Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum

The library and museum allows people to explore the legacy of Herbert Hoover's presidency.

National Archives & Records Administration

Quick Facts

Location:

West Branch, Iowa

Significance:

Presidential Libary & Museum of the 31st President

MANAGED BY:

National Archives & Records Administration

Amenities

12 listed

Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information - Maps Available, Information - Ranger/Staff Member Present, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Parking - Auto, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Drinking/Potable, Wheelchair Accessible, Wheelchairs Available

"When the members of the Congress created these Presidential Libraries they did a great public service. They made available for research the records of vital periods in American history - and they planted these records in the countryside instead of allowing their concentration on the seaboard."

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum opened to the public on August 10, 1962—Herbert Hoover's 88th birthday. The library's original entrance, which is the small portico at the east end of the building supported by four white pillars and topped with an earlier version of the presidential seal, is where the dedication took place. 

Visit the official website of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum »

National Archives & Presidential Libraries

The Presidential Library and Museum is independently operated and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a federal agency. Since Herbert Hoover each president also has a presidential library operated by NARA. Presidential libraries allow people to explore the legacy of American Presidential leadership;to see, hear, and appreciate many of the events that changed our lives and made us who we are as a nation. 

Hoover Collections

This museum houses millions of papers and over 300 collections relating to both President and Mrs. Hoover, their friends, and associates. Researchers use the museum's numerous resources as they read and write about Hoover's life, with one notable result being an in-depth six-volume biography of the 31st President. Permanent galleries exhibiting artifacts of President Hoover's life take you from his boyhood in Iowa , through his public service career, and onto a recreated Waldorf Towers apartment in New York where he spent his final years. 

Part of the Commemorative Landscape

Herbert Hoover was proud of the modest museum here because it fit within the context of the other buildings on the site. A visit to Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is a chance to learn the story of Hoover's fifty years of public service and to gain a fuller understanding of the life and times of America's 31st President.

• A Legacy of Presidential Leadership

  
  

  Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum opened to the public on August 10, 1962—Herbert Hoover's 88th birthday. The library's original entrance, which is the small portico at the east end of the building supported by four white pillars and topped with an earlier version of the presidential seal, is where the dedication took place.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS

  Date created:

  06/22/2010

  Audio Transcript

  Presidential Libraries give the American people the opportunity to explore the legacy of American Presidential leadership. It is an amazing opportunity to see, hear, and appreciate many of the events that changed our lives and made us who we are as a nation. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum was opened to the public on August 10, 1962, Mr. Hoover's 88th birthday. The dedication took place at the library’s original entrance, which is the small portico at the east end of the building supported by four white pillars and topped with an earlier version of the presidential seal. Timothy Walch, Director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library shares a story about that historic day. Tim Walch: “Herbert Hoover went to the dedication of the Truman library in 1957…Well, Harry Truman reciprocates by coming to the dedication of the Hoover library, and when they walk through those doors Truman looks around and with typical Truman bluntness says, "Mr. President" – turning to Herbert Hoover – "Mr. President, this museum is too damn small." And Herbert Hoover looks over at Mr. Truman and says, "Yes, Mr. President, but knowing the federal government, I'm sure it will grow over time." And both of them were right.” (music) Since that day, the museum has been expanded and renovated several times, with the most recent change funded by a partnership between the U.S. government and the non-profit Hoover Presidential Library Association. (music) Although it is located on a National Park Service Historic Site, the Library-Museum is independently operated and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration. The museum houses millions of papers and over 300 collections relating to both President and Mrs. Hoover, their friends and associates. Permanent galleries take you from President Hoover’s boyhood in Iowa and continue on to a recreation of the Waldorf Towers apartment in New York where he spent the final years of his life. Herbert Hoover was proud of the modest museum here because it fit within the context of the other buildings on the site. Tim Walch: “He was determined to locate it on a lower terrain than others had suggested; they wanted to locate it up on the top of Cook's Hill. And he said, "No, no, I want it down with the other buildings. I don't want it any taller than any of the other buildings on the site. It should fit in, in a very modest way with the other buildings." Perhaps what Herbert Hoover didn’t foresee back in 1962, was how this Library-Museum would be transformed into a nationally recognized center of study. Tim Walch: “When the Hoover Presidential Library was opened, the expectation was that we would put a few trinkets, trophies, and so forth, on display for the public to see, and that we would have the documents available just for post-doctoral scholars. Well, now these institutions have schools of public service where young people begin to study the values of the president, and there are research think-tanks where people prepare policy papers for future governmental administrations.” Take some time and come inside for a visit. You’ll learn the story of Hoover’s fifty years of public service and gain a fuller understanding of the life and times of America’s 31st President.