George W. Bush Presidential Museum

What a contrast in humanity compared to our current political environment. If you miss W as much as I do, this is The Candy Store. A fitting tribute to a great and humble man.

We love visiting presidential libraries,, and were excited to add this one to the list. It is located in the downtown Dallas area, on the SMU campus. There is a designated parking lot, which is important because, as the case is on many college campuses, most of the lots require special permits. One thing I really liked about this library is that there are many very helpful docents throughout. One near the ticket desk shared with us the history of the three dimensional presidential seal that hangs from the ceiling directly over the ticket desk. It was originally commissioned to hang in a building owned by Trammel Crow, a very well known Dallas developer. Apparently, it is the only 3-D presidential seal in existence. In the ticket lobby you also get to see many display cases of gifts given to the president during his term of office. The library itself is very well laid out, following the timeline of his presidency. There was quite an interesting section devoted to his election, the hanging chad's, and the Supreme Court involvement, that was hugely interesting. The section on 9/11 is very moving and well done. You get to also view the oval office as it was when he was in office. Another docent shared with us that the presidential seal on the front of the desk in the oval office has the eagle's head facing in the "incorrect" direction. The desk was created before a law was put in place design designating which way the eagle's head was to face.In the oval office, you had the chance to sit behind the desk and take photos. The library also has a professional who will take a photo for you, that will be printed and waiting for you at the ticket desk to purchase. When you leave the oval office, be sure to exit the building and check out the replicated rose garden. A docent shared with us that George and Laura intend to be buried in this area when they pass. At the end of the tour, don't miss the video created by their daughters, it is a humorous look at a more personal side of his personality. We enjoyed our visit to the library immensely. To be honest, I would say his father's library, and the Reagan library, were much better experiences, but overall, we were very happy with our visit.

My in laws wanted to check this out while we were in town. Im not going to lie that my kids weren't overly excited to go to a museum for a president they weren't familiar were, but a little history lesson never hurt anyone. I was more impressed than I expected to be. It brought me back to my 20s when Bush was president and I even learned a few things about his presidency and his family. It was all interactive which made it tolerable for the kids and they loved sitting in the mock oval office. The entire museum itself is well done and beautiful. We didn't get to eat at cafe 43 (43rd president - get it?), but the Yelp reviews looked solid. The museum itself it also located on SMUs beautiful campus, which was nice to see. It was a one and done experience for our family, but an enjoyable and interesting morning. It's also the only presidential library I've visited, which made me curious to check out more!

Third museum stop in one day. Hard to find at first. Saw parking lot and asked a student on the sidewalk where it was. A sign would be helpful. Watched a video and read about the life if George W or dubya Bush. There is a replica room of the oval office how it looked when George W was president. Also gifts from visitors from around the world, white house China, first lady Laura's gowns and more. It was a nice museum. The only hiccup and complaint is if you enter the gift shop, you cannot go back in the hall. You need to go outside and reenter through armed security checkpoint.Review 9 in 2025.

Very nice Museum, or Presidential Center. This is my tenth Presidential Museum and this is a good one. I knew a lot about GWB before entering the museum, but still got a better sense and feeling about the man after leaving it. It does a real nice job incorporating Laura Bush into the Museum. I spent about two hours there, could have spent a little more time. People working there were very knowledgeble and friendly. Thanks for a great visit. Only bad thing is they charge you for parking....really?

This was the third stop on our quest to visit all 13 Presidential Libraries affiliated with the National Archives. My Yelp BFF Justin T. and I were eager to get another stamp in our Presidential Library Passports. The GWB Presidential Library is located on the campus of SMU. We were disappointed that parking wasn't free ($10 for the first four hours). Additionally, the admission fee was more expensive ($25) compared to the other two presidential libraries in TX.The staff at this museum were extremely friendly and very helpful. At times, I felt like some staff members were giving us a private tour. Some of them were very knowledgeable (the woman in the Oval Office Replica and the gentleman who gave a talk on the Situation Room).We attended the presentation on The Situation Room. The gentleman that gave the talk (I think his name was John), was very informative and passionate about presidential history. Next to the conference room was the actual Situation Room from GWB's administration. I thought it was a replica, but everything was the original except for the president's chair. Fun fact: Whenever an item like the Situation Room or Air force One are decommissioned/upgraded, that president has the option to save it for their library. GWB was offered the Situation Room after it was renovated in 2007. Apparently the only other library with a Situation Room is Reagan's. Everyone was respectful when touring the Situation Room and I was surprised that they allowed photos. It was really cool to learn that the Situation Room began during the Kennedy administration after the Bay of Pigs incident. It was bare bones compared to today's Situation Room. I did not realize that each seat is designated by cabinet position. It was awesome to see photos of Secretary Condoleezza Rice and the progression of her seat assignment as she moved up the ranks. I found the Freedom Matters section to be fascinating and extremely relevant. I didn't know there were different types of democracies (direct and representative). The section dedicated to 9/11 was very poignant. It was so moving to see an actual mangled beam from the WTC in the middle of the museum. I also enjoyed the section that showcased Laura Bush's work in literacy and education. It was cool to see posters from previous National Book Festivals in D.C. I have yet to attend the National Book Festival, but I have attended the Texas Book Festival in Austin a few times which she co-founded. We went out to the rose garden, but the flowers weren't in bloom yet. George and Laura have a plot in the garden that they will be buried at (just like George H.W. and Barbara at their library in College Station).Out of the three libraries in Texas, this is the only one with a restaurant on site (Café 43). I was expecting it to be a more casual grab and go café, but this was a full service restaurant. We ate lunch there and it was very good!If you have a Presidential Library Passport, you can get it stamped at the front desk. You can also get it stamped in the gift shop, but I was happy to be able to do it when we arrived so I could get it out of the way.Just as I felt when visiting Bush 41's library, it is a strange yet interesting experience to visit a museum that showcases artifacts and events that happened in your life time. If you enjoy US history, go visit this library.

On our first ever trip to Texas our family visited 2 Presidential Libraries. George H.W and W, both Father and Son! The George W. Bush Library is located on the campus on SMU in Dallas. Parking is easily located across the street and was $10. The George W. Bush Library is not as big as his father's library in College Station, but it was still a nice library to visit. 2 sections of the library that I thought were nicely done is the 9/11 memorial. There is a huge piece of wreckage displayed next to several walls that hold the names of everyone who lost their life that day. A very sad, but honoring tribute. The other area is the full replica of the Oval Office. In some of the other libraries that I have visited, there is an oval office desk, but not all of them have a full replica of the office. In this room you can take pictures sitting at the desk. There is a staff member that will also take a professional picture of you that you can purchase at the end of the tour. They are not allowed to hold your phone, so if you want a group picture you have to purchase it. They will let you take your own photos, but that means someone sits out from your group. Compared to other Presidential Libraries, this one is small but done well. We spent about 2 hours here on our last day, before heading to the airport. There is a cafe here that you can eat at. We didn't get a chance to stop here, but you can make reservations. One of the staff told us that Laura Bush often stops by when she is there.

President Bush is 43rd president in my lifetime. The museum has started with his life when he moved to the political field in 2000 elections. It was very close race with laser thin victory in Florida. His 2004 election is a big win in comparison to 2000 elections. During his presidency, the museum show the 9/11 terrorist attack. It was a sad day during that time. The museum shows healing and the war on terror begins. The war includes global terror war over the earth that includes Iraq war. The museum includes the new policies that he has achieved. These policies include no child left behind and homeland security. He also has some problems such as social security, medical care, growth in business sectors. The museum also includes some humor side of the president narrator by his daughter.

Bush President Library is the president in my lifetime. I have experience the same country experiences during my prime time. One thing that captures our time during his presidency is the 911. This disaster brings everyone to tear then the healing begins. At the museum, there a piece of the world trade center steel beam located in the middle of the hall. During the Bush era, there are few good things happening in the country. His policy includes no child left behind, homeland security, immigration, social security, and medicare. During his presidency, there is a fight of global terrorist. This includes the Iraq war. The museum includes many gift from different countries. It also show how he described to run for president. The first term narrow election and the second term large win elections. Overall, he our 43rd president. The only thing is he needs to really improve is reducing our national debt. That was not happening.

Ordered merchandise, and after multiple emails and the item being in stock, the item was still never shipped. Will have to fight for a refund at this point