Visiting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, evokes a nostalgic familiarity for many Michiganders who grew up in the state or lived here state during the 1970s.
The museum shows President Jerry Ford as one who many people fondly remember as a decent guy who unexpectedly inherited the presidency under trying circumstances, and one who even some of his most vocal detractors grew to respect and appreciate the tough decisions he made in the wake of the infamous Watergate break-in that brought down his predecessor's presidency.
The museum's lobby offers a great view of the Grand River and the downtown Grand Rapids skyline through a two-story wall of windows, so you get a real sense of the place Ford called home and represented as a congressman for 25 years.
Lobby exhibits include a statue of Ford as an Eagle Scout and a piece of the Berlin Wall, while the most of the museum's displays are on the second floor.
One of the first museum exhibits we stopped by during our most recent visit set the tone as a time capsule to transport visitors back to the time, culture, and sensibilities of the seventies in all of their garish glory.
The mood next turned somber with a display featuring tools used in the Watergate break-in and then jumped back into time for sepia-toned exhibits about Ford's early life and road to the presidency.
Ford, born as Leslie Lynch King Jr. in 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska, never really knew his biological father as his parents divorced within a year of his birth. The museum does not shy away from Ford's later reports that his biological father abused his mother or the divorce.
Ford's mother moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her baby boy to live with her parents. She married paint salesman Gerald R. Ford in 1916. Her son grew up with three younger half-brothers and legally took his stepfather's name as his own.
One of the most interesting museum exhibits for me was a full-scale replica of the Ford-era Oval Office than included an audio tour of a day in the life of Ford's Presidency, complete with visits to the office from dignitaries, constituents, family, and even the president's dog, Liberty. Seeing Oval Office as you remember it from photos of the time, and hearing actors re-create the conversations throughout the day, had a surprising power to pull visitors into the scene.
We finished our museum tour back in the ground floor auditorium watching a 20-minute film about Ford and his presidency, along with a stop at the museum gift shop.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum actually has two different locations about 130 miles apart, although both facilities operate as a one institution under one director.
The museum in Grand Rapids is a 44,000-square-foot triangular building, dedicated in 1981 and set on a 20-acre park site on the west bank of the Grand River that includes Ford's grave site. The Gerald Ford Commemorative Committee, University of Michigan, State of Michigan, Kent County, City of Grand Rapids, and over 14,000 individual donors raised the $11 million needed for the project.
The museum and park play host to many events, including serving as an ArtPrize venue where we saw displays like a giant penny sculpture by artist Wander Martich constructed of (what else?) pennies during the 2010 competition.
The Ford library is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the campus of the University of Michigan where Jerry Ford attended college and played football.
In late 1976, Ford donated his papers and other materials to the government for preservation in the State of Michigan. In 1979, workers broke ground for the$4.2 million library and Ford helped lay its cornerstone. Library staff moved into the building by mid-1980.
The library houses more than 25 million pages of documents and 450,000 photographs, plus thousands of audiotapes, videotapes, and films. Much of the collection is digitized and available, or at least cataloged, online.
Read more about our visit to the Ford Museum at Paying tribute to President Gerald R. Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan or Betty Ford, the Nation's "First Mama".
Want to learn more about Ford's life and his well known sense of humor? Check out Gerald R. Ford by Douglas Brinkley, Write it When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford by Thomas M. DeFrank, or Humor and the Presidency by Gerald R. Ford.
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
Looks like an interesting place. Ashamedly, I don't know too much about modern American history and couldn't tell you much about President Ford, but it sounds like the museum is worth a visit.
Love the picture of the seventies Oval Office!
Posted by: Matthew Hyde | July 19, 2011 at 07:07 AM
Matthew-Thanks for stopping by! Yup, the museum was a real time capsule in many respects. It is nicely done, and the grounds are especially nice (this is where Pres. and Mrs. Ford are both buried).
Posted by: Dominique King | July 25, 2011 at 06:28 AM