display of the actual burglary tools.
In addition, the exhibit reminds visitors that Ford, serving as vice president, became president upon Richard Nixon’s resignation in August 1974. After pardoning Nixon, served until January 1977 as the nation’s 38th president.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
303 Pearl Street N.W. (Museum)
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov
Tel: (734) 616-254-0400
@ [email protected]
1000 Beal Avenue (Library)
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Tel: (734) 205-0555
Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
Atlanta, Georgia
The story of President Carter’s long life of dedicated service to the nation and his 70+ year marriage to former First Lady Rosalynn is now more interesting than ever to an adoring public. It is readily accessible at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta.
The library/museum is located on an elevated and beautifully landscaped 35-acre site about two miles east of the city. It shares the grounds with the Carter Center, a nongovernmental human rights organization that operates in partnership with Emory University.
A tour of the museum leads off with a movie on the role of the president of the United States and a wall display of 20th-century American presidents. Next, not surprisingly, is a replica of the White House Oval Office and a “Town Meeting” exhibit that allows visitors to select from a menu of questions to receive a videotaped response from Carter.
Also featured are displays devoted to his childhood in Plains, his Georgia political career (he served as governor from 1971-1975), the 1976 presidential campaign, the role of the first lady, and the Nobel Peace Prize. The prestigious Nobel was awarded to Carter in 2002 for his post-presidential efforts through the Carter Center to fight poverty and to help achieve world peace.
Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov
Tel: (404) 865-7100
@ [email protected]
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
Simi Valley, California
Gracing a hilltop in Simi Valley, CA, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum honors the life and accomplishments of one of the most popular chief executives in modern American history.
Beyond its relatively modest entrance lies the most spectacular element of the library – the 90,000 sq. ft. Air Force One Pavilion that features the actual Boeing 707 utilized during Reagan’s administration.
Permanent exhibits begin with Reagan’s childhood and follow his life through his film career, his marriage to Nancy Davis Reagan, and also his political career, including two terms as Governor of California.
The museum was thoroughly renovated in 2011 with the addition of 18 galleries, including the G.E. Theater, which shows excerpts from Reagan’s eight-year stint as host of the popular TV series sponsored by General Electric.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
40 Presidential Drive
Simi Valley, CA 93065
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/
Tel: (800) 410-8354
@ [email protected]
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum is located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
The museum’s core exhibits reveal the unique influences and challenges that shaped the senior Bush’s life and presidency (1989-1993). In addition, ever-changing temporary exhibits present new and exciting perspectives on the nation’s 41st president, his life, and his work.
Employing artifacts, film, photographs, more than 40 million pages of official records and personal papers, music, sound effects, and interactive videos, this museum experience encompasses much of U.S. history from World War II through the early 1990s.
Perhaps most interesting among the exhibits is a restored Avenger Torpedo Bomber of the type Bush piloted (and was shot down in) during the battle for the Pacific in WW II. And there’s a symbolically important slab of the Berlin Wall that famously “fell” during his term – and precise replicas of President Bush’s Oval Office, Camp David Office, and the White House Situation Room.
In addition, a special section is dedicated to First Lady Barbara Bush and her efforts on behalf of literacy, AIDS awareness and prevention, and volunteerism.
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum
1000 George Bush Drive West
College Station, TX 77845
www.bush41.org/
Tel: (979) 691-4004
@ [email protected]
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Little Rock, Arkansas
When it opened in 2004 in a park-like setting on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock, AR, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum created quite a stir as the most extensive (158,000 sq. ft.) and most expensive ($165 million) of presidential libraries – milestones later eclipsed by the George W. Bush complex described above.
It is nonetheless an extraordinary facility – a sleek, futuristic steel and glass edifice that cantilevers over the river – replacing a rundown industrial site.
Its design, Clinton says, was inspired by the theme of his presidency, “Building a bridge to the 21st century.” Not surprisingly, the library is Little Rock’s most popular tourist attraction, logging nearly a half-million visitors a year.
What draws the public is an amazing array of exhibits and more than 100,000 artifacts, including Clinton’s “Cadillac One” limousine, full-size replicas of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, and a second-floor gallery revealing a 110-foot timeline of the Clinton years as president.
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
1200 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
www.clintonlibrary.gov
Tel: (501) 374-4242
@ [email protected]
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
Housed in a monumental 226,560 sq. ft. neoclassical structure wrapped in red brick and cream-colored limestone, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was designed to fit in with the surrounding Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas.
Visitors enter the complex through a courtyard, greeted by larger-than-life statues of both Bush presidents – the only father and son chief executives since John and John Quincy Adams in the early 1800s. Just inside is a towering 67-foot-high entryway called Freedom Hall, featuring a 360-degree H.D. video wall screening a montage of American presidents.
Permanent exhibits include a full-scale replica of the Oval Office and the Decision Points Theater. That exhibit’s interactive features take visitors “inside” the decision-making processes – they can even join in on the action using touch screens – as President Bush and his aides dealt with critical events and crises, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Hurricane Katrina.
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
2943 SMU Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75205
www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu
Tel: (214) 346-1650
@ [email protected]
Barack Obama Presidential Library
Chicago, Illinois
Currently, under construction in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, the Barack Obama Presidential Library (www.obamalibrary.gov / Tel: 847-252-5700) is expected to open to the public in early 2026. Significantly, it will be the first fully digital presidential library.
Donald Trump Presidential Library
America’s 45th president, Donald Trump, has made no formal announcement regarding plans for a presidential library.
– All Presidential photos courtesy of the White House
Leave a Reply