This story is a part of the QCBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Quad Cities Business Journal is a compilation of the year’s most noteworthy articles and projects, as told through stories that appeared in the bi-weekly issues of the QCBJ. This story was originally published in September 2022. WEST […]
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This story is a part of the QCBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Quad Cities Business Journal is a compilation of the year’s most noteworthy articles and projects, as told through stories that appeared in the bi-weekly issues of the QCBJ.
This story was originally published in September 2022.
WEST BRANCH, Iowa — The bold headline on the front page of the Aug. 12, 1962, edition of the Davenport Times-Democrat was of the size normally saved for catastrophic events. But it was no catastrophe that greeted newspaper readers of the day. The headline? IOWA HONORS REVERED SON Former President Herbert Hoover had come back to his humble roots to celebrate his 88th birthday at the dedication of his presidential library, an event that drew 25,000 to 35,000 people to the Cedar County town of West Branch. Today, 60 years later, plans are underway for a $20 million “reimagining” of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, the attraction’s first major upgrade since 1992. Imagine a sensory experience of sight and sound that puts you in the middle of the myriad of world-changing issues and challenges that faced Mr. Hoover before, during and after his presidency. And imagine being so inspired by the life of public service that he and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover lived that you decide to create positive change in your own community. The enhanced museum experience will bring the story of the Hoovers to a new generation of visitors with the latest technology creating an immersive and emotional experience. The same firm behind the design of the much-acclaimed Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois — BRC Imagination Arts of Los Angeles — is the creative engine behind the Hoover project. The plans are creating a lot of excitement across Iowa, where legislators last year approved $5 million in Hoover Tax Credits to encourage Iowans to donate to the project. And, the new experience at the museum is expected to bring thousands more visitors to the site, which closed its doors for almost two years during the pandemic and is just now rebounding since reopening 10 months ago. Fundraising is well underway and will receive a boost from an event Friday, Oct. 7, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids featuring former President George W. Bush, who is being honored, along with former First Lady Laura Bush. The couple will be the first recipients of the Hoover Presidential Foundation Great Humanitarian Award. Jerry Fleagle, president and CEO of the Hoover Presidential Foundation, said the National Archives and Records Administration, which owns and operates the library-museum, requires that 90% of the funds for the project must be raised before construction (or destruction) at the current site can begin. Of the $20 million that needs to be raised, $17 million will go toward modernizing the museum’s exhibition spaces, $2 million will launch what’s being called the Uncommon Iowans Center, and $1 million will go for establishing an endowment fund to secure maintenance of the renovated facilities and put the institution on firmer long-term financial footing, according to the campaign. The library-museum complex was rededicated on Aug. 8, 1992, after $6.5 million in renovations, which included the addition of six galleries that transport visitors to various stages of the Hoovers’ lives, as well as some interactive displays. Former President Ronald Reagan delivered the remarks to a crowd of 5,000. But with 30 years now passing, the Hoover site has gone the longest of any of the presidential libraries without an upgrade. The goal is to open the updated museum on Aug. 10, 2024 — the 150th anniversary of Mr. Hoover’s birth, though Mr. Fleagle acknowledges it is a tight deadline.
WEST BRANCH, Iowa — The bold headline on the front page of the Aug. 12, 1962, edition of the Davenport Times-Democrat was of the size normally saved for catastrophic events. But it was no catastrophe that greeted newspaper readers of the day. The headline? IOWA HONORS REVERED SON Former President Herbert Hoover had come back to his humble roots to celebrate his 88th birthday at the dedication of his presidential library, an event that drew 25,000 to 35,000 people to the Cedar County town of West Branch. Today, 60 years later, plans are underway for a $20 million “reimagining” of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, the attraction’s first major upgrade since 1992. Imagine a sensory experience of sight and sound that puts you in the middle of the myriad of world-changing issues and challenges that faced Mr. Hoover before, during and after his presidency. And imagine being so inspired by the life of public service that he and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover lived that you decide to create positive change in your own community. The enhanced museum experience will bring the story of the Hoovers to a new generation of visitors with the latest technology creating an immersive and emotional experience. The same firm behind the design of the much-acclaimed Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois — BRC Imagination Arts of Los Angeles — is the creative engine behind the Hoover project. The plans are creating a lot of excitement across Iowa, where legislators last year approved $5 million in Hoover Tax Credits to encourage Iowans to donate to the project. And, the new experience at the museum is expected to bring thousands more visitors to the site, which closed its doors for almost two years during the pandemic and is just now rebounding since reopening 10 months ago. Fundraising is well underway and will receive a boost from an event Friday, Oct. 7, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids featuring former President George W. Bush, who is being honored, along with former First Lady Laura Bush. The couple will be the first recipients of the Hoover Presidential Foundation Great Humanitarian Award. Jerry Fleagle, president and CEO of the Hoover Presidential Foundation, said the National Archives and Records Administration, which owns and operates the library-museum, requires that 90% of the funds for the project must be raised before construction (or destruction) at the current site can begin. Of the $20 million that needs to be raised, $17 million will go toward modernizing the museum’s exhibition spaces, $2 million will launch what’s being called the Uncommon Iowans Center, and $1 million will go for establishing an endowment fund to secure maintenance of the renovated facilities and put the institution on firmer long-term financial footing, according to the campaign. The library-museum complex was rededicated on Aug. 8, 1992, after $6.5 million in renovations, which included the addition of six galleries that transport visitors to various stages of the Hoovers’ lives, as well as some interactive displays. Former President Ronald Reagan delivered the remarks to a crowd of 5,000. But with 30 years now passing, the Hoover site has gone the longest of any of the presidential libraries without an upgrade. The goal is to open the updated museum on Aug. 10, 2024 — the 150th anniversary of Mr. Hoover’s birth, though Mr. Fleagle acknowledges it is a tight deadline.
