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As the LBJ Library Turns 50, the Man Who Planned Its Dedication Recalls a Few Surprises
Lyndon B. Johnson rehearsed his speech in the bathroom, the new fountain doused the guests, and the booze flowed freely.
May 22, 2021
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson at the LBJ Library, in Austin, on March 15, 1971.
Frank Wolfe/LBJ Library
On May 22, 1971, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library at the University of Texas opened its doors for the first time. The library now welcomes more than 100,000 visitors per year, including researchers who travel from across the country to use the facility’s extensive archive. In addition to 45 million pages of historical documents and nearly seven hundred hours of the president’s recorded phone conversations, the trove includes the pen Johnson used to sign the Voting Rights Act into law and the pants he wore at his second inauguration. (History buffs will remember that LBJ was famously fastidious about his pants.)