The Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, is about to get a whole lot bigger.
The museum dedicated to the 33rd president, who died in 1972, announced a $25 million renovation project on Wednesday.
It’s the largest renovation since the museum’s opening in July 1957, and the museum hopes it will be completed in one year.
Every American president gets a library and museum in their honor. With this project, the exhibit on Truman’s presidency will get a $22 million expansion estimated to be 12,000 square feet. There will be many more interactive components to the exhibit allowing visitors to fully experience the life of President Truman, who was born in 1884 in Lamar, Missouri, and led the country during the Second World War, making such fateful decisions as dropping atomic bombs on Japan.
The museum entrance will be relocated to the east side of the building, giving the museum a 3,000 square foot entrance. The Library is still currently raising money for the project. If you’re interested in contributing to the museum’s renovations visit the Truman Library’s donation page.
The last day to see the museum before the renovation is July 23. The new space will reopen in one year to coincide with the 75 year anniversary of Truman’s presidency. You can see a sneak peek of the library’s new makeover:
The Library was initially established to preserve historical documents and books relating to the former president, and making them available to the public for learning and research opportunities. In Truman’s case that means 15 million pages of manuscripts, with 450 of the manuscripts from people who knew President Truman at some point during his lifetime.
Harry S. Truman was sworn into the presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 and served until 1953.
Additional info can be found here.