I Like Ike, But Not Enough to Visit His Museum
By
Garrett M. Graff
Published Sunday, April 01, 2007
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library ranks first in annual visitors. Photo courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library.
The National Archives spends almost $100 million each year maintaining presidential libraries for former commanders-in-chief from Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton. The one exception? Richard Nixon, whose library is privately maintained.
Now President Bush is in talks to locate his library at Southern Methodist University, his wife’s alma mater. While the libraries are a helpful tool for historians and academics, some are also big tourist attractions.
How do the libraries stack up? Here’s a ranking by 2006 tourist attendance:
Ronald Reagan: 440,301
Bill Clinton: 302,151
Lyndon Johnson: 210,473
John F. Kennedy: 191,986
George H.W. Bush: 140,674
Harry Truman: 135,316
Franklin Roosevelt: 108,589
Dwight Eisenhower: 69,248
Jimmy Carter: 62,223
Gerald Ford: 58,784
Herbert Hoover: 50,077
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library ranked second in annual visitors. Photo courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
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