The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, houses U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

's papers and other material relating to the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

and the Carter family's life. The library also hosts special exhibits, such as Carter's

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

and a full-scale replica of the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...

as it was during the Carter Administration, including a reproduction of the ''Resolute'' desk. The Carter Library and Museum includes some parts that are owned and administered by the federal government, and some that are privately owned and operated. The library and museum are run by the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

and are part of the

presidential library system The United States presidential library system is a nationwide network of 16 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These are repositories for pre ...

of the federal government. Privately owned areas house Carter's offices and the offices of the

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidential ele ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

agency. The building housing the library and museum makes up , with of space for exhibits and of

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

and storage space. The library stacks house 27 million pages of documents; 500,000 photos, and 40,000 objects, along with films, videos, and

audiotape Audiotape is magnetic tape used for storing audio. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Audiotape can be used in various tape recorders including machines for reel-to-reel audio tape recording on open reels ...

s. These collections cover all areas of the Carter administration, from foreign and domestic policy to the personal lives of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Mrs.

Rosalynn Carter Eleanor Rosalynn Carter ( ; ; August 18, 1927 – November 19, 2023) was an American activist and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. Throughout her decades of ...

. The complex is situated next to

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Freedom Parkway, which was originally called "Presidential Parkway" (and at one point, "Jimmy Carter Parkway") in its planning stages. The land on which the museum sits was a part of

General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

's headquarters during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces ...

. Although President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

and almost all Presidents since (except

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

) have chosen to be buried at their presidential museum, Jimmy and

chose to instead be interred on the grounds of their home in

Plains, Georgia Plains is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 573. It is well-known as the home of Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who were the 39th president and first lady of the Un ...

. The Carters also planned for their home, which is owned by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

and is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, to be converted into a museum.

History

Early in his administration, Carter indicated interest in having his presidential library be built in Georgia. The site chosen was in the Poncey–Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, on land that had been acquired by the state of

Georgia Department of Transportation The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a li ...

, for an interchange between two redundant highways that were cancelled by Carter when he was

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, in response to the Atlanta freeway revolts. (See

Interstate 485 Interstate 485 (I-485), also known as the Charlotte Outerbelt, is a auxiliary Interstate Highway encircling Charlotte, North Carolina. As a complete Ring road, loop, it is primarily signed with "inner" and "outer" designations, though at ...

, Georgia 400, Interstate 675, and the Stone Mountain Freeway.) The Atlanta firm of Jova/Daniels/Busby was selected as architects, in cooperation with Lawton/Umemura/Yamamoto of Hawaii. During design and construction, Carter's papers were temporarily housed at the former post office building in downtown Atlanta. Construction commenced on October 2, 1984, and the library was opened to the public on Carter's 62nd birthday, October 1, 1986. Construction cost $26 million, funded by private contributions. A $10 million renovation of the museum began in April 2009 with completion on President Carter's 85th birthday in October 2009. The first director of the library and museum was Dr. Donald Schewe, who originally assisted with the transfer and processing of the Carter Administration materials at the end of Carter's term in early 1981. Since 2015, the current director is Dr. Meredith Evans, an Atlanta native who had held various leadership positions in special collections and libraries in institutions such as

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. The library and museum offers free admission to all students 16 and under. They can either go on a docent or self-guided tour. Together the library and The Coca-Cola Foundation have established funding for the library to provide transportation funds for all Georgia schools to use when bringing students to the museum for education activities. Following her death,

laid in repose at the library on November 27, 2023. A year later, Jimmy Carter was also laid in repose at the library from January 4 to 7 before being sent to Washington, D.C. for the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

References

External links

*
Carter Presidential Library and Museum footages
on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jim Lib Library buildings completed in 1986 Carter Library and Museum Museums in Atlanta Jimmy Carter Libraries in Georgia (U.S. state) Presidential museums in Georgia (U.S. state) 1986 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links