The Johnson Treatment

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good museum and library. When you get the two combined, I’m in heaven.

During my latest trek to Austin I made certain I visited the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum on the University of Texas campus.

Situated on a 30-acre site on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas, the Library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photos and 5,000 hours of recordings from President Johnson’s political career, including about 643 hours of his recorded telephone conversations.

– LBJ Presidential Library –

The library was built on land donated by the University of Texas. The school also gave $15 million of the $18 million needed to build it. Although the structure is on university grounds, it is federally run and independent from the school.

“Johnson’s friends and associates selected the library site six years ago. Once a maze of dirt streets and low income housing, the land was reclassified as a slum and leveled under one of the Administration’s urban renewal projects.”

Gary Cartwright – New York Times – October 17, 1971

The library was truly the vision of Lady Bird Johnson although the president himself made sure certain elements (the Oval Office reproduction, for example) were included. And he made certain that everything was included and made available to the masses…even the negative stuff.

“The Great Hall is at the heart of the LBJ Library. It features travertine walls, an engraved presidential seal, a mural, and a spectacular view of four floors of glass-enclosed archives. At 7,686 square feet, the equivalent of 6.6 Olympic-size swimming pools, the space includes permanent and revolving temporary exhibitions throughout the year.”

– LBJ Presidential Library –

“The 50-foot-long photo-engraving mural by artist Naomi Savage is a centerpiece of the Great Hall. In a series of five deeply etched magnesium plates, each 8 feet by 10 feet, it depicts Lyndon B. Johnson at various stages of his political career—as a Congressman with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator with President Harry S. Truman, Senate Majority Leader with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Vice President with President John F. Kennedy, and then as President of the United States.”

– LBJ Presidential Library –

The layout of the structure itself is unusual as far as museums go but that is because it is a library as well. The main entrance on the lower level puts you in the Great Hall and there are some exhibits to see there. Floors 3 and 4 hold museum exhibits including a replica of LBJ’s presidential limousine, recorded phone conversations and the early years of LBJ’s political life in Texas.

The middle floors (5 through 9) are occupied solely by carefully preserved archives in red boxes with gold trim lined up in rows that are visible from the Great Hall (see photo above). Above that, on the 10th floor is where you will find a replica of the Oval Office as it looked during LBJ’s administration, Lady Bird’s actual office (not a replica), the First Lady’s Gallery and an exhibit chronicling “The White House Years”.

THE EARLY YEARS

THE JOHNSON TREATMENT

“The Johnson treatment is not easily defined, but it typically involved invading the personal space of the target – Johnson taking advantage of his substantial bulk – and issuing a disorientating stream of flattery, threats and persuasion that would leave the target unable to counter.”

HistoryHit.com

“PLEASE HOLD FOR THE PRESIDENT…”

Listen to selected clips from President Johnson’s 643 hours of recorded telephone conversations.

THE PRESIDENTIAL LIMO

REPLICA OF LBJ’S OVAL OFFICE

LADY BIRD’S OFFICE (ACTUAL, NOT A REPLICA)

FIRST LADY’S GALLERY

THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS

POST-PRESIDENCY (1968-1973)

The LBJ Library is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The last visitor is admitted at 4:00 p.m. The Library is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

More visitor information here.

I got some nice views of the University of Texas campus and the City of Austin…