Difference between revisions of "Clinton Library museum exhibits"
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
By far the most popular attraction at the [[Clinton Presidential Center]] is the museum exhibits. "The museum was especially important to me," wrote Bill Clinton in his autobiography ''My Life,'' "because I wanted to show visitors from across the county and around the world that political ideas, policies, and decisions have real consequences to their lives and therefore that public service and well-informed citizens are as essential to America in the twenty-first century as they were at the time of our founding." | By far the most popular attraction at the [[Clinton Presidential Center]] is the museum exhibits. "The museum was especially important to me," wrote Bill Clinton in his autobiography ''My Life,'' "because I wanted to show visitors from across the county and around the world that political ideas, policies, and decisions have real consequences to their lives and therefore that public service and well-informed citizens are as essential to America in the twenty-first century as they were at the time of our founding." | ||
| − | Patrons must pass through an elaborate security procedure when entering the museum at the south end of the main Library building, then pass a large circular reception desk and Clinton's bulletproofed 1993 [[Cadillac Fleetwood limousine]] en route to an escalator to the main and upper level exhibition spaces. Visitors are reminded to first visit the 80-seat [[orientation theater]], which includes an endlessly repeating film documenting Clinton's life and work. | + | Patrons must pass through an elaborate security procedure when entering the museum at the south end of the main Library building, then pass a large circular reception desk and Clinton's bulletproofed 1993 [[Cadillac Fleetwood limousine]] en route to an escalator to the main and upper level exhibition spaces. A special services desk is also located on the ground level. Visitors are reminded to first visit the 80-seat [[orientation theater]], which includes an endlessly repeating film documenting Clinton's life and work. |
Gigantic cherry bookcases housing about three percent of all Clinton administration papers frame 20,000 square feet of museum space found on the main and upper levels. The bookcases are modeled after those Clinton admired in the Long Room of [[Trinity College Library]] in Dublin, Ireland. Clinton visited the library while studying as a Rhodes Scholar. One hundred and ten feet of oversize interactive displays designed by [[Ralph Appelbaum Associates]] stand at angles in the center of the exhibit space. | Gigantic cherry bookcases housing about three percent of all Clinton administration papers frame 20,000 square feet of museum space found on the main and upper levels. The bookcases are modeled after those Clinton admired in the Long Room of [[Trinity College Library]] in Dublin, Ireland. Clinton visited the library while studying as a Rhodes Scholar. One hundred and ten feet of oversize interactive displays designed by [[Ralph Appelbaum Associates]] stand at angles in the center of the exhibit space. | ||
Revision as of 20:34, 29 February 2008
By far the most popular attraction at the Clinton Presidential Center is the museum exhibits. "The museum was especially important to me," wrote Bill Clinton in his autobiography My Life, "because I wanted to show visitors from across the county and around the world that political ideas, policies, and decisions have real consequences to their lives and therefore that public service and well-informed citizens are as essential to America in the twenty-first century as they were at the time of our founding."
Patrons must pass through an elaborate security procedure when entering the museum at the south end of the main Library building, then pass a large circular reception desk and Clinton's bulletproofed 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine en route to an escalator to the main and upper level exhibition spaces. A special services desk is also located on the ground level. Visitors are reminded to first visit the 80-seat orientation theater, which includes an endlessly repeating film documenting Clinton's life and work.
Gigantic cherry bookcases housing about three percent of all Clinton administration papers frame 20,000 square feet of museum space found on the main and upper levels. The bookcases are modeled after those Clinton admired in the Long Room of Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. Clinton visited the library while studying as a Rhodes Scholar. One hundred and ten feet of oversize interactive displays designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates stand at angles in the center of the exhibit space.
The upper level features the Life in the White House exhibit, the Music Room, a temporary exhibit room, and a scale model of the Oval Office painstakingly recreated by Kaki Hockersmith.
The Clinton Foundation houses some 77,000 artifacts on site, though only a fraction are on exhibit at any given time. The collection includes 50 saxophones and a 1967 model Ford Mustang like that driven by the president in his youth. Eight military cargo planes moved all of Clinton's memorabilia, papers, and other media from Washington, DC, to Little Rock in 2001.
The current charge for visiting the museum exhibits is $7 for adults.
References
- Karen Breslau, "Ready for His Close-Up," Newsweek, November 8, 2004.
- Bill Clinton, My Life (New York: Vintage, 2004), 967.
