Groundbreaking for Bush museum an administration reunion
DALLAS, November 17, 2010 – Former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush Administration officials broke ground this week for the George W. Bush Presidential Center at the southeastern corner of Southern Methodist University’s campus.
Other former cabinet members attending the groundbreaking included Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.
Three thousand invited friends and supporters filled bleachers inside the large white tent where the ceremony was held. The SMU campus was chosen as the home of President Bush’s library because SMU is Laura Bush’s alma mater.
More than 100 protesters were nearby but kept away from the festivities. They dressed in black and were wearing white masks with a name of a fallen soldier from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Construction is set to begin later this month and the center is slated to open in early 2013. The museum, library and policy institute will be housed in a three-story, 226,000-square-foot Texas limestone and red brick building – reflecting the architectural style of the other buildings on the SMU campus. There are 13 other presidential libraries scattered throughout the United States.
To get a taste of some of the presidential memorabilia the George W. Bush Museum will offer, there’s a special exhibit at the nearby Meadows Museum on SMU’s campus. The display includes key artifacts such as the bullhorn President Bush used at Ground Zero three days after the attack, the baseball he used to throw an opening pitch during the 2001 World Series, and the Oscar de la Renta gown worn by Laura Bush at the state dinner honoring Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a number of key papers from the Bush Administration. The Meadows exhibit is free and open to the public through February 6, 2011.
For more information about the George W. Bush Presidential Center, visit www.georgewbushcenter.com.
Posted by Constance Hannon
