George Bush Presidential Library

This article is about the library of the 41st President (1989–1993). For the library of the 43rd President (2001–2009), see George W. Bush Presidential Center.
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 69,049 square feet (6,400 m2)
Cost $43 million
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. Located on a 90-acre (360,000 m2) site on the west campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, the library is one of 13 administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Description

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum 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 Bush Library and Museum is situated on a plaza adjoining the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. It operates under the administration of NARA under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955.

The mission of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is to preserve and make available for research the official records, personal papers, and artifacts of President George H.W. Bush, to support democracy, promote civic education, and increase historical understanding of U.S. national experience through the life and times of George Bush.

The textual archives contain more than 44 million pages of personal papers and official documents subject to the Presidential Records Act, 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 (370 m3) of records and the library has a National Security vault holding 3,500 cubic feet (99 m3) of Presidential Records. In addition to memoranda, speeches, and reports found in the textual collection, there is an extensive audio-visual and photographic archive that includes approximately 2 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.

The museum has just under 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 explore topics on the Bush Administration, American history, American Presidents, etc.

Its classroom is the first of its kind in the Presidential Libraries network. The classroom can be used by student groups as a computer learning lab or as a traditional classroom. It is the Bush Library and Museum's educational mission to inform and enrich learning for all ages about American history, the role of the presidency in general with special focus on the administration of George Bush.

In 2011, the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation was given an overall score of 2 out of 4 by Charity Navigator.[1] The CEO was listed on that site's "10 Highly Paid CEOs at Low-Rated Charities".[2]

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). The museum reopened November 10, 2007, with a ceremony during which the former president arrived via parachute jump. The permanent exhibit now 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.[3][4]

George Bush Award

The Presidential Library Foundation also awards the George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service, which "recognizes an individual's or group's dedication to public service at the local, state, national or international levels". The recipients are given a crystal sculpture designed by Eric Hilton, comprising a "three panel prismatic column of crystal. In the center of the column is a shallow lens engraving of the world." The winners are:[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "George Bush Presidential Library Foundation". Charity Navigator. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "10 Highly Paid CEOs at Low-Rated Charities". Charity Navigator. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ Kever, Jeannie (November 10, 2007). "A more interactive George Bush library and museum reopens". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Surprise Entrance: Bush Parachutes In at Library Reopening". KBTX News. November 10, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ "George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service". George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
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