Presidential Libraries
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Here are the libraries, in the general order in which they opened:
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES PRESIDENTIAL CENTER LIBRARY
Presidency: 1877-81
Opened: Memorial Day, 1916
Location: Fremont, Ohio
Contains: Documents, 75,000 books and roughly 75,000 photographs. Site also includes the Hayes residence and the tomb of Rutherford and Lucy Hayes.
Admission: $6. Privately run.
Annual visitors: 35,000
Area: 52,640 square feet
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY
Presidency: 1933-45
Opened: July 30, 1941
Location: Hyde Park, N.Y.
Contains: Extensive collection of documents, small naval museum, family mementos.
Admission: $4. Run by the National Archives.
Annual visitors: 150,000
Area: 58,750 square feet
HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY
Presidency: 1945-53
Opened: July 6, 1957
Location: Independence, Mo.
Contains: Replica of the Oval Office, a large mural and several paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, one of Truman’s favorite artists. Truman is buied there.
Admission: $2. Run by the National Archives
Annual visitors: 170,000
Area: 96,612 square feet
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LIBRARY
Presidency: 1953-61
Opened: May 1, 1962
Location: Abilene, Kan.
Contains: Presidential papers, memorabilia from the White House and Eisenhower’s military days. Eisenhower and his wife buried there.
Admission: $1.50. Run by the National Archives
Annual visitors: 150,000
Area: 109,254 square feet
HERBERT HOOVER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Presidency: 1929-33
Opened: Aug. 10, 1962
Location: West Branch, Iowa
Contains: Records from Hoover’s long career in public service, rare books, and his fishing tackle. The Hoover grave is also on the 187-acre grounds.
Admission: $1. Run by the National Archives.
Annual visitors: 100,000
Area: 31,734 square feet.
LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON LIBRARY & MUSEUM
Presidency: 1963-69
Opened: May 22, 1971
Location: University of Texas -- Austin.
Contains: Archives with 35 million documents, oral history project, family and political memorabilia, replica of the Oval Office, Vietnam War exhibit.
Admission: Free. Run by the National Archives.
Annual visitors: 335,000
Area: 134,695 square feet.
JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY
Presidency: 1961-63
Opened: Oct. 20, 1979
Location: Dorchester, Mass.
Contains: Housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei on the waterfront, contains exhibits portraying events including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination. Admission: $4.50. Run by the National Archives.
Annual visitors: 300,000
Area: 115,254 square feet.
GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY
Presidency: 1974-77
Opened: April 27, 1981
Location: University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Contains: Papers from Ford presidency and years in Congress. A related Ford presidential museum opened in September of 1981, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Admission: $1.50. Run by the National Archives
Annual visitors: 100,000
Area: 95,964 square feet
JIMMY CARTER LIBRARY
Presidency: 1977-81
Opened: Oct. 1, 1986
Location: Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.
Contains: Originals of the Camp David accords, copies of SALT II treaty, replica of the Oval Office, exhibit depicting the Iran hostage crisis, more than 30,000 gifts received by Carter during his presidency, interactive video in which visitors can ask questions of Carter.
Admission: $2.50. Run by the National Archives
Annual visitors: 80,000
Area: 89,401 square feet.
RICHARD NIXON LIBRARY & BIRTHPLACE
Presidency: 1969-74
Opened: July 19, 1990
Location: Yorba Linda, Calif.
Contains: Selected White House tapes from the Watergate scandal, high-tech interactive displays in which visitors can ask questions of world leaders, a replica of the Lincoln Sitting Room. House where Nixon was born is next door.
Admission: $4.95. Privately run.
Annual visitors: Not available
Area: 52,800 square feet.
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Presidency: 1981-89
Scheduled Opening: Nov. 4, 1991
Location: Simi Valley, Calif.
Contains: Largest collection of presidential papers of any of the libraries -- over 55 million papers, a replica of the Oval Office, interactive videos, photographs, films and mementos from his acting career. The museum will also house 73,000 thousand gifts including a full section of the Berlin Wall.
Admission: $2. Run by the National Archives.
Area: 153,000 square feet
Source: Individual libraries, National Archives
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