‘Absolutely stunning’ redo of Truman Library is about done. Here’s why it can’t open
It might seem as if the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum has been closed forever, but there is a light at the end of the renovation tunnel.
The library, where work on the $33 million project began in July 2019, will reopen early next year — if the pandemic cooperates.
Of course, this pandemic hasn’t exactly been cooperative these past eight months. If it had been, the library would have reopened in September. Or maybe October. Or November. The original target for completion was late summer or early fall of this year, but each time library officials thought they had nailed down a reopening date, it was pushed back.
Most other major Kansas City-area museums, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the National WWI Museum and Memorial and Science City in Union Station, have reopened, with new safety precautions.
Truman Library director Kurt Graham said the renovation could have been complete by now and the doors open if the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees all 15 presidential libraries and museums, had not closed its facilities to the public. As it is, workers are putting the finishing touches on the multimedia and interactive exhibits.
“Had COVID never happened, and we had that date in mind, most definitely we could have been ready for this,” Graham said. “Now it is really just on the pandemic.”
The new Truman Library will have a completely new look, inside and out. The flow will be reversed, with a 3,000-square-foot addition moving the main entrance and lobby to the east side of the building.
Unlike before, when exhibits on Truman’s adult years were on the main level and those on his early years were on the lower floor, his entire life story will be told on the renovated first floor.
Graham said the previous exhibits were all more than 20 years old.
“We’ve learned so much in the last 20 years about Harry Truman,” he said. “There’s been so much great scholarship, so many new great books have been written. And all of that has informed our ability to tell a more comprehensive story and to highlight some of Truman’s decisions.”
The library has beefed up exhibits that didn’t do justice to some aspects of Truman’s legacy, Graham said, such as the recognition of Israel and strides in civil rights.
“And we’ve got some really exciting ways to tell this story,” he said.
The public can take a behind-the-scenes virtual tour, followed by a Q&A session, on the library website (trumanlibrary.gov/events) at 9 a.m. Dec. 8 or 6 p.m. Dec. 10. The events are free, but registration is requested.
In addition to the new permanent Truman exhibition and other physical improvements, enhanced education programs and expanded public programs also are planned.
The delays caused by the pandemic have benefited the process in one respect, allowing a fine-tuning of the final product.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed by the delay because we’ve got this multimillion-dollar renovation we’re very eager to share with the public,” Graham said. “And the people of Kansas City have been very generous in supporting this effort, and we’re very eager to unveil it for them. However, we spent a lot of effort and went to great pains to get the history right. We don’t want to mess this up by getting the public health component wrong.
“We want to make sure we get this right.”
Graham said he hopes a soft opening will be possible by perhaps February, when the public will be allowed in the building, followed by an official ribbon-cutting grand opening with VIP guests in the spring.
Conditions will dictate whether the library will operate with limited capacities and other pandemic protocols.
“We are like everybody in our society right now, kind of at the mercy of the pandemic,” Graham said. “When it is safe to open, we will.
“We all look forward to that day when we can just throw the doors open and have it be unlimited, unrestricted like it’s always been. But we’re probably a few months away from that yet.”
Whenever the doors finally open, Graham is convinced it will have been worth the wait.
“There’s nothing like it in the presidential library system,” he said. “It is just an absolutely stunning product.”
