THE HARRY S. TRUMAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM HAS RE-OPENED FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF ITS MAJOR RENOVATION AND EXPANSION PROJECT©

 

In June of 2015, we published a Travelblog article herein which focused on the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum which opened in 1957 in Independence, Missouri.

2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, and in commemoration of this auspicious event, the Truman Presidential Library and Museum featured a Special Exhibition: "Till We Meet Again" thru the entire year.  

To read our 2015 Travelblog article about the Truman Library, link to:  https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2015/06/truman-presidential-library-special.html

The $30-million project is the Library’s largest renovation and expansion since the Museum opened in 1957.    

The Library closed on July 23, 2019 to prepare for the renovation, although the Research Room remained open.  In September of 2019, the Truman Library and Museum commenced what was supposed to have been a one-year period of major renovation -- the first in over 20 years, and the most extensive ever done on the facility.

Groundbreaking Ceremony
Celebrating the Commencement
of the Library's Major Renovation Project
September 5, 2019

The anticipated date for the re-opening of the Truman Library was to have been in the Fall of 2020, marking the 75th anniversary of Truman's succession to the Presidency of the United States after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the end of World War II. 

That date, however, never came to fruition in 2020.  Commencing in late 2019, COVID19 rapidly began turning into a worldwide pandemic and created chaos and upheaval of the best laid plans.  What should have been closure for only one-year during the renovation process, turned into almost two full years due to multiple lockdowns resulting in concomitant work stoppages and additional mandated closures of facilities under Federal jurisdiction, such as all of the Presidential Libraries which are under the purview of the National Archives.

Upon completion, there would be a 3,000-square-foot addition with a new front entrance and lobby,  a new Truman permanent exhibition, new amenities for visitors, enhanced educational and community programming, and completely new and reimagined Museum exhibits that are interactive -- bringing Truman’s legacy to the 21st Century visitors.

===================================

(Primary Research and Photo Sources:  National Archives; National Archives News; KSHB News 41)

©2022 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.