Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
On the top floor of an austere ten-story tower in Austin, Texas, a replica of the Oval Office sits at seven-eighths scale, decorated exactly as it appeared during the Johnson presidency, right down to the Johnson desk. One floor below, an animatronic version of LBJ tells folksy stories to visitors. The juxtaposition captures the man himself -- enormous ambition housed in an institution that refuses ornamentation. The LBJ Presidential Library, clad in cream Italian travertine and designed by Pritzker Prize winner Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is the most architecturally severe of the presidential libraries, and the one with perhaps the most complicated origin story.
Lady Bird's Library
Discussions for a Johnson presidential library began almost immediately after the 1964 election landslide. In February 1965, William H. Heath, chairman of the Board of Regents at the University of Texas at Austin, proposed placing the library on the university campus along with what would become the Johnson School of Public Affairs. The agreement was formalized on September 6, 1966. What made this library different from its predecessors was the funding: while earlier presidential libraries relied on private donations, the publicly funded University of Texas covered $15 million of the $18 million construction cost. The land itself had been a low-income neighborhood, acquired by the university through eminent domain. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson drove the design process, touring existing presidential libraries and university campuses before presenting three potential architects to her husband. Gordon Bunshaft got the commission. The library was dedicated in 1971, with President Nixon in attendance, and charged no admission until 2013 -- forty-two years of free entry.
Forty-Five Million Pages
The building holds 45 million pages of historical documents, including the papers of President Johnson and his close associates. The collection sprawls across a 14-acre campus adjacent to the Johnson School of Public Affairs. Although the library sits on the grounds of UT Austin, it operates as a federal institution -- one of 16 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, independent from the university. Among the artworks on display is a photoengraved mural by Naomi Savage depicting scenes from Johnson's life. The view from the library's terrace toward the Texas State Capitol became so iconic that in 1983 it was designated one of the Capitol View Corridors, legally protected from obstruction by tall buildings. About 125,000 visitors walk through each year.
Bipartisan Honors from a Partisan President
For a president who arm-twisted legislation through Congress with legendary ferocity, the library's signature honor strikes an unexpected note: the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award recognizes public servants who demonstrate civility and bipartisanship. The roster of recipients reads like a who's who of American political life, crossing every partisan divide Johnson himself exploited and bridged. Civil rights icon John Lewis received the award in 2010. Republican George H. W. Bush was honored in 2013. Jimmy Carter in 2016. John McCain in 2018. Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020. And in 2023, the award went to Willie Nelson -- because in Texas, some things transcend politics entirely.
A Library That Keeps Changing
The LBJ Library has never been content to sit still. In 2012, it underwent a multimillion-dollar redesign that temporarily closed most exhibits before reopening on December 22 of that year. In October 2025, the main exhibit closed again for a fresh renovation aimed at younger generations, with interactive elements and an updated design expected to reopen in spring 2026. The building itself, with its unadorned travertine facade and brutalist severity, divides opinion the way its namesake divided a nation -- over civil rights, over Vietnam, over the sheer audacity of the Great Society. The complex was designed to be monumental without being decorative, and whether that reads as dignified restraint or institutional coldness depends entirely on who is looking.
From the Air
Located at 30.286N, 97.729W on the University of Texas at Austin campus, northeast of the main campus core. The ten-story cream travertine building is visible from altitude as a pale rectangular block among the red-roofed university buildings. Look for the Texas State Capitol dome to the southwest along the protected Capitol View Corridor. Nearest airports: KAUS (Austin-Bergstrom International, 7 nm SE), KEDC (Austin Executive, 14 nm NW). Best viewed at 2,000-4,000 ft AGL.