I needed another bucket list, so I decided to see all the official Presidential Libraries. There are 14--Hoover, FDRoosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHWBush, Clinton, GWBush, and Obama (still under construction, I think). No 45, ever. I plan to hit nine of them from August 2017 to August 2018. I love the history and new understanding of events. I list them in the order that I visited them. I don't know when I will get to California and Michigan. Still trying to get to Carter’s in Atlanta…family illness, my illness, bad weather and Covid all forced me to change my plans. Maybe in 2024.
Bold are the ones I have visited--click on the name to jump to my visit. I read a really good book before I went on the mid West leg--The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. It was fascinating to see how the past and present executives related to each other during their administrations. I did not know that Eisenhower and Truman liked each other, then hated each other, then liked each other again.
Ok, this isn't a presidential library. I am in Arlington, Massachusetts on my way to the JFK library in Boston.
It says, "Near this spot, Samuel Whittemore, then 80 years old, killed three British soldiers April 19, 1775. He was shot, bayoneted, beaten and left for dead, but recovered and lived to be 98 years of age."
Research says that some of those dates are a little off, but this is the gist. Makes you feel kind of ridiculous to complain about the humidity, huh?
Seriously. Whittemores are badasses.
Little Rock, Arkansas
They upgraded the whole waterfront area on the Arkansas River with a park and the library. The park and bridge across the river were beautiful--lots of folks jogging and picnicking in the area. There was a charge to take a picture of the faux Oval Office so I passed on that. This is one place where I spent the night outside of my car in the Firehouse Hostel. Meh. The place was very nice, perfectly clean and friendly. But too much chatting, I wasn't in the mood for socializing after just one day on the road. I shared a room with 10 women, and folks came and went several times during the night. Quite noisily. I prefer my little cocoon in the car.
The front of the building, getting near sunset.
The park and the bridge on a lovely evening, looking north. I walked all the way across.
View from the bridge back towards the library, looking south
Up on the top floor looking north-ish. All those stacks are full of the papers, letters, emails--it is a beautiful display. That is a glass tree by Dale Chihuly, one of my favorite artists. Check out the Trip to Crystal Bridges page for more of his works in Arkansas.
The Cabinet Room. The Secretaries' names are on the brass plaques.
Austin, Texas
A cool November day at the LBJ. I didn't take any shots of the exterior, but it has kind of a 1970's dumpy office building sort of a look. The first photo is from the observation deck looking straight west at the UT Tower. The second shot is south towards downtown, with UT in the foreground. I bet it gets crowded on game days.
It was free to take a picture in this Oval Office. I should have caught the bank of TVs all on the right side.
Lady Bird's office is more my style. Love the groovy '60s vibe and that I-look-like-a-microwave TV.
These are from the Laguna Gloria museum a few miles west of the library. The museum used to have interior displays, but now all the artwork is on the grounds. It was fabulous. See that selfie? With the double pearl earrings? I lost one of them about an hour after I took this pic. Arrgh. One of my favorite pairs...ex-pairs...the orphan joins her friends on the Island of Lost Earrings.
College Station, Texas
I did not take a lot of photos here, which is too bad, since the drive up to the library has a lot of wildflowers. There are a couple of full bore Aggie corps types strolling across the plaza on the left. Center is the grand entrance, with a huge carpet from some sheik in the Middle East, and a lot of cheerful Republicans dying to help you. Right is the Bonfire memorial, located a few miles away.
Hyde Park, New York
Franklin and Eleanor were supportive partners, but strained spouses.
The library building and the large house where Franklin was raised and later lived with his wife and mother. The library is unassuming and small, the house is quite the opposite. The photos are a little washed out, as it was late in the day.
The quiet, dignified gravesite of the couple. Are those peonies surrounding the lawn? I am no botanist.
A re-creation of FDR's personal office. That is his mom, Sarah Delano, on the stand. Then they had a whirlygig on the lawn...incongruous but entertaining.
Boston, Massachusetts
It was a rainy day in Boston, a downpour for 2 hours. I caught the library through the car window. The black part to the right of the structure above is the huge atrium.
Mary Randolph is a buddy from my art group in Texas who moved to the Boston area . She is quite an adventurer herself and she inspired me to get started with my solo travels. She took the picture of me with Boston Harbor behind me. That is Mary pondering the Mercury capsule.
The mockup of the Oval Office and the Resolute desk. And that famous rocking chair.
Jackie wore this darling suit when she did her TV tour of the White House.
Seating for the state dinner for His Excellency the President of the Ivory Coast. Sidney Poitier was there. I wonder who the calligrapher was. Why is one name at each table is underlined? Do they rank the highest? Are they the table captains? Are they in charge of the wine?
Independence, Missouri
This was the first stop on my Presidents trip through the mid-West. The town of Independence is charming, with lots and lots of Truman things to do. The Truman home is just down the street, and the modest library is on a pretty site. I spent about 3 hours there. Gosh, he lived through a lot of upheaval--the death of FDR, the end of WW2, the atom bomb, the Korean War. He was a very decent man.
The Truman home early in the morning, in the middle of a busy neighborhood. I love that gingerbread trim.
Entry plaza for the library. There were only a handful of visitors this day.
And the plaza from the top of the stairs in the opposite direction.
I am a fan of Thomas Hart Benson and this is his mural of the settlement of Missouri.
The Buck Stops Here
This is some random letter but what grabbed me was that his handwriting is exactly like my mom's handwriting. Exactly. He was taught in Missouri, she in Rhode Island, but it look likes the same hand. She passed in 2012 and I still miss getting cards and letters from her with that distinctive penmanship.
West Branch, Iowa
This was my favorite library. It was a cool, rainy day, and only a few visitors. I spent a lot longer there than I thought I would. Hoover was not a great president. The country was descending into chaos with the Depression, but Hoover was determined to stick with the principles from his youth--no charity, use your bootstraps, work hard. But there were no jobs and no boots and his presidency was a disaster. He was a pariah for years. But before his presidency, he had used his Civil Engineering skills to set up a hugely successful food relief program for starving children in Europe after WW1. After the second world war, Truman remembered his service and asked Hoover to repeat his success with the ruined continent. Hoover came through again, and was recognized for his extraordinary humanitarian service. I came away with a very respectful view of Hoover as a man.
The library is set in a little village sort of place, with lots of clapboard houses, a schoolhouse, and a blacksmith shop. Great walking trails.
I am obsessed with the tiny spaces people lived, maybe because I am sleeping in a car on a tiny mattress. This bed is not much bigger than a twin, and 2 people slept in it. Plus that trundle right next to it. And a cradle at the far left. I just can't imagine being that cozy.
Oooh, look! A bunny in the yard!
A reconstructed Quaker meeting house was on the property. I sat there in silence for about 10 minutes--a chance to contemplate how lucky and grateful I am.
I guess I ought to put a picture of the library in here. Very modest, it fit in well with the rest of the property. Not all glass and steel and over the top look-at-me architecture like the Kennedy library.
The serene path at the back of the property to the gravesite. It overlooks the village and the library.
Abilene, Kansas
Abilene is all about the grain. Huge storage facilities for corn and wheat all through the town. The library is on the site of Ike's childhood home. The grounds are very imposing and grand. The central plaza is like a parade ground, with about two football fields worth of grass. The museum and the library are large, stately buildings to the north and south of the plaza. The museum itself was closed for renovation, so all the exhibits were stuffed into a library hallway. Eisenhower managed to be a great man, a great general, and a good president.
Standing at the burial chapel, looking east. That turquoise color of the fountain doesn't really do it for me; I think white would have been better.
Ike's boyhood home, very well maintained. His parents raised six sons here.
The east view of the grand green
The library from the museum steps. It finally stopped raining
These suicidal turkeys strolled right in front of me just south of Abilene. They seemed not the slightest bit worried about all the cars slamming on their brakes.
Me and Ike. I like this statue a lot.
Dallas, Texas
The architecture of this library fits into the grand surroundings of the SMU campus. It is fairly low-key compared to the rest of campus. But unlike every other library, they charge for parking! I parked for free in Boston, for goodness' sake. Six bucks! But they had a great side exhibition on the First Ladies. I spent a lot of time there.
The entrance to the library.
The grand foyer. You can see some of the cases that hold the extravagant gifts from many countries and leaders. Many beautiful things on display.
I am old enough to be super impressed by high definition screens. These lined the foyer--it really looked like there were people up on the ledge walking about. I stood there agog for several minutes like a total yokel.
Five first ladies at the opening in, what, 2009, 2010? Michelle, Laura, Hillary, Barbara, and Rosalynn.
One of the many displays in the large First Ladies exhibition. Hillary sure does look happy in this portrait.
A very moving display of the events of 9/11. These are two columns removed from the site in New York. They are not sure which tower they came from, but from the melted and twisted steel, they believe these columns were at the impact site when the plane hit the building.
More First Ladies. This library was very high tech. Lots of electronic stuff to play with and all sorts of interesting facts to discover. Did you know that quite a few "First Ladies" were not wives? They were sisters or daughters or someone designated to be the chief of White House hospitality.
Two presidents, George the Elder and George the Younger. It was like a hundred and fifty degrees outside on the patio. Texas in July is just not a place for patios.