It’s my habit to visit presidential libraries and I’ve learned they differ dramatically. Washington, John Adams, Jefferson and Lincoln’s are as much homes and museums as libraries. JFK’s site in Boston is glitzy and loud, more theme park than anything, routinely filled with gawking, uncomprehending school children relieved to be out of class for a day. In his will, John Quincy Adams requested a fireproof structure separate from his house to store his books, papers and maps. It’s the first presidential library and is called The Stone Library, home to over 12,000 volumes. There’s an effort underway to build a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, conveniently located in Medora, North Dakota. Nixon’s museum in Yorba Linda, California, seemed as haunted and joyless as the man himself. But there’s one that is markedly superior to the rest.
© 2024 John Oliver
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