Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
President Nixon and former President Johnson at the museum's dedication in 1971
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
Official logo of the LBJ Presidential Library.png
Johnson library.jpg
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum is located in Texas
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
Location in Texas
Location Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Austin, Texas, USA
Dedicated May 22, 1971
Named for Lyndon B. Johnson
Architect Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill[1]
Size 14 acres (57,000 m²)
Website LBJ Presidential Library

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, also known as the LBJ Presidential Library, is one of 13 Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, including the papers of Lyndon Baines Johnson and those of his close associates and others.

The Library was dedicated on May 22, 1971, with Johnson and then-President Richard Nixon in attendance. The current director is Presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove.

President Johnson is buried at his ranch, near Johnson City, Texas, at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. After her death in July 2007, the body of Lady Bird Johnson lay in repose in the Library and Museum, just as her husband's had after his death, 34 years earlier in January 1973.[2]

In 2012, the LBJ Library underwent a multimillion-dollar redesign, during which most of the exhibits were closed. On December 22, the Library reopened to the public. In 2013, the Library began charging admission for the first time since its dedication in 1971.[3]

The Library, adjacent to the LBJ School of Public Affairs, occupies a 14-acre (57,000 m²) campus. Although the Library is on the grounds of The University of Texas at Austin, it is federally run and independent from the University. The top floor of the Library has a 7/8ths scale replica of the Oval Office decorated as it was during Johnson's presidency.

From time to time, the library honors public servants with the "LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award." The award is given to leaders who demonstrate civility and bipartisanship. Recipients have included President George H. W. Bush, Congressman John Lewis, Congressman John Dingell and Senator Carl Levin.[4]

The LBJ Library provides year-round public viewing of its permanent historical, cultural, and temporary exhibits to approximately 125,000 visitors each year.[5] It is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year. The Library is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.[6]

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Further reading

Benjamin Hufbauer, Presidential Temples: How Memorials and Libraries Shape Public Memory (University Press of Kansas, 2005). See ch.3: "Symbolic Power, Democratic Access, and the Imperial Presidency: The Johnson Library."

See also