What’s a measly four drive after taking several days to travel from California to Missouri? It seemed like a breeze in comparison. Our objective? To visit the William J. Clinton Presidential Center & Park where the Presidential Library and Museum are located.

We left Marshfield on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, and returned on Friday. The Wyndham Riverfront Little Rock hotel turned out to be a convenient place to stay, since it was across the Arkansas River from the museum.

The hotel shuttle driver took us on a short, guided tour of Little Rock on our way to the museum. He pointed out various historical locations like the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. This is where the first nine African American teenagers attempted to attend school in September 1957. The National Guard, as ordered by Governor Orval Faubus, turned the students away. President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened, and the students later returned to attend classes. These individuals, known as the Little Rock Nine, persevered despite ongoing harassment from the students and the community. I admire their courage and determination to endure each day.

A steel and glass structure loomed ahead as our driver pulled up in front of the five-story building. The structure stretched 420 feet and was supported by 90-foot cantilevers. It looked more like a giant freight container than a presidential museum. I wondered if we made a mistake in telling the driver where to drop us off.

There was no mistake. Apparently, the architecture symbolically ties in with Clinton’s theme of building a bridge to the 21st century during his reelection campaign in 1996. In some respects, the building does resemble a bridge.

Inside, visitors will find the typical exhibits common in most presidential libraries and museums. They present a timeline of the president’s life from birth through the end of his presidency and even post presidency. The obligatory oval office and cabinet room are present as are gifts received and the first lady’s accomplishments.

What I found most impressive and different from other presidential library and museums is the exhibit and display areas. Two-story cherry bookcases stuffed with blue binders appear to support the third floor. Inside the blue binders are records generated during Clinton’s presidency. They only cover a small percentage of the approximately 78 million pages of paper documents and approximately 20 million e-mails. The archive library contains the remaining documents along with various artifact collections. As one who loves scurrying down rabbit holes when researching, I’m sure if I were to enter the archives I’d never come out.

The inspiration for the bookcases was inspired by The Long Room in Trinity college Dublin, Ireland. Now I want to go to Dublin to see the Long Room in person. I checked. Tours of the room are included in the Book of Kells Experience. “Hey, Jon. Let’s book a trip to Ireland.”

Okay, back to Clinton and the museum. Here is but a smidgen of the photos I took. The glass walls created such a glare, I couldn’t capture all that caught my attention.

And yes, the museum does not shy away from Clinton’s dalliance with Ms. Lewinsky, or the impeachment. This is true of embarrassing events or criticisms experienced by other presidents in their respective museums. It’s all part of history and should not be hidden from future generations.

The third floor contained the collection of gifts received while Clinton was in office. This is one of my favorite exhibits in all of the presidential museums.

In August of 2023, the Clinton Foundation announced plans to expand the center to include an institute to house “personal archives and papers of Hillary Rodham Clinton and ‘serve as a hub’ for her charity and advocacy work.” Further details or more current information regarding the expansion did not pop up in a quick online search.

A walkway through the park led us to the Sturgis/Choctaw Railway Station where the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and the Center on Community Philanthropy are housed.

Famished from our tour, we ducked into 42 bar and table, a restaurant on the ground floor. Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of The United States, hence the name of the restaurant. They serve lunch during the week and brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

With our bellies full, time had arrived for a walk along The Riverfront Trail and Park. We heard we might see sculptures, statues, and other art along the way.

The park is 33-acres and spans the length of eleven blocks on the south bank of the Arkansas River and contains over 100 pieces of art. Here are but a few.

While we waited for the streetcar for our trip back to the hotel, I thought the H. U. Lee International Gate and Garden might provide us with a respite from the heat. Unfortunately, the gates were closed, so we stewed in the heat and humidity instead.

It was definitely worth the drive to tick off the Clinton library and museum from our list. We have two more presidential libraries and museums coming up in our 2023 Fall Adventure: Gerald Ford and Herbert Hoover.

Next up: The state capitol of Missouri in Jefferson City

Safe Travels