George Bush Presidential Library

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Bush Presidential Library

Location College Station, Texas, USA
Dedicated November 6, 1997
Rededicated November 10, 2007
Named for George H.W. Bush
Architect Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
Size 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²)
Website Bush Library

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. It was dedicated on November 6, 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter. It was designed by the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on a ninety-acre site on the west campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The Library and Museum is situated on a plaza adjoining the Presidential Conference Center and the Texas A&M Academic Center. It operates under the administration of the NARA under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955.

The archives contains over 38 million pages of personal papers and official documents from the Vice Presidency and Presidency as well as personal records from associates connected with President Bush's public career as congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations, Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. As in all NARA presidential libraries, records are housed in acid-free storage (Hollinger) boxes in a balanced humidity and temperature atmosphere. The archival storage area houses 13,000 cubic feet of records and the library has a National Security vault holding 3,500 cubic feet of Presidential Records. In addition to memoranda, speeches, and reports found in the textual collection, there is an extensive audiovisual and photographic archive that includes approximately one million photographs and thousands of hours of audio and video tape.

A statue of horses leaping over pieces from the Berlin Wall stands on the plaza of the library. The statue depicts the fall of the wall in 1989, when Bush was president.
A statue of horses leaping over pieces from the Berlin Wall stands on the plaza of the library. The statue depicts the fall of the wall in 1989, when Bush was president.

The museum has 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) of permanent exhibit space and 3,000 square feet (300 m²) of temporary exhibit space. Permanent exhibits draw on the best of the museum collection to visually convey the essence of George Bush's life and public service career and to illustrate historical events of this period in American history. Changing exhibits will explore topics on the Bush Administration, American history, American Presidents, etc.[1]

[edit] Renovations

On April 23, 2007, the permanent exhibit closed for complete renovation (though the temporary exhibit gallery remained open, hosting the popular "Traveling White House in Miniature" exhibit). Since it reopened on November 10, 2007, the permanent exhibit features (like many other presidential libraries), a replica of the Oval Office; unlike those presidential libraries, visitors will be able to fully enter the replica, sit behind the president's desk, and have a souvenir photo taken.[1][2][3]

[edit] References

"The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum"

  1. ^ Kever, Jeannie. "A more interactive George Bush library and museum reopens", Houston Chronicle, 2007-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  2. ^ Tinsley, Anna M.. "Bush museum is 10 years old but new again", Forth Worth Star-Telgram, 2007-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  3. ^ GRACZYK, Michael. "Renovated Bush Museum Reopening", Associated Press, Google, 2007-11-10. 

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 30°35′48″N 96°21′12″W / 30.596622, -96.353381

Languages