George W. Bush Presidential Center Sets Dedication Plans

DALLAS, Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the George W. Bush Presidential Center publicly announced the date for its invitation-only dedication ceremony on Thursday, April 25, and its public opening on May 1, 2013. The Bush Center, which houses the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the George W. Bush Institute, combines the nation's 13^th Presidential library and museum with a leading-edge policy organization that continues the public service of President and Mrs. Bush. 

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"We are 100 days from dedicating this important civic institution. It will preserve for history the important decisions made by President Bush during his presidency and will embody and carry on the values of President and Mrs. Bush," said Mark Langdale, president of the George W. Bush Foundation. "We look forward to being a vibrant part of the greater SMU campus and continuing the service of President and Mrs. Bush through the work of the George W. Bush Institute."

The George W. Bush Library and Museum, operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), will house archives from the Bush Administration, including 80 terabytes of digital information and more than 200 million e-mails, the largest electronic records collection of any presidential library. In addition, it will store more than 43,000 artifacts from the Bush presidency, including personal mementos, items associated with defining moments from the President's two terms in office, and gifts from foreign heads-of-state. The museum exhibits will focus on key decision points of the Bush presidency, using interactive, digital and visual displays to provide visitors a sense of the issues facing the President and the principles that guided him through critical situations.  

"The Bush Library and Museum is a state-of-the-art research center for historians, scholars, students and the public," said Alan Lowe, director of the Bush Library and Museum. "We will provide in-depth access to presidential materials and the presidential decision-making process, and we look forward to serving as an educational resource for this great community and the entire nation."

The Bush Center, located on 23 acres on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, has been under construction for two years. Staff from the Bush Institute, as well as personnel and presidential artifacts from NARA, have already begun moving into the building.

The 226,565-square-foot building is designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification. The brick and limestone building, built using regionally sourced materials, complements the American Georgian architecture of the SMU campus while the low profile design links inside and outside spaces.

The Bush Center's surrounding native Texas landscape, including trees from the Bush family's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, continues President and Mrs. Bush's longstanding commitment to land and water conservation and energy efficiency.

SOURCE George W. Bush Presidential Center