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potus_geeks will probably never have thousands of followers on Twitter, but it was flattering to see that one of our first followers was the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site (@HarrySTrumanNPS on Twitter). In 2009 I visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, located in President Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri (in the greater Kansas City area) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
This was the first presidential library to be created under the provisions of the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act, and is one of thirteen presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. President Truman maintained a working office there, where he wrote articles, letters, and his book Mr. Citizen. He met with Presidents Hoover, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and with other notable Americans like Jack Benny, Ginger Rogers, Robert F. Kennedy, Thomas Hart Benton, and Dean Acheson. A $1.6 million dollar preservation and restoration of Truman's working office was completed in 2009 and features an enclosed limestone pavilion for better access and viewing. The office appears today just as it did when Truman died on December 26, 1972.
The museum offers an introductory film on the life of President Truman, and two floors of exhibits relating his life and presidency through photographs, artifacts, film clips, documents, and memorabilia. It was the first presidential library to contain a full scale replica of the Oval Office, a feature that has been copied by the Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41 and Clinton libraries. The library also contains The White House Decision Center, an educational program in which school students take on the roles of President Truman and his advisors facing real-life historical decisions in a recreation of the West Wing of the White House. The mural Independence and the Opening of The West by Thomas Hart Benton adorns the walls of the lobby entrance. The mural, completed in 1961, was painted on site by Benton over a three-year span.
Behind the cut are a few other pictures that I took when I was there in August of 2009:
1. A portrait of President Truman (like you couldn't have figured that out for yourself)
2. The replica of Truman's oval office.
3. A bronze life-sized Harry S. Truman.
4. The Trumans' resting place.
I highly recommend that if you find yourself within driving distance of Independence, Missouri, you treat yourself to this wonderful experience.
The National Historic Site
And while you're there, you should also visit the Harry S Truman National Historic Site. The National Historic Site preserves both the family farm and the longtime home of President Truman. The Truman Home is in Independence, Missouri, and the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri: both are within the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area and are approximately 15 miles apart.
Website: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/
Location: 500 W. U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Open noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibrary
Twitter: @TrumanLibrary