6 presidential libraries to check out, from FDR to LBJ

The replica of Lyndon Baines Johnson's Oval Office at his Texas presidential library

Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential library in Texas includes an Oval Office replica as it looked during the 1960s

(Image credit: LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin)

published 25 April 2024

At a presidential library, there are zero books to check out. These facilities are actually museums, archives and event spaces filled with documents, photographs, videos and artifacts from presidents past. The National Archives and Records Administration oversees 15 of these libraries, each one designed to be immersive and illuminating, giving the public a fuller look at the lives of presidents before and after the White House.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California

When you enter the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, it almost feels like stepping onto a movie set. As an actor-turned-politician, Reagan knew the power of props, and there is no shortage of blockbuster artifacts here. Visitors can walk through the Air Force One that shuttled presidents from 1973 to 2001, see the interior of a Marine One helicopter and view Reagan's 1984 parade limousine. A full-size reproduction of the Oval Office looks just as it did during the Reagan years, and not far away in the garden is a large chunk of the Berlin Wall. Nancy Reagan has her own permanent exhibition as well, filled with dresses and baubles she wore while first lady.

Harry Truman had a front-row seat to some of the most defining moments in modern U.S. history. "Harry S. Truman: An Ordinary Man, His Extraordinary Journey," is a new permanent exhibition at the Truman library that delves into those experiences, from his time as a soldier in World War I to his brief foray into haberdashery that was cut short by the 1921 recession to, of course, his time as president at the end of World War II. An introductory film introduces visitors to Truman, with newsreel, documents and artifacts filling the rest of the galleries. Open since 1957, the library recently underwent the largest renovation in its history.

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The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum explores a presidency, and life, cut short. Offering a peek into Camelot, the galleries showcase items like a menu covered in Kennedy's handwritten notes, framed photos of his children Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr. kept on the Oval Office desk, a watercolor painting of the White House by Jacqueline Kennedy and an Oleg Cassini dress she wore to a state dinner. The most dazzling exhibition might be "The White House Corridor: Gifts from Heads of State," displaying presents the Kennedys received from world leaders. Highlights include a gold purse decorated with diamonds and emeralds from King Hassan of Morocco and a stucco of Buddha dating back to the 2nd century from Mohammad Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan.

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said the "proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene." Visitors to his library and museum can learn more about those roots, starting at his boyhood home on the property. Guided tours offer a look at the cozy wood-framed house where Eisenhower and his brothers grew up, with original furnishings and exact wallpaper replicas in place. The sleek museum is a lot larger, at 25,000 square feet. Digital displays, photographs, uniforms, posters and artifacts like the table used to plan D-Day tell the story of Eisenhower's life with wife Mamie, his leadership during World War II and his presidency.

When you serve four terms as president, your library is going to be filled to the brim with all types of objects. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the reason why the modern presidential library exists. Prior to his time in office, White House records were often lost, destroyed or sold, and when he saw the sheer amount of paper being produced by his administration, FDR knew there had to be a better, more secure way of keeping these documents for future generations to study. Permanent exhibitions showed how Roosevelt steered the country through the Great Depression and World War II and explored his Fireside Chats and the relationship between the president, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the American people. What the library does not do is shy away from FDR's controversies, and visitors can interact with flip-books containing documents and photographs related to Japanese American internment camps.

Lyndon B. Johnson lives on at his library in Texas. An LBJ animatronic, once on display at a Neiman Marcus in Dallas, regales visitors with some of the president's favorite stories, using audio recordings from the archives. Inside the impressive Great Hall, Johnson appears again and again on a 50-foot-long photo-engraved mural by artist Naomi Savage, which shows him at different stages of his political career. Lady Bird Johnson also gets her due, with a First Lady's Gallery dedicated to her humanitarian work and causes close to her, like environmentalism. Visitors can also step into an Oval Office replica and the office Lady Bird worked in.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.