Herbert Hoover museum set to open in August, details life story of Hoover and wife

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is getting ready to reopen following a year and half of renovations. The space will add 2,300 square feet for a new lobby, plus updated exhibits. The last renovation happened in 1992.

“They offered him (Hoover) to build the presidential museum on the bluff and not in the flood plain,” said Tom Schwartz, director for the museum. “He wanted it to be within eyesight of the birthplace cottage.”

Hoover, the United States’ 31st president, is often defined by the era he came into office. The same year he was elected, the Great Depression began.

“So much of Hoover’s legacy is based upon that he didn’t solve the economic crisis, (the) Great Depression,” said Schwartz. “Anyone who studies the Great Depression knows, neither did his successor. What it suggests is that they were things out of their control.”

The $20.3 million renovation centers on telling Hoover’s life story, as well as his wife’s, Lou.

“We’ve broken the permanent galleries with these journeys into more discreet exhibit spaces,” said Schwartz.

The new space will tell their story using all senses. Sights and sounds are expected, but you can also expect smell and touch.

More than a decade before he became president, Hoover had already traveled the world with his wife. They saw some of the poorest countries, and most significantly, the many people without food. During WWI, Hoover served as the director of food administration.

“The time from 1914 to the end of their lives, the Hoovers are credited with feeding and helping nearly a 100 million people,” said Schwartz.

After he lost reelection, Hoover went back to work.

“They didn’t proclaim it, or rather they just did it quietly, in secret,” said Schwartz. “They didn’t want people to feel indebted. They wanted to empower people.”

Thirty thousand people come through the museum a year on average, but Schwartz says he’s seen an interesting trend in the last few years.

“We’re now having descendants of those people that Hoover fed as children,” said Schwartz. “Coming back and going to the gravesite, and coming to the museum to pay honor.”

The museum will reopen August 6. For more information, click here.

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