George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

George H. W. Bush served longer in public life before reaching the presidency than almost any of his predecessors — as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot in World War II, a Texas congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, envoy to China, CIA director, and two-term vice president under Ronald Reagan. The museum traces this arc through artifacts, film, and immersive galleries, including a recreation of the Oval Office and exhibits on the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War coalition, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The library building, designed by Hartman-Cox Architects and opened in 1997, sits on ninety acres of Texas A&M’s campus. Bush chose College Station in part because of his close relationship with the university, and he and Barbara Bush are buried on the grounds near a reflecting pool. Bush’s presidential papers and more than forty million historical documents are held in the adjacent research library and made available to scholars.