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Building Facade Night
Building facade at night of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

Museum & Building Photographs

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the 13th presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Building Facade Night
Building facade at night of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

On April 25, 2013, Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama joined more than 10,000 other guests on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, to dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

Building Facade Day
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which architect Robert A.M. Stern designed in close consultation with President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush, features an exterior of brick and Texas Cordova Cream limestone.

Inside the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Freedom Hall is a dramatic atrium, 67 feet high, ringed by a massive 360-degree LED screen that shows high-definition multimedia clips blending art, history, and entertainment.

Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall inside the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

“Responding to September 11” is one of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum's most poignant, permanent exhibits; displaying a global map of terrorist attacks, news footage, the bullhorn the President used to address First Responders at Ground Zero, and a port authority officer’s badge that the President carried every day. A 22-foot, pulverized steel beam from the World Trade Center stands next to a wall carved with the names of victims of the attack.

President George W. Bush at Ground Zero.
On Sept. 14, 2001, President George W. Bush stood with firefighter Bob Beckwith in front of the World Trade Center in New York and addressed the First Responders.

This bullhorn was used by President George W. Bush on September 14, 2001 when he visited Ground Zero and spoke to the crowd. After someone yelled that he couldn’t hear, the President used the bullhorn to reply, “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”

Bullhorn
This bullhorn was used by President George W. Bush on September 14, 2001 when he visited Ground Zero.
Ground Zero Note
Handwritten note by President George W. Bush about the removal of the last piece of debris from Ground Zero, May 30, 2002..
9-11 Speech
Remarks made by President George W. Bush on September 11, 2001.

George Howard was a New York Port Authority police officer who on 9/11 was enjoying the beginning of his day off. At home, a spectator like the rest of us, he chose to rush to the Twin Towers in hopes of assisting with evacuations and to save lives. Howard ultimately perished doing exactly that. His mother gifted President George W. Bush his service badge and later, speaking before a joint session of Congress and a national audience, President Bush held Howard’s shield aloft, saying, “It is my reminder of lives that ended and a task that does not end.”

Howard Badge
Badge that belonged to George Howard, a New York Port Authority police officer who died on September 11, 2001.

The New York Port Authority donated this jagged, twisted beam from the World Trade Center, which weighs 1.85 tons, to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. It arrived in Dallas in 2011.

Engineers who have studied the steel — known as a C-11 panel — say it is the remnant of a triple-beam and crossbeam section from upper floors of the World Trade Center. 

Steel Beam from World Trade Center.
Steel beam from the World Trade Center.

Embedded in a wall carved with the names of those killed on September 11, 2001, monitors in the 9/11 Exhibit show archival news coverage.

Steel Beam from World Trade Center.
Steel beam from the World Trade Center.

On diplay in the "War in Iraq" section, this 9mm Glock pistol was confiscated from Saddam Hussein when he was removed from the spider hole in Iraq. It is non-functional and was given to the President by the Military specialists who captured Saddam.

Saddam Hussein Pistol
The pistol once belonging to Saddam Hussein.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum features a full-size replica of the White House Oval Office where visitors may sit at the Resolute Desk and enjoy the Texas Rose Garden.

Oval Office replica featuring the Resolute Desk.
Resolute Desk inside the replica of the Oval Office.
Oval Office replica.
Replica of the Oval Office.

Other displays at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum include "Life in the White House." It features bronze statues of the Bush family dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley, both Scottish Terriers.

Life in the White House display.
"Life in the White House" display.
No Child Left Behind display.
"No Child Left Behind" display.
Protecting the Environment display.
"Protecting the Environment" display.
Travels of the First Lady display.
"Travels with the First Lady" display.

"Decision Points Theater" challenges visitors to put themselves in presidential shoes and consider various options to the issues President George W. Bush faced. The time-lapse scenarios include declaring war on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the troop surge in Iraq, and America's financial upheaval.

Decision Points Theater
"Decision Points Theater" interactive.
Defend the Homeland display.
"Defend the Homeland" display and interactive table.
Separation of Powers display.
"Separation of Powers" display.

For high resolution photographs taken during the Administration of President George W. Bush, contact:

Audiovisual Archives
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Phone: 214-346-1656
Fax: 214-346-1558
Email: photos.gwbush@nara.gov

Bluebonnets in the Native Texas Park.
Scheduled each spring, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum offers tremendously popular Bluebonnet Tours through the Native Texas Park, a 15-acre urban park on the Bush Center's grounds.