A New Destination: SMU + Prez Bush
Today, our Dallas reporter is hanging out with Barack Obama and four past presidents at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on SMU campus. Yesterday, we got a sneak peek into the library and museum. Former First Lady Laura Bush, who spoke from the White House rose garden replica Wednesday morning, says 43 did not want the center to be a monument to him but wanted it to focus on the principles he felt were most important to the country. The 226k SF facility includes the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum as well as the George Bush Institute.
SMU prez Gerald Turner checked out one of the interactive displays in the museum. The LEED platinum project was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects and built by Manhattan Construction. (Walter P Moore was structural and blast engineer and URS Corp was civil engineer.) The museum features exhibits of 43s domestic agenda (eg, No Child Left Behind and tax reform) and a 9/11 exhibit including 22-foot tall pieces of the World Trade Center. We admit to getting out our tissues after touching the steel beams. (Yes, its hands-on.)
Here's George W. Bush Presidential Center prez Mark Langdale (trivia wonks know him as the former Texas Department of Economic Development chairman and former US ambassador to Costa Rica). He tells us the Bush Center has already benefited SMU with applications increasing significantly since the announcement of the library. Local hotels are already seeing increases in bookings and some 300,000 visitors are anticipated annually. Mark says it will also raise the awareness of Dallas as an international city while promoting business and tourism in Texas. As world leaders convene at the Bush Institute, the visibility of Texas and Dallas will be enhanced. Not to mention, this is the third presidential library in Texas: 41 is at Texas A&M and LBJ is at UT.
The recipe said "set oven to 180 degrees." So I did, but now I can't open it because the door faces the wall. Maybe one of you engineers can help us out, catie@bisnow.com.
