Home Destinations USA Texas Austin Sights Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Review

Read our Austin sights reviews. Or post your own.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Fodor's Review:

The artifacts and voluminous documents on exhibit here provide some insight into the 36th president's mind and motivations, and though his foibles are downplayed, a clear sense of the man—earthy, conniving, sensitive, and wry—emerges. That he was able to function at all may surprise visitors born during the high-tech era. In an age when the average car is loaded with digital gadgets and 12-year-olds with cell phones are commonplace, Johnson's black Lincoln limousine and clunky, command-central telephone seem quaintly archaic, though they were state-of-the-art during his presidency. If you schedule your visit to the reading room in advance of your arrival, you can listen to recordings of conversations Johnson had using that telephone. The 30-plus hours of tape recordings include ruminations on Vietnam, economic inflation, and a New York City transit strike. Gordon Bunshaft designed the monolithic travertine building that houses the library; like the limo and the phone, it's a bit of a period piece. There are rotating temporary exhibits on the ground floor. Be sure to check out the second floor, where a life-size audio-animatronic figure of LBJ spins humorous anecdotes; it's a hoot.

  • Cost: Free
  • Open: Daily 9-5
Find more sights in Austin »

Member Reviews and Ratings

Be the first to review this property

Get Advice From Other Travelers

Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip



Get the Fodor's Newsletter

For more travel ideas, tips, and deals, sign up for the Fodor's newsletter here. Read the current issue. Browse previous issues.




Copyright © 2009 Fodor's Travel, a division of Random House, Inc.