libraries are for father and son presidents. In U.S. history, there have been only two father-son duos to serve in the presidential office — John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, and George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush. Of the 40 employees at the George W. Bush Library in Dallas, 19 are dedicated solely to the huge archival responsibility of 70 million pages of paper, a billion pages of emails, four million photographs and some 43,000 artifacts pertaining to the Bush administration. The staff oversees not just the organization and preserva- tion of these documents, but also their availability to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. Since the library opened in 2013, more than one million pages have been opened in the archive. Museums at the presidential libraries also offer an opportunity to explore the unique political transition from Democratic blue to Republican red in Texas via physical artifacts and immersive exhibits alike.
Archiving may be the core mission, but education is just as important, accomplished through partnerships with regional schools and universities. Over 45,000 students took part in organized tours, special programming and activi- ties during the Bush Library’s first year. One of the most mysterious rooms in the White House, the Situation Room, was rebuilt in the Dallas library and museum to serve as a learning tool for students. Participants work through simulation exercises where they assume various roles and work together to resolve a national crisis, like the Sept. 11 attacks or the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. The room connects to the Command Room, reconstructed at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., exposing students to the rigors of negotiating under pressure with people across the country.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum 2313 RED RIVER ST. AUSTIN
Experience firsthand LBJ’s journey to pass land- mark civil rights legislation in the 1950s and ’60s. The memorabilia on display offers a chance — from private telephone conversations to an interactive Vietnam War exhibit — to turn back time to when the Democratic Party dominated the Lone Star State.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
1000 GEORGE BUSH DR. WEST COLLEGE STATION
The elder Bush helped lay the groundwork for the transition to Republican domination of state politics. Experience replicas of his Camp David Office and White House Press Room, receive a briefing on the Gulf War in the Situation Room, and have your picture taken seated at the desk in the replica Oval Office.
SPRING 2016 49
GROUND ZERO: Steel beam from the World Trade Center following the attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Trade Center memorial wall as well as a more lighthearted exhibit about Bush’s family life at the Crawford Ranch. The Decision Room presents visitors with cri- sis scenarios on individual computer screens where they get to play presi- dent and sort through breaking news, conflict- ing reports and public polls to arrive at a course of action.
Eisenhower Birthplace
State Historic Site 609
S.LAMAR AVE. DENISON
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
2943 SMU BLVD. DALLAS
As the newest library addition, visits here are more interactive than at any of the other 12 libraries. Displays center around the four big challenges of Bush’s administration: the Sept. 11 attacks, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the nation’s financial crisis — with a World
While it’s not a presi- dential library, the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site deserves
inclusion, as it celebrates the modest, two-story Denison home where the 34th president was born in 1890. Visitors can explore various “Ike” memorabilia, walk the site’s gardens and get up close and personal with a larger-than-life statue of Eisenhower, and peruse period antiques that show the lifestyle of a late 19th-century working family. The site includes a pavilion for picnicking as well as six acres of woods and creek bottom- land featuring scenic walking paths.
COURTESY OF GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84