George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993), and his wife Barbara Bush. 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).

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 H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Location in Texas, US
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum (the United States)
General information
LocationCollege Station, Texas, United States
Coordinates30°35′48″N 96°21′12″W
Named forGeorge H. W. Bush
InauguratedDedicated on November 6, 1997
Rededicated on November 10, 2007
Cost$43 million
Technical details
Size69,049 square feet (6,400 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectHellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
Website
www.bush41.org
This article is part of
a series about
George H. W. Bush
Pre-vice presidency
Vice President of the United States
President of the United States
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Post-presidency

Description
Former president George H. W. Bush (left) with his son Texas Governor George W. Bush (right) and daughter-in-law Laura (center) at dedication of library in 1997.

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library was dedicated on November 6, 1997, as the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, opening to the public shortly thereafter, and designed by the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

Situated on a plaza adjoining the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, the library is administered by NARA under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955.

The mission of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library 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.

The Day the Wall Came Down by Veryl Goodnight, a 1996 statue of horses leaping over pieces of the actual Berlin Wall, stands on the plaza of the library and 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 and expansion

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 other presidential libraries, visitors are able to fully enter the replica, sit behind the president's desk, and have a souvenir photo taken.[3][4]

On November 8, 2019, the Union Pacific Railroad donated their EMD SD70ACe locomotive #4141 to the library, where it will be on permanent display in the pavilion.[5] The exhibit is currently expected to open in 2020 and will be placed between the library and the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.[6][7] Unveiled on October 18, 2005 in honor of Bush, it remained in active service until 2009, and later was brought back to participate in Bush's funeral train on December 6, 2018.[8] It subsequently remained in active service following the funeral until its last run between November 8 and November 9, as part of the Union Pacific 4014 Southwest Tour, in which the plans for the display were unveiled. The 4141 exhibit is expected to open sometime in 2020, during which the 4141 will be prepared for display at the North Little Rock Shop.[9]

In addition to UP 4141, the Bush Foundation is also seeking to have a retired Boeing VC-25A and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk displayed on the library grounds, of which the UH-60 Black Hawk has been confirmed for permanent display.[10][11][12]

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:[13]

Burials

Bush's daughter Pauline Robinson Bush (1949–1953) was originally buried at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut, but was re-buried at the library in 2000.

Barbara Bush was buried on April 21, 2018, following her death on April 17, 2018.[14]

George H. W. Bush was buried on December 6, 2018, following his death on November 30, 2018.

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. November 8, Jim Wrinn |; 2019. "Union Pacific donates SD70ACe No. 4141 to George H.W. Bush Presidential Library; Big Boy 4014 joins celebration | Trains Magazine". TrainsMag.com. Retrieved November 8, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Hogan, Michael Oder, Kendall. "'Bush 4141' locomotive coming to Bush Library at Texas A&M". www.kbtx.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  7. "Union Pacific 4141 to be permanently displayed at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library". KXXV. November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  8. "George H.W. Bush Funeral Train". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  9. https://today.tamu.edu/2019/11/09/union-pacific-4141-to-be-permanently-displayed-at-bush-library/
  10. Luna, Marcy de (January 3, 2019). "Marine One helicopter to land permanent spot at George H.W. Bush Library and Museum exhibit". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  11. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bush-Foundation-wants-Air-Force-One-displayed-in-13745806.php#photo-17182570
  12. reports, Staff and wire. "Bush library wants the plane and the locomotive". www.kwtx.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  13. "George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service". George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  14. Schallhorn, Kaitlyn (April 21, 2018). "Barbara Bush's funeral attended by Melania Trump, Clintons, others". Retrieved April 22, 2018.
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