Gerald Ford Presidential Museum Captivates Visitors
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Take a walk back in time with President Gerald Ford and see mementos associated with his life and his years in the White House at the Gerald R Ford Presidential Museum.
Administered by the US National Archive and Records Administration as part of the Presidential Libraries System, the Gerald R. Ford Museum is located in Ford’s hometown of Grand Rapids, while his Presidential Library is in Ann Arbor, home of Ford’s college alma mater, the University of Michigan.
The size of the triangular shaped museum is enormous. The two-story, 56,000 square feet museum teems with memorabilia telling the story of Ford’s legacy.
Ford served as President from 1974-1977 during the highly tumultuous period of American history that was dominated by the impact of President Nixon’s resignation after the Watergate affair.
Visitors to the $11 million museum, which is situated in a 20 acre park along the Grand River, are met first outside by a larger than life statute of an astronaut. President Ford was a major proponent of the US Space Program.
The museum does a tremendous job of telling the story of key events that took place during Ford’s administration. On display is the bell of the SS Mayaguez. If the ship’s name doesn’t "ring a bell," maybe you will recall its story. The Mayaguez was a US container ship that was seized by Khmer Rouge forces while underway in Southeast Asia in 1975. Ford ordered a US rescue mission that resulted in the ship being freed, but with the loss of 15 US military personnel.
Another highlight at the museum is associated with the Vietnam War, which officially ended during the Ford Administration. Although most US military action ceased in 1973 when President Nixon bought the troops home, it wasn’t until April 1975 that Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army.
Displayed is the staircase from the US embassy in Saigon that was the scene of one of the most dramatic and reprinted photographs of the war – A US helicopter on the embassy’s roof and hundreds of Vietnamese crowding the outdoor staircase as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on the embassy compound.
In an address in 1999, Ford admitted that including the staircase was controversial because to many it was an emblem of our military defeat in Vietnam . Ford countered that to him the staircase and its inclusion at the museum represented "a monument of hope and not despair."
Other permanent museum exhibits include: "The 1970s, An overview;" some of the actual tools used in the Watergate break-in that doomed President Nixon and much more.
Inside the museum is also a gift shop and a movie theater that airs a movie that tells the story of Gerald Ford. Finally, Ford is buried on the grounds of the museum.
Admission is $7; $3 for youth; other discounts may be available. For more information on the President Gerald R. Ford Museum contact the museum at 616.254.0386 or on the web at www.FordLibraryMuseum.gov.
For information on Grand Rapids: The historic Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is within easy walking distance of the Museum. Grand Rapids also boasts a boyhood home of President Ford. For more information on Grand Rapids visit wwww.grandrapids.org or call 800.678.9859.
Disclosure: the author was the guest of the Grand Rapids CVB to facilitate writing this review.